Table saws are probably the most important and useful power tool a woodworker will own. For this reason purchasing a tables saw is one of the first things a woodworker will do. I am often asked “what kind of a tablesaw should I purchase?”. Surprisingly the answer is quite simple, I tell everyone, spend as much as you can afford on a table saw.

Now that statement might seem a bit flippant, but anyone who has worked in the woodworking industry as a business or as a serious hobby will likely say the same. As a general rule the tablesaw industry has managed to put themselves in a place where … “you get what you pay for”. I know this is a bit of a general statement, but it is also true, let me explain. Over the years, all the companies that produce tablesaws have put themselves in a competitive marketplace. The result is that the products produced pretty much relate to how useful they will be.

Lets look table saw types for a minute, For the purpose of this article I am going to break tablesaws down into three basic categories. 1) Small (so called) light weigh, portable tablesaws 2) Contractors tablesaws (these include the larger portable and folding saws) 3) Cabinet tablesaws. These three types of saws are priced from low to high, with cabinet saw being the most expensive.

Small Portable Lightweight Saws
These saws are just as they are described. They are small, lightweight and almost always direct-drive type saws. Direct drive saws mean that the tablesaw blade, when attached is actually bolted directly to the actual motor. The only real disadvantage to this is that these types of tablesaws often do not give the same depth of cut as contractor or cabinet saws. Which, in a sense is good because these saws, in order get a decent depth of cut have had to install small motors. My personal experience with these saws is if you are in anyway serious about woodworking, these saws should not be considered. The only times these saws are useful is for someone doing “model work”, moulding work or some other similar very light weight type  of woodworking. These saws are underpowered, often the fences are very poorly designed, and almost always inaccurate. IF you put a decent Freud, CMT or Forrest blade on a small unit like this, it is marginally useful. Anyone looking a saws in this price range who is even remotely interested in doing some serious woodwork would often be far better off finding a used tablesaw.

Contractor Table saws
These are easily the most popular saws, mostly because they are generally well constructed and because there is a very nice range of them. On the lower end of these saw (in terms of cost) are the portables like my favorite the Bosch or Ridgid. Although these are portable table saws, they are available with a wheel stand for moving them around. They are well made, accurate and nice to work with. Most contractor saws come with some sort of metal stand. Look for contractor saws that are belt driven. There are two reasons for this, first of all belt drive saws can use larger motors and secondly, these saws have a greater range of depth that they can cut.
A word of caution here, some of the very small contractor saws, even though they may be in this category … maybe be somewhat sketchy in their usefullness. Some of the very inexpensive contractor saws I would actually classify as the small portable types … and less useful. As a buyer you will need to look at the quality of the saw.
One way to get a bet quality saw is to make sure your saw has a minimum of a one and a quarter, or even a one and a half horse motor on it, and that it is belt drive. This will usually put you up in the $500 range in terms of price, but if you are serious about your woodworking you will need this quality … at least. The better quality tablesaws to look at will be products like Steel City, General, Delta, Ridgid and Jet. There are of course many others but these will give you an idea.

Cabinet Saws
If you have the bucks and the room, a cabinet saw is every woodworkers dream. I can quite confidently say that all these saws are well made. They are heavy, often with large extended tables and well designed fences. Cabinet saws are used by serious woodworkers and professionals. Cabinet saws are available from companies like Delta, Steel City, Powermatic, Laguna and General.

Summary
Acquiring your first tablesaw is not difficult but it DOES take so knowledge a common sense. If you purchase tablesaw that is “inexpensive” you may be wasting your money. I see it ALL THE TIME, someone tries to save a few dollars or thinks they won't be using it that much and they buy one of the cheap tablesaw knockoffs. The next thing I hear is it isn't cutting properly, the fence is broken and it is making mess of their wood. Let me say this, if you are somewhat serious about woodworking of even home renovation, get yourself a decent saw. There are always good used saws on the market, just start by making sure the motor is at least 11/4 to 1/12 horsepower , the blade is belt driven and those will be good indicators.

Cabinet saws, hybrid table saws, contractor saws and portable table saws. You'll find the perfect saw for your woodworking style and budget at Rockler:

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