500 sq/ft table saw recommendations?

[Jakemedic]

Have a look on marketplace or Craig’s List and see where either a straight out cabinet saw for sale or an auction where you can buy your table saw. Personally, I have a mid 2000’s Craftsman cabinet saw. It took a nose dive about 3 years ago and there are still parts available out of Canada. Turns out Steel City made those for Sears, and are quite popular in Canada. As I read, I didn’t see mention of Harvey saws. They make a cabinet saw as well. Initial reviews were not horrible.

Now that I am wring this, I just thought of something rather important. Get a good or excellent fence. If you find an old saw without a good fence at a good price, get it and install a good fence. Additionally, a good outfeed table is quite important as well. Let us know what you end up with. Take care!

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I’m not sure what this is supposed to mean. Across this thread there are several suggestions for everything from Powermatic 66’s to a Ryobi BT3000. There are several iterations of contractor saws, including the ubiquitous ones from craftsman and Delta with the motor hanging off the back. A real 1 1/2Hp motor makes a many sawing tasks easy. 8/4 oak may need a good rip blade but it’s all doable. Table size is the same as a unisaw, and cost is much less.

The track saw debate blows my mind unless the OP‘s preferred material is sheet goods. I haven’t pulled my Makita track saw out in a few months, mostly because I’ve been working with solid lumber. Either way it seems the OP bailed on us.

Sorry, by "contractor saw" I was referring to the cheap lightweight saws your get with a stamped metal top and the stands that fold up to be put back in a job trailer. One you would see a contractor using on a job site, not one you would see in a garage or woodshop.

 

[neophyte]

Sorry, by "contractor saw" I was referring to the cheap lightweight saws your get with a stamped metal top and the stands that fold up to be put back in a job trailer. One you would see a contractor using on a job site, not one you would see in a garage or woodshop.

Usually the term “Contractor Table Saw” refers to the type of saw with a heavy cast iron top, snd possibly wings, were the top looks the same as on a traditional “Cabinet Saw”,
But lower section of the saw is different.
The lower section usually has a steel cabinet below the cast iron top, that may only be around 12”-18” high, in the past, usually with the motor sticking out of the rear of that steel cabinet,
Although this started getting enclosed later gor safety reasons,
And this section then sits upon an open set of steet steel or angle steel legs to which it is bolted.
This allowed the legs to be removed for easier more compact transport, and also reduced the total weight of the saw.
The motors were usually an induction motor from a manufacturer like Baldor (at least back in the day), although one that could run on a 15-20 amp 120v socket.
The cost was usually around 50-60% that of the same Brand of Cabinet saw with a similar motor.

 

[tarbellb]

Get yourself a nicer portable job site saw (see Dewalts hard to find 10" or similar) with rack n pinion fence system.

Build a good sized mobile work island for it to live in, also utilize the fence for a router table

Also good for more storage and project table

If you go that route spend a little extra on large quality casters

 

[jives]

Remodeling our church basement. Needed to match some old trim, patch and match holes in beaded wainscotting, and more. Required ripping 3/16" off a 1.5" wide board, re-sawing a 3/4" thick x 3" wide board down to 1/4" thick, making of outside corner trim, and other tasks that could not be done on a track saw or miter.

A used CM 113.*** series saw, or similar Delta contractor saw, $200 used on CL, can easily do all and does not take up a large amount of space in a 500 sq ft shop. It will be the most important and used tool in the woodshop.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Usually the term “Contractor Table Saw” refers to the type of saw with a heavy cast iron top, snd possibly wings, were the top looks the same as on a traditional “Cabinet Saw”,
But lower section of the saw is different.
The lower section usually has a steel cabinet below the cast iron top, that may only be around 12”-18” high, in the past, usually with the motor sticking out of the rear of that steel cabinet,
Although this started getting enclosed later gor safety reasons,
And this section then sits upon an open set of steet steel or angle steel legs to which it is bolted.
This allowed the legs to be removed for easier more compact transport, and also reduced the total weight of the saw.
The motors were usually an induction motor from a manufacturer like Baldor (at least back in the day), although one that could run on a 15-20 amp 120v socket.
The cost was usually around 50-60% that of the same Brand of Cabinet saw with a similar motor.

I stand corrected. I guess the term I was looking for was "jobsite" saw.

 

[asilker]

Hey everyone I am indeed still here. I've got young kids and a fairly active job so my involvement might be in short but intense spurts -- sorry about that

I've also been slow to respond because I am trying to follow up on the multitudinous suggestions within this thread

So -- I am choosing to aim for a more traditional table saw, I enjoy building speakers and amplification and furniture, and I would eventually like to get into higher quality furniture work, as well as walnut / oak / birch speaker cabinets. I also build guitars, and would prefer to have the full options available with (what I perceive to be) the "industry standard": a table saw.

With that being said, I am looking at cabinet saws as well as dust abatement/management.

I do not think I'll be able to handle a unisaw or 66 model, from the perspective of cost, logistics to move, and lack of flexibility in terms of shop set up. To be transparent, although money is tight, the sheer size of these machines is discouraging.

For someone without a pickup truck, does anyone have ideas for how I would move a unisaw or similar? If there's a viable way to do this, I am open to being convinced.

I'm not sure the op is coming back

OP has been laying out in the grass in the August heat during free time, but he has made a triumphant return to the internetosphere

 

[jar944]

Hey everyone I am indeed still here. I've got young kids and a fairly active job so my involvement might be in short but intense spurts -- sorry about that

I've also been slow to respond because I am trying to follow up on the multitudinous suggestions within this thread

So -- I am choosing to aim for a more traditional table saw, I enjoy building speakers and amplification and furniture, and I would eventually like to get into higher quality furniture work, as well as walnut / oak / birch speaker cabinets. I also build guitars, and would prefer to have the full options available with (what I perceive to be) the "industry standard": a table saw.
With that being said, I am looking at contractor saws as well as dust abatement/management.

I do not think I'll be able to handle a unisaw or 66 model, from the perspective of cost, logistics to move, and lack of flexibility in terms of shop set up. To be transparent, although money is tight, the sheer size of these machines is discouraging.

For someone without a pickup truck, does anyone have ideas for how I would move a unisaw or similar? If there's a viable way to do this, I am open to being convinced.


OP has been laying out in the grass in the August heat during free time, but he has made a triumphant return to the internetosphere

The size of a contractor saw and a cabinet saw are effectively the same. The contractor saw is a bit larger front to back with the motor hanging out the back.

 

[asilker]

The size of a contractor saw and a cabinet saw are effectively the same. The contractor saw is a bit larger front to back with the motor hanging out the back.

Oh sorry you are right. I meant to say cabinet saws. I've corrected my post above.

On a similar note though, do any of you folks have experience with dust collection nets or add-ons for contractor style saws? How effective is a rig like that?

 

[legenddc]

I have a contractor style saw (Ridgid 4512) but the motor is inside the cabinet. My shop is less than 200 square feet. The dust collection isn't great on it. I would need to put an overarm guard with a hose hookup over the blade to really improve it.

Without a pickup truck or being able to rent something, you could always take it apart into smaller pieces. Fence rails and wings should come off pretty easily. Hopefully you would have enough room to lay it down in the back of a SUV.

 

[neophyte]

Hey everyone I am indeed still here. I've got young kids and a fairly active job so my involvement might be in short but intense spurts -- sorry about that

I've also been slow to respond because I am trying to follow up on the multitudinous suggestions within this thread

So -- I am choosing to aim for a more traditional table saw, I enjoy building speakers and amplification and furniture, and I would eventually like to get into higher quality furniture work, as well as walnut / oak / birch speaker cabinets. I also build guitars, and would prefer to have the full options available with (what I perceive to be) the "industry standard": a table saw.

With that being said, I am looking at cabinet saws as well as dust abatement/management.

I do not think I'll be able to handle a unisaw or 66 model, from the perspective of cost, logistics to move, and lack of flexibility in terms of shop set up. To be transparent, although money is tight, the sheer size of these machines is discouraging.

For someone without a pickup truck, does anyone have ideas for how I would move a unisaw or similar? If there's a viable way to do this, I am open to being convinced.


OP has been laying out in the grass in the August heat during free time, but he has made a triumphant return to the internetosphere

If you have young children, make sure yo purchase a saw were you can padlock the on/off switch off for safety reasons.
Saws with blades that spin in a circular fashion like a tablesaw can grab and twist wood in unexpected ways, and easily injure a person.

 

[jives]

Any SUV with a hatch can move a contractor TS, perhaps even with the legs on. If it has a belt driven motor, either remove the motor or strap it tight. Lower/remove blade, slide saw on its cast iron top onto plywood on the SUV floor. Done it by myself, but 1000 x easier with another person.

 

[alinc100]

Again as has been written a cabinet saw like a Unisaw or PM66 or any of the clones Jet,Grizzly,etc take up less sqft than a contractors saw. They have mobile bases as an option and tuck against a wall as well(or better) than a contractors saw. A cabinet saw with the wings removed is only about 22" w x 27" deep(cast iron top),which would easily fit in an SUV. Persoanlly when I moved my Unisaw I found it easiest to push to the edge of my tailgate and them roll over resting the saw on the face down cast iron top. If I was moving locally/quickly I probably wouldn't go to that extreme. I think you will be hard pressed to get a portable/jobsite saw set up and as accurate as you'd like it to be for some of the finer builds you've mentioned. As far as budget goes here in SE MI a vintage Unisaw sold for $400 this last week. Currently there is a Biesmeyer fence system or two available within a $200 ish range. Many times you can find both together. Dust Collection and tables saw is a whole different set of variables.

 

[Hytekrednek]

I see many people scared to death of table saws to the point that they get a track saw and try to make it do things that are unsafe/awkward and should have been done on a table saw. I dont understand the very common extreme fear of table saws. Any bladed saw that can cut wood can and will cut fingers off easily. Learn to properly and safely use the table saw, and all saws, and get rid of the fear. Being nervous and afraid of the tool is likely to cause an accident.
I think if you have fear of a tool, then you have more learning to do. Respect and proper tool use !

 

[jar944]

Oh sorry you are right. I meant to say cabinet saws. I've corrected my post above.

On a similar note though, do any of you folks have experience with dust collection nets or add-ons for contractor style saws? How effective is a rig like that?

The dust collection on a cabinet saw is ok to marginal, so the contractor saws will be "less gooder" in that department.

 

[AEAdam]

I see many people scared to death of table saws to the point that they get a track saw and try to make it do things that are unsafe/awkward and should have been done on a table saw. I dont understand the very common extreme fear of table saws. Any bladed saw that can cut wood can and will cut fingers off easily. Learn to properly and safely use the table saw, and all saws, and get rid of the fear. Being nervous and afraid of the tool is likely to cause an accident.
I think if you have fear of a tool, then you have more learning to do. Respect and proper tool use !

Table saws are responsible for roughly 30,000 trips to the emergency each year in the US and 3,000 of those are amputations.

My personal experience as a pro woodworker was it wasn’t young knuckleheads who cut themselves. It was older experienced woodworkers who knew better and had a momentary lapse. Most of these guys remove their safety guards. Most don’t have riving knives. How many of you have removed your blade guards?

OP nice to have you back. If you must purchase a table saw, and I think it’s a bad idea for many reasons, think long and hard about a saw stop.

Really like and recommend Perkins Brothers Builders on YouTube. They are good carpenters and fun to watch. The one brother put his hand on the jointer without knowing it was on. The shop was so darned loud, he couldn’t hear anything. His injury was absolutely horrific. Look them up. I know probably a dozen woodworkers with missing finger tips from the jointer.

 

[jar944]

.

Really like and recommend Perkins Brothers Builders on YouTube. They are good carpenters and fun to watch. The one brother put his hand on the jointer without knowing it was on. The shop was so darned loud, he couldn’t hear anything. His injury was absolutely horrific. Look them up. I know probably a dozen woodworkers with missing finger tips from the jointer.

He also pinned the guard back iirc, which isn't the smartest thing to do on a jointer.

And since this is garage journal, just add a power feeder to your table saw if you don't want your hands near the spinny bits

 

[Mb4]

Table saws are great tools, especially expensive ones. But a track saw is a reasonable alternative, that produces high quality cuts and can be used for more than sheet goods. Dollar for dollar its the better choice versus sub $1000 tab.e saws.

For a woodworking shop where real woodworking is being done (not screwing MDF panels together) a track saw is not a reasonable alternative to a table saw. The table saw can do everything a track saw can do faster and more easily repeatable, and the table saw will do all sorts of joinery that are impossible with a track saw.

The best answer here is a used Delta Unisaw.

 

[jar944]

The table saw can do everything a track saw can do

Except cut a perfectly straight line without some other refrence.

Unless it's a slider..

 

[milkovich]

I know probably a dozen woodworkers with missing finger tips from the jointer.

I'm not a "sawstop" fanboy, but I'd buy a sawstop jointer immediately. Knowing them, they're probably waiting to find some patent loophole to exploit for 30 years before they release it.

 

[jar944]

I'm not a "sawstop" fanboy, but I'd buy a sawstop jointer immediately. Knowing them, they're probably waiting to find some patent loophole to exploit for 30 years before they release it.

Stopping a 1 lb saw blade at 4000rpm is very different than stopping a 5-50lb cutterhead at 4000rpm

 

[milkovich]

Stopping a 1 lb saw blade at 4000rpm is very different than stopping a 5-50lb cutterhead at 4000rpm

Even if that were that the case, you could drop the arbor like the Bosch Reaxx, or re-invent the jointer like the Rockwell Uniplane.

 

[AEAdam]

For a woodworking shop where real woodworking is being done (not screwing MDF panels together) a track saw is not a reasonable alternative to a table saw. The table saw can do everything a track saw can do faster and more easily repeatable, and the table saw will do all sorts of joinery that are impossible with a track saw.

The best answer here is a used Delta Unisaw.

Terrible post. Think about what that means to countless woodworkers. So those of us who don't have space for a table saw aren't doing "real woodworking". One can't be a "real woodworker" without a table saw? The only joinery possible with a track saw involves screwing MDF together?

I get your point, even though I disagree with it. But I absolutely detest the way you stated your opinion.

For you, for your woodworking, you've found your table saw invaluable. For the OP who's described him self as a luthier, who wants to do furniture in limited space, maybe repeatability/mass production isn't his chief concern. A band saw and a long hand plane could be an acceptable approach for him. And that's as "real woodworking" as you can get. A lot of very fine joinery is possible with a router, and a hand saw and a couple chisels. To get the same quality off a table saw, you typically need the most expensive models with the best blades and fences.

 

[jar944]

Even if that were that the case, you could drop the arbor like the Bosch Reaxx, or re-invent the jointer like the Rockwell Uniplane.

It's never going to happen because it's just not feasible to stop (or drop) that much rotating mass. Its the same with large bandsaws and even more problematic with shapers. Stopping a 8" diameter 40lb cutter that us spinning at 6000rpm is beyond the capability of the sawstop "throw a wrench Into the works" brake system. Best is the Altendorf but it's not instant, and in on a saw that is 20x the price of a sawstop.

Those uni-planes didn't work well and didn't leave a finish that was "finished", if they did they would have survived.

 

[Mb4]

Terrible post. Think about what that means to countless woodworkers. So those of us who don't have space for a table saw aren't doing "real woodworking". One can't be a "real woodworker" without a table saw? The only joinery possible with a track saw involves screwing MDF together?

Sorry, you're the one with the terrible post. You entirely missed the context and analysis. I'm not denigrating others' projects. The original poster describes wanting to do traditional woodworking with traditional hardwoods. Obviously, woodworking can be done entirely with hand tools, as I often do myself. But my post is about comparing a track saw to a table saw. The track saw is not appropriate for making tenons or countless other types of joinery safely and efficiently as compared to a table saw. It's a tool primarily designed for cutting sheet goods. That end, it is an effective tool but it's not the best choice for the OP who presumably will want to use their saw as the basis for most of their woodworking projects.

I get your point, even though I disagree with it. But I absolutely detest the way you stated your opinion.

Too bad. This is a discussion about the merits of different tools for their purpose, not a personal attack on anyone.

For you, for your woodworking, you've found your table saw invaluable. For the OP who's described him self as a luthier, who wants to do furniture in limited space, maybe repeatability/mass production isn't his chief concern.

Repeatability is a concern on a single furniture project. If one is making multiple tenons, or tapered legs, or whatever, being able to set the machine up and make repeatable cuts without having to readjust gives a decisive advantage to the table saw over the track saw.

A band saw and a long hand plane could be an acceptable approach for him. And that's as "real woodworking" as you can get.

Irrelevant. The title of this thread is "500 sq/ft table saw recommendations?". The original poster is looking for a table saw. Not a band saw. Therefore, a "band saw and a long hand plane" are obviously not an acceptable approach for him.

A lot of very fine joinery is possible with a router, and a hand saw and a couple chisels. To get the same quality off a table saw, you typically need the most expensive models with the best blades and fences.

A used Delta Unisaw can be had relatively inexpensively and will put the OP farther ahead than a track saw.

 

[Mb4]

Except cut a perfectly straight line without some other refrence.

Unless it's a slider..

An edge jointing jig works just fine.

 

[neophyte]

Table saws are responsible for roughly 30,000 trips to the emergency each year in the US and 3,000 of those are amputations.

My personal experience as a pro woodworker was it wasn’t young knuckleheads who cut themselves. It was older experienced woodworkers who knew better and had a momentary lapse. Most of these guys remove their safety guards. Most don’t have riving knives. How many of you have removed your blade guards?

OP nice to have you back. If you must purchase a table saw, and I think it’s a bad idea for many reasons, think long and hard about a saw stop.

Really like and recommend Perkins Brothers Builders on YouTube. They are good carpenters and fun to watch. The one brother put his hand on the jointer without knowing it was on. The shop was so darned loud, he couldn’t hear anything. His injury was absolutely horrific. Look them up. I know probably a dozen woodworkers with missing finger tips from the jointer.

One of the reasons jointers can be, and were dangerous, was because older jointer designs used an open ( ie. Non-round) cutterhead, which could grab huge amounts of material, or whole fingers or hands.
Modern jointers tend to use a round cutterhead with a safer design.
You can still loose a lot of flesh from a modern jointer, but it’s more likely to tear of a flat plane such as you skin, then to swallow a finger.
Due to the cost of large jointers, a lot of the older machines are still around, although there are companies that will make retrofittable cutterheads for the older machines.
The other safety issue is the jointer guards.
North American style guards swing out to the side, requiring the jointer user to push the stock over the cutterhead while standing right next to it, and possibly leaning, at least on larger jointers.
I also routinely see these partially chewed up by the cutterhead, or with aftermarket repairs or replacement, likely because they got in the way.
Euro guards are smaller and slimmer, and leave the cutterhead covered during a cut, but also leave more of a gap when jointing thick lumber.
I wouldn’t consider either design great.
Using a large “push stick” than looks like an old large wooden hand plane is probably you best bet for avoiding injury.
Also, if you need to joint short boards, buy a longer power hand planer and clamp the piece of wood in a vise, rather than trying to use the jointer, unless you have a small jointer made for small pieces of wood.

 

[jar944]

An edge jointing jig works just fine.

Which is a external (other) reference. I'm not in the one or other camp, you ideally have both.

 

[jar944]

One of the reasons jointers can be, and were dangerous, was because older jointer designs used an open ( ie. Non-round) cutterhead, which could grab huge amounts of material, or whole fingers or hands.
Modern jointers tend to use a round cutterhead with a safer design.
You can still loose a lot of flesh from a modern jointer, but it’s more likely to tear of a flat plane such as you skin, then to swallow a finger.
Due to the cost of large jointers, a lot of the older machines are still around, although there are companies that will make retrofittable cutterheads for the older machines.
The other safety issue is the jointer guards.
North American style guards swing out to the side, requiring the jointer user to push the stock over the cutterhead while standing right next to it, and possibly leaning, at least on larger jointers.
I also routinely see these partially chewed up by the cutterhead, or with aftermarket repairs or replacement, likely because they got in the way.
Euro guards are smaller and slimmer, and leave the cutterhead covered during a cut, but also leave more of a gap when jointing thick lumber.
I wouldn’t consider either design great.
Using a large “push stick” than looks like an old large wooden hand plane is probably you best bet for avoiding injury.
Also, if you need to joint short boards, buy a longer power hand planer and clamp the piece of wood in a vise, rather than trying to use the jointer, unless you have a small jointer made for small pieces of wood.

Square heads jointers went away in the 1920s. Sure some still exist but they are exceedingly rare.

 

[neophyte]

Square heads jointers went away in the 1920s. Sure some still exist but they are exceedingly rare.

I just looked up the some of Perkins Brothers videos showing the jointer.
There really looked like there was way too much free space around the insert cutterhead that was used as s replacement for the original cutterhead.
As for square head jointers, jointers are expensive, particularly large ones, and I suspect way more of the older ones still exist than you might think, although a bunch would have bern upgraded over time to a safer cuttinghead.

 

[jar944]

I just looked up the some of Perkins Brothers videos showing the jointer.
There really looked like there was way too much free space around the insert cutterhead that was used as s replacement for the original cutterhead.
As for square head jointers, jointers are expensive, particularly large ones, and I suspect way more of the older ones still exist than you might think, although a bunch would have bern upgraded over time to a safer cuttinghead.

Retrofit safety heads were the rage almost 100 years ago. Plenty of old jointers are around. I know a lot of people with old jointers (mine is from 1943), and square heads are just not that common. Finding a ball bearing jointer with a original square head will be a rare occurrence today, even a babbitt jointer will usually be a gib head.

 

[rancherbill]

Learn to properly and safely use the table saw, and all saws, and get rid of the fear. Being nervous and afraid of the tool is likely to cause an accident.

You learned safe practices for table saws in Junior High shop class. Very few people are safe 100% of the time.

 

[CGarage]

Festool track saw

 

[alinc100]

I have both a track saw and a table saw,which happens to be a 1946 Delta Unisaw,with a 52" Biesmeyer fence system,it runs on 110 v from the factory,no need to deal with 220v or commercial 3 phase power issues. For those suggesting a tracksaw ,let's say the OP has an oak billet 1.5" x 1.5" x 18" long, he needs to rip it into drawer dividers 1.5" h x 18" long by .25" thick. Which one of you is willing to hold the wood billet while the tracksaw is running? A tracksaw has benefits and purpose,but this isn't one of them.What if the OP wants to make 25 feet of cherry edgebanding 1/8" thick to wrap a speaker cabinet? Still think tracksaw is the method?

 

[AEAdam]

Maybe a better question would be, if the OP wants to rip a 4x8 sheet of MDF to make speaker cabinets, what's the minimum cheapest saw he can buy and not have wasted his money?

I have both a track saw and a table saw, which happens to be a 1946 Delta Unisaw,with a 52" Biesmeyer fence system,it runs on 110 v from the factory,no need to deal with 220v or commercial 3 phase power issues. For those suggesting a tracksaw ,let's say the OP has an oak billet 1.5" x 1.5" x 18" long, he needs to rip it into drawer dividers 1.5" h x 18" long by .25" thick. Which one of you is willing to hold the wood billet while the tracksaw is running? A tracksaw has benefits and purpose, but this isn't one of them. What if the OP wants to make 25 feet of cherry edgebanding 1/8" thick to wrap a speaker cabinet? Still think tracksaw is the method?

1) You are really better off with 1/4" birch plywood for those dividers. The resawed oak will probably warp anyway. I personally would rather do that task on a tool designed for that sort of cut, the bandsaw.
2) You can buy edge banding.

Not trying to dismiss your point. I can guarantee you most people asking questions about table saws haven't considered the alternatives. Woodworkers all know there are several ways to Sunday. Don't you think we owe it to the OP to discuss it? If it were up to me, I'd ask the OP for a sample of what he wants to build and go through it step by step. He might find he should be starting with other tools.

 

[Mb4]

The track saw debate blows my mind unless the OP‘s preferred material is sheet goods. I haven’t pulled my Makita track saw out in a few months, mostly because I’ve been working with solid lumber. Either way it seems the OP bailed on us.

Frankly, it’s bizarre. The OP clearly asks for table saw recommendations and gets a completely off topic, argumentative answer about a tool entirely unrelated to what the OP is looking for. No wonder the OP left the thread.

The OP wants to do traditional woodworking with hardwoods. Many of the cuts required are very difficult and time consuming to downright dangerous with a track saw and a total misuse of the tool.

 

[Mb4]

Don't you think we owe it to the OP to discuss it? If it were up to me, I'd ask the OP for a sample of what he wants to build and go through it step by step. He might find he should be starting with other tools.

No, we owe it to the OP to recommend a table saw because that is the tool he is looking for, not an inferior tool for his stated purpose.

 

[AEAdam]

No, we owe it to the OP to recommend a table saw because that is the tool he is looking for, not an inferior tool for his stated purpose.

I’m not familiar with the saw he wanted us to comment on. Not sure if it’s the $700 one or the $1500 one. I guess the point at which you all suggest $3000 saws (not a criticism) is the point I feel it’s appropriate to give the guy $700 alternatives.

I’ll say this then drop it: trust me. I’ve built A LOT of stuff without a table saw. It’s possible.

My ask is that we stay respectful and open minded for the sake of the OP. Not everybody has the space and cash for tools like we have. I’m really pointing this finger at myself. I have long advocated people should buy full sets of Snap On tools to change their oil. I’m learning from you guys. Like you in this thread, I too am defensive of, and not willing to give up, my “sacred cow” tools. So I understand.

Hypocritically, I feel the opposite about woodworking and have been VERY successful with tools most of you would step over if you saw them on the side walk. I’ve done everything from making woodworking tools, to furniture to boats, to the 6500Sf barn conversion I’m doing today.

One more thing: unlike mechanical work, woodworking has an industry press. Machine manufacturers advertise, attend conferences and trade shows and market the hell out of their (pretty expensive) products. Almost no where is the advice “you don’t need that”. Woodworkers tend to be older and affluent and they (we) love buying stuff for their hobby.