It probably depends on how good of a table saw you have. If it is a low end entry model you could probably ditch it. If it is a good machine it is probably better to keep it for the future if you like it.
Woodworkers Thread
- Thread starter AgronAlum
- Start date
It's a Ridgid hybrid saw that they don't even make anymore. It's ok, the fence is kind of **** in my opinion and takes a lot of work to get a parallel cut to the blade. It works pretty well for crosscuts though. Back when I was using a table saw a lot more I had been considering getting rid of it for a Sawstop or a Laguna.
As if any of us needed an excuse it might be a reason to get rid of it until you can justify the one you want. Table saw has it's place in the shop but could get by without it until you get one of the other ones.
Do you do any segmented bowls in your wood turning? I can’t imagine trying to glue one up without a table saw. I have a 12 inch Dewalt non-slider and the precision won’t match what I can do with my table saw (old 10 inch craftsman.
Interesting discussion today and each individuals goals are different than the next, so each will have their own opinion. Without sounding like an ass, you are deciding whether you want to dedicate your space to woodworking or car restoration, not if you should keep your table saw. I don’t know how I would achieve these cuts without a table saw
Thank you, I have more patience than skill. I'm sure MRamsay can turn circles around my woodturning skills and I haven't even seen his work
I used to use Formby's tung oil. It is labeled as tung oil but is not actually pure tung oil. It provided a very respectable finish when fresh but not so much when using up the balance of an already opened container. Currently using Minwax tung oil which seems to hold it's luster regardless of if it is the first application from the can or the last. There are probably better finishes out there but this suffices for me.
Those segmented bowls look great. I was doing a few of those for a while but post covid I've mainly been harvesting bowl blanks from the city yard waste site. Mostly due to the material being free other than the gas in my chainsaw. If i was doing more of those then a table saw is a must.
You're right though I'm having a bit of an existential crisis around what I really want to dedicate my garage space to. Part of that is what compromises do I want to make. I've enjoyed woodworking for quite a while, but I've also got the itch to do something else for a while as well.
Decent sale going on if any of you need some Jessem products:
https://taytools.com/collections/jessem
https://taytools.com/collections/jessem
Flipping thru the sales made me reflect on my woodworking hobby. Countless enjoyable hours of trying to fashion something from what used to be a tree, with attention to detail and trying to near perfection, garnered me a reputation that procured a couple of "finish work" jobs as a side hustle that more than paid for my total investment over the years in my tools. Because I've never had the means to spend as freely as I would have liked, my tool purchases would have made my depression era grandparents proud. My hobby dollars also had to be shared with my hunting and fishing obsession's. Trying to finish a project with the tools I have is always part of the equation, and sometimes the most rewarding part (to me). My table saw, lathe and jointer were a total investment of less than $400 and probably still available for that price on Ebay or Marketplace. An upgrade to the fence on my saw would approach (or exceed) that, but I don't deem it a necessity. A $5000 table saw would be nice, but I don't believe it would make me a better woodworker/craftsman, and as of this writing, I still have all my fingers, LOL.
I have both (SawStop table saw and DeWalt track saw). The track saw is a very handy tool, to be sure. I primarily use mine to break down sheet goods. I've been building my kitchen cabinets for a couple years and having the track saw saved me a ton of time for breaking down those 4x8 sheets. If I have a wide, warped rough sawn board, I'll break it down with the track saw because it will bind if I try to use the table saw.
I use my table saw fairly frequently. Where I think it's needed in lieu of the track saw is squaring stock. The blade on the track saw is flimsy and the track has enough play that I wouldn't trust it to give me a true square edge. Of course, the importance of all that depends on the work you're undertaking.
Same goes for repetitive cuts. If I'm making face frames for cabinets, they all need to be exactly the same width. You can easily lose/gain 1/16th or more during setup on the track saw. My DeWalt track probably has 1/16th of play in the track alone.
TLDR; depends on what you're doing. There's a case to be made to ditch the table saw if the work you're doing doesn't require it.
Side note: In the last few years, I've used a hand saw more and more to break down rough sawn boards. It ends up being so much faster simply by requiring 0 setup.
