Whether you work in construction or take up DIY home projects, you will need the appropriate tools and equipment to do a good job. To get the best results out of your craftsmanship, you need to get high-quality equipment. Your equipment should function well and allow you to create precisely measured custom work.
This is particularly the case when you’re working with wooden sheets or boards. You want the right tools that allow you to work efficiently and quickly without lowering the quality of your projects.
The crafts you create are a reflection of your skill and you want people to appreciate your work so that you get higher sales. Even if you are only planning to craft wooden work for your home, you don’t want it to look awkward right?
If you work with wood often, you will need a tool that makes it easier for you to cut your sheets at a precise angle. When cutting your boards is easier, you can focus your energies on the art itself. One of the most important tools that you will need to invest in is a table saw.
Types of Table Saws
Table saws for wooden work come in different shapes and sizes. They can be divided on the basis of portability, functionality or both.
- Stationary table saws are the biggest in size and offer the most functionality due to motor size and power. They are designed to stay in one place and allow the most functional utility. Most woodshops and commercial furniture stores use stationary table saws to produce their wares.
- Jobsite saws offer a combination of functionality and portability. They are medium sized table saws that can be moved to a customer’s site for working on wooden projects.
- Contractor saws are similar to jobsite saws but bigger in size and feature more powerful motors. They are not meant for frequent portability and offer professional-grade cutting.
- Benchtops are the smallest in size and lightweight, making them easy to move around. However, the motor on these table saws is quite small, limiting the ripping capacity of the saw. They are good for light projects at home, but not ideal for professional quality cutting.
- Cabinet saws are fit into a cabinet making them stationary. They are quite heavy, use powerful machines and allows very precise cutting. The quality of work is the best.
Makita Table Saws
Makita is a renowned Japanese manufacturer that produces everything from power tools to heavy-duty manufacturing machines. Their metal and wood crafting tools are some of the best in the world. They also offer drilling, grinding, routering, planing, and dust extraction equipment.
Their tabletop saws are quite advanced and offer high-quality cutting functionality. We cover 5 of their best tabletop saws that will help you complete amazing wooden projects quickly.
Makita Table Saw 2704
The Makita Table Saw 2704 model has been around for a while and received favorable reviews from many professionals. Makita replaced it with Makita table saw 2708, but the older version remains popular with the users. It has a powerful saw that can cut through the toughest wood with ease.
The blade diameter is around 10” and it can generate a power of 4,800 RPM. The blade is capable of making angled cuts and can be adjusted to cut from 45° – 90°. The work area on the table is quite big and around 26” x 18.12”. It weighs just over 37 lbs.
This table saw is quite easy to install and put together. The model has been discontinued by the manufacturer but you can still find a used table saw for anywhere between $500 and $900. It comes with an instructions manual that provides product details and how to set it up. You can find the manual online for free.
It has a ton of features and most components can be connected together. The blade speed can also be adjusted for different cutting requirements with a miter gauge. Some of its component parts are still being sold by the manufacturer.
Click the link below to check the latest price and offers.
Makita Table Saw 2705
Very few models can compare to Makita 2705 when it comes to sheer power and cutting capacity. It includes a 15-amp powerful motor that can generate roughly 4,800 RPM. This is more than enough to cut through any type of hardwood. The table top is quite big and easily allows precision cutting. The surface area is completely flat which means you won’t have any problems with uneven cuts.
The saw is easy to set up and casual or DIY users will love it for its ease of operations. Professionals, on the other hand, will admire it for its precision and accuracy. The model allows a lot of versatility when it comes to the type of project you want to work on.
Tests show that the model is powerful enough to rip through even 4 wooden boards stacked together in one go. It has dual dado blades of size 6 x 13 and 6 x 16.
It also has a 3/8 x 3/4 inch T-slot miter gauge for precision adjustment with grooves that support material for a variety of crosscutting jobs.
The saw can be purchased at Amazon.com. Click below to see the latest price and offers.
Makita Table Saw 2703
Makita Table Saw 2703 is a deluxe quality tabletop saw that comes with a powerful blade and offers good workspace. It comes with an integrated PVC base, carbide blade, and magnesium table. The powerful 15 amp motor can generate up to 4,500 RPM at no load.
The model offers an advanced belt-driven motor system for smoother operation and optimum level power transfer. It includes an electric brake that will give you maximum productivity, a rip fence and miter gauge with hard stops at 45° and 90°.
The 27.5” x 22” deeper table provides a bigger surface area that allows you to work on a wider variety of projects. It also includes a built-in storage drawer that allows you to keep accessories within easy reach.
The blade is 10 inches in diameter. This tabletop saw is quite powerful. If you often work on bigger, professional quality projects, then this is the model to get.
The model is slightly expensive despite having been discontinued by the manufacturer.
It can be purchased from Amazon, click below to check latest price and offers.
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Makita SP6000J 6-1/2
The SP6000J range of circular tabletop saws was developed as a low-cost alternative to the powerful 2705 range of tabletop saws.
If you are interested to learn more about circular saws, then you can have a look at this article where we talk about our top picks in the market today, as well as this one where you can see the differences between miter saws, table saws and circular saws.
This tabletop saw offers precise and smooth straight cutting when combined with a guide rail. The 12-amp motor generates 750-watt power and the spinning blade’s speed can operate in the range between 2, 000 and 5,200 RPM.
The portable saw weighs about 10 lbs. and it can be carried around to any project site with ease. It is designed for cutting sheet material, trimming and remodeling existing projects.
The ability to move it around makes this saw ideal for finishing work. The angle of the saw is designed to enter material on the same cutting line whether you make a straight or bevel cut. It has a built-in depth stop that allows a preliminary cut of 1/6th of an inch to be made into the entire sheet is cut, which makes it quite handy.
This saw is available for purchase at Amazon.
Makita 10” Compound Miter Saw
The LS1040 Flip over Saw is designed for versatility. It offers a combination of a table and miter saw that is powered by a 15 amp motor. It can generate up to 4,600 RPM, ideal for cutting big sheets and hardwood.
The 10-inch compound miter saw can make a variety of angled cuts to a maximum of 0-45 degrees on the left and 0-52 on the right. The maximum thickness for bevel cutting is just over 2 inches while miter cuts can be made for a thickness of just over 5 inches.
The LS1040 is a versatile workshop machine and ideal for all types of project site wooden work. It can also be used for the first and second fix.
It weighs about 32 lbs. and easy to move to a project site. It has good ratings at Amazon.
Additional Factors to Consider When Buying a Tabletop Saw
There are four major brands for high-quality tabletop saws; Bosch, Makita, DEWALT and Shop Fox. If you’ve been trying to compare their features and can’t figure out which one to buy here are some additional factors that you should consider to make the choice easier.
Table Flatness
A flat surface is crucial for getting precise and accurate cuts. A flat surface holds the wooden sheets tightly in place and prevents the wood from bending. Even the slightest warping can lead to huge changes in the final product after you’ve made all the cuts.
The best tables with perfectly flat surfaces come in the cast-iron variety. The metal tables tend to be the most durable and do not bend with time and usage.
Fence
The table saw fence system allows you to align the wood perfectly before it contacts the blade. Most manufacturers do not include a good fence in their product and you will probably have to buy one later. However, some models do come with a fence that can save you the trouble of browsing for one later.
When buying a tabletop saw, find out how easy it would be to get a compatible fence for it.
Dust Collection
Table saws create a lot of dust during operation. If you are working in a woodshop or outside at a worksite, that may not be an issue. However, if you are working inside your home or at a client’s premises, you may want to invest in a model that has a built-in dust collection capability.
Some tabletop saws come with a dust bag that you can empty later. It may not be the most efficient system, but it does get the job done. Other models come with an internal dust collection unit that funnels dust towards a port. All the wood chips end up inside the unit. While it is more efficient and doesn’t create a lot of dust, the dust stored inside can affect the performance if it is not cleaned regularly.
Miter Gauges
Miter gauges are used to make angled cuts and offer you much better versatility in your crafting. They generally offer a cutting angle between 45 and 90 degrees. The best and most expensive tabletop saws have a miter gauge that has hard stops at 45 and 90-degree angles.
The best miter gauges will serve you well for a long time while others are flimsy and fail to hold the correct angle during cuts. If your projects are going to involve a lot of angled cutting, get the tabletop with the right miter gauge.
Beveling
Some table tops can be used to cut bevels by changing the angle of the blade during a run. Most models, especially the portable ones include the option to change the angle perpendicular to the table.
This is generally accomplished with the help of a handle at the front of the unit that is rotated along a track to change the angle while wood is passing through the blade.