There are four main criteria when looking at table saws: fit, safety, size, and dust collection.
Let’s look at all four of those factors.
Fit
If a table saw is made sloppily, it won’t produce accurate cuts.
Without accurate cuts, your wood won’t fit together properly, and you’ll curse the day you bought a cheap saw!
The three main areas to look at are the miter gauge, rip fence, and the table’s flatness
Miter Gauge
You use the miter gauge to ensure that your measurements are accurate, so if anything is out-of-square with the miter gauge, your entire operation will be inaccurate.
This can be especially frustrating since a lot of a table saw’s versatility comes from the miter gauge.
The miter gauge should be sturdy and lock up tight. There should also be no slop in the miter slots.
The actual shape of the miter slots doesn’t matter, so long as the miter gauge fits well in them.
Rip Fence
Like the miter gauge, the rip fence can be moved to different positions based on how you need a specific piece of wood cut.
Make sure that it sits tight and square when tightened.
Also, repeatability is important. If you can move the fence from one position to another then back to the first without being off by 1/16″, you’ll have consistent cuts.
Finally, if you work with thin wood pieces often, ensure that the fence sits close enough to the table to stop the wood.
Flatness
Table saws have a table. In order for your cuts to be accurate, that table needs to be flat to within 0.005″.
Otherwise, one end will lift the piece of wood up and mess up your angles just enough to muck up the whole project.
Often there are table extensions; these need to fit tightly and be square with the central table as well.
Safety
A metal saw blade spinning at thousands of RPM can cut through more than just wood.
My most important consideration when looking at a new table saw is safety.
Will it endanger my life to use?
Also, is the safety equipment easy to use?
A blade guard that blocks your sight or gets stuck in the way is almost worse than no blade guard at all!
Blade Guards
A blade guard covers the top of the saw blade so only enough to cut the wood is uncovered.
That way, even if you bump into the saw blade, you won’t lose a hand.
You want a clear blade guard that is easy to see through. It should also move out of the way easily when you need it to.
Emergency Stop Switch
A large, easily seen and pressed stop switch is another vital emergency feature. If something unexpected happens, you need to be able to turn off the saw immediately, not in a bit.
For this reason, I appreciate paddle-style switches which can be activated using your leg.
Sometimes you don’t have enough hands to do everything at once and a well-positioned switch lets you turn the blade off with your knee.
Riving Knife or Splitter
Both riving knives and splitters sit behind the saw blade to prevent wood from closing up and getting caught in the rear of the blade then kicking back at you.
A splitter is simply a piece of metal that sits behind the saw somewhere while a riving knife is a more advanced piece of metal that moves as you move the saw blade.
Both will help prevent kickback but a riving knife is more effective.
Anti-Kickback Pawls
Unless you’re only partially sawing through wood or making a dado cut, an anti-kickback pawl can help prevent a kickback incident.
These pawls sit to the side, behind the saw, above the wood. They have teeth underneath that face one direction.
As long as the wood travels in the direction it should, the pawls just lightly scrape the top of the wood. But if the wood kicks back, the teeth catch the wood to prevent it from moving anywhere.
A good thing about anti-kickback pawls is that though they don’t come with most table saws, it’s easy to install your own.
Blade Brakes
What if the other safety mechanisms fail and your hand touches the blade anyway?
With a normal table saw, the saw does nasty things to your limb.
However, if you have a SawStop blade brake cartridge attached to your table saw, the blade stops immediately and your hand is saved!
The blade will be damaged in the process but replacing a saw blade is much better than visiting the emergency room.
Size
The size of the saw depends on what you’re going to do with it.
Generally, the larger the saw, the better. A larger saw will be heavier and therefore less likely to move during use, so you’ll cut more accurately.
However, not everyone has room for a giant saw in their shop.
Also, if you need to transport the saw to a job site, something compact will work better for you than a huge contractor’s saw.
Dust Collection
It’s a good idea to wears a dust mask even if your table saw has a built-in dust collection system
An often-overlooked factor in choosing table saws is how well it deals with the dust.
Sawdust is an inevitable result from cutting wood. Left uncollected, it can gunk up your motor and lead to overheating.
The best table saws are not portable. They weigh hundreds of pounds, which gives them the stability of a grizzly bear.
The appropriately named Grizzly G0690 is the best cabinet-style table saw. Everything under the table is enclosed for optimum dust collection, with a 4″ dust port.
The 3 HP Leeson motor can saw through the densest wood with ease.
Everything under the saw is solid, with a triple belt drive and cast iron trunnions.
For safety, there is a blade guard, a riving knife, and an emergency stop at knee height.
The saw is set up for a lifetime of use. The cast iron top has been hardened and the fence assembly is reinforced with nylon runners.
You can even add on a mobile base with wheels, if you want to.
Pros
Extremely stable
Powerful motor
High machining standards
Easy to adjust and tune
Cons
Long assembly time
Extremely heavy and hard to move, even with the mobility base accessory
Summary
The Grizzly G0690 is a powerful, well-made cabinet table saw that won’t spew dust all over your workshop.
SawStop doesn’t just make saw brakes, they make full-size table saws.
Their contractor saw is a massive beast that can handle 36″ rip cuts. It is over five feet wide and almost two feet deep.
If you order the SawStop Contractor Saw, it will be shipped in multiple packages that, together, weigh almost 350 lbs. The heaviest piece is over 100 lbs.
All of that weight is great for stability, even though this is a somewhat-portable contractor’s saw. This saw passes the nickel test.
That’s when you place a nickel on its edge the table and turn the saw on. If the vibrations from the motor don’t cause the nickel to fall over, congratulations! The saw passes the test.
That’s despite the power behind the blade. It comes stock at 1.75 horsepower but can hit 4 HP after upgrading to use 220V!
For safety, there’s a riving knife and the on/off switch is a large paddle at knee-height, making it easy to hit in an emergency.
There’s even a lockout key to prevent unauthorized use.
The table saw comes with a stand and can be upgraded with a wheeled mobility kit or a cart for maximum mobility. You can also upgrade the dust collection abilities and add on two wings for greater surface area.
Also, this saw includes the SawStop emergency saw brake. It uses electricity to detect conductive surfaces, namely the human body, which triggers the module to stop the saw in under 5 milliseconds!
Pros
SawStop safety system to prevent injury
Very stable
Under-table shrouding and optional dust collection upgrades let you use this saw indoor or outdoors without worrying about sawdust
Multiple mobility options are available
Massive and complete manual you can download from the SawStop website
Cons
Expensive
Assembly may require two people
Upgrading to 220V power requires ordering an unlisted item (part CNS-WA-014)
Too-wet wood can trip the blade brake
Summary
SawStop’s Contractor Saw may be expensive, but it’s large, powerful, well-made, and extremely safe.
Hybrid table saws try to combine the adjustability and stability of cabinet saws with the portability of contractor saws.
The Shop Fox W1837 has a partially enclosed cabinet with a built-in stand and three cammed wheels.
This saves weight over a full-cabinet table saw and lets you move it around easily by yourself, though don’t expect to load it into a truck unassisted.
The wings are precision-ground cast iron but don’t extend all the way to the end of the rip fence’s limit. That also saves weight, just don’t drop your wood through the hole!
That rip fence locks in both the front and the rear, but some people have had trouble getting it square.
The blade guard and anti-kickback pawls can both be changed in an instant. There is also a riving knife and a stop button near your knee.
The trunnions are mounted to the cabinet for stability and adjustability. That cabinet also has a 4″ dust port.
Pros
Surprisingly portable for its size and power
Comes with casters
Powerful and quiet
Cons
Not as stable as a full cabinet saw
Middling dust collection ability
Some reviewers had problems getting the rip fence square
Summary
If you need a very capable saw, but still want to move it around, the Shop Fox W1837 is a great choice.
Overall, the best table saw on this list is the SawStop Contractor Saw. You get the most power, stability, and safety from them.
However, you’ll need to purchase multiple accessories to make it as mobile as possible and collect all of the dust, so it’s also the most expensive choice.
If you don’t have a thousand dollars to spend on a table saw, the overall best choice is the Dewalt DWE7491RS.
Though it’s very portable, it doesn’t give up anything to achieve that portability. Its biggest weakness is the lackluster dust collection.
If you are on a tight budget and only have a couple hundred dollars to spend then the Craftsman Evolv will suffice.
Though it doesn’t punch with the big boys, it’s more than enough to get small tasks done well.