Best Beginner Table Saw

The table saw is a foundational piece for most woodworking shops. As such, it is often an early purchase.

This creates a conundrum. It’s a central piece that matters tremendously yet is often bought at a time when people are just starting out and not sure what to look for in a table saw.

This makes good information on beginner table saws especially important. Below, we try to provide you with good information on a number of table saws and general information on selecting a good first table saw.

Best Tables Saws for Beginners Reviews

1. DEWALT 10-Inch Table Saw, 16-Inch Rip Capacity (DW745) – Editor’s choice

At just 45 pounds and with a small footprint, this model is extremely lightweight and portable. It can go almost anywhere.

Small table saws are often classified as “job site” tools. In other words, they are intended to go where the work is rather than remaining in a workshop.

However, they are often fairly heavy and on a wheeled base, limiting where they can reasonably go. Not so with this unit.

It can easily be carried upstairs or almost anywhere because it is designed to be hand-carried. This table saw includes a steel roll cage to protect it in the event of being dropped while en route.

It features a powerful 1850 watt motor, rack and pinion fence system and the ability to make bevel cuts from 0° to 45°. It provides the ability to rip large sheet material.

The unique telescoping fence system allows for the ability to rip full sheets. It then retracts for ease of portability.

This saw has on-board storage for all components. You can connect a Shop-Vac to it via a handy 2.5-inch port.

Recommendation

Recommended for anyone needing a portable unit that can go almost anywhere. Recommended for tight spaces where a larger unit wouldn’t fit.

Pros:

• Comes with a 10-inch 24-tooth carbide blade.
• Provides accurate, reliable performance.
• Highly portable.
• Includes onboard storage for all accessories.
• Unique fence system supports a huge 20-inch rip capacity, then retracts for ease of transport.
• Comes with a 3-year limited warranty.

Cons:

• Does not include a stand.
• There is a possible defect that makes it a bad idea to remove the plastic blade guard.
• It does a poor job of dust collection.

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2. Bosch Power Tools 4100-10 Tablesaw – Best Lightweight Portable Table Saw

If you need a table saw that not only can go to the job site but can also move around the job site at will, this may be the one for you. The wheeled stand features single-action take down and set up, adjustable height and 8-inch treaded wheels, making it easy to move around at will to wherever you need it to be.

The 15 Amp, 4 HP motor runs the saw at 3,650 RPM, giving it plenty of power for whatever ripping and cutting job you have in mind. Large aluminum cast top supports a 25-inch ripping capacity.

The Smart Guard System is the first modular table saw blade guard. Additional safety features include a riving knife and anti-kickback pawls. The circuitry provides a soft start, which reduces the odds of overloading the electrical wiring, and is also designed to maintain speed under load.

The design of the Squarelock rip fence allows for single-handed operation and improves cut trueness. It is an efficient and high-precision tool.

Recommendation

Recommended as a solid table saw. Recommended if portability and mobility are very important to how you expect to use your table saw.

Pros:

• Comes with gravity-Rise Wheeled Stand with 8″ treaded tires.
• Can be easily moved around.
• The table is wide, supporting 25″ rips, and height-adjustable.
• Provides onboard storage for accessories.

Cons:

• The top is aluminum, not iron.
• The riving knife cannot be removed but can be slid away from the blade to support dado cuts.
• Some people find it hard to adjust.

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3. Bosch 10-Inch Portable Jobsite Table Saw GTS1031 – Best Model For Taking All The Tools In A Single Trip

This model is lightweight, compact and designed to be carried one-handed. So if you are hoping to carry the table saw in one hand and your toolbox in the other, this may be the right saw for you.

It has a 24-tooth, 10-inch saw blade for ripping up to 18″ wide materials. The rip fend has a self-aligning design to support accuracy. Safety features include a Smart Guard, riving knife and anti-kickback pawls.

The model offers onboard storage for the miter gauge, smart guard, rip fence and wrenches. This helps make sure you have what you need when you need it while keeping things out of your way.

Recommendation

Recommended if you need a lightweight, space-efficient model. Also, recommended if you have some reason to want a table saw that can be carried one-handed.

Pros:

• Can be carried one-handed.
• Includes onboard storage.
• Has a shop vac port to support efficient dust removal.
• Includes a push stick.

Cons:

• Does not have a soft start.
• It gets mixed reviews for purposes of building furniture.

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4. Bosch 10-Inch Worksite Table Saw 4100-09 with Gravity-Rise Wheeled Stand – Best Still-In-Demand Discontinued Model

This is a discontinued older version of the Bosch 4100-10, which is the #2 model reviewed above. These models are so similar, it’s hard to even figure out what changed.

They both come with a stand and 8-inch treaded penultimate wheels, making them both highly portable. Also, they both provide a large surface area suitable for ripping stock up to 25 inches wide. Both models have some of the same excellent safety features.

One of the things that changed is the saw blade. It went from 48 teeth on the 4100-9 to 24 teeth on the 4100-10. The older model has a metal blade guard. The newer model has a lighter weight nylon blade guard.

The big change is that the new stand is two inches shorter than the old one. It was made smaller to be lighter weight and more portable. This video provides a quick rundown of the changes.

It’s possible that some people will want to buy this discontinued model for a price break. More likely, it will be bought by people who want a taller stand or prefer a 48 tooth saw blade or prefer a metal blade guard to a nylon one.

Recommendation

Recommended for people who want the taller stand or other features only available on the older model.

Pros:

• It seems to have most or all of the same great features as the 4100-10.
• It’s portable, efficient and has a wide rip capacity.
• You may be able to get it for less money than the newer replacement model.

Cons:

• It’s discontinued.
• It’s heavier than its replacement model.

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5. DEWALT 10-Inch Table Saw, 32-1/2-Inch Rip Capacity (DWE7491RS) – Best Heavy-Duty Portable Table Saw

This model weighs a full 90 pounds yet remains portable due to the brilliant design of its heavy-duty wheeled stand. If you need something more like a permanently installed table saw but need to be portable, this may be the saw for you.

It provides a 32.5″ rip capacity, 4800 RPM no-load speed, telescoping fence rails, and on-board storage.

Recommendation

Recommended if you need a portable table saw that is the best of both worlds, offering stability like a non-portable saw.

Pros:

• Comes with a 3-year limited warranty.
• Has onboard storage for accessories.
• More heavy-duty than most portable table saws.

Cons:

• It’s quite heavy, so be prepared to deal with the weight.
• May be a bit much for some beginners.

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6. SKIL 3410-02 10-Inch Table Saw with Folding Stand – Best Budget Model

If the price is a major sticking point, this may be the model for you. It is a more basic model that comes with a stand.

It’s a good tool for the money but may not have the bells and whistles that some of the others have. It features on-board tool storage, a miter gauge, and self-aligning rip fence.

Recommended if you need a basic table saw. Recommended if you have a tight budget.

Pros:

• Good basic table saw at an affordable price.
• Comes with a folding stand.

Cons:

• Does not have a dust collection system.
• The stand does not have wheels.
• The directions aren’t the best.

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7. Shop Fox W1819 3 HP 10-Inch Table Saw with Riving Knife – Best 10-Inch Workshop Saw

This is a high-quality model designed to remain in one place. It comes with features not available on portable models.

It requires a 220-volt outlet. If you don’t have one, getting it wired is an extra expense. However, this means you will have less risk of tripping a circuit breaker than with 110-volt saws.

It comes with a blade guard, splitter, riving knife, wide span T-fence system with positive camlock and nylon runners. The magnetic switch provides thermal overload protection.

The unit features a 29.5″ rip capacity. The miter fence has a flip stop.

Recommendation

Recommended if you are looking for a 10″ table saw to permanently install in a workshop. Not recommended if you are looking for a portable job site table saw.

Pros:

• Designed to be a permanent fixture in a shop.
• Very high-quality 10″ table saw with more features than a portable model.
• Comes with a 2-year warranty.

Cons:

• Not portable.
• Requires a 220-volt outlet, which may be an extra expense.
• Requires more space than any of the other models here.
• Some people feel the photos in the manual are less than stellar.

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Buyer’s Guide

Because the table saw is so central to the functioning of a shop, you should try to allocate as much budget to the purchase as you reasonably can. It will be money well spent that will help create the best possible workshop.

Safety First

If you aren’t careful, using a table saw can leave you missing one or more fingers. So you should be very concerned with safety features, and proper use of a table saw.

Look for safety features like a blade guard, riving knife, and pawls to help prevent kickback. The power switch should be large and designed in a manner conducive to an emergency to shut off, such as a paddle switch that can be pushed with a knee to turn it off. This frees up your hands to focus on controlling the material being cut.

For most low-end table saws, the quality of the fence is a make-or-break detail. A poor fence can promote dangerous kickbacks. It should remain parallel to the blade at all times and offer fine-tuning controls. A T-style (AKA Biesemeyer-style) fence is one high-quality option.

The Surface

The work surface should be both smooth and hard-wearing. The surface is typically cast iron or aluminum, and it is standard practice to wax the surface periodically.

Our Best Choice

Our favorite is number 1. Bosch Power Tools 4100-10 Tablesaw – 10 inch Jobsite Table Saw with 25 Inch Cutting Capacity and Portable Folding Stand. This model is popular; it appears in different guises in our list twice. It’s an excellent tool, and we love the portability and ease of setup.