You can jobsite sawstops and Bosch reflex has similar technology and that is a jobsite saw.

I have pinball and woodworking as hobbies and seriously contemplating selling my sof to get a sawstop cabinet saw.

Since woodworking is my passion, when we built our house I had my shop pre-wired with a 220 outlet in anticipation of getting a real cabinet saw. However, space is such a premium that I've just kept my old Bosch portable. Riving knife always on, pawls on, guard always on, unless not possible (e.g dado). However, I also have a track saw to break down sheet goods and use it run one true edge when breaking down lumber (I had a jointer but I was never really satisfied with the results). As someone else noted, the biggest drawbacks of the Bosch are the size of the table and the fence. The fence is definitely serviceable, but I do think about how I would hook up an Incra fence (highly recommend one of these for a router table)

I had a look at the Bosch reflex. More than double the price of the standard model

As long as you have a table or flip top.. best is a second person. Ripping 4x8 sheets is no problem

1.5 horsepower will drive a 2x4 right through you AND cut off you fingers as a bonus.

Nobody in this hobby is poor.

$1050 for the little Sawstop is a bargain.

$2000 for the regular Sawstop is the price of 2 playfields.

$2850 for the big boy is the price of a pin that you will never play, yet you keep around to make your collection look full should someone actually come over.

Look on Craigslist, there are a zillion Powermatics and Unisaws for sale; yet the most popular cabinet saw in the USA has one and it's 300 miles away.

Mine got caught and shot back and hit me in the stomach (I referred to it in an earlier post). I was stunned initially, then checked and it had just made a tiny hole that was bleeding, that was it. I put some bandages on it, told my wife that night that I couldn't believe it hadn't left more of a mark. The next morning I had a six inch bruise around the hole.

You are lucky to still be with us.

Too bad you don't have pictures for the "close calls" woodworker threads, that would be a hit!

It certainly can. I’m not saying the portable isn’t dangerous, however most of the time you can feel the resistance setting in giving you time to react.

If you have the space, the extra cash and the 220v ready to go and want it permanently set up, a shop saw is much nicer to cut on, no question.

I have a pretty crazy finger picture. Wasn't thinking and football gripped (3 fingers on top) a thin piece of walnut ~1/2" on a jointer. Piece kicked back and in my fingers went. Nailside first. Lost the nail down to the bone and actually put a radius in the bone tip.

Once second of not thinking and you pay. Grr-rippers from that day on and slowing the F down. Was trying to make some gifts for Christmas and was rushing.

Also had one of the best hand surgeons around Boston fix me up.

Is it against rules to post horribly gruesome photos?

Ouch. Yes, anyone can get hurt on powe tools. Glad they fixed you up

This is Pinside, at least 15% of photos are gruesome

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SF2 is slightly more gruesome

X-ray showing radius. They took some skin from my forearm. After graft scabbed over i'm like this won't end well. And how they look now. Have full feeling in them still. To boot it's a weird feeling to "feel" on the tops of your fingers. Where the nail is missing on my index finger when things touch it, it's an odd feeling as you always have a nail there to protect it.

So Learn from my mistakes and take safety very seriously. If you can't fall back on sawstop tech then just listen to these posts and be safe, methodical and keep your eye on the ball.

Please don't mind the paint in the cuticles. Painting the kitchen.

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Ridgid table saw with riving knife and several table saw sleds . Also make yourself a zero insert plate. Paste wax on tabletop to keep sleds moving smoothly. Also get a kickass blade for your tablesaw. World of difference from stock blade

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Yeah, forgot to mention, I use Forrest Woodworker II blade...I also use their sharpening service. A good sharp blade is worth the investment.

My other hobby is woodworking, here's mine:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-3HP-220V-Cabinet-Table-Saw-with-Riving-Knife/G0690

Next door neighbor has the same hobby and he has a saw stop. He's tripped the safety charge 3 times so far, not one was an actual limb saving situation. Wet wood, nail, etc.

Saw Stop - can't beat it. The breaking feature alone makes it a no brainer. Get the Jessem table saw guides and you'll be able to run full 4x8 sheets of plywood by yourself with no issues - perfect cuts, no wobbling and no kickbacks. Get 3 phase 220 3HP unit if you can and avoid the contractor version of the saw. Upgrade your blade to a Forest II and start cutting.

My only complaint is the dust collection, but there are plenty of after market setups that fix this issue.

I just buy a new one. As a hobiest you don't go through them too often especially if your swapping blades for the type of cutting your doing which means you're spreading your wear out. You'll be able to tell when you start to see rough cuts or blowouts on the cutting edge more often then you're used to (type of wood and cut dependant of course).

If you see brown on the back of the teeth, blade needs sharpen.

I take a bunch of blades in at once to be sharpened, cheaper than bringing in singles.

The place can replace a teeth if one is fractured, and not loose the balance of the blade.

Factory authorized for many high end brands, so they keep the exact geometry.

I like this badass circular saw....16 5/16" diameter!! Yeah!!!
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Don't worry about your fingers.....worry about your leg......

I have the Mikita version of that saw. They are called "beam saws" but these days they are mostly used by landscapers & deck builders to cut 6x6 pressure treated timber when doing hardscapes. That saw is the only way to get perfect cuts every time when doing involved designs. Not something you use everyday but when you need one it is nice to have around but talk about a heavy saw to handle after a long day! And if you ever need to worry about a good sharp blade this is it --- don't try using one of these with a dull blade!

I picked up a marble (yes, marble!) topped Rigid contractor saw from Home Depot about 10 years ago on clearance... $200 bucks! They had to use a forklift to get it into my Tahoe, then I had to hire guys to help me get it out

Luckily, it has a Herculift system on the bottom, so it slides into the corner of my garage easily.

It is easily the #2 most used tool in my shop, behind the drill press (which doubles as a spindle sander). Highly recommended if you have the space. If you do get one, your first probably 10 projects will be making jigs to use on it

Forest woodworker II are widely considered the best. Freud is another good brand; they make a nice dado set. You can buy Freud blades at HD, sold as Diablo brand.

Yep, forest is the best by far, worth every penny. They have a sharpening service too. Freud is good too, but I only have their dado set.

the question wasn't about cutting any specific wood, it was about saws in general. Sawstop can do a false positive. I also said you can turn off the sensor to avoid that issue when needed and cut in unprotected mode.

I have one too. Heavy saw for sure, and not one you use often. Table saw is a bit more user friendly. And like you said, I only bought it for 6x6 pyramid top post cutting

Speaking of all this safety and kickback and whatnot. Do you guys adjust your fence (who have an incra or T2 or biesemeyer types) so that its slightly non-parallel to the blade so at the back of the blade its ~.010" farther away to prevent pinching?

Got the Grizzly 1023 SL about 8 years ago, and used it to build a complete set of upper and lower kitchen cabinets. You don't realize how important a good fence and square cut is until you go back to a cheap/dinky saw.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-3-HP-240V-Cabinet-Left-Tilting-Table-Saw/G1023RL

Mine did NOT come with a riving knife, but I haven't used it in a few years. We moved into a another house, and I STILL haven't ran 220 into my basement shop, as it will involve running a subpanel, for that, and a few more circuits for the gameroom. Maybe this winter...

For the last few years, I occasionally use my dad's dinkier Delta with the brush motor.

I wonder how many fingers that thing had taken off over its life.

I had a kickback once, next saw had a riving knife as a safety feature.

Forgot to put riving knife back on twice after using sled for crosscutting and had two kickbacks that hurt like hell. Barely got my forearm up to deflect one and the other hit me in gut. Scary as shit.

What you are cutting plays a huge role too. Mdf or plywood isn’t likely to kick back on you as long as you are tight to the fence. Solid wood is a different story. As the lignin separates the wood can tighten up on the blade

I leave the riving knife on when using the sled

It's a homemade sled, so the blade cut it's own kerf, thus the knife rides right behind it perfectly.

When the shop installed my Sawstop (included free, how could I say no?), the guy used two 123 Blocks to set the fence truly parallel to the blade, so I've done the same thing since then.

He also had a 6 foot machinists straight edge to set all the table parts up.

Guy was super efficient. He said that most cabinet shops were installing 2 or 3 of these and one shop installed 6; so he had lots of practice.

He said most shops were using an aftermarket overhead dust collection accessory, but now I see the newer Sawstops have a re-designed dust collection over the blade - so topside dust collection might be better nowadays.

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Vid - go with a 4” overhead and 4” cabinet dust collection setup. You just need a big clearveu or Oneida dust collector

The overhead setup is nice because you can leave the riving knife in all the time.

They are 1"x2"x3" and parallel and square with within .0002" if you didn't know why they were called that.

I have had the Clearview 5ph for about a decade, with copper foil drain to keep the static from building up in the 8" main trunk

Nowadays you see cyclones everywhere, but back then it was new adventure

If you are looking for a portable saw and aren't planning on making cabinets, the Dewalt is hard to beat in its price range. The fence is gear driven on BOTH sides. The scale has a fine line on a clear lens and makes for much more accurate cuts for the average Joe. I built mine into an 8' long table on locking wheels in my garage. The table has a cutout in it for my chop saw also. It also doubles as a work bench when I am not using either saw. The small drill press, bench top belt sander, scroll saw, shop Vac and sanders all live on the bottom level when they aren't being used up top. This was a great way to maximize space in a small work area.

I can take a shot when I get home. What happens on the cheaper table saw fences is the non-gear driven side binds on whatever is guiding it. Some lock on both sides, but the really crappy ones only lock down on one side. This causes the fence to wobble a bit and not produce square cuts unless you check it each time you move it. Being gear driven on both sides via a single rod keeps the fence square to the blade (provided it was set correctly at the factory). The DeWalt has a simple rack and pinion setup, but seems to work well and hold up. My dad has used and abused one as a contractor for over a decade, and it has held up well.

Agreed. The dewalt is pretty good. The rack and pinion fence works well. As a contractor myself, I’ve gone through at least 4 portables. I’m currently using a Bosch and the fence is now out to lunch. I will likely get the dewalt next... stay far away from the rigid, I had it broken in about 6 months and in a bin

Even badder assed is 246 blocks

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My late dad was a master carpenter. Rough and Finish. Cabinetry was his specialty, especially in his later years. Although I had little interest in the trade, he taught me everything I needed to know so I wouldn't have to pay others to do that kind of work.

He worked for the City of Detroit in their main Central Building Maintenance carpenter shop (now a trendy loft condo building) with all of the big toys. Most had 3 phase motors.

Anyhow, after teaching me how to use a table saw and respect it, he said the one tool I had to promise him I would never try to use is the Jointer. Not for me. A few of his co-workers were minus finger tips. He never lost any extremeties nor had even a stitch.

I'm in the middle of a project, but this should give you an idea. This is a workbench most of the time. The chop saw goes where the laptop is. I have a drop in plug that will fill that hole when you rip a sheet of plywood. If you don't, the right hand side of thin pieces you are cutting will drop in and catch the hole.

It is 8' long and 30" wide, made from ripped down sheets of 3/4" birch. You can adjust it to fit your space... 30"is what I could get away with and still hope to squeeze my truck into the garage on occasion.

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a table saw for me is indispensable. i build midcentury modern furniture as a hobby and also work with sheet acrylic. when shopping for saws, the Sawstop cabinet saw was a no brainer. i had no problem paying the premium for the safety feature as opposed to saving money on other saws without the safety technology. having said that, i use it much less now that I have a couple of track saws which can do many things a tables saw can do but safer and more accurately. I say more accurately because a table saw has to be properly trued to be as accurate as possible whereas tracksaws are simply placed on the track and you're up and running. One is a Festool TS75 I use for ripping thick hardwood and the other is a Mafell MT55 that I use to rip hardwood at times but mostly plywood. The Mafell is superior to Festool's equivalent but then again Mafell tools are superior in general but they're not cheap.

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