Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE MY TABLESAW, and mine isn’t going anywhere any time soon! I use it on just about every project. It also has a flame paint job and as a result, it is probably the coolest tool in my shop. But given the current state of things, it would certainly be an interesting exercise to think about how we might otherwise accomplish some common tablesaw tasks. And before you knuckle-dragging Neanderthals (said with love) start throwing rocks at me, I do realize there are hand tool equivalents for every tablesaw task. I can also ride my bike to New Jersey and back but I’d rather take a plane – RIMSHOT! So what I’m really looking for are alternative methods that are just as fast, just as clean, and just as easy as their tablesaw equivalent (and that doesn’t exclude hand tool methods). So I’ll throw out some ideas below as a discussion starting point, but what I really want is to hear from you guys. What tasks would you find hard to do without your tablesaw? Or maybe you have some obvious solutions that might benefit others. Share ‘em with us!

Rips

Nothing rips a board quite as easily and cleanly as a tablesaw. And nothing in the shop can launch a board into outer space with as much gusto as a tablesaw! Consequently, this is something I already use my bandsaw for. Far too often while ripping long boards, I notice the board cupping in on itself. If it weren’t for my riving knife, I certainly would have experienced numerous kickback events. At the bandsaw, the cutting force is applied downward into the table surface, so even if the wood warps and pinches the blade, it will NOT fly in your belly or face. The safety benefits here are unquestionable. But what about cut quality? Most bandsaw blades will leave a rough edge. The blade may also drift during the cut drawing your workpiece away from the fence. Any thoughts on how we might overcome these two issues? For sheetgoods, look no further than the circular saw. Outfitted with a good quality blade and a nice clamping tool guide, you can make some seriously high quality rips in plywood. You could also take it to the next level and pick up a tracksaw!

Cross-Cuts

Whether you use a miter gauge or a cross-cut sled, the tablesaw is incredibly well-suited for cross-cuts. But what else could we use? For smaller boards (and if you don’t have a lot of cuts to make), a hand saw seems like a perfectly reasonable alternative. You might need to clean up the edge afterwards, but if you own a decent hand saw you probably also own a hand plane and a shooting board. Of course the miter saw is a good alternative for cross-cutting narrower boards too. A circular saw and a track or other guide could certainly be used for wider boards. If you don’t mind a rougher cut, you could also use a jigsaw. And while the bandsaw will work in some cases, I have never been a fan of using it for cross-cuts……maybe it’s just me.

Dados

The only reasonable substitute I can come up with for dados is the router. Even in a fully outfitted shop that includes a tablesaw, the router may very well be the preferred dado-maker. But when you are making cabinets and you have a bunch of dados and grooves to batch out, is there anything faster than a dado stack in the tablesaw? I am really curious to hear your thoughts on dados and grooves.

Tenons

The tablesaw is my go-to tool for tenons. Even as the proud owner of a Festool Domino, I still tend to make my tenons with a dado stack and a miter gauge. So one obvious alternative here would be the various “joinery systems” like the Leigh FMT, the DowelMax, and the Festool Domino. These are most definitely a “pricey” alternative but they work quite well once you live within their ecosystems. A more basic alternative might be to simply use the router table.

Miters/Bevels

For miters, which are essentially just angled cross-cuts, the miter saw is a perfectly reasonable alternative. That is, assuming you have a good quality blade and a well-calibrated saw. Bevels, or angled rip cuts, are a little trickier. We might be able to use the bandsaw with the table tilted at an angle, but we would still have all the same ripping concerns mentioned above. Additionally, we have the challenge of fighting gravity due to the tilted table. A circular saw and a guide can be used to cut a long bevel too, but on narrower workpieces this can be a precarious affair.

I am really interested to hear your thoughts on these common tablesaw tasks. What alternative solutions can you come up with and could you actually live without your tablesaw?

Further Reading

Are Tablesaws “Essential”? – Adam Cherubini
GWOT – Global War on Tablesaws
A Year Without a Tablesaw – OldWolf Workshop
Can You Live Without a Tablesaw – WTO Forum

“I have purchased a used General International cabinet saw from a professional shop that was going out of business and I have a question regarding its set up. Using an alignment tool that I borrowed from the Charlotte Woodworkers Association I have been able to measure the alignment of the saw’s 10″ blade to the miter slot. According to the dial indicator, the back of the blade is 0.011″ further away from the miter slot than the front of the blade. In your opinion, is this amount significant enough to warrent loosing the bolts holding the cast iron table top and trying to get it to line up perfectly (say +/- 0.003″)? Or should I leave it like it is and just try to line the fence up to the blade as best I can? That actually brings up a follow-up question: should I try to have the fence align with the blade perfectly or should I have the fence slope away from the plane of the blade at the back so that wood doesn’t get pinched between the blade and the fence and kick back? How much of a gap does one put on the back of the fence if you do this?”

And here was my reply:

“Hi Peter. First off, congrats on the new saw! Now down to business. Let me start by saying that I tend to fall on the “less picky” side when it comes to machine setup. Personally I don’t believe that a pair of calipers or a dial indicator is necessary to set up any woodworking tool (ok there may be a few). But I don’t consider the tablesaw to be one of them. That being said, I would never discourage someone from trying to get things as close to perfect as possible. Its your machine and your time, and obviously better is better, right? But in my shop, a pair of magnifying glasses and a 1/64″ graded ruler work just fine.”

“So the heart of the question is, “How much error is too much?” And please keep in mind that this is only my opinion based on my experience. You will find MANY different opinions on this topic. And many will vehemently disagree with what I have to say. But after all your research, you have to do what your gut tells you. Now I find it easer to judge these numbers when I see them in the form that I use everyday: fractions. So 0.011″ is just about 1/90th”. The smallest measurement I ever use in the shop is 1/64th”. So 1/90th in my mind is about the same size as dandruff off a dust mite. Ok, maybe it’s not that small. But if my saw had an error of 1/90th”, would I ever even notice it?? Probably not.”

“But there are two other components to this issue that we need to consider: safety and cut quality. From what I can see, a blade that is slightly further from the fence at the back really accomplishes the same thing as a fence that slopes away from the blade. So having the blade off ever so slightly doesn’t strike me as a hazard in any way. And I am theorizing that it might actually be safer when ripping. (Emphasis on theorizing).”

“Now cut quality is the one area that might concern me. The blade tilting in that direction means that your rip cuts will be squeeky clean. Anything cut from the right side of the blade will be perfect because there is no significant contact with the teeth at the rear end of the blade. And a little known fact is that certain tool companies actually use this technique on their circular saws in order to get the best cut quality possible. But what about the left side of the blade? Think of a cross-cutting operation with a miter gauge. The work piece will be cut ever so slightly by the back teeth, which means increased tearout since the back teeth cut upwards. And remember, when you line up your cut at the front of the blade, the actual cut will be 1/90th” off after you pass over the back teeth. Again, is that enough to be concerned about? Probably not in my shop.”

“So now you are even more undecided than you were before. lol. Let me just tell you what I would do at this point. You already have the dial indicator. Get the saw in position, loosen the bolts for the top, and try to get the blade as parallel as possible to the miter slot. This isn’t something you are going to do all the time, so you want to take your time and be a little picky. This way you are starting out on the right foot from day 1. And in all likelihood, this saw will hold its setting for a very long time. Furthermore, you will get to know your new saw. And whenever you check alignment in the future, you can make the decision on how picky you want to be based on everything you’ve learned.”

For those who are interested, here are some exact dimensions for you:
Long Stretchers: 62″
Short Stretchers: 38″
Overall Dimensions: 65″ L x 39 1/2″ D x 33 3/4″H

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