Table Saw Reviews

Table saws and safety

We found the best reviews of table saws in publications devoted to serious woodworkers -- both professional and amateur -- including Popular Woodworking, Fine Woodworking, Workbench, American Woodworker and Wood Magazine. A publication aimed at professional builders and remodelers, Tools of the Trade, also provides excellent comparison tests of table saws. ConsumerReports.org tested a few portable table saws in 2007, but doesn't evaluate them for safety.

Safety is a key issue because table saws cause many workshop injuries. The best reviews compare table saws for accuracy, power and ease of use, but also take safety into account. Table saw models manufactured since the end of 2007 come equipped with riving knives, which are superior to older blade guard assemblies for preventing kickback. However, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards allow older models to be sold without riving knives until 2014. In addition, the UL standards do not require table saws to include blade brakes, which shut off within a fraction of a second if the blade comes in contact with human flesh. According to our research, only saws made by SawStop, such as the SawStop Contractor Saw (*Est. $1,600), offer such a feature, something that company's founders introduced in 2001 and tried to license -- unsuccessfully -- to other table saw manufacturers.

Several safety-related lawsuits have been brought against table saw manufacturers. One notable case was filed in 2006 against the makers of the now-discontinued Ryobi BTS15, after a Massachusetts worker was severely injured by the table saw he was using, which did not have safety features like those found on SawStop table saws. In March 2010, a jury found Ryobi partially responsible and awarded worker Carlos Orsorio $1.5 million, according to Fine Woodworking's website. It's not clear whether Ryobi will appeal. Ryobi continues to sell its BTS series of table saws, including the Ryobi BTS21 (*Est. $250), which is similar to the BTS15.

In its latest tests, Fine Woodworking refused to test any portable table saws (also called benchtop saws) that didn't come equipped with a riving knife. Editors at this publication recommend two benchtop saws: the Craftsman Professional 21828 benchtop saw (*Est. $330) and the Ridgid R4510 portable table saw with stand (*Est. $450). Both models are "very good," editors say, and feature blade brakes.

Portable table saws remain the most popular type overall -- accounting for about 89 percent of annual table saw sales. A survey of Popular Woodworking readers, however, finds that almost 90 percent of them own bigger, more powerful table saws.

Hybrid saws, which combine mobility with some of the power and accuracy of a cabinet saw, seem to wax and wane in popularity. A number of reviews came out in 2007, and the latest comparison tests took place in 2008. Some hybrid saws include riving knives, but to date none uses a blade brake.

Cabinet saws, the most expensive and capable type, get a lot of attention in reviews, especially since they incorporate both riving knives and the SawStop technology. Popular Woodworking finds that nearly 30 percent of its readers own a cabinet saw. This year sees keen competition between the newly redesigned Delta Unisaw (*Est. $3,300), which now incorporates a top-rated riving knife and blade guard system, and the similarly priced new SawStop Professional Cabinet Saw (*Est. $3,000).