Table saw
A table saw is a woodworking tool, consisting of a circular saw blade, mounted on an arbor, that is driven by an electric motor. The drive mechanism is mounted below a table that provides support for the material, usually wood, being cut, with the blade protruding up through the table into the material.
In most modern table saws, the table is fixed and the blade position can be adjusted. Moving the blade up or down affects the depth of the cut by controlling how much of the blade is protruding above the table surface. Many saws also have an adjustable angle, where the blade can be tilted relative to the table. Some earlier saws instead had a fixed blade and the table could be adjusted for height and angle relative to the blade.
Types
The general types of table saws are compact, benchtop, jobsite, contractor, hybrid, cabinet, and sliding table saws.Benchtop
Benchtop table saws are lightweight and are designed to be placed on a table or other support for operation. This type of saw is most often used by homeowners and DIYers. They almost always have a direct-drive universal motor. Some early models used small induction motors, which weren't very powerful, made the saw heavy, and caused a lot of vibration. Most modern saws can be lifted and carried by one person. These saws often have parts made of steel, aluminum and plastic and are designed to be compact and light.Benchtop table saws are the least expensive and least capable of the table saws; however, they can offer adequate ripping capacity and precision for most tasks. The universal motor is not as durable or as quiet as an induction motor, but it offers more power relative to its size and weight. The top of a benchtop table saw is narrower than those of the contractors and cabinet saws, so the width of stock that can be ripped is reduced. Another restriction results from the top being smaller from the front of the tabletop to the rear. This results in a shorter rip fence, which makes it harder to make a clean, straight cut when ripping. Also, there is less distance from the front edge of the tabletop to the blade, which makes cross cutting stock using a miter more difficult. Benchtop saws are the smallest type of table saw and have the least mass, potentially resulting in increased vibration during a cut. Nowadays, these models are being phased out for more practical jobsite model saws.
Jobsite
Jobsite table saws are slightly larger than benchtop models, and usually are placed on a folding or stationary stand during operation. These saws are mostly used by carpenters, contractors, and tradesman on the jobsite. Many of these saws are more expensive than benchtop saws. Most saws in this category have small but powerful 15-ampere universal motors. Many higher-end saws have gear-driven motors. Most of these saws are relatively light, and can be easily transported to a job location. Many of these saws are built more ruggedly and are generally more accurate than the entry-level benchtop models. The motors, gears, and cases are generally designed to better withstand the abuse of construction sites. When compared to benchtop saws, many jobsite models have miter slots, better fences, better overall alignment, sliding extension tables, larger rip capacities, and folding stands with wheels.Compact
Compact table saws are much larger than portable saws, and sit on a stationary stand. The motor is still a universal type motor, however these are usually driven by small toothed belts. Some saws have cast iron tops, and are similar in appearance to larger contractor saws, although the tables are usually smaller and the build is of lighter construction. Some models even feature sliding-miter tables, with a built-in miter sled that could be tilted to many different angles.Contractor
Contractor table saws are heavier, larger saws that are attached to a stand or base, often with wheels. On these saws, the motor hinges off the rear of the saw on a pivoting bracket and drives the blade with one, or rarely, two rubber v-belts. This is the type often used by hobbyists and homeowners because standard electrical circuits provide adequate power to run them, and because of their generally low cost when compared to larger saws. Because the motor hangs off the rear of the saw, dust collection is usually problematic or even ineffective.Contractor saws were originally designed to be somewhat portable, often having wheels, and were frequently brought to job sites before the invention of smaller bench-top models in the early 1980s. Contractor saws are heavier than bench-top saws, but are still lightweight when compared to cabinet saws. Their larger size and greater power allows them to be used for larger projects and allows them to be more durable, accurate, and longer-lasting then bench-top saws.
Cabinet
Cabinet table saws are heavy, using large amounts of cast iron and steel, to minimize vibration and increase accuracy.A cabinet saw is characterized by having an enclosed base. Cabinet saws usually have induction motors in the range, single-phase, but motors in the range, three-phase, are common in commercial/industrial sites. For home use, this type of motor typically requires that a heavy-duty circuit be installed. The motor is enclosed within the cabinet and drives the blade with one or more parallel V-belts, often "A" belts as "A" belts may be ganged without having to be specially selected. Cabinet saws offer the following advantages over contractor saws: heavier construction for lower vibration and increased durability; a cabinet-mounted trunnion ; improved dust collection due to the totally enclosed cabinet and common incorporation of a dust collection port. Cabinet saws are designed for, and are capable of very high duty-cycles, such as are encountered in commercial/industrial applications. Where some of the advantages of a cabinet saw are desired in a home shop application, so-called "hybrid" saws have emerged to address this need.
Cabinet saws have an easily replaceable insert around the blade in the table top allowing the use of zero-clearance inserts, which greatly reduce tear out on the bottom of the workpiece. It is common for this type of saw to be equipped with a table extension that increases ripping capacity for sheet goods to. These saws are characterized by a cast iron top on a full-length steel base, generally square in section, with radiused corners. Two miter slots are located parallel to the blade, one to the left of the blade and one to the right.
American-style cabinet saws generally follow the model of the Delta Unisaw, a design that has evolved since 1939. Saws of this general type are made in the US, Canada, Taiwan and China. The most common type of rip fence mounted to this type of saw is characterized by the standard model made by Biesemeyer. It has a sturdy, steel T-type fence mounted to a steel rail at the front of the saw and replaceable laminate faces. American cabinet saws are normally designed to accept a stacked dado blade in addition to a standard saw blade. The most common size of blade is in diameter with a blade arbor diameter of, but in diameter with a blade arbor diameter of are found in commercial/industrial sites. American saws normally include an anti-kickback device that incorporates a splitter or riving knife, toothed anti-kickback pawls, and a clear plastic blade cover. The saw blade can tilt to either the left side or right side of the saw, depending on the model of saw. The original Delta Unisaw and early cabinet saws based on it are all right-tilt units while newer Delta Unisaws and many competitive cabinet saws made after 2000 are left-tilt saws. The change to left-tilt was due to a lower perceived propensity for the cut piece to become trapped between the rip fence and blade and kick back when the blade tilts away from the rip fence versus towards the rip fence
While conceptually simple in design, these saws are highly evolved and are capable of efficient, high volume, precision work.
Hybrid
Hybrid table saws are designed to compete in the market with high-end contractor table saws. They offer some of the advantages of cabinet saws at a lower price than traditional cabinet saws. Hybrid saws on the market today offer an enclosed cabinet to help improve dust collection. The cabinet can either be similar to a cabinet saw with a full enclosure from the table top to the floor or a shorter cabinet on legs. Some hybrid saws have cabinet-mounted trunnions and some have table-mounted trunnions. In general, cabinet-mounted trunnions are easier to adjust than table-mounted trunnions. Hybrid saws tend to be heavier than contractor saws and lighter than cabinet saws. Some hybrid saws offer a sliding table as an option to improve cross cutting capability. Hybrid saw drive mechanisms vary more than contractor saws and cabinet saws. Drive mechanisms can be a single v-belt, a serpentine belt or multiple v-belts. Hybrid saws have a motor and thus the ability to run on a standard 15- or 20-ampere 120-volt North American household circuit, while a cabinet saw's or larger motor requires a 240-volt supply.Mini and micro
Mini and micro table saws have a blade diameter of and under. Mini table saws are typically 4 inch, while micro table saws are less than 4 inch, although the naming of the saws is not well defined.Mini and micro table saws are generally used by hobbyists and model builders, although the mini table saws have gained some popularity with building contractors that need only a small saw to cut small pieces. Being a fraction of the size of a normal table saw, they are much easier to carry and transport.
Being much smaller than a normal table saw, they are substantially safer to use when cutting very small pieces. Using blades that have a smaller kerf than normal blades, there is less material lost and the possibility of kickback is reduced as well.