My wife and I have decided we need to downsize on our next move which we hope to do in the next year. That means she will have to part with some furniture and I will have to dramatically downsize the shop. 1st on my list is to get a smaller table saw. I have a Grizzly cabinet saw now. I love the dust collection on it and realize that smaller saws may not have that. I don't do large furniture anymore and have a miter saw. What saw would you all consider. Budget is also a consideration. I haven't even looked at new saws in years so don't know what's out there. I have Lowes locally and Woodcraft stores about 100 miles away.
I'm not much help as I am not familiar with the smaller saws. But here are a couple of thoughts:
It seems to me that smaller saws aren't that much smaller than cabinet saws with the extension tables removed. Perhaps you could keep your saw and just downsize it's footprint? And remember, roller supports and mobile bases are very helpful in smaller work spaces.
Also, if push really came to shove, you could go without a saw entirely. A good track saw and your bandsaw is all you really need.
Tom Is correct about the TS. Part of the problem is using it to break down plywood. It's the sheet of plywood that takes up the space.
I have a TS set up in a one car garage. the blade is five feet from the garage door. If I need to rip anything bigger I open the door.
The problem with a track saw is that you still have to have saw horses of some sort of work table and the room to lay out the plywood. I have a track saw and have not gotten used tot he idea of breaking down the plywood out doors.
I used a Dewalt portable table saw and it was OK. I was remodeling a house and it worked fine for that. the dust collection on it worked pretty well with a shop vac.
Take a look at the Ridgid model R4512 13 amp 10 inch table saw. It is a bit smaller than your grizzly but is a pretty good saw. My son recently wanted to get a table saw for doing projects around the house that couldn't be done with just a chop saw. We looked at the portable 10" saws and compared them to this small table saw. Out of the box it was pretty well aligned and the fence would lock down parallel to the blade repeatably. The guards were a bit tricky to figure out the first time, but we quickly learned how to take them on and off and they go on and come off quickly. For a $500 saw it is pretty impressive and much better than the portable saws.
Thanks will check out the Ridgid saws. I think there is a Home Depot in Knoxville not too far from the Woodcraft store so road trip will be in the works.
The foot print of any table saw is going to be nearly identical. What do you want from this smaller saw that is lacking in what you have that is paid for and you comfortable using it? I can understand "downsizing" the size of a thickness planer, lathe or a band saw but I don't understand the table saw question. Personally it would be the last tool in my shop I would want to change if I had a change in circumstances.
Two alternative for you to consider, neither exactly inexpensive.
The first is a tracksaw, such as the one Festool made famous. These are available from a number of other makers. This will take up minimal space.
The second is a small slider tablesaw. I recently purchased a Hammer K3. This replaced a contractor tablesaw I had for 20 years, which used a 52" rail and also had an outfeed table. That took up a great deal more footprint that the K3 does, which has a 31" rail and a 49" slider. I gather Grizzly also make these sliders. I am not sure their sizes or cost.
John, I have a Bosch 3k and love it. I keep it folded up in front of my tiny workspace in the garage. It connects to my shopvac and I run it outside every time. Works for me. P
Don't think you will gain any space unless you get a "folding style contractors saw". However, as Bill Tindall stated the footprint of almost all table saws are nearly the same.
Personally if I were in your situation. I would first install a mobile base, so the saw could be stored against a wall, then if necessary remove the extension tables.
I have a fairly large shop (30' X 30') but still have almost all my equipment on mobile bases including my Unisaw, 20" planer, Drill press, Mini-max 16" bandsaw, Router table, 8" Griz joiner etc. This way I can re-position my equipment in seconds to obtain floor space to store furniture / cabinets etc, and work on extremely long boards or plywood etc. easily.
I have a 10” bench top saw that uses a folding stand. I store it in a bench type shed along with other stuff. I get it out every time to use it. I think it cost $200. The saw rips fine. Crosscuttung is problematic. The miter slots are not standard and have tabs at the top of the slot rather than a tee type slot at the bottom. The tabs keep a miter gauge from tipping out but prevent making a cutoff sled. You will typically get a sloppy miter gauge with a cheap saw. You cannot buy a quality miter gauge or use one you have with undersized slots. I made a cutoff sled which uses the edge of the saw as a reference. I have extreme space issues in our Florida trailer so I cope. (Our boat is in the water 200’ away, so no tears needed). Just some thoughts.
Bill 2 things. I'm need to do away with the long bed. This is a full size table saw. I think I don't need anything but the basic saw. I might be able to cut the fence rails down. It also needs to be mobile because I'm guessing the saw will see secondary use in my newer shop and will have to rolled out of the way when not needed. I will be primarily using it for smaller work and segmented turnings and can do much of that almost against a wall.
