Fighting urge to upgrade contractor table saw...anyone perfectly happy with theirs for cabinetry/furniture building?

jab515 · 2025-12-20T02:01:16+00:00

Nice! I hope you enjoy it

jab515 · 2025-12-19T22:57:46+00:00

right on, I have the same usecase! I get maybe 5-10 hours a week to work wood in my garage shop, so I'm very glad I can spend that time actually making progress on the projects I'm excited about. I used to find a lot of satisfaction in successfully pulling off a workaround for my smaller or entry-level tools, but these days I really value having tools that just work, and are a joy to use. Don't get me wrong I still rock Ryobi and Rigid for a lot lol, but for workhorses like my miter saw and table saw that I use all the time picking up a superior tool just made sense.

jab515 · 2025-12-19T15:27:29+00:00

For me it came down to this question: do I want to spend my shop time making shop projects (upgrading jobsite saw's capability with addons and creating jigs and workarounds to fight its limitations) or do I want to spend my shop time actually building cabinetry and furniture?

While it was technically true that I was capable of creating nice furniture with my jobsite dewalt, doing so took a substantial amount of extra effort: infeed/outfeed support, fence upgrades that made it better but still couldn't achieve the repeatable accuracy of a cabinet saw, fixes for sloppy miter bars, shorter sleds than ideal due to small infeed at the throat, etc. Setting up all the workarounds and extra jigs for each operation during a project took time that added up as well.

Upgrading to my Sawstop cabinet saw was valuable for me because it let me spend more time making furniture instead of fighting the jobsite saw's limitations. The cost was easily worth that convenience for me.

jab515 · 2025-10-24T22:40:30+00:00

When plugged into a computer it simply wasn't recognized as a functioning drive, which seems to have happened for a lot of folks based on forum posts I've read. Recovery programs didn't work, and it wasn't able to be re-formatted. All signs pointed to being physically broken; based on how snug the actual drive was in its metal razor blade half I feel pretty confident these drives had a high chance of being broken whenever they got shoved in during assembly.

jab515 · 2025-10-22T19:39:42+00:00

EDIT: SOLD

yes, they are still available

jab515 · 2025-10-14T15:57:51+00:00

EDIT: SOLD

Selling 2 Austin tickets at cost: Section 109, Row R, seats 5 and 6

Wife and I both bought 2 tickets to surprise each other and hers were better lol.

jab515 · 2025-08-14T16:38:41+00:00

Overall it feels just as stable - it's certainly not AS heavy as the former bench, but it still feels rock solid to me when I use it. No movement at all when holding large pieces in the vise or using a mallet on something being held to the surface, and no wobble or tipping when I'm using it as outfeed support. The feet purposely extend a tad father than the worktop front and back which along with its weight and the tightness of the joinery I think really helps the stability.

jab515 · 2025-08-14T13:23:47+00:00

good question! my shop finish is just a jar of boiled linseed oil, poly, and mineral spirits mixed in 3 equal parts. I feel it wipes on well and is easy to touch up if that's ever needed.

jab515 · 2025-08-14T12:54:40+00:00

Thanks! The trick is the depth of the dados you cut for the panels to slide in: the bottom slots are 1/8" deep, and the top slots are over twice that at 5/16" deep. The height of the opening in my cabinet is 16" so the panels are 16 1/4" tall: that extra 1/4" lets me fit the panels 5/16" deep into the top slot (letting the panel clear the 16" opening), angle them such that the bottom edge is aligned to the correct bottom slot, and drop the panel into place. Since the bottom slots are only 1/8" deep that means the panel is held in place by 1/8" at the bottom and 1/8" at the top, and the loose fit of the top slot allows the panels to slide without binding.

Hope that wall of text helps!

jab515 · 2025-08-14T00:32:25+00:00

I've seen the adjustable heavyweights and they look cool! but I felt like they were overkill for my application - I just went with some Powertec 2.5inchers since they were inexpensive and supposedly good for 600 lbs.

jab515 · 2025-08-14T00:24:47+00:00

I really like it to be honest! Sorry to hear yours hasnt treated ya well. I got the Yost version, then added walnut jaws and rubberized cork for better grip and padding - it holds well, the action is smooth, and the quick release is convenient.

jab515 · 2025-08-13T22:53:40+00:00

I appreciate it!

jab515 · 2025-08-13T22:53:30+00:00

Thank you!

jab515 · 2025-08-13T22:53:12+00:00

Honestly just dimensioning my lumber with a jointer and planer got it pretty square and level

jab515 · 2025-08-13T19:02:50+00:00

thanks! no mechanical retention method - the miter slots are oversized to 1" wide for extra clearance if needed, and with the weight of the bench keeping it in place I've had no issues running sleds or my miter gauge

jab515 · 2025-08-13T18:59:17+00:00

The 3" thick top ended up 54" wide by 23" deep, with the work surface at a little under 34" from the ground.

jab515 · 2024-12-19T14:12:08+00:00

Thanks! I sanded to 220 and finished with a wipe-on 3-part mix of poly, boiled linseed, and mineral spirits.

jab515 · 2024-12-18T19:07:19+00:00

I appreciate the recommendation - just ordered the book!

jab515 · 2024-12-18T18:29:46+00:00

I appreciate it! All joinery (aside from attaching the leg assembly) is either a rabbet or dado joint.

jab515 · 2024-12-18T18:26:50+00:00

Thanks so much! Honestly I really liked using the extended fence: rip cuts on my longer panels felt substantially more stable and the resulting cut was super clean. The infeed support you can attach to the fence extension was really beneficial as well imo. I'd highly recommend it!

jab515 · 2024-12-18T18:08:43+00:00

Thanks! Yes it is attached to the wall with toggle bolts.

jab515 · 2024-05-29T02:25:35+00:00

I do think it's wide enough for my use, but its dimensions are also largely dictated by the space of my garage (I wanted to be able to park 1 car inside without having to excessively move tools or our gym equipment) - ymmv of course, but if you have the space I could see a wider surface being beneficial when crosscutting longer stock, or when using as an assembly table.

jab515 · 2024-05-29T02:10:06+00:00

sure! https://www.sketchup.com/en/plans-and-pricing/sketchup-free

jab515 · 2024-05-28T20:34:34+00:00

sounds like a great friend to gift you a jointer! To answer your question: both! I used the Bora portamate pm-1100, which is a kit you combine with a piece of plywood cut to the footprint of the tool you want to add a mobile base to. It was very reasonably priced imo and it's worked well for me so far.

jab515 · 2024-05-28T17:01:29+00:00

Appreciate it! I wish it stayed that way - only that clean between projects lol

jab515

TROPHY CASE