Benchtop Table Saws

Small but mighty. Small in size but with plenty of power, benchtop saws have many of the features found in full-size saws. In fact, one of these machines might fulfill your table saw needs.

Riving knives have made benchtop table saws ‘new’ again. Could one be the tool for your shop?

When you scanned this issue’s cover and discovered an article on benchtop table saws, you might have questioned our sanity; or you might have thought, as we do, that it’s about time!

Benchtop table saws have come of age. Features such as riving knives (on all the saws we chose for testing), easy-off and easy-on blade guards, and the rock-solid extension tables found on these table saws are very much in line with those found on many of the 3- and 5-horsepower cabinet saws that garner most of the press. Many of these portable machines are found in woodshops of all descriptions – you might be surprised by who uses benchtop table saws.

During the past three years, Popular Woodworking has published a column designed to introduce budding woodworkers to the craft. The column is “I Can Do That” (see page 24 in this issue) and with each completed project, experience and confidence builds. Before long, these woodworkers plan tool acquisitions. A small table saw is a great foundation on which to build.

If you have a small or temporary shop, a small saw may be just the ticket. And how about hand-tool users? It’s not practical to expect avid hand-tool-user shops to be void of all power tools. If table saw is not going to be a primary tool in the shop, a benchtop design might be the answer.

If you’re a power-tool woodworker, you know the value of a table saw. You also understand what can be accomplished with a table saw and what a hardship it is not to have the machine available when it’s needed. I’ll bet that at some point, with your table saw already set up for a specific cut, you discovered the need to size another piece of lumber before you could finish the task. A back-up saw is a nice addition, but adding a second full-blown setup is too expensive, and giving up the valuable real estate for a behemoth saw might not be in the cards. Bingo. There’s the spot for a benchtop saw.

Seeing the improvements made on these saws and the need for information about benchtop table saws, we set out to review the examples that met our simple riving-knife requirement. Those saws arethe  Bosch 4100, the Craftsman 21828 , the DeWalt DW744XRS, the Jets JBTS-10MJS and the Makita 2705.

The Power is There

Levers versus poles. DeWalt’s saw uses a spring-loaded lever to adjust the cut height. The other saws in the review have one pole or two poles on which the motor housing travels.

Set aside any thoughts about prices and accessories for the moment. Your first thought concerning these saws has to be about power, and rightfully so. With benchtop table saws we’re talking amps and not so much about horsepower as these machines are built with universal motors. But can these table saws cut hardwoods? We answer that with an emphatic yes.

We tested each saw’s power with cuts in 4/4 quartersawn white oak and 8/4 cherry. All the saws are up to the task, but we admit we felt a small drag in power while using the Bosch saw. The drag was infinitesimal and could have been the result of over-feeding the stock – you can bog down the motor on any of these saws by over-feeding.

Levers are better. Adjustment of the riving knife begins by unlocking the support, then the knife is positioned appropriately. The Craftsman and Bosch (shown here) saws have a lever instead of a small knob.

But to put any question of benchtop table saw power concerns to bed, the huntboard published in our June 2009 issue (#176) was built entirely using a benchtop model. These machines have all the power you need.

Goodbye Old Splitter

Updated designs. The best news for woodworkers using benchtop table saws is the switch from splitters to riving knives. This design is much more user-friendly.

The biggest improvement found on the table saws in our review is the tool industry’s switch from splitters to riving knives. To allow the riving knives to move with the blade, the motor/arbor housing has to move straight up or down. On many cabinet saws, that’s done on dovetail ways, but with these five benchtop models, three different methods are used.

The Bosch, Jet and Makita saws use a two-pole slide system. The movement is smooth and stable. The Craftsman saw functions on a single pole and the DeWalt uses an entirely different setup on the DW744. The DeWalt unit sandwiches a plate of metal to stay in place, then raises and lowers it using a spring-loaded pivoting arm. Which design is best will be answered in time, but my gut instinct says the two-pole design is better.

A tale of two knives. See the difference between a riving knife and a great riving knife? The lower knife cannot be removed, only repositioned in the saw while the upper knife displays a series of holes that engage with pins in the knife support. That’s extra holding power when the knife is locked.

The splitter on earlier saws stood above the tabletop to keep a board from pinching the blade and create kickback. But with many of the operations performed at a table saw, the splitter had to be removed – and more often than not, it was never replaced.

A riving knife travels with the blade as it is raised, lowered or tilted. The distance between the blade and knife remains constant, unlike the splitter where the gap increased as the blade was lowered. Also, a riving knife helps keep the wood tight against the fence during the cut.

Separate is better. Move one of these side guards on this Jet saw and the second side moves too. A better design is side guards that work independently; each should lock up and away for thin cuts.

How the riving knives are adjusted up and down is a major difference with these saws. As with larger saws, most of the riving knife adjustments are accessed through the saw’s throat opening. We find the levered designs (on the Bosch, Craftsman and Makita models) better to work with than those with knobs. To reach through the opening is not that easy, but to do so while turning a small knob is asking a lot. Levers that disengage with a simple quarter-turn are the winner in our opinion.

Makita has a much different setup from the other two lever-adjusted saws. Access through the throat is not required. Makita has positioned its lever on the outside of the cabinet, which when pulled, releases the locking plate and allows adjustment of the riving knife. That’s cool, but the lever is on the backside of the saw and you’ll have to reach over the saw or walk around to the back to gain access.

A unique design. The Makita saw uses a compression fitting to attach the blade guard to the support and the support (to which the pawls attach) to the riving knife.

The DeWalt and Jet saws have knobs, but on the Jet it’s so small that a finger and your thumb is all you can use to turn the knob to lock or unlock the knife. And Jet has an issue with its riving knife design. The opening is a simple slot. There are no notches or extra holes to help secure the knife. The locking plate is the only holding  mechanism. If your hand strength is suspect, there’s a possibility of the riving knife changing position during a cut.

While the DeWalt saw’s three-wing knob is larger, it’s still a knob. But once the lock is loose, adjustment of the riving knife is easy and smooth. Simply push in on the knob as you adjust the knife. With pressure off the knob, the catch springs back to secure the knife in place. Then twist the knob to lock it.

Blade Guards

Another reminder. Benchtop saws have extension tables to allow wider rip cuts. The tables unlock and move to the right of the blade and must be locked before using. In addition to the front handle, the Bosch saw has a pop-up reminder that impedes the work if not locked down.

The riving knives are left attached and in place or adjusted (slid down into the saw) for non-through cuts. That in turn means that the guards and kickback pawls must be removed for those cuts and replaced when making traditional through cuts. (You can’t use the blade guard and pawls when the riving knife is set for a non-through cut.)

In evaluating the guards, you have to look at the design of the guards themselves and the method and ease of attachment. If installation is difficult, the guards are left on a shelf to collect dust.

In our opinion, a good blade guard has a clean line of sight to the blade (you have to be able to see the blade so you know where not to put your hand). The side guards should lock in the up position because on thin cuts you need the guard out of the way. And the side guards should work independent of one another other. Each of the saws meets these requirements except one.

Jet seems to have missed on most of these issues. While there is a clear line of sight, the side guards don’t lock up and out of the way for thin work. And the sides are linked together. You can raise the right-side guard a few inches prior to lifting the left side off the table, but the left side immediately grabs the opposing guard. (If you’re doing any crosscuts to the left of the blade – which is normal woodwork procedure – you’re constantly going to move the entire guard system as you work.)

Geared movement. The right hand is on the lock handle. Once released, DeWalt uses a rack-and-pinion system to adjust the extension table. On this saw, the fence doesn’t slide along a rail.

Four of the five saws have separate anti-kickback pawls and guards that clip onto a riving knife in some manner. The unique setup is that of Makita. On the 2705 benchtop table saw, the pawls and guard is one unit. However, you can remove the side guards with a flip of a small lever while leaving the pawls and support in place. You cannot remove the pawls without pulling the support, but Makita has designed a way to hold the pawls up if need be. They simply lip over the rear of the support.

As for installing the guards and pawls, if you’re new to this operation, it might take some time to become comfortable. After you run through a couple cycles, the job becomes simple. Most of the guards latch to the riving knives and the pawls fit closely behind the guards – except for on the Makita.

Latches, for the most part, are located at the top, center of the guards. Slide the guard into position then click the latch and you’re good. But that’s not the case with Jet. Jet’s guard attaches with a spring-loaded slide mechanism that’s found between the side guard and the riving knife. It’s small and difficult to use.

Table Extensions

No extra tools required. Hats off to the DeWalt design team. The twist lock that holds the insert plate in position is the best design of all the reviewed benchtop saws.

Though all of these machines have small tables, each saw in the review is designed with width extensions to the right of the blade. On most of these saws, you release a latch then pull out the extension to increase the distance between the fence and the blade and allow a wider rip cut.

While it’s good to have the extra width capacity, the downside is the empty void of table surface that’s equal to the amount of extension. And there are times when the fence gets in the way of the levers on some of the saws.

The best extension table in our view is on the Bosch 4100. The release is located just below the front rail; it’s very easy to access. Additionally, there is a section that pops up when released. That ensures you don’t begin a cut while the table isn’t locked in place. It also requires that you position the fence out of the way as you extend the table.

The other saws have extension tables that work similarly to the 4100 – except the DeWalt. The DeWalt uses a rack-and-pinion arrangement to expand its cutting area. A gear located just behind the knob engages into a track that forces the fence, and just the fence, out or in. The oddity on this setup is the fact that there is no table edge moving away from the blade as it is with the other saws. It’s just the fence (which is fixed to the extension rails) that adjusts.

In place of the table edge, DeWalt has added a flip feature to the fence called a support extension. Once the fence moves beyond the table edge, the support is flipped toward the blade side of the fence to catch the edge of any workpiece. When working over the table, the support is flipped away from the blade and stored.

Good (And Bad) Standout Features

Get a move on. Benchtop table saws are meant to be moved around the shop. Craftsman facilitates movement with onboard wheels. The Jet model includes a rolling base, the DeWalt comes with two base choices. Optional bases are available for the other saws.

There are a few standout features in this group. Some are impressive and a couple are not. To begin, the DeWalt saw is unique in many ways, as discussed above. But this saw has a feature we think each saw – benchtop and cabinet designs –  should incorporate. The feature has to do with the throat plate and how it locks in place.

Nothing is more aggravating than having to use screwdriver to remove a throat plate. On many table saws (as in the Makita model reviewed here) you have to do just that. DeWalt has added a cam-lock knob that requires a quarter-turn to release. The plate locks in the saw, but is easy to remove when necessary.

The Craftsman saw delivers two standout features. One is good, one is not so good. On the positive side of the equation, the Craftsman benchtop saw combines the functions of height adjustment and bevel adjustment in one wheel on the front of the saw (the Jet also does this). Also, the Craftsman, Makita and Jet saws all have superior bevel-setting mechanisms. When you change the bevel setting of the arbor it stays put until you lock it. With the Bosch and Makita, the motor swings free when you unlock the bevel setting, making bevel adjustments trickier.

The undesirable feature of the Craftsman is that it’s the only saw on which the blade is raised by rotating the height-adjustment wheel in a counterclockwise direction. I’m sure you could become accustomed to this, but for us the action is annoying. Plus, there’s no Craftsman-specific stand available.

The Bosch saw exhibited the best dust collection when coupled with a wet/dry vacuum and the guard system is the easiest to install on the saw.

Get a Stand

Double duty. Some of the models use the height adjustment knobs to also adjust the bevel settings after the lock is disengaged. The Craftsman saw is the only saw on which blade height adjusts with counterclockwise rotation.

For the Bosch and Makita saws, optional stands are available. The DeWalt is available only with a stand (though there are two stand options). The Jet benchtop table saw is the only saw of the five reviewed that includes a rolling stand with purchase. And the Craftsman saw, with no stand as an option, has built-in wheels and a telescoping handle to facilitate movement.

Yes, these are called benchtop saws, but positioning the saws on a stand does two things. First, the stands set the height of the saw at a workable height. We found that if a saw sat on a workbench, it felt a little high for normal table saw operations and we felt we were stretching as we pushed the pieces past the blade. And second, the stands, complete with the saws attached, collapse and are easily stored in an out-of-way part of your shop.

How Things Stack Up

Important setup. All the saws reviewed except the Bosch needed to have the blade-to-miter-slot alignments adjusted — variations were from three thousandths to 42 thousandths. Most saws were easy to adjust and the instructions were clear.

There is quite a range of prices on these five saws. The Craftsman saw is easily the least expensive saw in the review. It’s a no-thrills, nuts-and-bolts saw that lets you do basic work. The Jet saw, even with the included rolling workstand, has too many issues centered on the riving knife to win top honors. DeWalt’s table saw, with the rack-and-pinion extension adjustment and fence operation, is too out-of-the ordinary to make this saw my choice – normal operations are so different from other table saws. The saw from Makita has a few setup issues that were not correctable – that pushed this saw out of the running.

Based on the setup factors, the major features, on how these saws perform and the available accessories, the Bosch 4100 is the better saw. And we would pony-up the funds for the rolling stand (Gravity-Rise stand – model TS2000, $198) with the purchase. But bottom line: If space were not a concern and we could muster up a few hundred dollars more, we would reach for one of the available hybrid saws. But don’t give up on the riving knife design. That’s an important feature that will pay dividends to the end-user.  PW

Benchtop Table Saws

Bosch 4100

Bosch boschtools.com or 877-267-2499 Street price: $420 TS200 Stand: $198

The Bosch 4100 saw was near perfect right out of the box. The blade-to-miter-slot parallelism was off only .001″ so no adjustment was necessary. The fence is set up for jigs in that no screws or bolts extend above the top and that allows smooth sailing for any fence-riding jigs – think tenon jig. And, it needed no adjustments.

Blade changes are a one-tool task because the saw has an arbor-lock lever. Simply pull the lever up and toward the front then move the blade by hand until the lock engages. The saw comes equipped with a Bosch 10″, 40-tooth general purpose woodworking blade that has an alternate top bevel (ATB) design.

The Bosch guard and pawls are smooth and easy to operate as is the table extension. And when the extension is locked, there is no movement whatsoever. Dust collection was very good through a 2″ dust port and the saw handles up to a 13/16” dado stack.

A test of the decibel level at the front edge of the blade
guard registered 93 dB – the lowest of the saws reviewed.

Craftsman 21828

craftsman craftsman.com or 800-349-4358 Street price: $300 No stand available

The blade-to-miter-slot parallelism for the Craftsman’s benchtop table saw was .042″. We double-checked the readings to make sure it wasn’t a mistake. The second reading confirmed the problem. But the adjustment to bring things back in line is easy to do: Loosen two bolts then turn a third bolt to effect a change. The fix brought things parallel.

What really caught our attention with this saw is that the two miter slots were not parallel to each other – there is no adjustment for that. And the height adjustment for this saw turns counter-clockwise to raise the blade – reverse of the most saws. The saw comes equipped with a 36-tooth, no-name ATB blade.

A dado stack for this saw is limited to 1⁄2“ according to the owner’s manual and the company recommends a 6″-diameter dado blade. And the blade guard and pawls have to be removed whenever a blade change or riving knife adjustment is made.

This is the only saw in the group with built-in wheels and a telescoping handle. Both made moving the saw very easy.

This 15-amp motor has a no-load speed of 5,000 rpm (the highest speed in the review), which may account for the highest decibel reading (101 dB) as well.

DeWalt DW744XRS

dewalt dewalt.com or 800-433-9258 Street price: $649 (DW744XRS) $529 (DW744X)

The great feature on the DeWalt benchtop table saw is the locking mechanism on the throat plate – this design should be adopted by all manufacturers. It’s easy to use and secures the plate effectively.

The most unique feature of this saw is the fence arrangement. While the fence is positioned to the right or left of the blade, it is latched to the rails and moves only when the rails move. And due to the work-support extension, you can’t use fence-riding jigs.

This saw was .020″ out when discussing blade-to-miter-slot parallelism, but the four-bolt fix made it simple to align. The DeWalt 744 saw can handle a 13⁄16” dado stack and includes a 10″, 24-tooth general purpose DeWalt saw blade. Blade changes require two wrenches (included), one slips on and locks the arbor while a second wrench works the arbor nut.

The DeWalt saw is available only with one of two stands: the DW744XRS (a sturdier stand) or the DW744X (a more economical stand). There is a $120 price differential between the two setups.

The decibel reading for the DeWalt saw was 97 dB.

Jet JBTS-10MJS

jet jettools.com or 800-274-6848 Street price: $630 Stand included

The news with the Jet benchtop table saw is the fact that this saw is available only with a rolling stand assembly (shown in the inset photo). The stand is very nice to work with and positions the saw at an ideal workable height. While we agree these saws should be set up on a stand to gain the appropriate working height, “apple-to-apple” price comparisons to the Jet saw are difficult.

Out of the box, this tool is easy to put together with clear assembly directions. The saw had a blade-to-miter-slot parallelism differential of only .003″ when measuring from the left slot (the slot used for most applications), but when we measured the distance between the two miter slots, they were out .024″. It comes with a Jet 40-tooth ATB blade.

There are a number of issues with the riving knife design (no registration points and a small lock knob are the most worrisome) and a few features with the blade guard that didn’t thrill us. However, there were no issues when it came to cutting materials. This saw operates with a standard 13/16” maximum dado stack.

Decibel readings for this saw were 98 dB.

Makita 2705

makita makita.com or 800-462-5482 Street price: $643 194093-8 Stand: $320

Hats off to Makita for the external lever used to unlock the riving knife for adjustments. No more reaching into the small throat opening. But the location of the lever – at the rear of the saw – is suspect. Move that lever to the front and it’s a winner – and takes the sting out of the fact that to remove the throat plate a screwdriver is needed.

The design of the blade guard system is distinct from the other tested saws, but the setup works and it has a couple nice features, such as the side blade guards flip completely out of the way for thin cuts and the pawls can be removed from the cut without removing them from the support – the pawls hook onto the support and are held above the cut. This saw comes with a 32-tooth ATB blade.

The most vexing problem with this saw is the inability (at least there is no information in the manual) to correct the parallelism issue. The discrepancy was only .007″, but that’s enough to warrant a correction. Also, the fence on this saw is difficult to properly align.

The 15-amp, 4,800 rpm at no-load motor rang up a 98 dB reading. This saw accepts a 13⁄16“ dado stack without trouble.

Benchtop Table Saws

Model # stand riving knife max cut max cut maximum table size weight max. rip front edge
thickness @90° @45° DADO (W x D) (POUNDS) @ RIGHT TO INSERT

Bosch 4100 Optional 0.094 31/8 21/4 13/16 211/2 x 29 60 251/8 61/2

Craftsman 21828 NA 0.094 31/4 23/8 1/2 187/8 x 281/8 56 241/2 41/2

DeWalt DW744XRS Included 0.086 31/8 21/4 13/16 191/4 x 261/2 58 25 5

Jet JBTS-10MJS Included 0.094 31/16 21/2 13/16 21 x 301/4 91* 251/8 61/8

Makita 2705 Optional 0.094 39/16 21/2 13/16 221/4 x 295/8 64 251/8 8

Glen is a senior editor of this magazine and the author of several woodworking books.