Table Saw Tutorial, Episode 1, Desired Features 

Famous words from Rob Cosman. "How much time are we at? Oh well these might be a little bit longer". -every video. Love watching!

I just bought Wadking BRT 12”, build 1975. Thanks for the tips!

Similar to the Unifence Rob, you can slide the rip fence back and use it for repetitive cross cuts without worrying about the the off cut wedging between the blade and fence causing a kickback. Had the biesemyer on my unisaw but got hold of a unifence, love it !

Rob, thank you for the informative videos. The way you teach, makes it so much clearer and easier to understand than any other videos I've seen. Even when Jake and you were talking about hand planes at the woodcraft in Orlando a few weeks ago. I knew nothing about them and with as little sleep as I had that day, I will never forget some of the things you spoke about. Thank you for supporting the troops Sir!

Thanks for doing these.

Felder of Austria make some amazing sliding table saws, they are expensive but a lot of work has gone into them to ease the workflow, improve productivity and make them comfortable and easy to use. When those lottery numbers come up thats what I'm investing in.

Rob you should watch at some european tablesaws...They have huge sliding tables that make cutting sheet goods very easy (once you laid the sheet down over it, you can rip it by yourself)...Awesome for tenoning, no jigs or sled required, since the table runs parallel to the blade and the miter gauge is square to it also.

We have 20" Wadkin bandsaw I have setup for resawing with the same fence. LOVE IT!!

Thank's a lot for what you do for us in this quarantine time. We all appreciate.

I had a 1935 Tannewitz Model J-250 table saw that had a flexible steel hose that went from the saw carriage to an outlet on the outside of the cast iron base for dust collection...so this was done many years ago.

i trained on an old wadkin 1950's maybe even 40's sliding table saw. it was a huge beast. the mitre gauge was fixed to the table at one end with a pin that dropped into a hole and the outer end pivoted. the gauge needed a crane to lift it off lol. same with the rip fence. yet saying all that its still the best saw i have ever used and would love to have it now. no safety features though.

Thank you Rob, good information on the table saw. I am saving up for a Sawstop determined to get one, I feel like you do about having the Sawstop in the shop. Right now I have a 1970 Craftsmen 10" contractor table saw. Long ago over the years I have done a lot of modifications to it, which made it a not so bad of a table saw. Vega aftermarket rip fence with 50" bar/ scale and micro adjustment, added a extention table and out feed table. Replaced original motor with a 2 hp motor and belt with the red link belt. Table top adjustment kit modifying the trenions under the table top. Four adjustment blocks with a 3/8 bolt, blocks mounted on each side of the trenions front and back. You would losen the trenions and use the bolts to adjust the table right or left once aligned, then tighten trenions back up. When I did all of this there was no Saw Stop.

Great video on a great saw Rob

Thanks for sharing Rob. Some additional and essential features to me, for a table saw. Riving knife in all time except for small size dado and electromagnetic switch.

I also started out using a Shopsmith that my father bought in 1956. I still have it but definitely don't use it as a table saw. I use it for a lathe and sanding. It has a decent but small jointer accessory.

Hi Rob, I’m a 61 year old cabinetmaker From Sydney Australia. For the last 15 years I’ve run my workshop as a school for recreational woodworkers. I’ve watched with interest this week your series on your bandsaws. I am currently watching your episode on table saws. I can reliably inform you that you can date your Wadkin machines from their serial number. The first two digits refer to the year of manufacture. As they say in the classics “Keep up the good work “ Terry Gleeson

Rob - I miss the patches on your apron! Great video.... thank you much!

I have had my SawStop for 8 years ... best tool investment I have ever made. I check alignment every so often, but to tell the truth, the fence/miter slot/blade alignment was spot-on out of the crate and has never required any adjustment. I have never used the SawStop miter gauge ... I have an Incra that is a far better miter gauge with zero slop.

The tip about the play in the mitre fence’s track is welcome. My jobsite bench saw, a Bosch GTS 10J, is great - apart from the sloppiness in its mitre fence. Pinging it with a centre punch, as Mr Cosman suggests, might make all the difference.

The fact that the fence run back and forth is usefull when you cutting some pieces that might be cougth between the fence and the blade

3:35 That fence sliding feature is nice to use when the fence acts as a stop to cut crosscut. Maybe you have 30 pieces to cut and you don't want the cut-off end to bind against the fence so it would clear the fence right before the piece is completely cut off.

I think Shopsmith were the first to use a serpentine belt on their machines. Although a lightweight homeowner multi-function machine, it was pretty revolutionary using a serpentine belt back in the day.

Awesome video Rob! I may never be able to afford a Sawstop, but I certainly liked your video. I have used a few Unisaws and hope to find one used when I upgrade from my jobsite Skil. Working on a budget :) I still have a Shopsmith and I use it soley to power my homemade drumsander.

Rob (and others), In regards to the "micro-adjust" features and questions of accuracy, I would check out the Wixey WR700. It's an extra aluminum rail that you attach to the square tube on your fence, and a DRO attached to the fence body via strong magnet that rides along the rail. The result is a digital caliper on your saw fence that can read in absolute and relative. This helps for making those slight adjustments, as well as being able to accurately set a measurement without relying on often-fallible eyesight, and be sure you are dead on the money. It's pretty easy to install and use, and adds the only thing I really find missing to my sawstop

You must remember how old the Wadkin saw is. An absolute beast of a saw bench as we call them in the UK. The reason the fence moves back and forth is because when you are ripping which incidentally is what the saw is designed for, UK regs state that the fence should not go past the gullet of the blade at bench level. Likewise the riving knife should be no further than 8mm (about the thickness of a pencil) away from the blade. The obvious reason for the fence not going past the blade is to help prevent kickback if the timber splays out as you saw, i.e. it won't jam on the fence going the length of the bench. I am sure the saw stop is a great saw but there is in my opinion far superior saws out there like the Altendorf dimension saw but of course that is aimed at professional/commercial environments.

I really like the SawStop and I've been tempted several times to upgrade from my beloved Unisaw for all the reasons you've outlined in this and your previous video, Rob. The main thing that stops me is the proprietary nature of the cartridge. It seems that so many products today are meant to be replaced before their time - planned obsolescence. I have a fine computer that's over ten years old.It works great and does everything I need running Windows 7, but I'll have to replace it in the next year because it can't run Windows 10 which I'll need for security and to run new software (such as TurboTax 2020). I have a ten-year-old Canon digital SLR camera that was top-of-the-line when I bought it, but now sells used for peanuts because it isn't compatible with some modern accessories. My eight-year-old Honda Odyssey is in great shape, but I've checked and if the built-in GPS/Stereo/Control Display ever dies, replacing it will cost more than the blue book value of the vehicle. So, what happens if SawStop goes out of business, or the owner retires, or the Chinese factory closes for some reason like COVID-19, or they replace it with a new and improved system? You may think SawStop parts will always be available, but I thought the same thing when I bought a shop full of Delta machinery almost thirty years ago. Delta was a much bigger company, but good luck finding some Delta parts today. If I trip the SawStop's safety feature and can't get a replacement cartridge, I'll certainly be happy to have all my digits, but the reality is that I'll also be left with an expensive paperweight in the center of my shop.

Thank you Rob for these great videos. Do you guys think you could do a series on restoring a jointer or other machine?

Extending the fence off the table is 2 fold. 1 part is you get a longer referencing edge before starting your cut and if you mark it directly where its back side meets the frontof your blade you can set it and clear material the moment youve cut through without having to go across the whole radius of a spinning blade

The sliding fence is a safetyfeature. You are supposed to slide the fence back so it is not further then a imaginary 45° line from the beginning of the blade. So the smaller the cut the further back the fence should be. It is supposed to prevent any binding of small ofcuts between the back of the blade and the fence and prevent kickback. Thanks for all the great videos. You helped me a lot...

The fence that can be turned to the skinny side is good for veneer panels. It can run against your core material with veneer overhang above and below the fence Keep up the great work. I sure hope all this Covid 19 is better in August for the Purple Heart Class I'm signed up for. Looking forward to everything I'm going to get to learn.

I told the SawStop rep that their miter gauge was worthless. Certainly not of the same quality as their saws. He said that they had determined that most SawStop users wanted to use aftermarket miter gauges so they wouldn't burden the cost of the saw with a more expensive gauge. . I have an Incra 1000HD on my SawStop and I love it. Anyone want a free SawStop miter gauge?

Get an Osborne EB-3 miter gauge, you’ll love it!

Hi Rob, I worked in a shop set up for maintenance of a college campus. It had a General Industrial tablesaw. I expect these saws of yours are the same. You mentioned two or three V belts. There was no slippage on that saw. I was always nervous when instructors came by to cut some materials. These people were not cabinet makers or craftsman. The other tools I was fine with them using but that tablesaw. It was so unforgiving to mistakes when sawing., that blade would not stop or even slow down for anything. All that energy was transferred into work piece. Myself I never seen the reason for so much torque. If anyone is thinking about buying a saw for the first time, these are not the saws to start with. A contractor saw is so much safer and will cut a lot of wood with a sharp blade. What do you think? Leave these saws for the professionals.

Thanks, rob! I haven’t watched them all... yet, but I am really enjoying the daily videos. With all the buying and selling of massive machines that you do, what kind of equipment (and how many friends!) do you have for loading, unloading, and transporting this stuff?

You have the industrial version of the saw. My hunch is that most home woodworkers would not opt for that version. There is about a $2000 price difference from the 3Hp professional model. Also a 200 pound weight difference.The Sawstop professional model is more comparable to the Unisaw, JET saw, older Powermatics, General 350. I have the Professional model and thoroughly enjoy using it. I had the General 350 for years but the safety features sold me.

One Shopsmith "feature"? You can fit the Shopsmith in a mini-van and unload it with one person. Not sure it's a feature but the space in my shop is not much bigger than the top of you Sawstop--LOL. And that Wadkins? Second video in one day about a saw I had never heard of. Seriously, though, I almost never use the 'smith in table saw mode but it makes a dandy drill press and I have both the jigsaw and the bandsaw. The Shopsmith miter gauge is pretty OK.

gotta say rob smaller adjustment wheels make for quicker adjustments, so long as you have a well maintained machine / mechanisn,!!!!.The wadkin has big old trunions, acme threads, and if you use dry lube an ultra smooth action with very little effort, . Maybe you could do a table saw maintenance episode and restore that quality saw to it's former glory..P.S. not sure that saw stop will stand up as well.!!!!!

Really enjoyed this episode, lots of really good info - many thanks! IMHO best to just toss that sawstop miter gauge. It's useless junk, they would be better off reputation-wise not providing one with the saw (I love my SS, except for that miter gauge!). Buy an incra or something decent/reasonable. (Any chance of convincing you to lubricate your sawstop height and tilt controls? I cringe every time I see you reach for the blade height adjust :-)

💖

Hello, Nice video, that said you mentioned three problems with the SawStop saw. First was going through many latches on the side panel. Second watching you try and turn the elevation/height wheel and saying that it builds up with saw dust debris and makes it hard to turn... That and it does not have a fine adjustment on the Fence. Those three issues are enough for me to want to stay away from this model of SawStop Saw... Greg

Hi rob thanks for doing this now. Question. Do you have an aftermarket throat plate for the saw stop.? I love my saw stop (mine is a step down from yours and maybe a little newer). But I dislike the cost to replace the worn throat plate. I wish there was a disposable or replaceable insert for a zero clearance cut out. Especially for a dado blade widths. Anyway yours looks different than mine

Hey Rob do you recommend grizzly cabinet saws???

Rob, I'll bet Saw Stop will see this video and correct all the flaws you've pointed out.

Another question for you Rob! Where do you sell these older tools that you refurbish

Rob, what is the aftermarket bladeguard accessory you've got on the SawStop? I've been fighting with dust/chips shooting out of the front left of the blade when ripping and can't figure out how to improve collection.

The extraction wasnt great on your 70s' Wadkin, as in those days health and safety in the UK was none existant! What was there was designed more to keep the area tidier, than to protect the operators lungs. I can recall in those days wood shops full of dust in the air, welders shops full of smoke and spray painters working in fumes. They were given a pint of milk a day, (god knows why) instead of a mask! FAR better now.

Horsepower? Single phase? Three phase?

What makes Saw Stop the "Very Best Table Saw"? I know it has the safety feature. Felder PCS is now available with the same feature. The build quality of a Saw Stop is not superior to the other Table Saw's in it's price range in my opinion. I also think it's interesting that you highly recommend older machines for their build quality, which I agree with. But then praise a newly manufactured machine because of a single feature. I might be inclined to "drink the saw stop kool-aid" if they innovate their safety devices into other machines. Miter/Chop saws, Bandsaws, Shapers/Permanent fixture Routers, etc. These power tools are prone to injuring its operator the same as the table saw. I personally haven't heard any news about future products from this company. Between my local sales men and countless RU-vid craftsmen and women Force Feeding this product to potential shoppers, I've grown calais over this product. Now that Felder has a similar and possibly better product, I look forward to not being told that I MUST invest into this product to be relevant.

OK, probably I put my opinion too straight: the details make the picture and in SawStop saws the details give the "cheap" impression. The saw itself is sturdy and has good basis but the small details looks like Chinese quality. The cut quality has been good with the units that I have tried. I have been woodworker 40+ years but I have used mostly European style sliding table saws and not that much of American style cabinet saws, here in Europe sliding table saws are the most common used saws in professional shops. Therefore I wonder if it is a cultural or what reason that these sliding table saws (including the obligatory riving knife) are not so popular in US and Canada? I haven't use too many table saw sleds because sliding table gives me all angles of sawing reliably and repetitively with the saw's own cross cut fence. I use Altendord saw currently.

SawStop is great idea but the overall quality of the product is not worth of the price. Latelly Festool purchased SawStop and I expect they will export the concept into our European market too and hopefully enhance the overall quality.

Good lord you bought 25 table saws at once?

buy the most expensive gd saw there is?!

Very uninformative video Rob looking forward to tomorrows can you explain your throat plate on the saw stop with the replaceable insert.