Searching for the best table saw for beginners?
Super. You are in the right place.
In this ToolsGaloreHQ.com guide you will learn:
- What makes a great table saw for beginners
- The #1 overall top pick
- The different cuts you can perform with your table saw
- And so much more!
| Image | Product | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Top Pick  | Top Pick | DEWALT Table Saw for Jobsite, Compact, 8-1/4-Inch (DWE7485)
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| View on Amazon |
 | SKILSAW SPT99T-01 8-1/4 Inch Portable Worm Drive Table Saw
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| View on Amazon | |
Best Budget  | Best Budget | Rockwell BladeRunner X2 Portable Tabletop Saw
|
| View on Amazon |
 | SKIL 15 Amp 10 Inch Table Saw - TS6307-00
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| View on Amazon | |
Top High-End  | Top High-End | DEWALT 10-Inch Table Saw, 32-1/2-Inch Rip Capacity (DWE7491RS)
|
| View on Amazon |
Top 5 Picks of The Best Table Saw For Beginners
If you need to rush - no problem, here is a list of the best table saws for beginners. Keep reading for more detailed information on each.
- DEWALT Table Saw for Jobsite, Compact, 8-1/4-Inch (DWE7485)
- SKILSAW SPT99T-01 8-1/4 Inch Portable Worm Drive Table Saw
- Rockwell BladeRunner X2 Portable Tabletop Saw
- SKIL 15 Amp 10 Inch Table Saw - TS6307-00
- DEWALT 10-Inch Table Saw, 32-1/2-Inch Rip Capacity (DWE7491RS)
Why Trust this guide for the best table saw for beginners
For any beginner woodworker, whether you are an avid weekend warrior, or occasional DIYer, a great table saw is a must have
This versatile tool will help take your woodworking skills to a whole new level.
Table saws usually form the centre piece of any woodworking workshop.
There are so many different kinds and variations, ranging from a basic and minimal tabletop version and workman/contractor version, to ultimately more larger and advanced full blown cabinet saws.
All of these tables are designed for different level and skill of the woodworker.
When starting out as a beginner the contractor version would be my overall recommendation due to it’s features, adaptability in being able to easily perform rip and cross cuts, and it's overall ease of assembly.
If you are not familiar with shopping for a table saw, all of the information above can sound overwhelming and confusing.
More so searching for the best table saw for beginners can even leave you very perplexed.
No need to worry, I have particularly created this guide to make the process as easy as possible for you to find the best table saw for beginners.
I undertaken a serious deep dive, so that you do not have to.
Also. I will periodically keep this post fresh and regularly updated to ensure that you are getting the newest and up to date information when it comes to finding the best table saw for beginners.
Read More:>>> Find a complimentary scroll saw
What are the important features of the best table saw for beginners
Having a table saw in your woodworking shed as a beginner is an absolute no brainer.
A table saw can make just about any cut you can think of i.e - rip cuts, cross cuts and even bevel (angled) cuts.
It is also typically faster, easier and quicker to use once you get a hang of the entire process. It's practically a more powerful substitution for your circular saw.
In fact – I like to think of a table saw as an upside down circular saw.
Below I will present a couple of features to help you as a beginner when you are choosing the best one for yourself.
Overall Design
All table saws irrespective have the same table top structure
It basically involves a centre piece which is made out of steel/metal and side extension tables for additional working space.
The centre piece houses the arbor and the detachable motor blade.
When installing a motor blade always make sure that the teeth run toward you. Typically depending on your table saw it will usually be accompanied by a toothed carbide blade or combination blade.
When starting out this blade is more than adequate. However as you get better and more experienced, you can go out into the market and review other blades.
The centre piece is also usually slotted. These slots are there for you to add extensions that will aid you in performing certain cuts.
From my experience there are two cutting supports in the market, these are namely:
- Miter slot with Miter gauge (This tool is used to assist you in performing cross-cuts);
- Rip Fence (This tool is designed to help you get really close to the blade when performing rip cuts of multiple with and dimensions.)
Functionality of the saw blade
The next feature you should be aware of especially when you are starting out is how to use the cutting blade in various different ways.
Typically your blade will attach to the motor via the use of an arbor and tie in bolt/nut.
For most beginners you should also find a lever were you can vary the height of the blade up and down. This will help you cut various thicknesses of boards.
Typically when you are still a beginner, I would recommend that you keep a couple of 2x4 inch rip boards to practice and feel the strength of your saw blade and how it saws though the wood at different heights.
One feature I always look for and recommend you do the same is to ensure that the table saw at least has the ability to go in an angled direction so that you can create bevel cuts.
This flexibility is important especially if you need to create tight fit corner pieces or you plan on doing cuts for truss work.
Read More:>>>Learn how to cut rocks with a tile saw
Safety Features
This goes without saying, but all power tools, and especially table saws are dangerous. So before you begin doing anything please ensure that you have the minimum personal protective equipment at hand.
This includes the below:
Respirator :
When performing cuts with wood on a table saw, there will be sawdust that will be suspended in the air particles.
This dust can be very dangerous when inhaled in large quantities. A respirator helps prevent any large particles from entering your lungs.
Ear guards :
As a beginner, one of the things you will realize is that the noise from a table saw is very high pitched and can be very jarring to the ears.
If you work in a mechanical workshop for long enough not putting on ear protection places your hearing at risk long term.
Gloves:
Working with power tools means that you are often getting your hands and fingers close to very high speed moving parts.
Workman gloves help to provide that additional protection to avoid fingers from getting cut.
Protective eye wear:
Any highspeed cutting application, especially when using wood with a table saw can create small wooden splinters that can travel fast in multiple directions.
The worst thing that can happen is if some of these hit your eyes.
This at the very least can be very uncomfortable. At the very worst it can leave you with some serious injuries.
This goes without saying, always visit the user manual and safety guide of your table saw to understand any additional safety requirements that you must be adhered to before putting your table saw into operation.
There are many horror stories of even professional level woodworkers who take these for granted and end up in serious trouble.
Avoid making the same mistakes - #1 when working with all power tools is SAFETY ALWAYS.
Riving Knife:
There is another safety feature that I want you to know as a beginner. This one is not as obvious but as you will learn, it is equally as important.
Often when performing rip cuts or cross cuts the pieces of wood try to come back together just after they pass through the table saw blade. This phenomenon is often referred to as kick-back.
Kick-back is one of the biggest safety hazards when working with table saws.
Although kickback cannot be eliminated completely, the best table saws for beginners comes with a riving knife.
All the table saws in this guide are equipped with a riving knife so you do not need to worry about getting your own.
The riving knife’s purpose is very simply to reduce the likelihood of kick-back and ensure that your pieces of wood separate very easily through your saw blade.
Actual cutting process
When performing a cut, it is important to understand as a beginner that you should never use your hands and fingers to push the wood through the blade.
There are many tools and accessories on the market such as wood stoppers and woodblocks to assist with this.
What you will also find is that the table saw comes with a dust extractor. Connect this to an HVAC vacuum or heavy duty knitted refuse bag to collect all unwanted saw dust.
This is super important as it will not only reduce the overall dust in the area, it will also reduce your clean up time post cutting.
Read More:>>> Worm drive saw to perfectly complement your table saw
Different cuts you can easily perform
Your table saw should be able to perform rip and cross cuts on various angles with relative ease and consistency.
All the table saws in this guide can do this easily, so no need to worry, you are in good hands.
Deep dive review of the best table saw for beginners
Option #1: DEWALT Table Saw for Jobsite, Compact, 8-1/4-Inch (DWE7485)
Specification | Value |
|---|---|
Speed | 5800 RPM |
Weight | 54 pounds |
Saw Diameter | 8-1/4 inches |
Voltage | 110V |
Product Dimensions | 22.75 x 22.75 x 13 inches |
Pros
Cons
Option #2: SKILSAW SPT99T-01 8-1/4 Inch Portable Worm Drive Table Saw
Specification | Value |
|---|---|
Speed | 5300 RPM |
Weight | 44 pounds |
Saw Diameter | 8-1/4 inches |
Voltage | 120 V (60Hz) |
Product Dimensions | 13 x 23.5 x 12.5 inches |
Pros
Cons
More info
The SKILSAW SPT99T-01 8-1/4 Inch Portable Worm Drive Table Saw is skillfully designed to offer maximum torque especially for ripping applications.
It is extremely light weight in it’s overall design with a compact base making it extremely easy to use and move around when working at multiple locations on the jobsite.
It has a standard 8-1/4 inch 24 teeth blade, which connects to a 5/8 inch diamond arbor. Making it great for almost any cutting job on the move.
What is interesting about this table saw is that it contains a battery and it is also corded. This together with the rack and pinion system make it very well adapted to variable adjustments and smoothness of cuts.
Due to the large 15A motor, with 60 Amp input current this table saw is very powerful. This coupled with it’s inbuilt cord wrap helps to keep accessories nice and tidy in storage compartments.
When looking at a table saw for beginners, I always consider the cutting depth at different bevel angles. This tool is quite impressive on that end. It has a maximum cutting depth of 2-5/8 inches at 0 bevel degrees, and 1-7/8 inches at 45 bevel degrees.
This model, the SPT99T is often compared with another one of SKIL’s table saws, namely the SPT70WT-01. However this could not be further from the truth. This model has a more powerful worm drive and a larger rip capacity (30.5’’ as opposed to 23.5’’)
Also what I like about this table saw is that just like any other. It has a pretty decent dust evacuation system where you can install a vacuum. It has a built in exhaust tube at the back of the blade shroud that can easily connect to a vacuum.
Once everything is setup the table sits approximately 35 inches from the ground making it a good height to start any cut.
Another thing I like about this saw is that due to the worm drive, it is slightly less noisy than your typical table saw. This is due to the gear design of the worm drive it has a slightly dampening effect on the noise.
Given that there is nothing that can be done about the blade noise, it is a really cool add-on.
This table saw could however improve on the accessories that they provide. They are relatively low quality and would need to be replaced.
Given all the above. This table saw is an all-round winner, especially for a beginner. It is packed with incredible ergonomic and versatile design features. Making it one of the best table saws for beginnersOption #3: Rockwell BladeRunner X2 Portable Tabletop Saw
Specification | Value |
|---|---|
Speed | Not specified |
Weight | 15 pounds |
Saw Diameter | Jigsaw configuration |
Voltage | 120 V |
Product Dimensions | 16.1 x 17.5 x 8.3 inches |
Pros
Cons
More info
Rockwell RK7323 BladeRunner X2 is a fantastic compact and small tabletop saw.
It has a tabletop handle that makes transporting the entire table saw very easy. They have really improved this design from the previous version. Making the X2 more powerful, having an overall better cutting capacity and providing more accuracy.
It also has a larger rip fence for more control when performing a cut. The BladeRunner uses T-shank jigsaw blade. This has a couple of advantages over your typical circular saw blade.
It makes for a lighter and more compact design, provides for a tool free blade exchange and you can very easily cut various types of material much quicker making it extremely agile overall.
It comes it at barely 15 lbs., and given that it is multifunctional, really makes this one of the gems when it comes to the best table saw for beginners.
The X2 can easily rip cut, cross cut and scroll cut without too much adjustment.
It has really cool feature where the miter can lock and rotate 0 to 60 degrees. This makes it easy to perform many different projects that your typical larger table saw would be able to achieve.
This table saw also comes equipped with 5 blades from the box. Providing for a wide range of cutting material including, wood, ceramic, plastic and even metals.
Obviously this is not your standard table saw, however it makes the list due to it’s portability and multifunctionality.
One thing I did not like about this table saw is that it is not really designed for performing long rip cuts, the blade is not very well designed for such applications.
However for any homeowner of beginner this little tool can do amazing things without needing to go for a full blown table saw. If you use the vacuum attachment correctly you can get almost 100% dust free cuts which is amazing.
For the price and the flexibility that comes with this table saw. It is definitely a top contender for the best table saw for beginners.
Option #4: SKIL 15 Amp 10 Inch Table Saw - TS6307-00
Specification | Value |
|---|---|
Speed | 4600 RPM |
Weight | 51 pounds |
Saw Diameter | 10 inch carbide blade |
Voltage | 110V/120V |
Product Dimensions | 41 x 31.5 x 21.5 inches |
Pros
Cons
More info
SKIL 15 Amp 10 Inch Table Saw - TS6307-00 is a very strong powerful and versatile table saw.
It has a 25-1/2 inch rip capacity making it an extremely agile table saw overall capable of cutting through different and various types of think wooden pieces.
The 15A motor adds to the overall power of the entire power tool. The motor makes it incredibly easy to cut through different types of woods with relative ease.
It has a 0 – 45 degree bevel capacity giving it overall a wide range for various angled drills. On top of this the rack and pinion fence rails provide for efficiency when making fence adjustments. It also has a blade-bevel-lock lever that locks the blade into the desired angle.
One of the things I really like about this table saw is the smart guard system. This basically has 3 interdependent elements, namely:
- Riving Knife
- Anti-Kickback Device and
- Main Barrier Guard.
All of these above help to ensure that as you are cutting it is as smooth as possible.
It has a very interesting dust port elbow, which comes equipped with a standard connection to ensure that as you cut, you works area remains dust free.
This table saw comes with a lot of different accessories and a great user manual synonymous with SKIL. This includes the table saw stand, blade guard, miter gauge, anti-kickback pawl, riving fence, rip fence and the 24 T blade.
It is also very easy to store or transport. Once assembled this table saw has folding stand with legs that fold conveniently into place.
The instruction manual is superbly thorough, its 170 pages long. In 3 different languages and pictures to guide you through the assembly.
Overall there is very little bad to say about this option, and it is definitely one of the best table saws for beginners on the market.Option #5: DEWALT 10-Inch Table Saw, 32-1/2-Inch Rip Capacity (DWE7491RS)
Specification | Value |
|---|---|
Speed | 4800 RPM |
Weight | 90 pounds |
Saw Diameter | 10 inch |
Voltage | 120 V |
Product Dimensions | 31 x 24.5 x 31 inches |
Pros
Cons
More info
This table saw has plenty of power and it can easily cut through different types of wood (hardwood or soft narrow board like plywood).
The DeWalt 10 inch table saw is probably the most ergonomically designed of all the table saws on this list. When it comes to features this one is an absolute must have.
It is perfect for any weekend warrior or any individual looking any DIYer.
The rack and pinion telescoping technology fence system is great for making adjustments and if allows for overall smoothness and accuracy during a cut.
This table saw also has some seriously impressive specifications. As shown below:
- Max rip to left of blade – 22 inches
- Max width to Dado - 13/16 inches
- Arbor size – 5/8 inches
- Motor amperage – 15A
- Depth of cut @90 degrees – 3-1/8 inches
- No load speed of 4800 RPM
All the above allow for very powerfully designed motor which is great for creating rip and cross cuts on various types of wood.
Furthermore the onboard storage system is superbly impressive. It allows you to store your fence, riving knife, miter gauge and any wrenches.
This is great for anyone who uses these accessories often, and especially for beginner this makes sure you do not lose equipment you really need.
There are a couple of things that could be improved about this table saw, the blade parallel adjustment are difficult to use and the fence moves depending on the speed in which you set the lock.
Many people also complained that at times the top may not be as flat as you’d expect from such a reputable manufacturer.
However with all the positives and cons. The DEWALT 10-Inch Table Saw, 32-1/2-Inch Rip Capacity (DWE7491RS) is one of the best table saws for beginners without a doubt.
The user manual is fantastic, it is can easily be stored and it provides for consistent bevel cuts.
A bit of history on this table saw would tell you that it is an improvement on previous models the 7480 and the 7490X. The upgrades of course include the increase in rotor speed of 4800 RPM (from 3850 RPM from the previous models).
Also an additional improvement from previous models is that DEWALT has increased the capacity of the dust port and made it bigger. Now the dust port is 2-1/2 diameters as opposed to the previous 2-1/4 inches.
Not this might sound like a small difference but the larger diameter makes cutting much easier as this all but reduces dust to very minimal overall.
As a beginner this is a world class option worth considering.My Overall #1 Pick: DEWALT Table Saw, Compact, 8-1/4-Inch (DWE7485)
The table saws in this guide are all incredible tools.
However the DEWALT Table Saw for Jobsite, Compact, 8-1/4-Inch (DWE7485) takes the top pick.
It has a large 8-1/4 inch saw, coupled with a very compact overall design.
Making this tool versatile, flexible and powerful.
Due to a very large rip capacity of 24.5 inches, it can easily rip through 4x8 or 4x2 plywood boards.
The metal roll cage and the onboard storage make it perfect for a beginner getting started with a table saw.
Check out the price on Amazon over here.
Final Thoughts on the Best Table Saw for Beginners
Being a beginner can often be a bit challenging especially when looking at getting to woodworking and finding the perfect table saw for your needs.
I hope this guide has given you an edge, and it has enhanced your knowledge. However more importantly I hope it has made your choice of your table saw much easier.
Happy sawing.
