Fred West said:
I am a HUGE fan of Festool, this forum, Bob Marino, etc. However, I don't understand a common thread that runs throughout this forum that appears to be anti-table saw. Now this video is just silly but I cannot imagine having my shop without my table saw. I would love to upgrade it and if Festool had one here in the USA I would snap it up in a minute. My table saw and my Mini Max 16" bandsaw see action every day as does my Domino, and most every other Festool tool that I own. Am I offbase in my perception and if not what is wrong with having or wanting a table saw? Thank you and this asked quite respectively as there are truly some amazing woodworkers on this forum. Fred
Fred,
I don't think it's an issue of "anti-tablesaw". I think it's a combination of several factors that tend to knock the tablesaw off its pedestal (pardon the pun).
For decades (centuries?), common wisdom has been that you MUST have a tablesaw. Virtually ALL woodworking mags and books state emphatically, "
YA GOTTA HAVE A TABLESAW!". "Silly" arguments about working on-site, portability, lack of space, and safety are brushed aside. It's an article of faith, "YOU MUST HAVE A TABLESAW!"
For those of us who lack space, need portability, etc., it has been very frustrating. There were limited tool alternatives. Even if you found those, you couldn't find much information about using them. For example, open almost any book on cabinet making and you'd see text like, "Well, ya hoist your 80lb sheet of mdf on yer gazillion dollar slider table saw and cut that sucker up. Then ya..." More inside-the-box thinking than almost every other art!
So Festool comes along and says, "We have very good quality tools that allow you to to work on-site and produce high quality work!" "And we'll give you very good dust collection too!" While the rest of the industry keeps bleating about the absolute necessity of a big ole traditional tablesaw, Festool says, "Nice, but not critical."
So part of what you are seeing is a whole group of people who suddenly realize that "White men CAN jump!" (Paraphrasing the movie title.) Yes, we CAN create cabinets without a table saw! Yes, we CAN get accurate cuts on-site! Yes, we CAN create a shop in our garage and STILL have it as a garage. It's uplifting. And this tends to make people lash out at the common wisdom. We say, "I CAN do it without a tablesaw!"
Matthew makes a valid point. There is still a valid place for a tablesaw. The question is "where?" What's the right balance? When is Festool better and when is the tablesaw better? What are the parameters for that choice?
Since the vast majority of traditional woodworkers can't even see the need for the Festool approach, we won't get much help there. Trade mags and books? Nope. Most of them written by people with decades of experience in traditional methodologies and tools.
Festool has some tablesaw-like tools that are not available here, like CMS, Basis, Precisio. I think they'd like to bring them in the US, but can't get past UL approval. UL has lots of standards and guidelines for the big iron, but none for the light, portable saws where you pull the blade towards you. So we can't go there.
So that leaves us in a tough spot. There is still a need for a tablesaw, but it's much more limited now. We are still searching for the right balance. Bandsaws might the best choice. Maybe a small contractor's saw like the Ridgid or the new Bosche 4100. Maybe Festool can get their tools past UL and bring them in. We are still searching.
For me personally, I have neither the space nor the inclination to get a bunch of big iron and especially a tablesaw. I like to work on-site on my bathroom remodel. Its great to trim a couple of millimeters off a piece of wood and then install it five feet behind you. Running up and down three flights to do that on a tablesaw would be nuts.
Everyone has their own needs and wants. I respect that. For me, I'll never get a traditional tablesaw. They are much too limiting.
Regards,
Dan.
