For 30 years the largest tool in my home shop was a marvelous Davis & Wells 14" table saw with a 3hp 220v/1 phase motor. It had been built in 1929 and had just been re-built when I purchased it in 1960 mostly to break down sheet material.
Over the years I needed to build fewer projects. That saw had been lovingly moved from house to house along with my family. Then in 1994 I decided to sell my house and buy a condo. There was no room for any sort of table saw.
In 2006, when I started retirement, I wanted to return to cabinet making. While shopping for a portable, contractors table saw Eagle Tool of Los Angeles demonstrated a Festool TS55 with a CT22. Not only was this combo quiet and clean enough for use in a spare bedroom. Because the sheet material did not move, unlike with a table saw, using guide rails I could break down full sheets with excellent glue-ready cuts.
Early in 2010, so many designers were begging me to make custom cabinets I could not meet demand using just Festools. After months of searching I found a large building in decent shape that was originally a factory and was in an industrial zone, with a very large sliding door.
Instead of rushing to buy another large conventional table saw, I made use of research I had been doing for years. My experience has been that over 90% of cabinet parts only involve right angles, no miters or bevels. This is where beam saws are so precise and efficient. Most have a scoring unit, so they make Festool-quality glue-ready cuts. Mine can handle 5'x12' sheet material. I actually do use a lot of 4'x10' plywood. I like to think of my beam saw as a Festool TS 75 with rails on steroids, with a computer telling servos where to move the rail and the saw moving below the work. Actually the sheet is moved, on an air table to avoid scratches, relative to the moving saw. With the saw under the work in an enclosed chamber, and the pressure beam lowering to hold the work while it is being cut, the dust collection is outstanding.
Cabinets require a lot of solid dimensional lumber to be cut and milled precisely. I bought a large sliding table saw. While I use it mostly ripping lumber, it is very effective making miter and bevel cuts in sheet material. My slider saw has excellent dust collection.
What I have found is that often it is as fast to make miter and bevel cuts on larger sheet good parts using a work table and Festools with guide rails.
