Sawstop Compact Saw

[grbmds]

How do you find the power compared to the jobsite pro? I was looking at the weight difference isn’t actually that much? I am going to buy one or the other, I’m on the tools everyday. Will the compact saw rip through 2x material easily? I’m 17 years in and the older I get the more underrated I think safety is. Maybe just getting a bit smarter as I get older maybe just more reckless with my money instead of my body

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I don't know anything about the compact Sawstop but have owned the Jobsite saw since it first was available. I love it. It serves almost all my needs for ripping and some crosscutting. I do most of my crosscutting other ways. The one negative about smaller saws is the table size; mainly the distance between the front edge of the table and the front edge of the saw blade. With the smaller size of the Compact saw I would think this is even a more noticeable limitation. There are certainly ways to accommodate longer pieces, especially longer rips, but it is a drawback. Other than that and the low quality miter gauge (which I've replace with an after market gauge), I have no negative feedback on the Jobsite saw. If the motor on the compact matches that saw, no problem. If it's less power, then it may be an issue. It all dpends on what you plan to use the saw for. As with the Jobsite, it's just necessary to realize it's not a cabinet saw.

 

[ChuckM]

To increase the size of the top, I knew a woodworker who used a method similar to this (but he didn't bolt the extension to the saw permanently; he used some kind of clamping elements, if I remember correctly):


Sometimes, even a cabinet saw may benefit from an extension at the front:
[attachimg=1]

 

[Svar]

The greatest number of injuries suffered from table saws by a huge margin is not finger or hand injuries from blade contact but kick back Snip.

Care to share the data source to back that up?
The OSHA record seems to suggest otherwise:

It appears they don't log kickbacks because most of them are unreported.

If kickbacks are mostly unreported how do you know they "cause greatest number of injuries suffered from table saws by a huge margin"?

 

[ChuckM]

One can learn a lot by studying the OSHA entries. As Mini Me pointed out, the push sticks, used incorrectly, can cause kickbacks. There's an entry on that. I use a push stick only with the JessEm clear stock guides in place; I go for the push shoe otherwise. 

Another learning point is that don't wear gloves when working with the table saw, drill press, etc., another kind of injury-causing entry that you can find on the OSHA link. This YouTuber, based on one or two of his videos I came across, has a few habits that could get him into trouble, including wearing gloves when using the table saw (he should get a SawStop to protect himself. His purchase should be tax-deductible as a depreciation charge):

[attachimg=1]

If I were a school shop teacher, I'd put the OSHA injury reports (classified under different machines such as miter saws, circular saws, etc.) on the Course Reading List.