Thank you to everyone who has replied. Most have been a helpful contribution, which is why I came here to start with. This Festool message board cuts through a lot of the crap I’m used to seeing on other boards plus I feel most here are pretty smart.
Some additional information on myself. I’m 42, live in Atlanta, and have really good upper body and core strength. Push ups, pull ups, and different kinds of sit ups are part of my 3 times a day workouts. I wasn’t in this good of shape before I got sick. My upper body is close to 100%, ie - I have full control of my hands, but I can't lift up a 4'x8' sheet of plywood like I could before. At this point I can easily scoot to the front of my chair and sit up straight without any kind of assistance. I can also lean over to tie my shoes - also without any kind of assistance. One of you guys is right, this might not be a permanent condition. In the parallel bars I’m now able to stand and walk 20’. My medical team can't agree on where I will max out, but I'm not stopping where I'm at.
As for where else I've sought help - I’ve talked with some of the stores around here Rockler, Woodcraft, and Peachtree Woodworking. I didn’t get any useful ideas out of those interactions. I haven’t talked with the guys at Highland though and that’s on my list, just have to make the time. I have talked with some other guys who do woodworking and are wheelchair bound. They weren’t much help because they’ve abandoned a good portion and just do craftsy stuff on scroll saws and/or turning. I don’t think I’ll be cruising ATL, doing on site measurements, and building custom closets - for the time being - but I can work on a good chunk of my honey do list and maybe pick up a few contracts. I've really neglected the honey do list the past few years, so it's time to catch up while I'm making progress physically. Nothing against people who do craftsy stuff. I've made a number of band saw boxes and jewelry display cases and will make a few of those for gifts. The biggest number of things on my honey do list involve cabinetry and storage around the house. I didn't state this specifically, but I have no plans to really change what I make. It might be on a smaller scale - a window seat and accompanying base cabinet instead of a window seat, base cabinet, the trim, and a wall of built ins to go along with it.
I need to keep space in mind. I’m limited to half of a two car garage, so with space needed for other tools/storage/whatever a sliding saw is out of the question. A platform that raises me in my chair up could be in play, but isn't all that practical. I want to avoid it if possible in this situation. Those platforms take up space if they are permanent and even if it’s not permanently on the floor it will take up space to store and will be something I’d have to move around. It's zero fun to move big things around in my chair. I still need space for other things such as my jointer, planer, router table, bench, MF Tables, hand tool storage, and material storage.
I also have a 14" Craftsman bandsaw I'm having my son pull up from my shop this weekend. It has a max height of 6.5" I think. I've used that before to make the little craftsy things, but I've picked up some thicker blades with the idea to use it for ripping when I'm not comfortable doing so on the table saw. I would commonly use my grizzly band saw with a 3/4" blade for rips before, but I'm not asking him to pull that thing up to the garage.
Safety and technique are very important, now as they were before. I have a bunch of featherboards, push sticks, and guides from before so I’m set there. I'm well versed on how/when to use them and consistently used them before so they’re already incorporated into my workflow. I didn’t think of the feed rollers so that’s a great idea - a really great idea actually. As with a jointer machine, proper technique on the table saw isn’t to use your muscles or body weight to force material down or through. Fighting material like that is a large commitment. Such a large commitment removes your ability to be flexible and to respond in much of a positive manner when stuff hits the fan, plus the material can be distorted causing the final results to be off. Finessing things will get you better results while leaving you in better position to deal with the same stuff when it hits the same fan.
I used above the table dust collection on my Grizzly table saw when I was ripping material or cutting sheet goods on it. The other things I use a table saw for are sleds of different varieties. In all these situations I was only on top of the saw for calibration, not for actual execution. I've done some testing and with being able to scoot forward to the edge of my chair and sit up straight, leaning forward when I have to, as long as the stand I build puts the table height not much above my waist I'll be good. That's how I derived the measurement for height in my original post.
The SawStop is a possibility, but let me talk you through my thinking. Their jobsite saw is already sitting over a grand though. A few hundred more I'm at the contractor saw. Like their jobsite saw, the contractor saw has a base stand I don't have to use. I just build my own custom stand a little shorter for the taller contractor saw. Would I be satisfied with a table top that's all cattywampus like repeatedly found on the contractor saw? Probably not, so skip the aluminum presssed table attachments and get the cast iron wings for just $300 more. While I'm at it, might as well as get that awesome T-Glide fence. That's another couple of hundred bucks which brings the price to $2300. I'm not sure about that, but it would work easier than their or any other jobsite saw. I think I saw that Bosch refurbed for $350. Big price difference there. Even only a grand more for just the SawStop jobsite saw is a big price difference. I'm not sure how well that sits with me. I think the insurance you get from the flesh sensing tech on the sawstops can't have a price tag on it. So is their jobsite saw that much better than the Bosch or DeWalt I mentioned?
Something else to take into consideration for my situation. I didn't call this out specifically to start with, but it's really important. It is much more difficult for me now to lean over and get under/up/into any tool to adjust it/fix it/set it up. My wife and son are willing to help unbox things, help me put this/that on a stand then bolt it down, help lift a sheet onto a platform, but it's bogue to ask them to help assemble a sliding table saw...or to have them learn how to calibrate a table top to the saw blade. The more accurate something is out of the box, the better off I am. That's a huge premium to me at this point. If I have to monkey around tweaking a rip fence or making the blade parallel with the miter slots, I'll give it some time, but not much before I have my son help box it back up and my wife drive me back to the store to return it.
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