Benchtop Table Saws
Benchtop table saws are lightweight and are designed to operate while sitting on a table or other support. They commonly have direct drive (no v-belt or pulleys) from a universal type motor. They can be lifted by one person and carried to the job location. These saws often have parts made of steel, aluminum and plastic and are designed to be compact and light.
Benchtop table saws are the least expensive and least capable of the three major types; however, they can offer adequate capacity and precision for many tasks. The universal motor is not as durable or as quiet as a brushless AC motor, but it offers more power relative to its size and weight.
The top of a benchtop table saw is narrower than those of contractor and cabinet saws, so the width of stock that can be ripped is reduced. Another restriction results from the top being smaller from the front of the tabletop to the rear. These results in a shorter rip fence, which makes it harder to make a clean, straight cut when ripping.
Also, there is less distance from the front edge of the tabletop to the blade, which makes cross cutting stock using a miter more difficult (the miter and/or stock may not be fully supported by the table in front of the blade). Benchtop saws are the smallest type of table saw and have the least mass, potentially resulting in increased vibration during a cut.
Benchtop Table Saws Reviews
