Benchtop Table Saw Reviews

There are four main types of table saws and contractor table saws are a step up from portable table saws in power, features, cutting ability and price. Most contractor table saws are really not all that portable, though they can be moved from location to location and some even come with a mobile wheel base if your workshop is a little tight on space. If you’re a professional woodworker or just someone who is going to be doing a lot of work on home improvement projects around the house then you might want to consider looking at a contractor table saw to meet you needs.

Contractor table saws have a little more power than bench top table saws but still don’t take up that much space and still use standard home current. Most are fairly sturdy and can hold up to a lot of use as long as you aren’t working with a lot of hard dense wood. Contractor table saws usually require a fair bit of knowledge about how a table saw works before you’ll really get the full use out of it. Many require lengthy setup and assembly steps and they’re really meant to stay in one place for the most part.

Contractor table saws are obviously heavier than their benchtop table saw counterparts and that makes them a fair bit more stable and makes your cutting and ripping less prone to errors due to vibration. Though most contractor saws have an open base or legs they still usually weigh 200 pounds or more. Contractor saws are heavy, but they aren’t made out of cast iron. They still vibrate and they still can be jostled. Contractor saws often have a method for sawdust collection or at least deflection which a lot of portable table saws still lack.

Contractor table saws usually have pretty good fence and rail systems that are accurate and stay where they should when you’re adjusting them. Upgrading a contractor table saw’s fence and maybe weighting it down with some cast iron extension wings will go a long way to making a contractor table saw more on par with a cabinet table saw.

In general a contractor saw is a step up from a portable table saw and you should get more features and better quality features with a contractor saw. Fence systems should be tight, you should have more flexibility in the blades you can use and the ways you can move and angle that blade with most contractor table saws.

There are a fair number of contractor type table saws to choose from all made by good saw companies such as DeWalt, Bosch, Jet and Grizzly. The Bosch 4000-09 Worksite Contractor Table Saw gets raves from a number of experts and publications that typically feature table saw reviews. It’s priced well for a contractor table saw and has few real drawbacks. When comparing price to the variety of cutting features and power the Bosch 4000-09 is considered to be one of the best contractor table saws available.