A shop without a table saw

Of Course !! What did they do before Electricity ?

I prefer the power though !!

-- Pat - Worker of Wood, Collector of Tools, Father of one

Ha Ha. I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. What power tools do I need to obtain which would replace a table saw but be safer?

Wow, well if you are that scared of a tablesaw to begin with I would say it is a pretty good idea to not have one. Some guys use a panel saw.

and they say they do ok. There is also a cheaper version available that you can set up with a circular saw on a workbench and/or a pair of horses.

My opinion is that a tablesaw isn’t all that dangerous or worrisome to use if a person just practices good safety techniques. If I was convinced that they were worrisome I believe a tablesaw is a useful enough piece of equipment that some training may be in order. A guy could learn the proper safe use of the machine and get enough confidence to own what I think is the most useful piece of equipment a woodworker can own. A beginner’s woodworking class should be fairly easy to find and would offer some good information even for experienced guys and would be heavy on shop safety. Hell, you know I wouldn’t even mind taking another one sometime.

However I think there are a couple guy’s on the forum who have a shop without a tablesaw and they may be by with information of how they get by without a tablesaw. I wouldn’t want to as I use mine for so many different tasks.

-- Ohh mann...pancakes and boobies...I'll bet that's what Heaven is like! ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

I will do a quick search for the circular saw and rail setup you may be able to use. Some guys say that they have very good luck with them.

-- Ohh mann...pancakes and boobies...I'll bet that's what Heaven is like! ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

Essentilly a table saw is just a (BIG) skill saw, with a few jigs, you should be able to do most of the same cuts.

-- Pat - Worker of Wood, Collector of Tools, Father of one

Tablesaws made me nervous too, so I got a Sawstop and am taking a beginner’s woodworking class (which also uses a Sawstop). Not scared anymore, just healthy awareness and caution.

I’m also a musician (concertina, whistle) so I understand your concern!

I suppose you could look at one of those guided circular saws that Dewalt, Festool and Eurkea sell.

I am concerned that you are expressing fear of injury at the outset as this is generally in my experience a bad omen for folk using power tools.
Is it possible for you to take an introductory course in basic woodworking before investing your time and money into a hobby that could definitely harm you?

I’m not trying to talk you out of it but I’m hearing some trepidation from your side.

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Get a SawStop tablesaw. If your finger touches the spinning blade, it will stop before it cuts you. Amazing technology! I believe there’s a demo on youtube

I play guitar and piano, so I understand your concern. Actually, I think this serves as a great built-in safety feature because it really makes me stop and think before each cut.

Based on everything I’ve seen and read, the vast majority of table saw accidents occur when:

1. An unsafe cut is being attempted (normal safety procedures are ignored).
2. A person becomes distracted, or loses focus due to the boredom of making a repeated cut over and over.

If you want to avoid all power-driven blades, you can certainly do so. As DaddyZ alluded to, there was woodworking long before there was electricity. But if you plan to use other saws, such as a band saw or a miter saw, I don’t think a table saw is inherently more dangerous.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Ok… they call them a tracksaw (thanks Bob) and here is one made by Dewalt which should be a good quality tool.

There is also a YouTube video here…

with a bit of digging I bet you will find a ton of information that you will find of interest now that we know what they are called :)

-- Ohh mann...pancakes and boobies...I'll bet that's what Heaven is like! ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

Another guitar player here as well. I was unwilling to spend the bucks on a SawStop so I just try to be extremely careful around my table saw. I build tube amps in hardwood cabinets and could not imagine life without my table saw or my fingers either for that matter. Many people get by just fine with a bandsaw for most ripping and cross cutting chores. You cannot cut dadoes on a bandsaw but you can use a router table for that. Personally, my router table scares me more than my table saw does.

-- Al, Culpeper VA

Can I build a successful small shop for making furniture without one [table saw]?

Of course you can!

-- 温故知新

my router table scares me more than my table saw does.

Yeah, and shapers are usually known as the Great White shark of woodshops. They are meaner then router tables only because of their size and power. But I agree with CiscoKid that they are more dangerous then tablesaws.

A bandsaw isn’t a bad suggestion either depending on what you will be making. Good luck! :)

-- Ohh mann...pancakes and boobies...I'll bet that's what Heaven is like! ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

I’m a guitarist and a doctor, so keeping all of my fingers is pretty high up on my priority list!! I have been closer to cutting off my fingers with my mitre saw and circular saw than with my TS, mostly because I fear and respect my TS and its ability to maim me (obviously I need the same fear and respect for my other power tools). Really, if you respect your tools ability to harm you, and use proper precautions you’ll be ok; most of the accidents I’ve seen as a doctor involve either a)the person wasn’t using proper safety procedures ie. no push stick, splitter, blade guard etc. and/or b)was distracted/intoxicated/high.

-- Rob, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

The closest I have been to a shop/power tool accident was with a mitersaw in the shop and once with a skillsaw on a job site. I remember what I did wrong in both instances and have never done the same again. The skillsaw accident almost happened when I was 16 years old so the lessen has stuck with me for awhile.

-- Ohh mann...pancakes and boobies...I'll bet that's what Heaven is like! ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣