The hand tool brigade love to spout off about Japanese pull saws and every other hand saw on the planet. In my experience though there are three must-have saws.
While it’s tempting to say you need a table saw, in my experience a table saw seems to be more of a liability than an asset. This is because a table saw is bulky and not as portable as people tell you. Both of these reasons are why I say ditch the table saw and get a plunge cut rail saw.
The biggest advantage of a rail saw is that you can straighten up a board that's had wonky cuts. You can do this easily enough with a straight edge. Then it's a matter of lining the rails to the line and cutting. From this point on all your cuts will be off a square sheet. Score one for the rail saw.
The other advantage is the size. It is true the rail allows for cutting long lengths. This requires a rail which needs storing somewhere. The fact is though that this rail is thin and thus it's storage is easy. A table saw is a different story though. In my shop, the rail saw proves itself time and time again. Being a small shop and given that I live in an area where it rains a lot the size of a rail saw shines. Score two for the rail saw.
I regret getting the following saws:
NONE of these are bad tools and I do love those Kreg products but great products in the wrong hands are a waste of time.
When it comes to cross-cutting the compound mitre saw is one of the most versatile saws out there. It can’t rip a board but with stop blocks and other jigs, you can get fast, accurate cuts every time.
As the name implies the compound mitre saw allows you to cut mitres. The great thing about a compound mitre saw though is that it can cut on the horizontal and vertical planes. You can even make these cuts at the same time allowing for some interesting mitres that are bang on every time.
The saw I have is a sliding compound mitre saw. The slide allows me to cut up to 300mm which is the largest size I need to cross cut anyway. If I need larger cuts then it's best to go with the above saw.
I've wanted to make children's toys for ages. It's the number one reason I wanted to get into woodworking. I saw a set of cool looking wooden trucks on the side of the road that some guy was selling. Ever since that was what I wanted to make. One project I was trying to make required me to cut a small piece of wood to shape but it ended up being a nightmare to do. I tried a jigsaw but that wasn't stable enough. I tried a router but that was freaking scary. I finally tried the table saw but that kept breaking the piece. I got to the point of frustration where, without thinking, I chucked the piece at the saw. I realised too late that the blade was still spinning and thus I watched as it slammed into the garage door. The force was so great it bounced off the door and into my arm cutting it in a couple of spots.
I decided I needed a band saw so I went to The ToolShed to get one. The guy at the shop enquired what I was trying to achieve and then suggested I needed a scroll saw. He was right. It was perfect for that job and now I find it perfect for all sorts of other jobs where I need to make an internal cut. I do need to find a reversible blade though. It has teeth for cutting on the downward stroke as well as for the upward stroke. This makes it quicker, more precise, and more manoeuvrable.
With that said though I do also have a band saw because some cuts are better on a bigger blade. The downside to a band saw is that it can't do internal cuts. This rules out cutting handles etc but for cutting thicker wood the band saw in my not so humble opinion is a must.
But if you have even less space than me and you need portability then you need a jigsaw. It can't cut thick wood very well and tends to get away on you but it is a great tool for shape cutting as well. A mini version of a scroll saw and a band saw.
There is no perfect saw that will do everything you need. There are times that a table saw would be best but I've found those to be few and far between. The saws I've listed here have transformed what I can do and what I will do in the future and so I present my list to you. Feel free to discuss this list, comment if you agree or why you disagree.
This post is a repost from my personal Tumblr blog found at https://woodenwookie.com. I am Wooden Wookie and I am the writer of all these posts. Also, these posts have been reposted at https://medium.com/@WoodenWookie/.
