The one big advantage to owning a benchtop saw is portability. On the average, benchtop saws weigh 60 pounds or less. The next step up is a contractors saw which averages about 200 pounds, and you obviously lose any portability you might have unless you added a mobile base. But even then, you are limited to the area that it could be moved. Based upon this, benchtop saws are the perfect jobsite saw. They also are wonderful for people that are stuck in tight, confined areas, whether it be a garage or small workshop. Space is always at a premium, and you know that if it comes to the saw or the car in the garage, the saw will not have a covered resting place!

How about power...does the benchtop saw deliver? It really depends upon the model you choose. All benchtop saws are direct drive motors unlike the larger saws listed previously which are belt driven. They have motors ranging up to 15 amps, which in essence is comparable to that of a powerful circular saw. Don’t get fooled by the stickers on the boxes that say "develops 3.5 HP" or the like. Regardless of what it delivers, it virtually is no more than a circular saw motor. With that being said, a good direct drive motor should get you through most materials, especially if you keep in mind the fact that you need to let the saw do the work. Do not force the material through the saw. Let it work at its own pace and you should have no problems, and you will not prematurely wear down the motor.

Other than the motor, the biggest difference between the saws is the fencing systems. Benchtop saws have always had the reputation of having "cheesy" fences. That all changed when DeWalt released their model DW744 saw. They were the first to offer a rack and pinion fencing system. In essence, this provides a perfect cut from front to back each time. You turn a knob that moves the fence into position. The front and back of the fence move as one piece, so they are always true. The fence telescopes as well to allow you to crosscut larger pieces of stock as well. Bosch followed this up with a similar fence of their own that also offers great accuracy.

Other features to look for is the size of the tabletop as well as the material it is made of. Anodized aluminum seems to be the way to go. A nice addition is a real good quality carbide blade with as many teeth as possible for crosscutting. The Bosch 4000 has a side compartment for extra blades which comes in handy, as well as a storage rack for the fence of you need to remove it from the tabletop. All should come with a miter gauge, and prior to purchasing, you should test each model for ease of raising and lowering the blade, as well as the tilting mechanism of the blade. Lastly, check to see how difficult it is to change the blade. Do you need one wrench or two, and do you need two people to get to the blade to change it.

Now that we’ve broken down the features, lets look at the offerings. Bosch & DeWalt. These two companies set a new standard when they recently introduced new saws to the marketplace. These saws are very powerful and will not bog down under most common applications. The fences are dramatically different from the others on the market. They are very precise, and telescope out so that you can rip a full 25". The table surfaces are larger to add stability to the work piece, and are manufactured out of aluminum so that they are non marring. The motors feature a soft start feature and electronics make sure that the power is maintained throughout the cut. There are additional slick features such as a spindle lock for easy blade changing and a blade storage compartment on the Bosch saw. These two saws have completely revolutionized the benchtop table saw industry and have set a new high standard.

With that being said, I still feel that this saw is for the person that must have the portability that a bench saw affords. If portability is not an issue, you would be much better off stepping up to a contractors series saw by Delta, Jet or Powermatic that offers much more power and the best of saw fences.

So which of these saws is the best? The choice really is yours between the Dewalt and the Bosch. We have been selling both since their inception and have had wonderful results with each. If you have any comment regarding these saws or any topic, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to contact me at dbarnett@internationaltool.com. I look forward to discussing another tool related topic again next month!

Dean "The Tool Guru" Barnett

Email the Guru.

Read previous months' tips:

Sharpening Techniques
Surface Planers
Finecut Finishing Saw
Production Routers
Biscuit Joiners
Cabinet Tablesaws  
Slide Compound Miter Saws
Mid-Sized Plunge Routers
Cordless Drills
Detail Sanders
Random Orbit Sanders
Brad Nailers
Hammer Drills
Saw Blades
Reciprocating Saws
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