Shopsmith Forums

Over at the Festool forum they're having a conversation on whether you need to own a table saw. It seems most feel that the table saw is faster/easier to rip small stock than the Festool rail and saw system. I have both the Festool and the SS and haven't used either for ripping small stock. Is the SS as easy to use in the table saw setup as a regular TS? I'm really challenged in both experience and room to work. Especially during the winter everything has to be rolled out and set up while sharing w/3 cars in a 3.5 car garage. So I don't have the room for a dedicated table saw and not sure I even need one since I have the SS.

putttn wrote:Over at the Festool forum they're having a conversation on whether you need to own a table saw. It seems most feel that the table saw is faster/easier to rip small stock than the Festool rail and saw system. I have both the Festool and the SS and haven't used either for ripping small stock. Is the SS as easy to use in the table saw setup as a regular TS? I'm really challenged in both experience and room to work. Especially during the winter everything has to be rolled out and set up while sharing w/3 cars in a 3.5 car garage. So I don't have the room for a dedicated table saw and not sure I even need one since I have the SS.

Hi putttn,
I DO have a single purpose TS. It sits right in the middle of my shop, and I use it to cut large boards, e.g., full sheets of ply. IMHO, the Mark V rips boards just as easy as a "regular TS". Of coarse (sp:) ), if you have a "regular TS" with a blade intended for ripping already installed, all you have to do for set up is set the fence. If the Mark V is already in TS mode, that is also all you have to do, but if there is any blade changing to do the Mark V is superior (as long as you have your blade already mounted to an arbor). For ripping, the other (IMO) major consideration is infeed/outfeed support. For most of us, that means having roller stands or some other method, and those will need to be set up regardless if it is a "regular TS" or a Mark V. Some of us have a "permanent" outfeed table for ripping large boards on our single purpose table saws.

BTW, my +/-400lb single purpose TS sits on an all steel frame mobile base and is very easy to move around. I seldom have a reason to do so and avoid doing so because of the outfeed table. But I do knot have to share my shop space with cars, like a lot of you.

I just don't have enough room, especially in the winter, for a dedicated TS. I have to roll out everythng from the wall to use it. During the warmer months I can utilize a car space as the 4x4 goes to the shed for summer storage. I'm even considering the Walko workbench as a possible mobile platform. The Festool setup I have is fine for lots of things but it too has its' limitations when it comes to mobility. Don't want to have to hibernate another winter because of lack of room so that's the reason for this post. Thanks for the suggestions.

putttn wrote:Over at the Festool forum they're having a conversation on whether you need to own a table saw. It seems most feel that the table saw is faster/easier to rip small stock than the Festool rail and saw system. I have both the Festool and the SS and haven't used either for ripping small stock. Is the SS as easy to use in the table saw setup as a regular TS? I'm really challenged in both experience and room to work. Especially during the winter everything has to be rolled out and set up while sharing w/3 cars in a 3.5 car garage. So I don't have the room for a dedicated table saw and not sure I even need one since I have the SS.

Many of us, here on this forum, only have one table saw - our Shopsmith. It serves all of us well. Being a multi purpose tool that only uses a small amount of space is the Mark V strong suit.

I am unable to imagine why the Festool Rail and Table System would be slower or more difficult to setup and use than the Shopsmith but if users are complaining there must be something to it.

Ripping thin stock is difficult with the Festool. Certainly not impossible, but because of the large rail the stock sits under it is not as convenient/easy to run a large numbers of cuts. The fence setup of the TS is faster and that was the reason many on the Festool forum felt that a TS was nice to have. But for those of us who have very little shop space the TS just takes up too much space. That's one reason I purchased a used SS. I've done most of my ripping on the Festool but I've never done much narrow stock.

Puttn
You know I like the Festool system (since we have exchanged e-mails). I presently do all my ripping on the Shopsmith but if and when I do purchase a guided tool system (Festool or others) I intend to use it for most of my ripping. If you go to the Festool forum you will find many methods guys have come up with to effectively and efficiently rip narrow stock.

Over on the EZguide forum they have developed what they call a bridge/power bench method and one guy has eliminated two uni saws from his commercial shop, claiming an increased in production.

The facts do remain to rip on a Shopsmith you will need a space that is about 6-7 feet wide and twice as long as the wood your ripping. That is not permanent space but space to make the cut. Using a guided saw system you need a space at wide as board your ripping pluse enough to for you to get through, length has to be the length of the wood your ripping plus about a foot at either end. To rip on a table saw you need a space as wide as the table saw with it fence rails and again about twice as long as the length of the board your ripping.

I don't think there is not one right answer to your question. There are many ways to make this cut, dedicated Table saw, Shopsmith, guided Saw system. What you need to do is get out there in your shop when the weather clears up and find out which is best method for you under your conditions.

When I got my Shopsmith, I gave my tablesaw up. I never have any problems with ripping stock. I have seen the Festool system and never have been interested in it. Besides, I think it is too high-priced.

BPR

Ditto what he said and I mean word for word.

Ed

ryanbp01 wrote:When I got my Shopsmith, I gave my tablesaw up. I never have any problems with ripping stock. I have seen the Festool system and never have been interested in it. Besides, I think it is too high-priced.

BPR

I suspect that the reason many guys have the Festool system is because their table saw lacks ripping capacity, and because it is such a chore to switch to a ripping blade.

There are some advantages to the Shopsmith in these two instances.

About ripping... I tend to do ripping of big stuff on my rigid TS-3650 partially because it sits a little lower and of course has more table than the SS. If it is just normal stuff I have no problems using the SS (usually the 510) and if it is long boards I sit a second SS behind it and use it for outfeed as I have said before. It is nice to have an outfeed table and fence sat up at the same angle as the front one if I am ripping a bevel. With everything on wheels set-up is easy. I have never tried sitting 3 SS's in a line but I suppose if you needed to rip something really long (like 24' etc.) that it might help a lot.
When I'm doing a quick rip and need a little flat support I have one of those hospital over-the-bed tables I bought for about $3 or $4 at a yard sale. I just roll it over and chock it and grab the release and lift it to a matching height and cut. I need to put locking casters on it but in the mean time I will cut a thin board and drill holes in it so I can lift one end and sit two casters in a pair of holes drilled part way through the board so it will not roll.