Table Saw on a budget.

[ResidentEvil]

Yeah, I won't get a track saw. Repeated rips are way more work with a track saw. Single rips are one thing, but repeated rips or cross cuts are far more efficient with a set fence or stop block. I also will not bend over to cut any more than absolutely necessary. This is not to bash the idea but to show how this is most certainly an individual preference issue that simply requires a little staging if full sheets are a struggle for you.

 

I was only commenting on the comment about breaking down full sheets comment.  I dont endorse the idea that a track saw is a replacement for a table saw, just that it can be just as easy to break down sheet goods with one.

[Tom Cancelleri]

Depending on your workflow, and what you're building it is possible to replace a table saw with a tracksaw, parallel guides, and an MFT3. There are a fair amount of people out there doing this. While a table saw is a great tool to have, it's not my most used tool. There's a million ways to do each task in woodworking. 

 

For me, I break my sheet goods down with a tracksaw and then use my table saw to get consistent sized pieces for my project. You need to think about how you want to do each task.

[ponderingturtle]

Buy once cry once.

 

This is not a cheap hobby.

 

Buying cheap now and upgrading later still costs you the price of both saws. 

 

Not trying to be a negative nanny but, I wish someone had been honest with me when I started out.  I've bought a bunch of tools twice as well.

And if you put off doing anything until you have saved up say $5-10,000+ to set up your shop and then find out you don't want to make that much furniture that is also really expensive.

[Guest]

And if you put off doing anything until you have saved up say $5-10,000+ to set up your shop and then find out you don't want to make that much furniture that is also really expensive.

 

You don't need a full shop to build furniture.  I built my first few projects with nothing but a miter saw, clamps and glue and I found it satisfying.  I have since added one machine at a time, as my project needs grew.   Personally I think it is better to buy one quality machine at a time than a whole suite of cheap tools.   

[Ronn W]

I had the foldable Rigid contractors saw for about three years.  Getting the blade and fence aligned properly is takes patience but once you are happy with your alignments, they stay set.  And it was so handy to fold it up and move it in my small shop.  $500 more or less.