The table saw is without a doubt the king of cutting board products. The concept is simple: put the motor under a sturdy table, let the blade spin across the surface, and watch the sawdust fly. The idea may be simple, but when you're looking for the best portable jobsite table saw for your next job, there's a lot to consider.
Editor's note: If you're just starting out, don't miss our guide to using a table saw.
DeWalt 10-Inch Table Saw DWE7491
As new models and even new brands enter the table saw scene, DeWalt's DWE7491 remains at the top of the list many years after it was first introduced. We love the rack and pinion fence system, its 15 amp motor provides plenty of power, its precision is excellent, its table is wider than many, and the rolling brackets give it a very stable platform. Throw in a reasonable price tag, including the stand, and it's the most complete option in our team's opinion.
- Motor: 15 amps
- Blade Speed: 4800 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16"
- Maximum depth of cut: 3 1/8 inches at 90°, 2 1/4 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 32 1/2 inches
Price: $529 with stand
Pro Tip: Note that due to the size and weight of the table saw, there is often an additional shipping charge. Many retailers offer free shipping to your local store if you order online.
The Best Cordless Portable Worksite Table Saw
Metabo HPT 36V MultiVolt 10" Table Saw
When searching for the best cordless portable table saw options, there aren't many competitors, but the competition is fierce. The traditional powerhouses, Milwaukee and DeWalt have them, and Metabo HPT added one later. Most recently, Ryobi joined the group with an HP brushless model.
While these saws all have compelling reasons to buy, the Metabo HPT stands out in several ways. First off, it's a full 10" saw with a massive 35" cutting capacity. It's also the only hybrid option. By adding an AC adapter, you can use the saw with batteries when it is convenient, or use AC power when you need unlimited runtime.
- Motor: 36V brushless
- Blade Speed: 5000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16"
- Maximum depth of cut: 3 1/8 inches at 90°, 2 1/4 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 35"
Price: $599 bare metal
Best Portable Worksite Table Saw for Safety
SawStop Construction Saw Pro
When you want the ultimate in table saw safety, look no further than SawStop. It uses flesh detection, and when any part of your skin touches the blade, it drops under the table and slams into the aluminum brakes. It's also lightning fast. The blade may bleed, but you can almost always avoid a trip to the emergency room.
SawStop has also designed a well thought out table saw that doesn't sacrifice performance and usability for safety features. Of the two construction-focused saws, the Jobsite Pro is our top pick, thanks to a more portable package that includes an excellent rolling stand.
- Motor: 15 amps
- Blade Speed: 4000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16"
- Maximum depth of cut: 3 1/8 inches at 90°, 2 1/8 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 25 1/2 inches
Price: $1579
Best Portable Worksite Table Saw Value for Professionals
Ridgid 10" Table Saw with Roll Stand
If you're on a budget, it's still possible to get a quality table saw and stand for less than $500. Ridgid's latest updates include the R4550, which is upgraded to a rack and pinion fence system that supports rip cuts up to 32 1/2 inches. For $499, you get much better quality and stability that frustrates many lower-priced saws.
- Motor: 15 amps
- Blade Speed: 5000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 5/8"
- Maximum depth of cut: 3 1/2 inches at 90°, 2 1/2 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 32 1/2 inches
Price: $499 with stand
Best Budget Portale Construction Site Table Saw for DIYers
Skil 10" Table Saw with Integrated Stand
Skil's 10-Inch Table Saw uses a 15-amp motor for excellent cutting power. Its rack and pinion fence system makes it easy to keep your cuts square, even if you're just getting started with your table saw. Additionally, the integrated legs provide an impressively stable platform for the DIY/Prosumer-oriented table saw.
- Motor: 15 amps
- Blade Speed: 4600 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 5/8"
- Maximum depth of cut: 3 1/2 inches at 90°, 2 1/2 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 25 1/2 inches
Price: $349.00
Best Portable Worksite Table Saw
In most cases, the best portable table saw blade will be a 40-tooth option with carbide teeth, although 24-tooth blades are common and usually fit into a frame. Sometimes you want a finer cut and a 60 or 80 tooth blade may be more suitable. No matter how many teeth you need, there are plenty of options from economy to premium blades. Here are our most commonly used portable worksite table saws:
- Diablo: 10" 40T D1040X $29.97
- Makita Max Efficiency: 10" 45T B-62103 $33.49
- Milwaukee: 10" 40T 48-40-1024 $29.97
The Best Portable Worksite Table Saws from More Brands We Trust
The best Bosch portable worksite table saw
Bosch now has only one table saw left, the 4100XC replacing the workhorse 4000 series. Now in XC form, the main difference between it and the original 4100 is a larger tear capacity of 30 inches. This is one of the slowest saws on our list at 3650 RPM. It still has a 15-amp motor to back it up, though, and we don't think it's underpowered. It's also one of the few sticklers to make the final cut without a rack and pinion fence. That said, Bosch's SquareLock fence is a great upgrade over some of the fences we use.
There are some compromises compared to the latest saws, but the Bosch 4100XC is still a field-tested winner.
- Motor: 15 amps
- Blade Speed: 3650 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16"
- Maximum depth of cut: 3 1/8 inches at 90°, 2 1/4 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 30"
Price: $599 with stand
Best Delta Portable Worksite Table Saw
Delta has been around as a brand for a long time. After nearly 100 years in development, the 36-6023 is its best portable table saw. It features a rack and pinion fence system and its 15 amp motor is capable of spinning a 10" blade at up to 5000 RPM.
- Motor: 15 amps
- Blade Speed: 5000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16"
- Maximum depth of cut: 3 1/2 inches at 90°, 2 1/2 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 32 1/2 inches
Price: $659.99 with stand
The best Makita portable construction site table saw
Makita had a pretty solid table a few years ago, but has since dropped out of the field. Overall, they make excellent miter and circular saws, so we'd love to see them come back, perhaps on the cordless end, with an XGT model that maxes out at 40V.
Best Milwaukee Portable Jobsite Table Saw
There is only one table saw in Milwaukee and the M18 Fuel 2736 is a great one! It's a strong performer among the top picks as the best cordless portable table saw, has a rack and pinion fence system we like, and cuts boards with great confidence.
This saw has an 8 1/4 inch blade and the brushless motor spins at an impressive 6300 RPM. Additionally, the onboard One-Key provides tool tracking, inventory management and more. In fact, we believe this saw is capable of handling a full 10" blade, and we wonder if that's going to come up somewhere.
- Motor: 18V brushless
- Blade Speed: 6300 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 8 1/4 inches
- Dado Capacity: 3/4"
- Maximum depth of cut: 2 1/2 inches at 90°, 1 3/4 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 24 1/2 inches
Price: $449 bare-bones, $599 kit with 12.0Ah high-output battery and charger
The best Ryobi portable construction site table saw
Ryobi has several high-value table saws at The Home Depot, and it's the cordless 18V One+ HP brushless model we're focusing on. This saw uses a brushless motor to turn its 8 1/4 inch blade at 4500 RPM. For best results, be sure to pair your chainsaw with high-performance batteries (two 4.0Ah high-performance batteries are included in the kit). This is a compact table saw with only 12 inches of cutting capacity, so keep that in mind.
As Ryobi's first cordless table saw, and the first to come from the DIY/Prosumer side, it's off to a good start, and we're curious to see if other brands follow Ryobi's lead.
- Motor: 18V brushless
- Blade Speed: 4500 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 8 1/4 inches
- Dado Capacity: Not Compatible
- Maximum depth of cut: 2 1/4 inches at 90°, 1 3/4 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 12"
Price: $339 bare, $399 kit, including two 4.0Ah high-performance batteries and charger
Best Skilsaw Portable Worksite Table Saw
The Skilsaw brand has several portable construction site table saws that all use real worm drives. The lighter model is great when you're moving it in and out of the truck bed, but we prefer the larger, heavy-duty SPT99-12.
It's a muscle saw that produces 5000 RPM and has the strongest overall cutting power of any portable table saw we've tested. It's slightly undersized compared to some of the top picks on our list, but wide enough to handle 1/2-page tear cuts. Other than that, it's a solid build with an excellent folding/rolling stand.
- Motor: 15 amps
- Blade Speed: 5000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 1/2"
- Maximum depth of cut: 3 5/8 inches at 90°, 2 3/10 inches at 45°
- Tear Capacity: 30 1/2 inches
Price: $649 with stand
Best portable worksite table saw buying guide: What we look for
strength
Even though you may primarily be tearing sheets, you will come across situations where you need to tear 2x or 4x material. While most portable table saws work well on thin panels, other woods separate them when it comes to power.
A 15 amp motor is an absolute must in our book. From there, it's all about dialing in that power so there's enough torque to support blade speed. Don't let the big RPM numbers affect everything – we'd rather give up a few hundred RPMs for a more torquey design than have the motor bog down on our toughest cuts.
Blade and Table Dimensions
Recent changes have prompted some saws with smaller countertops to switch to 8 1/4-inch blades. It's a safe thing to do. Your total cutting capacity drops to about 2 1/2 inches, so 4x slitting in a single cut is no longer possible.
The important thing to remember is that the 8 1/4" models usually have smaller tables, but still use a 15 amp motor and have plenty of power.
For the overall table size, we need at least a 24" cutting width. That's enough for us to rip a sheet of plywood in half and cover any other dimensions we might need.
accuracy
For the best precision from your table saw, don't buy a portable table saw! When 1/16 inch makes a huge difference to your results, a cabinet table saw is better for extreme precision.
Still, you should expect high precision from a portable table saw. Most of the cases happened near the fence. We try to avoid easily locking the fence out of the square where possible. Models with clips on both sides tend to fall into this category.
Single-clip fencing usually adjusts itself pretty well when you lock it down. Just make sure it's strong enough not to push aside when you start feeding.
The rack and pinion style is one of the easiest to use and highly accurate fences. The first one we used was on DeWalt's popular DWE7491, and many more brands have adopted similar designs. In our opinion, this is the way to go.
Stability and Portability
Stability and portability are two key areas that interact with each other. When you're shopping for the best portable table saw, something lightweight can look attractive. This might make portability very easy, but it might sacrifice stability to get it. Especially if you're placing your table saw on something other than a dedicated stand, the last thing you want is for the saw to move while you're feeding.
Integrated brackets can also cause problems. If the legs are wobbly, the saw may move as you feed, reducing cutting accuracy. However, there are some good ones too.
You can also use some excellent dedicated mounts. Whether you prefer a separate stand or an all-in-one stand, look for sturdy materials that offer little wobble on spread out legs and adjustable feet to help level the saw on uneven ground.
The stand also helps with transport thanks to the onboard wheels. We prefer stands with larger wheels, which make it easier to scroll the saw in less-than-ideal ground.
So what is the final setup? We prefer saws that are heavy enough to resist moving on a dedicated stand with high stability and large wheels. It's not something that's in everyone's budget, and if you're moving the saw in and out of the truck bed, you're going to need a second person to help you.
Dust removal
If you primarily use your portable table saw outdoors, dust removal may not be as much of an issue. If you're using it in a shop or indoors, that's a different story. Most models do a good job of collecting wood chips, and there isn't much difference in chute design. Just pay attention to the diameter so you have the right hose or adapter, and make sure to use a high CFM shop vac for the best results.
To SawStop or not to SawStop?
All table saws sold in the U.S. come with riving knives, anti-kickback pawls, and split blade guards. Since some cuts cannot be made with these safety features installed, they are removable. If you're looking for a fun party game, check out which inexperienced friends can properly install these two games without a manual. While each is different, their nature means you can use the saw without installing them. We would be remiss if we didn't tell you that these cuts are more dangerous, so please avoid them if possible.
The best security technology is the flesh detection pioneered by SawStop. Bosch's Reaxx also has a version, but it's no longer sold in the US. Efforts to mandate the use of pulp detection technology in table saws have so far been unsuccessful. That said, there's no denying the effectiveness of SawStop's technology in preventing catastrophic injuries. This helps them make a really good portable table saw.
If it's within your budget, go ahead and pull the trigger. The first time it saves you a trip to the ER, it pays for itself, and then some. After all, table saw injuries are still one of the most common tool-related injuries, and most people we know prefer to use all ten fingers.
Additional features to consider
- Kickback pawl, blade guard, blade wrench and push rod storage
- Additional blade storage
- skirt capacity
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