Table saw or circular saw?

Russinating

Russinating

Russinating

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2005
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Location
Bristol
I'm going to be building some floating alcove shelves this weekend, MDF top, bottom and front with battons on all sides.

Given the price of a pro coming in I'm happy to invest in the right kit. Titan's table saw is a bargain on Screwfix atm at £84.99 and less than a cordless circular saw. Apart from the size of it when not in use (likely dismantle up to the loft), is there anything I'd be missing from it? Have an outside socket so no problem there.

I've also got an Evolution mitre saw already but it obviously can't do the lengths I'd need for the shelves (up to 120cm).
 
Honestly I’d go table saw. I’ve used mine more than most other saws recently after initially being skeptical about how much I’d use it.
 
If you can get it set up nicely and it's stable/consistent in terms of straight, square, etc, then it can be incredibly versatile. I have a book somewhere of "20 home woodwork projects" and it's basically all table saw work making boxes, tables, drawers, toys, all sorts.

Even if you can't - it's dead useful to have handy for just ripping timber to size. I would argue faster than a handheld for most cuts.
 
Have you considered a track saw? More versatile, easier to pack up, and probably more accurate than a cheap table saw. There's a series on you tube by Peter Millard that's worth a watch
 
I have both a table saw and a circular saw. I'd get a circular saw for your use-case.
If you're buying 2440x1880 sheets of mdf, that table saw won't be big enough to cut it. If you try and cut it down the middle of the long length (so two 2440*940 lengths) it'll be too wide to use the fence so you can't get a straight cut. If you try and cut a smaller strip off one side you're going to have a large, heavy piece unsupported over one side of the saw.
 
touch said:
I have both a table saw and a circular saw. I'd get a circular saw for your use-case.
If you're buying 2440x1880 sheets of mdf, that table saw won't be big enough to cut it. If you try and cut it down the middle of the long length (so two 2440*940 lengths) it'll be too wide to use the fence so you can't get a straight cut. If you try and cut a smaller strip off one side you're going to have a large, heavy piece unsupported over one side of the saw.
Click to expand...

Just bought enough for one shelf, just gone for 620x1220x9mm sheets. I know it's a tad more expensive than bigger sheets but as above, plus transport etc... faff!
 
My table saw looks identical to the Titan one you mentioned but it's branded Workzone and came from aldi. From memory, I think the max distance I can set the fence away from the blade is around 30cm so might be ok for what you need. I use that saw a lot but not for long rip cuts, it's almost always with a cross-cut sled making square/angled cuts on smaller parts. I'd use my circular saw for longer cuts.

Whatever you go for, make sure you budget for a proper respirator mask for cutting mdf.
 
Consider guarantee on the Titan stuff, father has had some of their stuff that has time-out just after the 2 year guarantee - henceforth I consider spending more for something more robust that will last 5-6 years with occasional use. ... or renting a table saw if you have a hire shop
 
I have a older version of that Titan table saw and it's still going strong after almost 10 years. It has sufficed for everything I have asked of it but it has a couple of downsides. The legs are very flimsy and are not that stable when working with long or wide lengths of wood. To be fair it does have holes in the bottom of the feet for mounting to a floor. The parallel fence is rubbish so I mad my own that clamps to both sides. Even packed up with the legs off it takes a fair bit of space so that's something to consider. Now that you have gone for the smaller sheets I would use a circular saw rather than a table saw.
 
I bought a table saw first and much prefer using a circular saw. Initially the table was let down by the blade not being perfectly square and secondly I am not a fan of approaching the blade as I am cutting, I prefer cutting away from the body so would prefer a plunge/track saw.
 
jpaul said:
I didn't know what one was but the £300 Makita track saw looks nice kit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxN7ZTfAuac
Click to expand...

I have a much cheaper and smaller version of this by VonHaus. It's a cracking bit of kit and I use it much more than my circular saw now. I originally bought it for the plunge saw aspect but once I realised how easy the track system is to use have used it for many projects.

It's all very well spending a fortune on "the best" brands such as Makita and DeWalt but at the small engineering firm I used to work at we found that they didn't last any longer than cheaper brands and those cheaper brands can often have longer warranties.
 
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