Great video , I agree with most of your points. I have a small shed to work in and space is a premium. I can’t even cut some items on a table saw because you need space for the In feed and out feed. Room I rarely have. However the main reason I ended up getting a table saw was repeated cutting all to the exact same size. Much easier on a table saw. That said, due to noise I have moved further into hand tools and use machines sparingly. Woodworking enjoyment has increased a huge amount. Look forward to watching your videos and learning more from your experiences.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, I have heard from several others that using hand tools (and slowing down) can make woodworking much more enjoyable. I've also heard it said that using hands tools to make something is more about the journey than the destination. I think I understand that statement; at least for me, when I'm using hand tools, wood working feels more deliberate and I do enjoy it more. If I'm in a hurry to get something done, I'll fall back to using a power tool of some type. I do understand what you said about using a table saw to make repeatable cuts. I do think one can accomplish repeatable cuts very accurately using hand tools but to do so probably requires modifying how the work is done. And it probably requires more time. Consider that a well tuned and sharp hand plane in the hands of an experienced user can remove very thin shavings (0.001" thick) one pass at a time. There is always more to learn regarding hand tools or even just changing the way you do things to compensate for choosing to no longer rely on a table saw (or a thickness planer or a jointer or a router or a _____). It's not the tools you have but how good you get using the tools you do have. Thanks again for your comment and for watching.
Hi Matt, I agree with all of your point here. I remember I could not wait to get a TS when starting out. I used all the safety features on the saw and PPE. Apparently, I did not put the kick-back pawls on correctly, and they took off the saw like a SHOT GUN! I ducked just in the nick of time to avoid a mangled face with serious injury. I took me a good long while to regain my composure. Now, like you said, I find the circ saw to be much safer and receive just as good a cut. The TS has it's place, no doubt, but for simple builds I turn to my circ saw. Thanks for this video. P.S. Diggin the hair cut!! :)
Hi Matt, quite agree on a lot of the issues you mention there, but I had an occasion once where the power saw “kicked back” that was really scary for me, and that leaves me very nervous when using a circular saw, great video by the way.
Sorry to hear this Phil. Hopefully you had both hands on the saw, was able to turn off the saw immediately, and avoid injury. Here's a couple of things to consider: 1) Some circular saws have more power than others. Perhaps consider using a saw with less power. 2) Consider using a thin kerf blade. Thin kerf blades make a skinnier cut which removes less material and uses less power. 3) Understand that there is no replacement for experience. Learn from what happened. 4) Remember that before there were any power tools, people used hand tools. In my opinion, power tools generally speed up the process of making something and increases the risk of injury, while hand tools slows down the process and decreases the risk of injury. I doubt all will agree with this generalization, but that's how I see it. Thanks for your comment and for watching. Stay safe.
Hard to wean from a table saw as well as a radial arm saw (even though it's replaced 99% for us by the chop saw)... but you have valid points, and I've pondered them myself. Did you mention blades are less pricey? Have you seen the "panel saw" setup by Russ Veinot? And his foam 2x4's for setting up under a plywood piece to make a cut? He recommends using 7inch blades even in the table saw.
I am subscribed to Russ' channel. I need to go back to it. He makes great content. I have thought about building a panel saw but that is as far as I have gotten. (A panel saw would take up a bunch of room in my garage plus I don't have a way to move 4'x8' sheet goods. I think for now, I would take advantage of the panel saw at the home improvement store.) No, I really didn't talk about blade prices in this video. Thanks for your comment and for watching.
@@ImaginethenMake thanks for the reply and your own version of out of the box thinking. Before these more modern track saw jigs, our precursor to that was rather a pain when making many cuts... Two nested/sliding aluminum strips about 3inches wide that had to be manually clamped on each end. A pain. For years, we talked about a panel saw. No room. (Two cars in garage, moved each session to work. You're right, the table saw takes up a lot of room. ) I did recently buy a Harbor Freight self clamping 48 inch track, will try it. The great point of Russ Veinot's design is we can just attach a tilted 1x6 on the garage door and leave it there. Then use whatever track system we like with it. Looks good to me, and not a huge investment in time or money or floor space.
Unfortunately, I'm working in a rented garage so I wouldn't feel right about making changes to the overhead door. If I owned my own garage, I would definitely consider it. I did watch Russ' video on the Styrofoam 2x4s. That's a great idea so I'll have to make some of these and try them out.
Great video , I agree with most of your points. I have a small shed to work in and space is a premium. I can’t even cut some items on a table saw because you need space for the In feed and out feed. Room I rarely have. However the main reason I ended up getting a table saw was repeated cutting all to the exact same size. Much easier on a table saw. That said, due to noise I have moved further into hand tools and use machines sparingly. Woodworking enjoyment has increased a huge amount. Look forward to watching your videos and learning more from your experiences.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, I have heard from several others that using hand tools (and slowing down) can make woodworking much more enjoyable. I've also heard it said that using hands tools to make something is more about the journey than the destination. I think I understand that statement; at least for me, when I'm using hand tools, wood working feels more deliberate and I do enjoy it more. If I'm in a hurry to get something done, I'll fall back to using a power tool of some type.
I do understand what you said about using a table saw to make repeatable cuts. I do think one can accomplish repeatable cuts very accurately using hand tools but to do so probably requires modifying how the work is done. And it probably requires more time. Consider that a well tuned and sharp hand plane in the hands of an experienced user can remove very thin shavings (0.001" thick) one pass at a time.
There is always more to learn regarding hand tools or even just changing the way you do things to compensate for choosing to no longer rely on a table saw (or a thickness planer or a jointer or a router or a _____). It's not the tools you have but how good you get using the tools you do have.
Thanks again for your comment and for watching.
Hi Matt, I agree with all of your point here. I remember I could not wait to get a TS when starting out. I used all the safety features on the saw and PPE. Apparently, I did not put the kick-back pawls on correctly, and they took off the saw like a SHOT GUN! I ducked just in the nick of time to avoid a mangled face with serious injury. I took me a good long while to regain my composure. Now, like you said, I find the circ saw to be much safer and receive just as good a cut. The TS has it's place, no doubt, but for simple builds I turn to my circ saw. Thanks for this video. P.S. Diggin the hair cut!! :)
Thanks for your comment Kathleen. And thanks for watching. Stay safe.
Hi Matt, quite agree on a lot of the issues you mention there, but I had an occasion once where the power saw “kicked back” that was really scary for me, and that leaves me very nervous when using a circular saw, great video by the way.
Sorry to hear this Phil. Hopefully you had both hands on the saw, was able to turn off the saw immediately, and avoid injury. Here's a couple of things to consider: 1) Some circular saws have more power than others. Perhaps consider using a saw with less power. 2) Consider using a thin kerf blade. Thin kerf blades make a skinnier cut which removes less material and uses less power. 3) Understand that there is no replacement for experience. Learn from what happened. 4) Remember that before there were any power tools, people used hand tools. In my opinion, power tools generally speed up the process of making something and increases the risk of injury, while hand tools slows down the process and decreases the risk of injury. I doubt all will agree with this generalization, but that's how I see it.
Thanks for your comment and for watching. Stay safe.
Hard to wean from a table saw as well as a radial arm saw (even though it's replaced 99% for us by the chop saw)... but you have valid points, and I've pondered them myself. Did you mention blades are less pricey?
Have you seen the "panel saw" setup by Russ Veinot? And his foam 2x4's for setting up under a plywood piece to make a cut? He recommends using 7inch blades even in the table saw.
I am subscribed to Russ' channel. I need to go back to it. He makes great content. I have thought about building a panel saw but that is as far as I have gotten. (A panel saw would take up a bunch of room in my garage plus I don't have a way to move 4'x8' sheet goods. I think for now, I would take advantage of the panel saw at the home improvement store.) No, I really didn't talk about blade prices in this video.
Thanks for your comment and for watching.
@@ImaginethenMake thanks for the reply and your own version of out of the box thinking.
Before these more modern track saw jigs, our precursor to that was rather a pain when making many cuts... Two nested/sliding aluminum strips about 3inches wide that had to be manually clamped on each end. A pain.
For years, we talked about a panel saw. No room. (Two cars in garage, moved each session to work. You're right, the table saw takes up a lot of room. )
I did recently buy a Harbor Freight self clamping 48 inch track, will try it.
The great point of Russ Veinot's design is we can just attach a tilted 1x6 on the garage door and leave it there. Then use whatever track system we like with it. Looks good to me, and not a huge investment in time or money or floor space.
Unfortunately, I'm working in a rented garage so I wouldn't feel right about making changes to the overhead door. If I owned my own garage, I would definitely consider it.
I did watch Russ' video on the Styrofoam 2x4s. That's a great idea so I'll have to make some of these and try them out.