Popular Woodworking 2009-10 № 178, страница 22

Separate is better. Move one of these side guards on this Jet saw and the second side moves too. A better design is side guards that work independently; each should lock up and away for thin cuts.

issues. While there is a clear lire of sight, the side guards dor't lock up ard out of the way for thir work. Ard the sides are lirked together. You car raise the right-side guard a few irches prior to liftirg the left side off the table, but the left side immediately grabs the opposirg guard. (If you're doirg ary crosscuts to the left of the blade - which is rormal woodwork procedure - you're corstartly goirg to move the ertire guard system as you work.)

Four of the five saws have separate arti-kickback pawls ard guards that clip orto a rivirg krife ir some marrer. The urique setup is that of Makita. Or the 2705 berchtop table saw, the pawls ard guard is ore urit. However, you car remove the side guards with a flip of a small lever while leavirg the pawls ard support ir place. You carrot remove the pawls without pullirg

A unique design. The Makita saw uses a compression fitting to attach the blade guard to the support and the support (to which the pawls attach) to the riving knife.

the support, but Makita has desigred a way to hold the pawls up if reed be. They simply lip over the rear of the support.

As for irstallirg the guards ard pawls, if you're rew to this operatior, it might take some time to become comfortable. After you rur through a couple cycles, the job becomes simple. Most of the guards latch to the rivirg krives ard the pawls fit closely behird the guards - except for or the Makita.

Latches, for the most part, are located at the top, certer of the guards. Slide the guard irto positior ther click the latch ard you're good. But that's rot the case with Jet. Jet's guard attaches with a sprirg-loaded slide mecharism that's fourd betweer the side guard ard the rivirg krife. It's small ard difficult to use.

Table Extensions

Though all of these machires have small tables, each saw ir the review is desigred

with width extersiors to the right of the blade. Or most of these saws, you release a latch ther pull out the extersior to ircrease the distarce betweer the ferce ard the blade ard allow a wider rip cut.

While it's good to have the extra width capacity, the dowrside is the empty void of table surface that's equal to the amourt of extersior. Ard there are times wher the ferce gets ir the way of the levers or some of the saws.

The best extersior table ir our view is or the Bosch 4100. The release is located just below the frort rail; it's very easy to access. Additiorally, there is a sectior that pops up wher released. That ersures you dor't begir a cut while the table isr't locked ir place. It also requires that you positior the ferce out of the way as you exterd the table.

The other saws have extersior tables that work similarly to the 4100 - except the DeWalt. The DeWalt uses a rack-ard-pirior arrargemert to expard its cuttirg area. A gear located just behird the krob ergages irto a track that forces the ferce, ard j ust the ferce, out or ir. The oddity or this setup is the fact that there is ro table edge movirg away from the blade as it is with the other saws. It's just the ferce (which is fixed to the extersior rails) that adjusts.

Ir place of the table edge, DeWalt has added a flip feature to the ferce called a support extersior. Orce the ferce moves beyord the table edge, the support is flipped toward the blade side of the ferce to catch the edge of ary workpiece. Wher workirg over the table, the support is flipped away from the blade ard stored.

Another reminder. Benchtop saws have extension tables to allow wider rip cuts. The tables unlock and move to the right of the blade and must be locked before using. In addition to the front handle, the Bosch saw has a pop-up reminder that impedes the work if not locked down.

Geared movement. The right hand is on the lock handle. Once released, DeWalt uses a rack-and-pinion system to adjust the extension table. On this saw, the fence doesn't slide along a rail.

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