Electric Comet wrote in
news

firmware and lawsuits

the perception of the danger of tables saws
the statistics of tables saw injuries
more and more safety features
while insurance and liability costs can only go up


seems to lead to the conclusion that they are on the way out
fewer and fewer people want to use them

i will always have one i think but

cnc is moving pretty fast and now there are other technologies like
water jets and ultrasonic cutting


how long until table saws just stop becoming an integral part of the
shop

i give it 15 years or less as cnc moves into the affordable range due
to market saturation and more used machines and cad and cam allowing
for more streamlined manufacturing of the parts for cnc


consolidation will be first and we see that already
then there will be fewer models available
then there will be fewer brands
then it will become a niche
then the prices will rise
then alternatives will look even better


CNC is already in the affordable range. It's just not particularly well
suited to the tasks the table saw can do. It will take me more time to
position and tie down the board on the CNC machine and enter G0 Y10.5,
zero coordinates, G0 X48 than it will to position the fence and make my
cut.

Plus, getting an exact width like you can when you cut multiple pieces on
the table saw without moving the fence is harder. You have to deal with
positioning the boards on the CNC bed exactly in the same place, and
that's harder to do. (Even stops sometimes give more than you'd like.)

CNC will be an addition to the shop, but all it will be a replacement for
is template routing. You might be able to do some cool joinery too. I
used my little Taig for finger joints and finished up with a chisel.

Puckdropper
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