Mike W. wrote:
I'm going to be in the basement
for a while with a small shop and would like to verify that one can 'get by'
at worst with a nice contractor style saw. Or do I have to step up to one
of the 'woodworkers' saws like the dewalt DW746?


Hmm... I think you might want to clarify what you mean by "contractors"
saw. By convention, it means a saw with arbor attached to the top and
the motor hanging out the back. Now there can be some quite hefty (300
lb+) contractor saws with some serious power. And their accuracy is
excellent. I get the feeling you are referring to the small, "portable"
saws typically used on jobsites as a contractors saw.

In either case, you have to mention what kind of projects you are doing;
for example, handling a lot of sheet goods for larger carcasses is a
heck of a lot different then building chairs.

And on too of that, there are a whole bunch of people who do beautiful
work with *no* table saw.

PK