Scoring saws are ideally suited for cutting veneered plywood or melamine sheet goods without tearout, especially on the lower face. They perform this trick by incorporating a small, counter-rotating sawblade mounted in front of the cutting blade. The small blade makes a shallow climb-cut in the bottom face, and the larger blade cuts through the material. The result is a perfectly clean cut. The problem has been that scoring saws were available only on very expensive, industrial-grade tablesaws. The Modulus SS-10 scoring-saw attachment will fit most 10-in. cabinet and contractor-style tablesaws. The assembly mounts on the tablesaw arbor like a conventional blade with the arbor directly driving the 6-in. blade, while the 2-in. blade is powered by a ribbed belt off the 6-in. blade. Cutting capacity is 1 in. at 90° and 3?4 in. at 45°. The SS-100 allows you to use your splitter assembly. Installing the unit for the first time will require about an hour. After the initial setup, it takes no more time to install or remove the SS-100 than it does a regular sawblade. The two-piece, 2-in. scoring blade can be adjusted easily for width and alignment, although the one I tested was set up perfectly out of the box. I ripped and crosscut cherry veneer-core plywood, red-oak veneered MDF, and melamine panels without a hint of tearout. The attachment is available directly from the manufacturer.

—Roland Johnson is a contributing editor

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Stanley Powerlock 16-ft. tape measure

With its smooth lock, tough case, compact size, and excellent accuracy, this Stanley tape is perfect for workshop use.

Buy at Amazon

Grizzly G0495X Industrial Helical Cutterhead 8-in. Jointer

Regardless of the board’s grain, this jointer produced excellent results. Its fence was totally flat, worked smoothly, and locked well, staying in place even after jointing multiple edges. Getting the fence to 90° was very easy, but the 90° stop was a little tricky to set and the fence did not go back to square when using it. For those who would use it, there is also a digital depth-of-cut scale.

Buy at Amazon

Ridgid R4331 Planer

Priced nearly $300 less than the DeWalt 735X, the Ridgid R4331 is an excellent value. Its three-knife cutterhead left wonderfully clean surfaces on plainsawn white oak and white pine. It did not perform nearly as well on curly maple as the 735X.

Buy at Amazon