The author looked at 13 popular 3-hp, 220v 10-in. cabinet saws. In addition to evaluating the saws for power and safety, he also tested for tabletop flatness, for runout at the arbor shaft and arbor flange, and for parallelism of the blade to the miter slot. He found that all the saws offered plenty of power, solid rip fences, smooth controls, and flat tabletops.  The SawStop, however, had extra appeal. It’s the only one with a brake that stops when it touches skin. It also has an easy-to-change riving knife and a good blade guard. Its large paddle switch is easy to operate but slow to reset if the motor stalls. The blade cartridge must be switched for dado blades. An extension table and legs are optional, but this model came with the largest tabletop. All in all, the SawStop, the most expensive model tested, fared well and tied the Powermatic PM2000 for the author’s choice of best overall.

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

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.

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Rockler Dust Right 650 CFM

While all five of the smaller units will collect chips efficiently when deployed properly, the 3/4-hp Rockler was just a bit more powerful in our suction test.

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Rockler Dust Right 1250 CFM

You’ll need help to get this heavy unit onto its bracket, but if you’re looking for a central dust collector that won’t gobble floor space, this may be the unit for you.

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