18 18 ■■ POPULAR WOODWORKINGPOPULAR WOODWORKINGConnect
SawStop Jobsite Saw Pro
SawStop released the fi rst version of their portable table
saw about fi ve years ago. Packaging their fl esh-sensing
blade brake technlogy in a smaller, more aff ordable for-
mat made it more attainable for a larger portion
of woodworkers and folks on jobsites. This upgrad-
ed version of their jobsite saw (the Jobsite Saw Pro)
is a pretty nice piece of kit. Right out of the gate, the
unboxing and assembly was one of the easiest portable
table saw assemblies I've been a part of.
Just six bolts (two for the wheels and
four for the handles) and it was fully
assembled. (That does mean it arrives
in a giant box.)
The motor is rated at 1.5 HP contin-
uous load and up to 4 HP max. I'm not
exactly sure what that spec means, but I do know it's
plenty strong. I was cutting 8/4 ash, 4/4 maple, plywood,
MDF and it performed admirably. With the 8/4 ash, I
could tell the motor was working harder, but nothing a
little adjusting of the feed rate wouldn't fi x.
The fence locks down solidly and was dialed in perfect-
ly out of the box. The table expands to the right for 25^1 / 2 "
rip capacity (and also unveils onboard storage). The
table also has a full 8" in front of the blade (versus 6" on
Sawstop's regular jobsite saw). One thing that's immedi-
ately noticeable is the blade height adjustment and bevelTOOLS
■ JOBSITE
SAW PRO
SawStop
sawstop.com
Price: $1400
adjustment. The blade goes from completely retracted to
full height with just one crank of the handle. The bevel
of the blade is adjusted by squeezing the crank handle
(which isn't very intuitive if you're used to other table
saws, but makes a ton of sense especially with a portable
saw and limited space). There’s a separate fi ne bevel
adjustment to really dial in the angle.
Dust collection was surprisingly good with a shop
vacuum, especially using the blade guard and below the
blade ports in tandem. The blade guard is easy to re-
move and reinstall (so there’s no reason it shouldn’t be
on the saw as much as possible), and the included riving
knife stores onboard to swap for non-through cuts. The
saw can also run an 8" dado stack (though you'll need
a separate throat plate and brake cartridge). The saw
handled cutting dadoes in plywood just fi ne, but I could
tell I was taxing the motor trying to do a full^1 / 2 " deep,(^13) / 16 " wide cut in hardwood. Again, adjusting the feed
rate helped.
The mobile stand is solid and quickly folds down to
wheel the saw around. At about 100 lbs., the saw and
stand is well-balanced and can maneuver through a
standard doorway. For the space challenged or portable
woodworker, it’s one hell of a saw on its own. With
the blade brake technology, it’s a no-brainer (if it’s in
your budget).—Andrew Zoellner