On one of those home remodelling/Do-It-Yourself/Room Makeover cable shows, I noticed someone getting a table saw that had snap out sections that could hold other power tools like a belt sander or jig saw which would turn the table into a multipurpose table. The show aired about 3 to 4 weeks ago and I was wondering if anyone could tell me more about that table or the show it was shown on. I thought it was kind of cool and wanted to look more into it. Any help would be appreciated.
Cool is a bad thing in woodworking tools. If the idea's really a good one, then we all started using them 30 years ago and they're no longer novel enough to be "cool". My Workmate was cool once, now they're just something every on-site carpenter sees as essential.
The problem with these convertible tables is that they're not very good, and if they're used with cheap tools then they're _really_ not very good. They work pretty well with routers. They can work pretty well with a jigsaw as an "internal curves" bandsaw that can start from a drilled hole. For most commonplace purposes it's easier to hold the jigsaw freehand and move it over the workpiece though.
With circular saws, they're downright nasty. They're especially bad when combined with the sort of low end plywood-only saw fitted with a 6 tooth "combi" blade better suited for ripping giant redwoods. As a gadget sold to the hard-up beginner, this is a particularly nasty combination. Your table saw is the heart of nearly every workshop - it's worth putting a sizable piece of your budget into this.
They're also expensive. I'm a woodworker - I can _make_ tables.
As someone else mentioned, it is probably the new Skil contraption. They have it on display at Lowes. It has got to be the biggest POS I've ever seen. I'm not a highly-skilled woodworker by any means, but I think any novice could see the horizontal shifting of the drill press when you try to lower it. The fence can pretty much be adjusted by tapping a finger on the side, when it's _locked_!
Maybe it was just a poor setup by Lowes, I don't know, but the materials felt so cheap, flexible, and breakable, I can't imagine how you could tune it up to be of any use.
I thought maybe this was one of those Tool Dock systems but couldn't recall how it worked so I went to Amazon and searched the Tools and Hardware for "tool doc." Well, I didn't get the modular shop system but I did get some rather wild results from the Health & Personal Care section... Not sure why?? ;-)
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