Heck you can spend four times as much and end up with the same result. After certain point you can spend twice as much and get pretty much nothing meaningful in return. Any aftermarket fence will be an improvement over most dinky fences that ship with some portable saws (by the way post a picture of your saw so the conversation can be more meaningful/more on point). There is a point where spending more doesn't buy you more at all. The newer Dewalts and others, still flippy floppy and just a better class of junk. With all that said, I am using a portable saw still I just do not have the room for a real saw. Often the death of old saws is the shaft being worn to where new bearings wont fix the wobble. You need 2 things with a saw, the blade to be true, and a good fence. carpenters go to tool shows, 'DUDE did you see the fence on that one!' The fence is something upgraded all the time. In the middle of the driveway or shop, roll away when done. Same height as the saw and store tools in them, roll them off to the wall and when needed put the saws and cabs together and have a NICE professional cabinet saw. Same time you could build 1 or 2 cabinets on castors. You can modify it and mount it on casters, roll it into a corner when not in use. Make sure the bearings on the shaft are good, you do not want the blade to wobble on it. Everything on it can be repaired or replaced. You turn it on and all you hear is the humm of the motor. You just have to be aware of the pit falls and work around them.įor a kitchen, working with end panels for cabinets and filler strips, portable saw is perfect.

The fences are usually crappy, but they do work. Trying to cut big sheets on a small flippy floppy saw is a pita and a 2 man job. Like a bent saw blade, will cut a nice 1/4' dado, different blades for different widths. Turn them on and can hear it all the way down the street. They have small motors, they are not designed to run the big cutting heads and dado's.

I have used them for years as a finish carpenter. The portable saws are great to haul around to job sites. I think both saws have their place and uses.

Delta rockwell table saw shaper head