Festool has started to share more details about their forthcoming table saw that’s equipped with integrated SawStop flesh detection and active injury mitigation technology. Stuart shared early details about the Festool SawStop table saw last January, and more information has recently come to light.
We still don’t have details on availability, and whether this saw will even come to the US market, but there are still plenty of details to look at.
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Update 11/13/19: Festool has informed us that this product will be released in the European market and that at this time a USA launch is not planned. SawStop will continue to be the exclusive TTS-owned solution for North America.
Closer Look at the Top
Starting at the top of the new Festool table saw, it has a relatively simple design. Size-wise, it looks to have about the same tabletop space as a compact 10″ portable table saw.
Notably, it doesn’t look to have a traditional miter slot, but a closer looks shows a miter gauge stored under the top, which must attach to the side of the table. It could also be a sled-based mechanism, which Festool has available for their CMS router table and European-market table saw setup.
Festool does already have a CMS mobile table saw configuration and a “Precisio” table saw, and the new SawStop-equipped model looks to borrow from those designs.
The saw sits on four legs that appear to be broken into two sections. The top 12″ or so of the legs are permanently attached to the top and have rubber feet, and so I imagine you can use the table saw directly on these short legs. Below these there foldable adjustable legs, which I would presume are designed to line up with the top of a Festool MFT table, so you can use their system to expand the cutting area.
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Blade Guard and Riving Knife
The saw blade is shrouded in a clear plastic safety guard, with a vacuum port at the back. There’s almost certainly a dust port below the table as well. The riving knife has a cutting height guide, which is nice detail.
Front Controls
The front panel has a prominent “off” button, and a flush “on” button. The panel also has an indicator that the safety brake is correctly engaged. SawStop table saws also have override buttons, for when cutting wet lumber
The big green dial looks to allow you to adjust the height of the blade, and perhaps the angle as well, but it’s not clear.
The Fence
The fence shown in the most recent video appears to have some extras features that increases its functionality. It appears that you can slide the face of the fence outwards a bit, giving you more contact area for your workpiece. On the left there’s a micro-adjuster for fine-tuning the cutting width.
It doesn’t look like the fence can extend beyond the table, which implies the cuts are limited to ~12″. This might be logical given that the audience for this saw are likely to have a track saw already, and so the table saw might be mainly used for trimming long cuts of material instead of breaking down large sheet goods.
Under the Hood
Looking beneath the table surface, you can see the SawStop braking mechanism. This is likely for illustration purposes because the video shows the break cartridge being replaced from the top of the table.
Discussion
My fingers are very important to me. Table saw injuries are often horrific life-changing events, and they happen more often than they should. I’m happy to invest in tools that increase the safety of my workshop. Table saws in particular are tools that I approach with a lot of care. While there’s a lot of controversy surrounding SawStop, their patents, and their practices, having their safety technology more widely available is great. There’s a lot to like about what Festool is are doing here, and there is bound to be a good market for it.
Some of SawStop’s patents look to be expiring soon, and it remains to be seen if or how other brands, such as Dewalt and Bosch, will take advantage of this to integrate similar safety technologies into their own table saws. For instance, will Bosch’s short-lived Reaxx table saw, which used different braking technologies, return to the market, or will we see new and different designs?
As a reminder, Festool’s parent company acquired SawStop in 2017.
SawStop recently updated their jobsite table saw, and this new Festool model looks like it will be aimed at finish carpenters and others who deal with final and finer construction projects. SawStop teased about a $400 saw back in 2017, but that project has not yet come to fruition.
It will be interesting to see what will happen after more brands than just SawStop and Festool can produce table saws with flesh detection and active injury mitigation technologies.
Update 11/13/19: Festool has informed us that this product will be released in the European market and that at this time a USA launch is not planned. SawStop will continue to be the exclusive TTS-owned solution for North America.
Gordon
I have an old Craftsman 113 with a number of upgrades. I’d replace it in a heartbeat if there was a more affordable “safety saw”. I sadly don’t think we’ll see prices get reasonable until there is competition. SawStop’s action against Bosch is borderline bogus and tells other companies not to bother. I mean the inventor was a patent attorney. I’m going to assume that he has things pretty well locked down.
That’s not to say the premium isn’t worth it. The cost of a finger far exceeds the cost of the saw. But for someone like me who maybe uses a table saw 2-3 times a month, it just isn’t worth it. As my kids get older I might change my mind. Hopefully we have something else before then.
Jared
I feel much the same way. Table saws are dangerous machines and safety features can be real selling points for me. The price discrepancy however, seems extreme.
If I was using my table saw more often I would pony up for the technology even if I thought it was overpriced – but I don’t actually use it that often. It’s indispensable when I need it, but I only pull it out maybe 20-25 times a year.
Until prices come down or my income goes up, I guess I’ll just have to be careful.
Marc Clerico
You know why people get hurt because they care about the material and they care about the machine well I’m a woodworker and I’ll give two shifts back of material and I could care less about the machine cuz I can buy machine and I can pipe material by care about my fingers and I have them all
Art
Bosch Reaxx or nothing. Well, anything but Sawstop.
Craig
The Reaxx was $400 more the SawStop Jobsite saw, weighed about 30 pounds more, and could only be fired four times before returning to Bosch for realignment.
And my favorite: if you had a cell phone on you, the phone must be in Airplane Mode, and so did every phone within 30 feet!
Not likely on a construction site.
Quit your bitchin’ and open your minds and save your fingers!
Adam
It’s probably way to expensive, and if it only has a 12 inch rip that’s not very good., I knew someone who had the older model, and that was expensive, so this model with the sawstop, must be really expensive.
Ben V
We’re not sure if it’s limited to 12 inches, it’s just an assumption based on the configuration of the fence.
Festool might have figured out their customers are going to rely on a TrackSaw for any bigger cut….
Only time will tell.
Joel A.
This size is spot on for me for the reason you mention. I have a track saw (not a festool though), and a tiny shop. One of those super small, absurdly heavy craftsman 113’s from the 40’s would be ideal but I’m not super keen on having to build old stuff and rehab it. I’ve been really wanting a small form factor, higher quality table saw for a while, so this might actually fit the bill. Just holding out hope it isn’t $2,500 at this point.
Brad
If there was something that I wish the government would get involved with was requiring all table saw manufacturers to utilize Saw Stop technology.
With patents expiring as soon as 2021 it should become a mandated law for production and distribution in the US.
Jim Felt
Maybe in some consumer friendly federal “government” in our future?
Might again happen. I’m cautiously optimistic.
Ben V
I would guess (hope) that if the EU forced did required adoption by 2023 that the big global players would just roll it out globally.
Unfortunately I know the UK Dewalt tablesaw is different from the US one to comply with local laws (such as no Dado blades) and those changes didn’t make it to the US.
Investing in flesh detection technology wouldn’t be cheap, so maybe that’ll incentivize them to make the same tech available everywhere…..
fred
The EU has thought dado’s were a danger for some time.
I used to make built-ins and other cases with dados/stopped dados and rabbets. Then some years back – I went to a combination of dados and pocket screw joinery . More recently, I’ve added dominos into the mix – and overall seem to feel less compelled to do everything with dados.
Ben V
I sold my Dado because honestly it just scared me too much! One mistake was too many for me!
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/adding-side-panels-to-modular-tool-cabinet-dusty-tools-shop-organization-part2/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Rafe
Nov 11, 2019
It’d be kind of a drag if you couldn’t cut wet wood on your job site saw. Rough trades like framing and siding don’t rely on table saws the way finish trades do, but they still use them and often deal with wet wood and conditions that would likely surpass the conductivity threshold of a Sawstop mechanism.
Stuart
The SawStop has an override if you are cutting wet wood
ca
How about you buy the table saw you want and I’ll buy the one I want, and neither of us will try to force the other, through the government, to buy something they don’t want.
Frank D
Eh … those extendable / hinging legs look rather flimsy at the joint …
4 way table top you can put the fence the wrong way around?
8-l
Dave
If it has a nifty way to secure to the Festool MFT as an outfeed table (and more rigidity) I’ll buy one immediately.
Agree that for a cut in excess of 12″ I would use my track saw anyway. I use table saw for narrow and/or repetitive cuts, track saw for cutting down larger stock and various trimming activities like doors.
Bob
Festool always brings some innovative ideas to the table. The legs idea is cool. They are hard to justify if your not making (alot) of money with them tho.
On the sawstop tech: the last thing we need is more government oversite on anything. Market forces will correct the problem if there is indeed a problem.
Statisticaly how dangerous is a table saw? I would say accidents are rare. Yes we could mandate a saw that is 100% safe. You won’t be able to afford it. And I hope you like your new house with out trim work b/c you can’t afford what the contractor who bought that machine charges. Got to be a balance between acceptable risk, saftey, cost and common sense.
When the patents expire the free market will equalize the price for a sawstop clone from the other brands. That is assumming people are willing to pay at least some sort of premium for the tech. (I would say its likely). Competition drives the price down and foces more innovation. Like a tech that would work on wet wood for example. All this and we don’t have the government telling us what to do (well more than they already do now) and doing stupid sheet like banning dado blades.
William
Looking forward to checking this out. I have a tiny shop, and this may be a good way to save some space.
Nate
Anyone want to take a stab at the price? My guess… $2490.
James C
Festool * Sawstop = $,$$$.
CG
Looking at the fence photo in particular, it looks like it will inherit the odd mix of precision and slop that frustrates me about my MFT table system.
Peter
I hope the Bosch comes back, on amazon someone still sells the canadien version but well over $2k iirc.
Jared
It’s still available here from homedepot.ca as an online exclusive item – $1499 right now. Which is ~$1,133 with the currency conversion to USD. We must not be bound by the same copyright litigation.
Clay
Would love to see a Saw-Stop style retrofit cartridge to add to older existing saws, but I sincerelt doubt it will happen.
Sal
DeWalt had made one also, that they pulled from the stores because of Sawstop litigation. I don’t remember the model number. It used a cheaper cartridge than Bosch’s Reaxx. The machine if I recall, was around the $800 price range.
Emilio
I Need one in Los Angeles,how much does it Coast to bring One ??