I have been testing the SawStop Compact Table Saw (CTS), and will be discussing its design and performance in this review.
The Compact Table Saw, model CTS-120A60, is SawStop’s most affordable table saw yet, and it incorporates similar flesh detection and blade brake technologies as the brand’s jobsite, contractor, and cabinet saws.
SawStop provided a sample for testing and review.
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SawStop Flesh Detection and Blade Brake Tech
If you’re familiar with the SawStop brand, you probably already know about their flesh-detection and blade brake safety features.
The saw sends a small current through the blade, and constantly monitors the signal. If the saw senses that the signal has changed, such as if a user’s fingers or hand are brought into contact with the blade, the brake activates. Once that happens, a block of metal is thrust into the blade, which is then propelled down into the machine. All of this happens within 5 milliseconds of skin contact detection.
The user often walks away with just a scratch, rather than what could have been a severe life-altering injury.
A new cartridge is required to reset the machine, and usually a new blade as well.
All of this is standard for SawStop table saws.
For the bulk of this review, I will be looking at all of the other aspects of the saw, everything else that makes it special.
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SawStop Compact Table Saw Fence
Let’s start with the fence, which has a rack and pinion-type of adjustment mechanism.
I found the fence to be easy to adjust and use.
The fence attaches on both sides via lever-action clamps.
It was spot-on from the factory and perfectly aligned with the blade and miter slots..
What I like about the SawStop Compact Table Saw is that its controls are intuitive and well-labeled.
How do you unlock the fence? Ah, you pull the knob. And to lock it, you push the knob back into place.
Here’s the fence unlocked.
To adjust the fence position, rotate the grey knob. It’s as precise as I would expect from a portable jobsite saw.
Spring-action stops prevent the fence from getting too close to the blade, and they can be easily overridden if needed. Simply push either tab inwards to move the fence past it.
The auxiliary fence shelf can be set to two positions, or lifted out of the way.
Shown here, it is folded down over the table, to provide support for narrower rip cuts without having to remove the blade guard.
With the fence extended past the table top, the shelf can be placed in its lower position for material outrigger support.
A handy diagram reminds you of the low fence and support shelf positions and their purposes.
The saw provides a rip cut capacity of up to 24-1/2″ at full extension, to the right of the blade. To the left, it can provide a maximum rip cut of 9-1/2″.
Blade Guard Assembly
Here is where SawStop’s engineering starts to shine through even more.
The blade guard breaks down into 3 pieces – the riving knife, anti-kickback pawls, and clear automatically-adjusting shield.
The Compact Table Saw also comes with a basic riving knife, for when the guard isn’t installed or partial cuts are needed.
Assembly is easy and fairly intuitive, although I had to refer to the user manual the first time I attached the anti-kickback pawls.
I’m pleased with how the guard comes together and breaks down quickly and easily.
Here’s the blade guard installed.
Attaching or removing the guard or riving knife is easy.
As with other jobsite table saws, you raise the blade, remove the throat plate, and then unlock the riving knife clamp.
I would rate the process better than average, which is important. The easier safety features are to install or remove, the greatly the likelihood users will actually use them.
Accessory Storage
All of the safety attachments tuck away inside a removable compartment that installs to the rear of the saw.
Intuitive diagrams will help clue you in as to where everything goes.
There’s a lot of plastic here, but it works well. Subtle textures provide clues about what to press to release different attachments or accessories for use. The miter saw is a little fickle to remove, and I only mention it to be thorough.
A lot of portable jobsite table saws will have me going back and forth to the user manual to figure out how and where the safety attachments all stow away.
It all works well.
The Miter Gauge
The miter gauge is no better or worse than the ones included with other jobsite table saws.
It has a T-shaped bar to fit the T-shaped slots.
SawStop Compact Table Saw Power and Bypass Switches
After plugging in the saw, you turn on the power via a rocker switch. The key-shaped switch next to it is used for bypass mode.
The bypass mode should be used when cutting conductive materials that might otherwise trigger the safety mechanism, such as wet wood.
Once powered up, the saw will go through a self-test process, with its two LED indicators flashing green and red until a solid green light signals that everything is set and ready.
There’s no guessing as to what’s going on – a color-coded chart helps with troubleshooting.
Blade Adjustments
The controls are straightforward.
Squeeze the knob assembly to tilt the blade, and crank the handle to raise or lower it.
Unfortunately, the saw doesn’t have the same one-turn adjustment as the jobsite saw, but I didn’t really mind it. Raising or tilting the blade is easy.
Do you see how it says “micro” in two places, on the part of the adjustment knob behind the “squeeze to tilt” part?
Here is the blade purposely set slightly out of alignment.
And here it is perfectly dialed in.
This isn’t the best example, as the 0° stop was perfect out of the box and can be recalibrated as needed, but I hope you get the idea.
You can make a coarse bevel adjustment by tilting the blade, and then sneak up on the exact angle you need with the micro adjust.
The micro adjust setting can be locked-in by pushing the outer ring. Squeezing the dial for tilt adjustment unlocks it again.
I can see this coming in handy. Precise bevel angles are possible on most table saws, it’s just a matter of how quickly and easily you can get there. The CTS’s micro adjust speeds up the process.
Nice Touches
If you should activate the blade, refer to the user manual for instructions on how to reset the saw with a replacement cartridge and blade. Can’t find your user manual? There are clear instructions printed on the side of the saw.
Power and Performance
The saw has a 15A motor and operates at 4,000 RPM.
I mainly tested the saw by ripping plywood (baltic birch and basic ply from the home center) and 2x construction lumber. I performed some cross-cuts just to get a feel for the table.
One thing to keep in mind is that this is a 10″ table saw, whereas most other saws in this class now have 8-1/4″ blades. I have been told that current safety guidelines dictate how large of a saw blade can be used with respect to table size.
As such, the saw has a maximum cutting depth of 3-1/8″ at 90°, and 2-1/8″ at 45°.
I can feel and hear resistance when pushing thicker wood with more effort. It’s important to listen to your tool and respond accordingly.
The saw performed on-par with other saws of this class.
SawStop ships the saw with a 24T ripping blade pre-installed. It is also equipped with a standard throat plate, but zero clearance plates are also available separately.
Portability
The saw has a comfortable rubber-gripped carrying handle.
I like that the power cord wrap is on the same side as the handle, as it lowers the chance of it being trapped between the tool and ground.
There are thicker rubber pads at the corners.
The base is trapezoidal, and very different compared to the box jobsite table saws I’m used to. I shouldn’t be surprised – a lot is different about this saw.
One negative about the saw is its weight. At 68 pounds, the SawStop Compact Table Saw is not as light or easily maneuvered as other portable table saws.
It is manageable, however, and not overly cumbersome.
I would say that it’s a little heavier than I would have preferred, but not too heavy for me to work with. I can carry it with one hand, but prefer two.
SawStop Compact Table Saw Folding Stand
Simply put, the saw is perfectly paired with its folding stand, an optional purchase.
The stand was easy to assemble, and is very easy to use.
Before placing the saw on top, ensure that the locking tabs are oriented in such a manner that it can accept the saw’s roll cage.
I start by seating the rear roll cage, and then the front. A quick quarter-turn rotation of the locking tab, and the table saw is secured to the stand.
This is the easiest folding stand setup I have used. It’s simple, but effective.
Compared with the SawStop Jobsite Saw
I made some quick comparisons before donating my older jobsite table saw sample.
The SawStop Jobsite Saw is decent, and I loved its one-turn blade height adjustment, most of the time. However, I always felt it to be a large table saw with SawStop safety tech added in. That’s not bad, and it felt like a polished product, but I preferred using other table saws a lot better.
SawStop’s newer Jobsite Saw Pro has a slightly larger table depth than the version shown here, with both being considerably larger saws than the Compact Table Saw.
The SawStop CTS handled rip cutting with ease, and I would add outfeed support for longer workpieces or larger panels of sheet materials.
The Jobsite Saw feels more powerful and faster-cutting. At the time of this posting, the Jobsite Saw costs nearly 76% more than the Compact Saw ($1579 plus freight).
SawStop provides a detailed rundown of the differences on their website:
The main differences you will find on our Compact Table Saw (CTS): Lighter weight at 68 lbs. for the saw body vs 84 lbs. on the Jobsite Saw (JSS). Max rip capacity CTS 24-1/2″ vs JSS 25-1/2″ The CTS is even more portable with an easy-carry handle, whereas the JSS has a built-in mobile cart. The CTS has a rack and pinion fence vs JSS has T-style with ergo lock (self-squaring) Multi-turn blade elevation on CTS vs JSS has the one-turn elevation Standard blade guard on CTS vs JSS has dust collection blade guard. CTS is a direct drive motor vs JSS having a belt driven motor. The CTS is not able to support the use of Dado blades.
Warranty
The CTS is covered by a 1-year warranty.
SawStop’s documentation has always been top-notch, but in verifying a technical spec for this writeup, I found that they have an 87-page service manual for the saw (PDF), detailing all of the different replacement and repair operations users might someday have to do. There’s a separate 77 page parts list (PDF).
Some users might not like having to repair their own tools, but when we’re talking about a 68 pound portable saw that can’t be easily shipped back to the factory, parts availability and servicing instructions can help minimize downtime.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the SawStop CTS feels like a well designed and engineered product. This is the company’s first saw of its kind, and their most affordable model. I expected some hiccups or niggles, and was glad not to find any.
Everything from the fence to the blade height adjustment, is user friendly.
The motor and adjustment mechanisms are better shrouded than I’ve seen in other saws, but I’m not sure if there are any functional advantages there.
There’s a single 2-1/2″ vacuum port at the rear, and the saw sends most of its sawdust out the chute, whether a dust collector or vacuum is attached or not. At this time, there is no option for dust collection via the blade guard.
I have definitely enjoyed using the SawStop CTS. I have been using it alongside other portable jobsite-style saws, to get a feel for how its features and performance compares.
Strip out the SawStop-specific safety tech – the blade brake and flesh detection active injury mitigation (AIM) tech – and it’s still a fantastic portable table saw.
This has been the tricky part to determine. Without the safety tech, is this a recommendable portable or jobsite-type table saw? So far, yes, I think so.
There are some compromises. I wish the table top surface was a bit smoother, and for the saw to be a little lighter. The miter gauge is practically disposable, although this seems to be a universal truth for portable table saws.
The anti-kickback pawl attachment doesn’t seem as robust as I’ve seen on other saws, but I have had zero problems with it so far. I actually like how easy it is to swing out of the way if needed.
The CTS table top measures 23″ wide and 22-5/8″ deep, and provides more workpiece support than smaller 8-1/4″ table saws. Additional outfeed support, such as with a portable roller stand or platform, helps with larger cuts, and I feel the same about all portable table saws.
It does not work with a dado stack, but the same has been true for most table saws this size. Dado stack compatibility typically requires stepping up to a model that comes with a roller stand – such as the Jobsite Saw Pro.
The CTS costs approximately 3X as much as other portable table saws – and even more than that in some cases. But you’re not just paying a premium for the SawStop safety tech, you’re paying for more features and what so far seems to be superb build quality.
Even if we ignore the SawStop safety tech and unique micro bevel adjustments, the CTS is a very good portable table saw that’s very easy to set up and intuitive to use, thanks to an abundance of attention given to written, graphical, and tactile guidance.
SawStop didn’t reinvent the portable table saw, but it seems they did their best to improve the user experience while matching the performance of top competitors’ tools.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Pricing and Availability
Prices are accurate as of the time of this posting.
Price (CTS-120A60): $899 + $75 shipping (similar across all retailers)
Accessories
Folding Stand (CTS-FS): $129
Zero Clearance Insert (CTS-TSI): $25
Replacement Brake Cartridge (TSBC-10R3): $95
Thank you to SawStop for providing the review sample.
Brent
Fun fact about the saw stop system if your board has too high a moisture content it can also trigger the cartridge. We have an industrial model that goes off for this a few times a year
Stuart
Yes – I’ve heard of that happening. If you know you’re going to cut a high moisture board, the bypass mode can be used.
Ross
On my PCS I’ve cut a board so wet it was spraying me in the face. No issue. I also cut through nails and screws all the time. Never tried bypass mode.
Joseph
You cut through nails and screws with bypass off?
And it doesn’t trigger?
Might be something wrong. It should be triggering.
Jack
It shouldn’t trigger on nails and screws, unless you’re holding onto the other end of the nail or screw. Common misconception. For the same reason it doesn’t trigger, or trigger as quickly when you throw a hotdog at it. You need to be holding the end of the hot dog to have the appropriate level of “capacitance” or “conductivity” or “load” or whatever. It also won’t trigger if you drop a cadaver hand on it.
Craig
It also won’t trigger if you drop a cadaver hand on it.
Ummm……..
Julian Tracy
Why would anyone purposely cut through nails and screws all the time on their Tablesaw? You must buy crappy blades as a rule.
Cristobal+Figueroa
I have a saw stop and frequently use the bypass mode to test out material I suspect of being too high in moisture content. I don’t want to dismiss your experience but I find it difficult to understand. I have yet to come across a board regardless of MC that indicates it would have triggered the blade braking mechanism.
Mackenzie
Acrylic will also trigger the mechanism after it generates a little static in my experience. And metal finish Formica will in a coworkers experience 😉 .
MKY
Stuart –
And here ***is it*** perfectly dialed in
a lot is different about this saw ***different***.
It’s ***simply***, but effective
…CTS is ***a?***very good portable table…
Stuart
Thank you! *fixed*
Sal
Wow.. Really? Grammar police over here making their rounds. Anyhow…. To Mr. Author, thank you for the great article! I definitely understood what you meant and I found it very informative.
Stuart
I appreciate the sentiment, and corrections too!!
It’s a terrible feeling to only find typos or errors after days, weeks, or years!
Any help catching what I miss is appreciated, which is why I respond rather than simply deleting alerting comments after taking corrective action.
BigTimeTommy
Grammar police? More like charity editing.
Duck Dodgers
Is this model made in the USA?
Stuart
I don’t believe so.
BigTimeTommy
Personally I would never buy a sawstop product because of their outrageously consumer hostile patent trolling. Actively lobbying to prevent other companies from making safer tools is some revolting BS.
Dave
I like the tool, but Steve Gass is a real piece of garbage and I refuse to give him a cent of my money. Fortunately his patent that prevents Bosch from selling their Reaxx system in the US are set to expire in 2026.
Peter
Is he still involved with SawStop?
BigTimeTommy
A real subhuman, that guy. But didn’t Festool buy sawstop? I think a different group of carelessly greedy sociopaths make the decisions now.
Mackenzie
The entire point of sawstop as a company was the mechanism. Volvo gave away the rights to their patents because it was best for consumers AND they could afford to. They also were a successful car manufacturer when they gave away technology that would have set them apart. As far as I can tell, sawstop as a company only has the bladestop saws as a product. Patents exist to protect brave new innovative business ventures from large established companies. It’s not trolling to exercise their right to protect their innovation. If a huge corporation wants access to the technology they can either back up the dump truck of money to license or they can wait their turn.
It may seem backwards that a safety innovation is reserved for a more expensive product made by a smaller company, but if patents didn’t protect smaller companies from big companies taking their ideas, there would hardly be any reason to innovate as an established company could out produce you easily. I’m not a randian but I do believe we are entitled to the sweat of our own brow.
Bonnie
The thing that sets most people off isn’t the patent, but that Gass tried to get flesh-detection required by law, while also enforcing his patent so the manufacturers would have no choice but to buy from him. Essentially trying to legally mandate himself a monopoly. Now, if the law had gone through his patent would have likely ended up F/RAND or invalidated as a response.
But that didn’t happen, and SawStop saws are fantastically made without cut corners, so I’m quite happy to own one.
Mackenzie
I was unaware of the shady lobbying. Not a fan of that. On the other hand, one day we might look back on table saws without these safeguards like we do cars without seatbelts and airbags.
Brad
Take it with a grain of salt. There’s always another side to each story.
eddie sky
I’m more concerned that greedy Insurers will lobby to have premiums raised (or dropped) for homeowners/makers that do not have a sawstop product. Just like homeowners that have dogs, now almost every breed is a problem and excuse to raise premiums to home owners.
Gotta keep an eye on DC and make sure rights are protective. There are laws to protect, and then there are laws to protects other’s interests (and income).
Craig
But did he really have a choice but to go the legislation route? From what I’ve read, he tried to get the manufacturers to adopt the technology for a reasonable licensing fee but they wanted no part of it due to liability concerns for the saws they sell that don’t have it. The manufacturers would rather have people continue to be maimed so that they don’t have any liability exposure for non-safety saws that they may sell. It was a financial decision. I don’t blame him for trying to force regulation of a product that injures a fair number of people every year. Yes, he would profit from it, but since when is that a crime under this capitalist system in which we live?
DRT42
Did he have a choice? Of course he did. It’s ethics. Personally, I would never have considered his course of action for even a second. But hey, that’s just me.
Anyway, I don’t get the whole thing. Don’t be stupid and you won’t lose your fingers. On the other hand, isn’t SawStop sensing technology the same as the lamp you touch and it turns on? We had one of those about 20 years ago.
Oh never mind. I’m keeping my old Delta contractors saw, so not in the game.
BigTimeTommy
@DRT42
Ethics? Is that a real word? I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before, at least not in a business context 😉
Sal
What?? That’s because Sawstop owns the rights! They did all the work and patented their creation like anything else. The owner met with all the big names in the business prior to launching the brand himself. He figured at least 1 would buy his pitch and they could partner together but they all turned him down.
So NOW the same companies that turned him down suddenly wanna make their saws safer by copying this technology? Haha.. come on. Weasels on their end. They thought they could go around and basically steal his idea without including him but that’s not the case. The man is super smart and what I read was that he was very creative with the patents. Basically, no one will be able to make a saw like this for a long time.
BigTimeTommy
“Interesting” take.
Robert
Stuart, can you please elaborate on how you find the rack and pinion fence on CTS compared to the T style fence on the JSS. I have the JSS Pro and am very curious.
Stuart
On smaller table saws, I tend to strongly prefer rack and pinion adjustment, as they can be easier to dial-in to exact settings.
The CTS fence is light, but effective and easy to work with. The JSS fence is more substantial.
Looking at replacement parts, the CTS fence has a 3 lb shipping weight and costs $38 to be replaced. The JSS Pro fence has a 7.8 lb shipping weight and costs $198.25 to replace.
Remove the labels, and the JSS fence is distinctively a SawStop design, while the CTS fence might be comparable or indistinguishable to those on other industry-leading portable table saws.
I wouldn’t want the CTS mk II to have a scaled-down JSS-style fence, or for a JSS mk III to have a rack and pinion fence. The two different approaches seem well matched to their respective saws.
Robert
Stuart, thanks for that info. The CTS fence is considerably lighter, do you notice much or unacceptable flex?
Stuart
I haven’t seen flex yet. The fence locks in at the front and rear, and the adjustment lock is very secure.
I didn’t see flex in the JSS fence either, except when trying to intentionally force it on the outfeed side.
Big Richard
Unless I missed it, I like how they don’t even give you a push stick. They are just baiting you into sticking your fingers in there. Clever.
Stuart
A push stick is included, and it docks on the opposite side of the fence for easy retrieval.
I haven’t seen a portable table saw in recent years that doesn’t come with one.
This one is basic but feels good. I would describe it as above-average quality as far as included push sticks go.
Big Richard
I would hope they do, I just didn’t see it in any of the pictures or write up.
Bengt Hokanson
I am not saying I agree with Goss but get the timeline correct. He first developed the tech and than tried to sell it to the big companies. They refused. Then he tried to get it written into law. When that failed he started a table saw company. Thats a little different than some of the haters version.
Sal
You are correct.
Beanhole
A buddy of mine bought this saw and has regretted it since he opened the box. The quality of this saw is a total joke. Without the safety feature, I would think this was sold at Harbor Freight.
It’s made from junk plastic and stamped metal. Sawstop has started relying on their safety patent to rake in customers rather than their quality. My old sawstop PCS is a pretty good saw, but anything from recent years is a noticeable drop in quality. I purchased some parts for my old saw to convert from 52″ to 36″ and I don’t even want to bolt the new junk on my saw. Unless they get things back on track I won’t be purchasing anything Sawstop again. Since I doubt we will be able to get quality replacement parts, I’m thinking about throwing my current Sawstop on Craigslist and buying a new Powermatic.
Stuart
What part specifically did you/they not like about it?
What was wrong about the bolt-on PCS parts?
Beanhole
Mainly the extension table. The holes didn’t line up…had to elongate them to even get close. Spent 30 minutes trying to get it level with the cast iron and couldn’t get it closer than 1/4″ out of level. I finally gave up and took it off. It wobbled around like a potato chip. The wood it’s made from is so soft it makes pine look like oak. I don’t know if it’s all pith or what. The general fit and finish on the rails is not “bad” but it’s clearly not as well made as my original.
Beanhole
I should add…the worst part is they have a “no return” policy. It does say that if you dig around on their website, but I never said it anywhere when I was checking out. Buying directly from Sawstop is a total gamble. It takes the nearly a week to respond to support requests as well.
fred
Hey – for $120 you can get a table saw at Harbor Freight. That price will likely convince some newbies to jump on. Let’s hope that those buyers get some training and don’t injure themselves.
https://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-15-amp-table-saw-57342.html
BigTimeTommy
Back on track? They built up brand awareness to the point where they can cut corners to fatten their margins without hurting sales. That’s good capitalism they’re right on track.
Beanhole
Yep, exactly. They went the way of Craftsman. I suspect when their patent runs out they will be be nothing more than a name.
Stuart
What are you taking about?
They’ve proven capable of making table saws of at least competitive quality, and the safety tech is tried-and-true.
They have a huge head start.
Chip
I will never buy a sawstop because of their politics ,and what its ddone o the industry.
A former co-worker at a different job,won a 1.2 million settlement when he cut off his fingers while on drugs.
Because the company didn’t have a sawstop.
If it would have been a router,jointer ,or any other tool it would have been a different story.
His lawyer only takes Tablesaw suits.
I have the m18,and I disable it with the app when I’m personally not using it.
It’s also cordless.
Safety is good,but most tools including in sawstop can have safety equipment that can be disabled.
We have two pcs at work,they are well built and packaged very well.
Except for the center particle board extension on the 52 inch.
BigTimeTommy
If the guy was so far out of it that he cut his fingers off then he must’ve been noticably high at work often. Total failure by management when they hired him, and again when nobody noticed he was messed up at work. The company didn’t lose the suit because they didn’t have sawstop saws.
fred
We believed in training, retraining and observation. Our safety record across 4 different businesses was not perfect – but we aimed to make it so. When we had an accident – we’d bring the “troops” together for an after-action analysis about what went wrong and how to prevent a recurrence. We had regular all-hands get togethers where we’d celebrate the good things we had recently accomplished – but also talk about accidents, near-misses and safety. We tried to empower all of our workers to be able to question or even call a time-out if they saw something that they felt was unsafe (including an impaired fellow worker). We’d remind folks that in answer to Cain’s question : we had long concluded that “yes you are your brother’s keeper” and that everyone needed to look out for their fellow workers.
John
Every time Sawstop is mentioned on the internet, it brings out the quacks.
Mitherial
Compared to the auto repair manuals I am used to, the service and parts manuals for this saw is *extremely* clear and legible. Good for them.
Pims
Have recently purchased CTS to replace Makita MLT100. Love it – the safety and the fence. It is a delight.
Can anybody tell me if the mitre slot on the CTS is the same as on the job site model? The spare parts list contains a mitre bar for the job site model but does not include the CTS in the list of compatible models.
Thanks