The Best Table Saw Alternative for a Small Shop
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I polled over 2,000 of you and asked if you have enough space in your workshop. Only 9% said yes. This post covers the best table saw alternative for a small shop, which is a project table paired with a track saw, using the Kreg Adaptive Cutting System and the Festool MFT/3 (495462) as the two options I would actually buy.
The Short Answer
- The best table saw alternative for a small shop is a project table plus a track saw. It replaces a table saw, a miter saw and an assembly table.
- Kreg Adaptive Cutting System Master Kit runs right at $1,050. The Festool MFT/3 table alone runs a little over $800.
- Footprint is the whole point. A cabinet saw needs about 60 sq ft. The Kreg folds down to about 6 sq ft against the wall.
- You give up fast repeat rip cuts, dado stacks, jigs and depth of cut. If you do those daily, keep the table saw.
The Best Table Saw Alternative for a Small Shop
The table saw is not a bad tool. It rips fast and repeatably, it handles dado joinery, and it has a hundred years of woodworking history behind it. It is not going away. But if you are short on space, there is a better option.
That option is a project table with a track saw. I am talking about the Kreg Adaptive Cutting System or the Festool MFT/3. Both do more than a table saw and a miter saw combined, and both fold flat when you are done.
Here is why the footprint argument matters. An average American single car garage is 240 sq ft. A double car garage runs about 400 sq ft. Most of you told me you do not even get the whole garage, because a car, a lawnmower or your father in law's old paperwork is taking up a corner. That is a real quote from the poll.
A cabinet saw with enough infeed and outfeed to push a full sheet of plywood through needs 60 sq ft minimum. A jobsite saw on a stand needs about 20 to 25 sq ft with clearance. Add a miter saw station with support wings and that is another 20 sq ft. In a single car garage, the table saw alone eats about 25% of your space. Add the miter saw station and a third of your shop is gone before you build anything.
The Kreg folds flat and takes up about 6 sq ft pushed against the wall. The Festool folds down to roughly 7 in. of thickness standing against a wall. That is the entire argument in one sentence.
See the Kreg Adaptive Cutting System Master Kit at Acme Tools Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
See the Festool MFT/3 Kit at Acme Tools Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Watch the Full Test
The video shows both tables folded down side by side, so you can see the actual footprint difference instead of just reading the square footage. It also shows the track saw stopping short on two stacked 2x8s, which is the one limitation you need to see for yourself.
The Four Problems With a Table Saw in a Small Shop
Footprint
Covered above, and it is the biggest one. Between the saw, the infeed, the outfeed and the miter saw station, you are handing over a third of a single car garage to two tools.
Safety
The table saw is by far the biggest injury causing tool in a garage woodshop. There are plenty of stats out there proving it. I have read a lot of comments over the years from people who are afraid to use theirs, and a healthy fear is not a bad thing. That blade does not care whether it is cutting wood or a finger.
SawStop technology helps, but it costs. A SawStop 3HP PCS cabinet saw starts around $3,000. The SawStop jobsite saw runs closer to $899 before tax. Most beginners are not spending that on one tool. Affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Dust
People do not think of dust as a safety issue, but it is. A table saw throws a lot of it into the air, and plenty of that comes off the blade even when you have collection hooked up. Breathing that in is harmful. A track saw paired with a dust extractor or a shop vac collects far better.
Setup Time
If you are running angle cuts with a miter gauge or a sled, setup takes time and it is not always as accurate as you want. For a weekend woodworker with three hours of shop time a week, that setup time is eating into the time you could be building. Breaking down plywood with a track saw is much faster.
Kreg Adaptive Cutting System vs Festool MFT/3
Both of these do the same core job. Both have dog holes across the surface, both fold down, and both double as an assembly table. The differences come down to how the track works and how refined the whole thing feels.
The Kreg comes as a complete package. You get the table, the track saw, a track and setup tools for repeatable accurate cuts. Integrated guide stops and measuring systems let you rip, crosscut and miter. The track raises up and then folds back down to sit on the work.
The Festool is a little more refined in my opinion. The track lifts completely out of the way, so you can lay a sheet of plywood or a longer board underneath and set the track back down. It drops into a notch on the other side, so it lands in the exact same spot every time. That is what gives you repeatable cuts.
The other advantage with the Festool is compatibility. If you already own a Makita, Milwaukee or Festool track saw that uses a standard track profile, it will work on this table. The Kreg track saw does not play nice with the Festool track because the track design is different. Kreg has a new track saw design coming in September with a standard base that will work on this track, so that opens up after September of 2026.
| Feature | Kreg Adaptive Cutting System | Festool MFT/3 | Table Saw + Miter Saw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | About $1,050 for the Master Kit | A little over $800 for the table alone | About $330 saw, $279 miter saw, $400 track saw |
| Folded footprint | About 6 sq ft against the wall | About 7 in. thick against the wall | 20 to 60 sq ft, plus 20 sq ft for the miter station |
| Rolls away | Yes, has wheels | No wheels, folds and stands | Depends on the stand |
| Track saw included | Yes, in the Master Kit | Optional, or use your own | No |
| Works with other track saws | Kreg track profile | Yes, standard track profile | Not applicable |
| Doubles as assembly table | Yes, dog holes across the top | Yes, 20 mm dog holes | No |
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See the Kreg Adaptive Cutting System table top only at Acme Tools Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Can a Track Saw Replace a Table Saw for Breaking Down Plywood
For sheet goods, yes, and it is not close. I can break down a full sheet of plywood with a track saw in less than two minutes if I already know where my cuts are. Bam, bam, bam, and everything comes out right every time.
The cut quality is the part people underestimate. You get support underneath when you are working on a table, and the track saw cuts at zero clearance on the track. That means no splintering above the cut and none below it.
If you have ever wrestled a 4 ft by 8 ft sheet of 3/4 in. plywood onto a jobsite saw by yourself, you know why this matters. It is difficult, it can be dangerous, and it gives you bad cuts. It gets harder as you get older too. That alone is reason enough to add one of these even if you keep your table saw.
Can an MFT Table Replace a Miter Saw
Some of you are going to get mad at this one, but most of you do not need a miter saw if you have one of these tables. Both the Kreg and the Festool have a miter gauge that handles almost any miter cut you would want to make, especially on thinner stock.
The Festool miter gauge is top notch. It is all metal construction with a stop block on the fence, so your boards get better support and you get better cuts. It goes to 90 degrees both ways, so any angle you need is in there. You adjust the fence with a single turn of a knob and it squares itself back to the table.
The stop block is what makes it work as a miter saw replacement. You can knock out repeatable accurate cuts over and over. And with the track, you can set up miter cuts on plywood, which is something a miter saw cannot do at all.
If you would rather keep a dedicated miter saw, the SKIL is the best budget miter saw I have tested at about $279.
See the SKIL Miter Saw MS6305-00 at Lowe's Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
What You Lose If You Give Up Your Table Saw
There are trade offs in everything you choose. Here is what you actually give up.
- Speed of rip cuts. If you are ripping 50 boards, the table saw wins by a mile.
- Ripping rough lumber. A track saw can do it depending on how rough the stock is, but the table saw is usually better. For real dimensioning you still want a bandsaw and a jointer.
- Dados. A dado stack on the table saw beats anything else unless you have dado jigs set up on a router station.
- Jigs. Box joint jigs, taper jigs and crosscut sleds all live on the table saw.
- Depth of cut. This one is real. Stack two 2x8s and a track saw will not get through them. You would have to flip the board and cut again. Most 10 in. table saws go through that with no problem.
- Production work. A production shop wants a table saw in most cases.
Hobby shops, weekend shops and limited space shops are where a project table and track saw make the stronger argument.
Which Track Saw Should You Buy
If safety is your concern, get the Festool. The TS 55 FEQ-F-Plus has anti kickback technology that shuts the motor off if it kicks. That is a real feature, not marketing.
Otherwise I like the Milwaukee M18 Fuel track saw if you want cordless, and the Makita SP6000J1 is my pick for a corded track saw. The Kreg ACS-SAW works well too, it just will not run on the Festool track until the new Kreg design lands.
If you want the full breakdown, I tested 15 track saws and ranked every one of them, including the ones I would avoid.
See the Festool TS 55 FEQ-F-Plus Track Saw at Acme Tools Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
See the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Track Saw Kit with track at The Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
See the Makita SP6000J1 Corded Track Saw on Amazon Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The Budget DIY MFT Table Option
If $800 to $1,050 is out of reach, you can build your own. Search DIY MFT table on YouTube and you will find a bunch of builds. The top is just MDF, so it is well within reach for most shops.
Build the table, then use the track saw and track you already own. One of the poll comments came from a guy working out of a one car garage with no insulation and one outlet. He uses Harbor Freight sawhorses and an offcut of drywall as a workbench, and he breaks the whole setup down every night so his lawnmower stays accessible. If that sounds like your shop, this kind of setup makes a lot more sense than a table saw and a miter saw.
If You Still Want a Table Saw
Most of you already own one. When I ran the poll, 78% said they have a table saw. You are not quitting it, and you should not get rid of it unless space is what you are trying to conserve.
If you are shopping for one, the SKIL 10 in. TS6307-00 is a fantastic saw for about $330, and it is my best budget pick. I went deeper on it in my SKIL 10 in. table saw review. If you have more room in the budget, I bought 7 table saws to find the best one under $1,000 and ranked them all.
See the SKIL 10 in. Table Saw TS6307-00 at Lowe's Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
See the DeWALT 10 in. Table Saw at The Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
All Tools From This Video
Acme Tools
- Kreg Adaptive Cutting System Master Kit
- Kreg Adaptive Cutting System Table Kit
- Kreg Adaptive Cutting System Table Top Only
- Kreg Track Saw ACS-SAW
- Festool MFT/3 Kit 495462
- Festool TS 55 FEQ-F-Plus Track Saw
- Milwaukee M18 Fuel Track Saw 2831-21, no track
- Makita SP6000J1 Corded Track Saw
The Home Depot
- Milwaukee M18 Fuel Track Saw Kit with Track
- Makita SP6000J1 Corded Track Saw
- DeWALT 10 in. Table Saw
Lowe's
- SKIL 10 in. Table Saw TS6307-00
- SKIL Miter Saw MS6305-00
- DeWALT 8 1/4 in. Table Saw
- SawStop 3HP PCS Table Saw
- SawStop Jobsite Table Saw
Amazon
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best table saw alternative for a small shop
A project table paired with a track saw. The Kreg Adaptive Cutting System and the Festool MFT/3 are the two I would buy. Both break down sheet goods faster than a table saw, both handle miter cuts, and both fold flat against a wall when you are done. They also double as an assembly table.
Can a track saw replace a table saw
For breaking down plywood and sheet goods, yes, and it does it better. For repeat rip cuts, dados, jigs and thick stock, no. I can break down a full sheet in under two minutes with a track saw, but if I am ripping 50 boards I want the table saw.
How much space does a table saw actually take up
A cabinet saw with proper infeed and outfeed clearance needs about 60 sq ft minimum. A jobsite saw on a stand needs 20 to 25 sq ft. A miter saw station with support wings adds another 20 sq ft. In a 240 sq ft single car garage, that is a third of your shop.
Kreg Adaptive Cutting System vs Festool MFT/3, which is better
The Kreg is the better complete package because the Master Kit includes the table, the track saw, the track and setup tools for right at $1,050. The Festool is more refined and works with any standard profile track saw you already own. The Kreg also rolls on wheels, and the Festool does not.
Do I still need a miter saw if I have an MFT table
Most people do not. The miter gauge on both tables handles almost any miter cut, especially on thinner stock, and the stop block gives you repeatable cuts. You can also miter plywood with the track, which no miter saw will do. A miter saw is still a fantastic tool if you have the space.
Can I build a DIY MFT table instead of buying one
Yes. The top is just MDF, and there are plenty of DIY MFT table builds on YouTube. Build the table and use the track saw and track you already own. That is the cheapest path into this setup by a wide margin.
Some links in this post are affiliate links. 731 Woodworks may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Only 9% of the 2,000 woodworkers I polled said they have enough shop space. Here is the table saw alternative that does more in a fraction of the footprint.