
I work alone, so I sign the contract, do the design, carry the tools, and pick up the trash. I also store the tools in my tool truck. Carrying and storing were the weak spots in my game, though, especially my table saw. It was too big and too heavy for what I needed it to do, and its folding stand served no purpose other than to waste space in the truck.
In my quest to find a truly portable saw that sets up quickly and doesn’t take up more acreage in my truck than necessary, I zeroed in on the Skil TS6307-00 10-inch jobsite table saw. In short, the saw is awesome. Compact. Powerful. Smartly designed. Not only does it solve the specific suite of problems I had with previous table saws, but its well-executed design features generalize into a whammer slammer of a table saw for just about anybody who has to carry one from here to there, then rip a mile of lumber with it.
Out of the box. Unlike table saws that ship with stands that require assembly, this one has folding legs that lock and unlock with a push of a bottom. The legs are rock-solid, and the splay keeps the saw stable for ripping long stock. There’s no outfeed support, but that’s not an issue for me since most supports I’ve seen don’t work very well anyway. The saw is very light (Skil says it weighs 51.2 pounds) and has nice, overmold grips to carry it like a tray. On its right side is a handle for carrying it like a satchel; I use that to tie the saw to a bar in my truck so I can store it vertically and free up floor space.
On my saw, the tall, rack-and-pinion fence was parallel to the blade right out of the box, and the blade height adjustment is as smooth as on any tool I have ever used. The bevel is light, easy to adjust, and doesn’t fall to a default 30-degree angle upon disengaging the quick-release lever.
The power switch is a push-button-on/paddle-off setup. The problem is, you have to reach through the paddle switch to turn it on. In doing so, it’s way too easy to immediately turn the tool off if your finger taps the paddle. A simple fix would be to make the “on” opening wider. I think many users may remove the paddle in real life; instead, I lift the paddle a little to hit the on button. It works, and I won’t be tempted to modify the tool.

The unit has—and I love this—an electric brake that works at least 50% to 75% of the time. This may be a function of the fact that I got an early model, but that it works at all is awesome: 50% of electric brake is 100% better than no electric brake at all.
The plastic throat plate locks into the table and releases with the push of a button, so it stays put instead of ending up on the floor of my truck. The included push stick has dedicated storage, so when I carry the table saw like a tray, or store it in the truck, the push stick doesn’t wiggle loose or fall out.

Power and performance. Despite its light weight, the saw hits like a heavyweight and can suck all the amps out of a 15-amp breaker (ask me how I know). It has a maximum cutting depth of 3 1/2 inches, which enables me to plow through 4-by stock, and has the power to do it if it has enough juice. I’ve used it to bevel 2x6 stock for barn sash windowsills at a full-depth 12-degree bevel and to rip 5/4 pressure treated stock to width for a deck renovation. On that project, it easily handled the extra 2x8s that needed to be ripped to 2x4s. Even maple 1-by stock for a kitchen remodel was no match for this tool.
Dust collection. The blade is housed, so sawdust and shavings go down and out instead of flying all over the place. A 22.5-degree elbow directs the dust down; on a shed for which I did a good bit of ripping, I shot the dust into a 5-gallon bucket and, by volume, captured 10 gallons of dust. The chute can clog up, especially with long rips in wet treated deck boards, but not that often.
Storage. Because the legs fold into the saw frame, storing it is what I call “cubular.” There’s no handle or rail or wheels, as would be required to move a larger table saw. So while it still has a blade-right rip capacity of 25 1/2 inches (something I have nearly zero use for), it folds up tight and sits like a box on the truck floor.

Currently available for less than $300 (at Lowe’s), this is a value-priced jobsite saw that more than holds its own against the higher-priced competition. skil.com
Photos by Mark Clement.