Skilsaw 8-1/4-inch Worm Drive Table Saw Addresses Portability and Improvements
One of the upcoming tools we saw at World of Concrete 2020 was the Skilsaw 8 1/4-inch worm drive table saw. ULโs regulation on table size and blade diameter ratios are driving the need and Skilsaw took the opportunity to make some improvements.
10-Second Summary
- 8 1/4-inch blade diameter allows for more portable size
- New rack-and-pinion fence system added
- Same size worm drive motor as the 10-inch
- $399 saw, $89 stand
Why Build a Skilsaw 8-1/4-inch Worm Drive Table Saw?
Skilsawโs original worm drive table saw has a 10-inch blade and it does great work with a high level of portability. However, UL now has regulations defining the relationship between the size of the table and the diameter of your blade. Skilsawโs choice was to bump down the blade diameter or increase the table size.
They decided to go with the smaller blade in order to maintain the easy portability that weโve enjoyed. Itโs actually a little smaller and lighter than the 10-inch model itโs replacing.
Is Just a Different Blade Size?
While the Skilsaw 8 1/4-inch worm drive table saw was under development, the team made a few improvements at the same time. The biggest one is a new rack-and-pinion fence system similar to the one thatโs on Skilsawโs heavy-duty model.ย Itโs a system that our team prefers and an upgrade Skilsaw was hearing about from their user feedback.
The project team decided to stick with the same motor, though. The nice thing about it is that youโre getting the same 10-inch sawโs power with an 8 1/4-inch blade. There shouldnโt be any power concerns no matter what material youโre used to cutting.
Projecting Ahead
Skilsaw launched its 48V TrueHVL cordless platform in 2019 with the first true cordless worm drive. Theyโre following it up this year with a 10 1/4-inch version that cuts 4x in one pass.
Itโs not a difficult stretch to think that the new 8 1/4-inch worm drive table saw can also be the foundation of a cordless model. The design is already solid, so itโs just a matter of cutting the cord and adding a battery connection. Thatโs an oversimplification of the challenge, of course, but Iโd love to see a cordless version of this exact saw.
Pricing
As the new table saw phases out the 10-inch model, expect the price to run $399 for the saw and another $89 if youโd like the stand. Thatโs a little bit of a bump over the current modelโs $379 price tag. However, we think the extra $20 is well worth it for the rack-and-pinion fence.
If youโd like to stick with a 10-inch blade, Skilsawโs heavy-duty model runsย $529 with a pretty sweet rolling stand.
