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*(This time misers and miserettes, you get two hints for the price of one!!)
The concept of the bench top table saw is as miser-worthy as they come! One can get many of the speed and accuracy benefits of a big grown-up stationary table saw for a most happy fraction of the sawbucks. But unless by chance you happen to be Lilliputian (mythical land of tiny people discovered by Ted Danson on made for TV movie) by birth, you are eventually going to run into a problem with the pint-sized table surface.
Cutting 4 x 8 stock and ripping long lengths of stock with our bench top buddy presents a challenging "fo-pa" indeed. Working plywood and other sheet material can be handled "toot sweet" with your trusty sawboard so that's not a problem. But what if you wanted to rip a 1 x 10 x 12 foot piece of construction pine into 1-1/2" strips for instance... then what?
One could always clone oneself so you could feed the rip stock in one side of the saw and be there on the other side to catch it at the same time.
(cool idea... but most wood miser types don't have room for fancy tech like this in their budget)
You could recruit your spouse.... (no, forget that).. You could recruit your old grade school buddy, Stinky who still lives with his mother down at the end of the block... Or that nice middle-aged couple next door that keep the neighborhood entertained by leaving the blinds open after dark,.... Or how about Aunt Bertha (you know... the one that's "big-boned"),... or whatever it takes to gather a crowd hefty enough to stand on the infeed side of the stock while you push it through....
(You could... but it gets a bit distracting having them all standing around staring at you until next time they're needed)
Or,... you could purchase one of those fancy metal ball bearing adjustable roller stand thingys at the Big Dog Home Improvement Mega store. But before you jump in the car and head to the store for one of those... hang around for just a few more minutes....
First let me introduce all of you to Sawbiscuit and Sawbiscuit, the sequel (pictured right). These mighty and faithful steeds are very near and dear to my heart!
A good set of saw horses has always been the stable (oops!... Fruedian slip!), rather the staple work surface support system at job sites, and in garage and basement shops for eons. But conventional designs made from 2 x 4's that were strong enough to go the distance, end up being awkward and bulky cubic foot eaters. But in case you hadn't heard, partner... a whole new breed o' steed is a-roamin' the range. (OK!.... OK!.... enough with the cowboy metaphors already!...).
I first got hip to these sheet metal equestrian wonders about 7 or 8 years ago when I noticed some vinyl siding guys using them on a job site. What first caught my eye was the nifty way the legs folded neatly into the body of the things. That in itself was worth every cent of the purchase price to this miser!
If that weren't enough, they're designed so it's possible to mount any width of 2x stock your little heart desires on top!! This miser prefers to use 2 x 8 or 2 x 10's so that each individual horse can be used as it's own micro-workbench!
Used to be that these techno-wonders were only available at wholesale siding supply houses, but in recent years they've caught on at the Big Dog Home Improvement Mega stores at fairly reasonable prices. And although constructed of sheet metal, they're engineered to carry a surprising amount of weight.
"Yea,.. yea,.. real cool... but what does all of this have to do with the pint-sized table saw problem"...you ask?
Well pilgrim,.. picture this!...
Your new 2 x 8 clad "metalic equine" companions standing side by side with your bench top buddy spanning their backs in combo with a shop cast off secured with a couple of spring clamps and presto... your pint-sized table saw is instantly transformed into "Rip-master Mama!".
The variations in model design from one tool manufacturer to another might require a few creative changes, but I think you get the basic idea here.
In reality, all you need is a couple more feet of table length to get the leverage necessary to move those last few pesky inches of rip stock through the saw, and as you can see (in photo) getting that, and even a skosh more, is a snap with this simple, magnificently mobile rig!
Well...there you have it misers and miserettes. One more quick hint feather in your cap. One step closer to Wood Miser Nirvana!! One small step for man, one giant leap......(never mind!)