Ideally I'd like to see a miniature Shop Smith multi tool.
Wow, immortalizing one human's craftsmanship in a configurable robot.
What I came up with so far is an adjustable router table for a Dremel that you could use with a 1/16 inch engraving bit, designed for my 3D printer. Just finished making my most recent prototype, but need to rough cut the stock on a regular table saw to try it out.
My initial prototype design is here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5395048 however I've made a number of tweaks to it (things like getting the screw thread sizing dialed in to account for tolerances on my 3d printer, etc -- eventually I'll post a fully parameterized version that can be tweaked individually).
Right now it is designed to hold the Dremel in one hand, feed the work piece through the other. It has a primary pivot fence with 1/32 inch scale marks, and the second pivot fence can be attached to center a work piece (my current design eliminates this second fence and replaces it with a button that works just as good).
My next Dremel related 3d design will be a mounting system that attaches where the plastic screws are that holds the motor brushes in place, then I'll see if I can do a lathe, table saw, hand held circular saw, etc).
Table saws are where fingers come off, where work pieces get chucked at you, and where blades sometimes explode. It's probably the second-most dangerous tool in any shop.
A good circular saw and guide can do much the same thing as a cheap table saw, safely. Nice table saws can do some precision work a circular saw can't match (such as various kinds of notches), but not a $40 HF mini table saw. But 90% of what a table saw does, a circular saw properly used will do just as well, only with a bit more work setting up guides.
Other tools can handle those rare precision notches a circular saw won't do.
Things to be aware of:
- You can adjust height and angle on a circular saw. It's more finicky than a table saw, and you might need a protractor, but once you set it, it's good.
- You want a long guide you can clip to the piece.
- You want something like a Kreg which attaches to the table saw and guides it for e.g. cross-cuts of the same length.
If you do want a cheap saw on a table, I'd consider any other kind (e.g. a scroll saw).