About SawStop
SawStop was founded in 2000 in Tualatin, Oregon by patent attorney and physicist Steve Gass along with David Fanning and David Fulmer, built around a single invention: a blade-braking system that senses contact with skin and stops the blade in under five milliseconds. Gass first pitched the technology to established power tool manufacturers, and when none would license it, the founders raised roughly three million dollars from about thirty investors and built their own saws instead, shipping the first SawStop table saw in 2004. The company was acquired in 2017 by TTS Tooltechnic Systems, the parent of Festool, and now builds a full range of table saws from the portable Jobsite Saw Pro through Contractor and cast-iron Cabinet Saw lines, every one carrying the same flesh-detection braking system.
SawStop remains the only table saw manufacturer built around active flesh-sensing safety technology, a distinction that has made it the subject of ongoing attention from the Consumer Product Safety Commission's table-saw rulemaking process. In our own testing, the SawStop Jobsite Saw PRO was the only portable saw in the roundup with that braking system, paired with a class-leading table depth and a fence that locks with a single push.
Brand website: sawstop.com
What SawStop makes
SawStop's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Compact Table Saw (CTS)
the smallest, most portable SawStop, built for easy carry and tight jobsite storage
Jobsite Saw Pro
portable jobsite saw with a mobile cart base, the line featured in our testing — featured on DIYRated
Contractor Saw (CNS)
cast-iron top, partially enclosed design, the most configuration options of any SawStop line
Professional Cabinet Saw (PCS)
cast-iron top and wings for shop installations, multiple motor and fence configurations
Industrial Cabinet Saw (ICS)
SawStop's top-tier cabinet saw for high-volume shop use
Why we recognized SawStop
The DIYRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. SawStop earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, put to work on real jobs, and judged on merit.
SawStop products we rated highly
SawStop Jobsite Saw PRO with Mobile Cart Assembly
A top pick in our testing as the only portable table saw with active flesh-detection, stopping the blade in under 5 milliseconds on contact with skin. It paired a class-leading 24-5/8-inch table depth with a one-turn elevation wheel and an Ergolock fence that locks parallel with a single push, and in our review it held 4.3 stars across 72 reviewers who cited the safety system and build quality most often.
Read the 7 Best Table Saws of 2026 guide →What earned SawStop the recognition
- The only table saw brand built around active flesh-sensing blade-braking technology, stopping the blade in under five milliseconds on contact with skin, a category the company itself pioneered in 2004.
- The SawStop Jobsite Saw PRO paired that safety system with a class-leading 24-5/8-inch table depth in our testing, giving it more support for sheet goods and long rips than any other jobsite saw in the roundup.
- An Ergolock rip fence that locks with a single push and stays parallel without a secondary adjustment, a detail our reviewers called out directly.
- Backed by TTS Tooltechnic Systems, the parent of Festool, since 2017, giving the brand manufacturing and parts continuity beyond a single founder-run shop.
- A full product line, from the portable Jobsite Saw Pro through Contractor and cast-iron Cabinet Saws, that carries the same braking technology at every tier rather than reserving it for a flagship model.