A Mini Review Of Harbor Freight's Comically Small Table Saw
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What looks like a table saw, fits in a shoe box, and barely has enough horsepower to trim the pointy end of the cool-looking stick you found while on your evening walk? The Mighty Mite, Harbor Freight's miniature $30 table saw. The model isn't as practical as some of the company's other power tools, yet it comes in handy when working on certain niche projects. What kinds of projects? That's the tricky part, because the answer is more of a shrug of the shoulders than anything specific.
If you look at the Mighty Mite model and your first thought is, "I have no idea what I'd do with it," then this isn't the product for you. If, however, you see the tiny table saw and think, "That's a lot cheaper than anything Proxxon makes," there's good news: you already know what it's for and found an ultra-affordable alternative to the saw every hobbyist wants. What's the bad news? Major sacrifices were made to get the price so low. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the low cost is a warning sign that you should temper your expectations.
What is Harbor Freight's Mighty Mite tiny table saw?
Put simply, the Mighty Mite is what many refer to as a hobby table saw — it wasn't made to rip through two-by-fours or plywood, and attempting to do so will result in the blade coming to a complete standstill while the machine hums away, entirely incapable of putting its 1/12th of a single horsepower motor to good use. Rather, this miniature table saw was designed for projects that sit on the crafting end of the spectrum.
My motivation for buying Harbor Freight's miniature table saw boiled down to the need for something that can cut acrylic sheets and trim small, thin bits of wood combined with my complete unwillingness to spend $450 on the Proxxon Table Saw FET – not to mention that the Mighty Mite somehow manages to be substantially smaller than that already small alternative. When you live in an apartment, that's a big deal.
At the time of writing, Harbor Freight doesn't sell the Mighty Mite through its online website; it's an in-store-only offering, but most stores don't carry it, either (not that they'll tell you that). The first two Harbor Freight shops I visited didn't have the table saw in stock, and I ended up driving to a location 20 minutes away to grab one of the three units it had available. You may be pleased to know that Harbor Freight places the Mighty Mite in the same area as the regular table saws (Aisle 1), and it's all the more comical when you see it displayed on the rack amid its regular-sized brethren.
The compromises we make to save money
Did I mention that this table saw could fit in a shoe box? That includes its power cord, blade guard, entirely useless eye guard, somewhat useless miter gauge, and its second blade — and there would still be room in the box to spare. The included rudimentary miter gauge is a nice touch, as it would, in the ideal scenario, allow you to keep the wood steady as it glides through the blade, resulting in a clean, straight cut. You can even use it to cut at an angle — or, at least, you could if it didn't wiggle around in the miter channel, resulting in your cuts falling out of spec by around a millimeter or so at random.
Speaking of the aforementioned Proxxon brand, users of the Table Saw FET can rotate the blade to get nice angled cuts, whereas the Mighty Mite's blade is fixed in the vertical position. You can change the blade's height by unscrewing the table top and lifting it. That's an eyeballing-it-only process, though. If you need to lower the blade to a height of exactly 1/8th-inch, for example, you better have calipers ready to measure it by hand.
Ultimately, it's easier to explain what the tiny table saw offers rather than what it lacks. It has a vertical 4-inch blade that you can replace with other 4-inch blades. The power button is a red switch on the front. The table top is secured by a knob on the right-hand side. The product sticker on the front is deliberately placed so that it's easy to peel off. And to its credit, the paint job on the table saw feels like thick, durable enamel.
I love the Harbor Freight Mighty Mite despite its shortcomings
Harbor Freight's Mighty Mite table saw may not be useful in most scenarios, but it is arguably one-of-a-kind, as I've never encountered a "micro" table saw that manages to be this comically small and affordable at the same time. Alternatives available from no-name brands on Amazon, for example, may have the same 4-inch blade size and tiny, boxy body, but they cost quite a lot more than $30. That means the Mighty Mite fills an overpriced niche that definitely exists.
Roston/SlashGear
What is an ultra-tiny table saw useful for? I've never had much luck scoring clean lines on acrylic boards, and that's okay because the Mighty Mite can handle cutting them just fine, at least at thicknesses up to 3 mm (anything thicker and the blade jams to a stop). As an amateur terrarium maker, the quality of cuts in tough material like acrylic is sufficient for my needs, but it will be too rough for perfectionists and pros. That said, the results are leagues better than what you'd get freehanding with a Dremel.
When it comes to, say, cutting 0.125-inch hardwood strips, the Mighty Mite did just as good of a job as its larger siblings. A huge benefit that comes with a hobby saw like this is the relief it offers your hands, which is a big deal if you also suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, a saw like this saves you time. Rather than having to saw branches, boards, rods, and molds by hand, wasting time that could be spent building your dollhouse or bottle ships, you can get the same outcome in a few seconds with the flip of a red power switch. That alone makes the Mighty Mite worth it.