New Sawstop PCS

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Well, I finally took the plunge and picked up a new Sawstop PCS. 52" rails, and the integrated mobile base. I ended up just having them put it on my utility trailer, and I managed to pull the pallet into my garage by myself.

I have to give a thumbs up to Zach Burns at Burns Tools in Fall River MA. A place closer to me wanted to hit me up for $350 in added shipping (to get it to them - not even to my door) before they would even order it from SS. Burns Tools had it in stock, and tacked on no added shipping.

We did have a small hiccup....they forgot to give me the box with the mobile base in it. OOPS. I was rolling things over in my mind on the way home, and this dawned on me. I was only 20 minutes out, so I turned around and Zach gave me a $20 gift card and a few other small items for my trouble. unnecessary, but a nice touch. It's actually closer than I expected (about 35 mins), so I expect to be going back there often.

I moved all the 'accessory' pieces into my basement, and a friend is coming down tomorrow to help me move it. I will probably end up taking the top off, but we'll give it a try with the top on to see if it's workable.

and I know the rule, so here's a pic of the box in my garage. will post more pics when it's set up....

[Andy Sowers]

Congrats... you're gonna love your new saw.

Assembly instructions are awesome, so you can actually look forward to putting it together!!!

Andy

[Jim O'Dell]

Congrats!! Take her slow and easy going down the stairs. Don't need anyone hurt in the process. Look forward to pictures when you get it all set up and working! Jim.

[Mike Heidrick]

Congrats!! Awesome saw. Merry Christmas!!

Is there wood inside the PCS box/packaging? I was just noticing a change in the crate/box from my "ICS" from 2006. I kinda liked that it was shipped in a bullet proof wooden crate after paying $375 for shipping.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Is there wood inside the PCS box/packaging?

Mike - there was no wood *inside* the box. There were some pretty sturdy cardboard corner "posts" up the inside that protected the corners. The entire thing was secured to a wooden pallet, which made it pretty easy to move. It seemed to me they put a lot of thought into the packing to protect it.

The one nit I have is that the very bottom of the cabinet - the part that would actually sit on the ground - looks like it actually was on the ground and got scraped or 'walked' across a concrete floor. I don't know if that's normal or not. It effects absolutely nothing, so I'm not going to worry about it.

[Paul Ryan]

John,

If you take the wings out of the box and leave the saw in it, you should be able to move the saw into the basment in the box. It really isn't that heavy. You're gonna love that saw it is really nice. Plenty of power eveything works slick, and the dust collection is awesome. The fence is a little fineky to get set right but that was is. Have your friend stay around if possible to help put the wings on that will save you sometime. Good Luck

[george wilson]

If your stairs are wood, and the basic ladder type,I'd strongly suggest adding some reinforcement to the center area of the steps. I refer to the steps made from notched 2"X8"'s on each side.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

The stairs are 2x10's, inserted into metal risers that are secured to the concrete. Never though of them being a problem, but I'll definitely keep it in mind.

Paul R. - good tip. I'll have to measure it and the door to see if it looks possible.

[Jacob Mac]

Congratulations on the new saw. The PCS looks like a beauty.

[Mike Zilis]

I've seen several people mention a shipping charge that some Sawstop dealers are quoting/charging to buyers. I believe that the issue here is a minimum order requirement from Sawstop. If the dealer places a large enough order to Sawstop, they get the equipment shipped to them free - and of course don't (or at least shouldn't) charge their customer for shipping. If the dealer only orders Sawstop equipment as it's sold (one or two at a time), then they have to pay shipping to Sawstop and are likely to charge the customer buying the saw.

-Mike

[Mike Heidrick]

Mine was only the third 5hp sawstop to be ordered at the Woodcraft I bought it from. I am pretty sure they had two 3hp saws in stock and at the time they were charging shipping on those as well. Figured I would get what I wanted. That Woodcraft store has since closed. They were nice while they lasted. Shipping AND tax is something I try and not pay both on (right or wrong or indifferent).

The shipping I paid was to the store and I still drove 40 minutes on way to get it. It was $225 more to get it shipped to my house.


Anyone get free shipping on a sawstop from a dealer?

[mreza Salav]

congratulations on the new saw!
Just be careful not to activate the brake by hitting the riving knife :D:D

[gary Zimmel]

Congrats on the new saw John.

[Darrell Bade]

I bought an ICS about 1 1/2 years ago. My dealer did not charge me the standard Saw Stop shipping charge although I think they were supposed to. My dealer did deliver it to my house that was about 45 miles away on their truck with a lift gate for no extra charge. They just backed the truck up to the concrete in the barn, lowered the saw and rolled it in. I bought it from an industrial supply house that supplies a lot of tools and supplies to businesses in the area (a lot of them are amish cabinet builders). They have there own truck and have normal delivery routes.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Well, it's in. A friend helped me carry it into the basement on Sunday, and that actually went very smoothly. I did not have to take the top off. I spent a little time Sunday putting the wings, mobile base, etc on, then have been trying to get a little time every night for the rails/fence and table. I still have a lot of adjusting to do, but it's getting there.

I did have one small issue with the table - let me start by saying I really don't like it, but maybe it'll grow on me. It has this plasticy 'ribbed' coating on it - almost feels like the surface of an old vinyl record. There are a few places, especially on the edges and corners, where it isn't quite right. The edges are covered and don't bother me, but there is one spot on the surface near a corner, about 1/4" diameter, where it's bubbled up. I mught just knock it down with a chisel...haven't decided. I can easily see that this textured surface will get beat up after a few pieces run over it, but time will tell.

I was pretty impressed with the fit/finish and the assembly instructions. As has been pointed out - good instructions, well packaged and identified parts, and everything lined up.

Here's a pic of it assembled but not still fully aligned. Need to work more on that tonight. I also need to run a 220v line for it and replace the cord with a longer one.

[Christopher Dopp]

The textured covering on the extension table is there to protect it during shipping and is intended to be removed. It peels off pretty easily and underneath is just black laminate.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Nice shop. I wish I had that much room. Congrats! You'll love the saw.

[Michael Peet]

The textured covering on the extension table is there to protect it during shipping and is intended to be removed. It peels off pretty easily and underneath is just black laminate.

That is good to know. Mine is marred as well. Thanks for the pointer.

Mike

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

The textured covering on the extension table is there to protect it during shipping and is intended to be removed. It peels off pretty easily and underneath is just black laminate.


Chris - thanks for the info. I must have missed that in the manual. I did think about peeling it off, but didn't want to start down a path if it was doomed from the start. I need to remove it anyways to realign my extension wings, so I'll go at it and clean it up.

EDIT: I reviewed the manual again, and it doesn't mention anywhere about removing the film. Odd. I suppose it should seem "obvious" - but it's actually a nice enough surface that one might think that it's *supposed* to stay that way.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Room? You make me laugh. :D Total space is around 13x17 or so, with a 4x11 extension on one side (you can see it off to the left, where the blue well tank is sitting). But there's a lally column in the midle, so it's just good for storage. Maybe the picture makes it look bigger. I can *just* make do with the 52" rails. I thought about the 36" rails, but my old TS was 52" and I knew I'd probably miss it.

I'm pretty excited about the saw. Hope to get it wired and running tonight or tomorrow.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Well, it's officially up and running! I had to remove and reinstall the rails and fence system and table, since I just couldn't get it aligned. I think the rail tilted up slightly towards the right, causing problems with getting the table installed. I installed the 220v line last night, and made some minor adjustments to the fence.

I have to admit I jumped a little when I first turned it on - it is such a different sound from my other saw. I could actually use this with no hearing protection even when cutting - unlike my older Delta, for which I needed to wear ear plugs even just to turn it on. Very smooth, very quiet. I made a few test cuts in some scraps, but probably won't get to annything meaningful till this weekend.

One issue and a question for you.....the ZCI that came with it is not really 'lined up' with the saw blade. The gap from the blade to the right side of the opening is proably 1/32", but on the left side the blade actually ended up touching and cutting it just a little more. It's like the blade is further left than was planned for the ZCI. Any thoughts? here are a few pics to show what I mean....

[Mike Zilis]

I can't answer your question directly, but I can say that on the ZCI I bought with my Contractor SS it's exactly the same as yours. The left side of the blade is tight and the right side has a small gap. I just recently went to a thin kerf blade and I attributed the gap to the difference in kerf width.

http://www.mazworld.com/Site/My_Albums/My_Albums_files/IMG_0309.jpg

http://www.mazworld.com/Site/My_Albums/My_Albums_files/IMG_0310.jpg

-Mike

[mreza Salav]

Maybe the blade was tilted a bit when the ZCI was cut.
Another reason could be the following:

I cut a new ZCI recently and I get an annoying pitch noise when the saw is running. I guess It's because the ZCI is too tight the air-flow in it makes a whistle noise. I might actually put an older insert I have with a bigger gap (larger than yours) to prevent this screaming noise. Perhaps they left that little gap to prevent this noise.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Interesting theory. A reply from SS indicated it should not be a problem, but I might want to "recut" the slot with the blade at 45, just to be sure.

Personally, I think they should leave the ZCI to be cut by the customer, but that's just me.

[Michael Peet]

One issue and a question for you.....the ZCI that came with it is not really 'lined up' with the saw blade. The gap from the blade to the right side of the opening is proably 1/32", but on the left side the blade actually ended up touching and cutting it just a little more. It's like the blade is further left than was planned for the ZCI. Any thoughts? here are a few pics to show what I mean....

I noticed that with mine too, but it doesn't sound like it was as severe as yours. There is a small grub screw on the right side of the ZCI you might be able to adjust. I fiddled with mine for a little while before actually turning it on for the first time and somehow managed to get it to where it didn't cut the ZCI.

Are you using the SS blade or a different one? I used a WWII and wondered if that made any difference.

Mike

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I'm using the SS blade. I have a thin kerf blade that I'm sure would not hit it. it's no big deal, I'll just raise the blade into it. Since it does depend on the blade, I was a little surprised that it came pre-cut.

[Scot Ferraro]

I do not own a SawStop, but my guess on your ZCI issue is that since it was not cut on your saw, the alignment to whatever saw they cut it on is going to be off. I adjusted my table to be dead-on to my blade and the table moved a little more to one side than it had previously been at and as a result, my ZCI were no longer exact and I had to make new inserts.

Congrats on the new saw, BTW -- it is a very nice looking unit and they all get rave reviews.

Scot

[Darrin Davis]

I have a sawstop but never noticed the offset of the blade a little left. I'm thinking that it is to make the left tilt of the blade more possible. If you look under the insert it is slanted on the right for this reason. Just my 2 cents!

[Tony Shea]

I'd have to agree with you Darrin.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I meant to post these pics and then forgot about them. I saw in another thread (from Michael P) how he used a board wedged from the extension wing to the ceiling to push it down to align it. I tried that with little success - not to mention all the crud that came down from the ceiling. So instead I used a few clamps and a 'backer board' that was placed under the rails. This let me fine tune how much the wing was pushed down till it was level, and then tightened the bolts so it stayed there.

[Glenn Vaughn]

Have you tried the "nickel" test yet?

My contractor went through 3 complete on and off cycles on New Years Day and the nickel stayed standing - they were impressed.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

[QUOTE=Glenn Vaughn;1302323]Have you tried the "nickel" test yet?/QUOTE]

Yes. Had 2 nickels and also 2 pennies standing on edge. The nickels stayed up through multiple on/off cycles. The pennies *almost* stayed up, but fell at the last moment. definitely a very smooth saw.