Steel City granite saw review.
I was lucky enough to be able to purchase a new Steel City table saw a few weeks ago. It's model #35905G, as seen here:
I chose this saw for several reasons. Happy reviews from other customers, features other saws don't have, good reputation of brand, excellent service of the dealer, among other things I'll discuss.
When reading this review, please note that I'm not an expert on tools, havn't used many many brands of table saw (just a few), and have never written a formal tool review like this before. I write this in hopes that it'll provide some good info for anyone looking at buying a Steel City saw. I don't profess to be an expert on the topic.
The first thing I noticed about this saw is it's heft. Lifting it off the back of my truck was no small feat for me and 3 of my neighbors. It's over 500 lbs. The saw was very well packaged in a steel framed crate, which was solid, making it a bit of a PITA to remove. But thats a good thing. I deal directly with Scott Marson of Marson Equipment in west Edmonton. He assured me that the saws are all strapped in place during shipping, and even though it would have fit better in my truck, he wouldn't allow me to place the saw on it's side. He said he's only ever seen one saw that had a top mis-aligned, and it was (likely) because it was shipped to the buyers home on it's side.
So after getting the saw unpacked (needed 3 more neighbors to get it off the crate and on to the mobile base I had for it), I picked up the instruction manual and had a quick read. The manual is as complete and concise as I would expect, and I felt the instructions on assembly were very easy to follow.
I went thru the parts list, and realized that I was missing a bunch of things, including nuts bolts and washers, and the blade wrenches. Uh, oh! I made note of the part numbers and called Scott in the morning. Again he was very helpful and it turns out everything that was missing was contained in one plastic bag. He had another bag pulled from another saw, and I was able to pick it up that day, no problems.
Assembling the saw was easy and straight forward. The fit and finish are excellent and everything fell into place as it should. The left extension wing (also granite) was heavy as heck, probably 80 lbs by itself. It bolted into place with no issues and the screws to level and flush it with the main table were pretty much idiot proof. The only thing you have to remember (and the instructions clearly tell you) was to not tighten the extension table nuts completely until the wing is level. Makes sense, right?
With that done, I attached the drive belt to the motor and arbor pulleys (easy), assembled the fence (easy) and attached the little hanger hook where the blade wrenches hang. This hook is actually set too low (it's on the left side of the saw right above where the fence sits in it's brackets when not in use). The wrenches hang in the way of the fence when your putting it away, a bit of a hassle. I'm going to either raise the hook, or more likely get rid of it and use some rare earth magnets to put the wrenches where I want them.
I next attached the right side extension table. I think they could have made this part better. It's a piece of melamine covered plywood pocket holed together. I suppose it's ok, I mean it fit in place very well and was leveled easily, but it just doesn't seem as high quality as the rest of the saw.
Next, I rewired the saw from the switch box. I put on a longer, heavier gauge (12ga) cord and 20 amp plug to match the outlet I wired into the shop. This allows me to move the saw to any place I want it in the shop and still reach the plug. The saw is 220V.
I only got the 30" model due to shop space limitations. And so far, I have no regrets about that. The fence rail was very easy to bolt on as well and is very very solid, front and back. When I attached the fence, I noticed that it was quite solid as well. It has very nice UHMW plastic on both sides. I've since read that the steel fence is first machined flat and parallel on both sides, then the UHMW is machined, then attached to the fence, then the whole thing is machined again once assembled, to get the fence perfectly flat and faces parallel to each other. A nice feature that the fence has is plastic(pvc?) set screws on the front that allow you to adjust how close it is to the table, as well as getting it square to the table. Both tasks were very easy. There is a foot that rides on the back rail that you adjust as well to get the back side of the fence right down to the table. My only issue with the fence is that it does not have holes or a slot to attach a sacrificial fence to for dado cuts. I guess I could drill those myself, or attach a subfence in another method.
With the fence set up, I installed a blade on the saw and snugged the fence up to it, then set my zero mark and installed the adhesive measuring tape to the fence rail. This was easily done, and with a few checks after, the measuring guide is quite accurate. For super accuracy, I always check blade to fence distance with a steel rule anyway.
The throat plate of the saw is... ok. The screws that secure it to the table are not quite long enough. So when I raised the throat plate up with the set screws to level it with the table, the screws barely engaged anymore. In addition to this, I removed the throat plate and attached it to a blank of 1/2" plywood to make myslef a zero clearance insert, using double sided tape. When I removed the blank and the tape, some paint and a metal tab came off with it. That wil need to be addressed.
The saw comes with 2 riving knives. 1 for a full kerf blade, and 1 for a thin kerf blade. The install snuggly behind the blade by fitting in a slot and a screw snugs it in. The riving knife raises and lowers with the blade. It was perfectly alligned from factory, but it can be adjusted easily if it needed to be. The 2 sizes of riving knives is a nice feature, and how easily they are installed and changed out is equally as nice.
I did not install the saws blade guard. Why? Cause I don't use one, ever. I find they just get in the way and are more of a hazard that they are good. You can give me crap about this if you like, but it won't change my mind about it.
The miter gauge is pretty standard I think. It fit very snuggly in the miter slots. The positive stops at zero, 22.5, and 45 degrees each direction were very accurate. And if they're not, they can easily be adjusted with screws on the underside of the gauge.
There has been past concerns/complaints about the fear that you can break the edge of the granite top off by pushing down on the miter gauge with only the tip of it still in the slot. I have 2 things to say about that. First, if you do that, your an idiot. Seriously, who would do that? Second, it can't happen. No chance in hell. Steel City now fits the miter gauges from factory with PLASTIC inserts. If your gonna try to tell me that plastic is harder than the granite and the granite could still break, please see my first point, as it applies to you.
Speaking of the granite breaking, that has been another concern raised about these saws, that if you were to inadvertantly drop a heavy object such as a hammer, it could break. I also have two points to make about that. If you drop a hammer, or anvil, or pick axe, on your table saw from a significant hieght, your not an idiot, your a complete retard, and breaking your saw top is probably a blessing because you'll likely kill yourself trying to use such a machine. :D Seriously though, if your at least slightly careful and competant, there is no way you can break this 2" thick granite. It would take a very hard, very intentional whack, and that just won't happen in my shop. I don't use my saw as a work bench, and if you do, cover it with a piece of plywood or mdf and you'll be fine.
On that note, this is my review and my opinion. I DO NOT want this thread to turn into yet another dispute over granite vs. cast iron, so if you go there, I'll delete the whole thing. :)
When I checked the top with a straight edge, I found it to be extremely flat (as flat as I could ever measure). The blade was perfectly parallel to both miter slots (which are parallel to each other) and the fence installed parallel to all of the above, with no adjustment. Without touching the bevel wheel, the blade was also perfectly square to the table on both sides.
Speaking of the wheels, wow are the nice! Very heavy and solid, and once attached they spin very easily and control the blade height and angle with ease. There is a locking knob on both wheels that securely locks them in place at the desired height and angle.
Alright, enough with all the set up stuff, time to saw some wood! I installed my Freud Industrial Glue Line Rip blade (full kerf) and grabbed a piece of scrap 6/4 black walnut with a gnarly knot in it. I plug the saw in, put on my safety glasses and leave the ear plugs out for now, I wanna hear this baby sing! And sing she does. I start it up and it kicks to life for the first time in my shop with a surprisingly powerful jolt. I kind of expected a smoother start, but wow, the power is immediatly there and the blade is at full speed, right now. I also notice that there is very little vibration, likely no small thanks to the 2" granite top that weighs a ton, and the very well thought out cabinet mounted trunion system.
I feed the wood thru the blade. Zzzzzzing. Smooth as butter. I shut the saw off (the switch is nice and big and well positioned for me) and I'm a bit embarassed that my "test cut" was no test at all for the saw, it was effortless. The 3HP is apparant. The wood has a perfect slice, right thru the knot, with no burn.
What I did notice was the dust. Oops, forgot to turn the shop vac on. Not that it would matter much, the connection is for a 4" dust collector, which by the way will be my next purchase.
Since that first cut, I've cut a bunch more walnut, a bunch of yellow birch, some 3/4" oak ply, 1/2" bb ply, and some 2" hard maple with the saw. Every cut is as smooth and effortless as the first. I'm gonna have to get some 3" thick jatoba or something to (maybe) test the saw, but I got a feeling that even that, with a good blade, will be effortless.
In brief conclusion, there are a few minor things that could be improved:
1. The throat insert, and screws that hold it in place, need improvement.
2. The location of the hook to hang the blade wrenches needs re-consideration.
3. The saw should come with a longer cord.
The saw has many features that I really relly like:
1. Very solid, very flat, rust free, warp free granite top.
2. Riving knife (x2 included, a nice touch)
3. Fit and finish is superb.
4. Very solid trunion system.
5. Nice fence.
6. Tons of power.
7. Very well adjusted out of the box, made set up painless.
8. Very solid adjustment wheels.
Overall, I really like the saw and am extremely happy with my purchase. The service I got from Marson equiptment has been exceptional and I know they'll take care of any problems I do have. Steel City puts a 5 year warranty on the whole saw, and a 10 year warranty on the granite top, I think that is exceptional.
I hope this review helps, if you have specific questions that I may be able to help you out with, please feel free to post them or PM me.
Ryan
P.S. Soon to come, review of the Steel City Granite 14" Bandsaw (my other new toy).
