Sawstop fence only with SS?

[Cliff Holmes]

I just spoke with my local dealer about getting a new Sawstop PCS. I was looking to buy the saw sans fence as I have a full Incra setup that I love. He told me that SS only sells the saw complete with fence and that using another fence will void the warranty.

Can any of you SS owners explain to me why this would be?

[johnny means]

I cannot see why they would want to get into the business of selling partial saws. They make and sell complete machines and have no reason to deviate from that for the rare buyer who already owns an after market part. I would also bet that there is a big liability incentive to make sure all their saws are shipped complete.

[Cliff Holmes]

Well, when I was looking at SSs last year, the fence was a extra-cost option. They had no issue selling just the saw then.

But that's not my question. I'm wondering about the logic behind voiding the warranty if you use a third party fence.

[Dave Stuve]

I wonder if the dealer was mistaken?

Dave

(Loving my new PCS by the way!)

[John Lucas]

Johnny,
You are a better believer than I am. My take is that they dont need to bend, therefore they wont. It has sort of been there tact from the beginning. From the buyers perspective, I might well have a better fence system that I want to use. It wont affect their liability other than they will say it does. I like SS a lot and will certainly have one in the future if I get a table saw back into the shop. But there are three fences I like better and would use one of them.
Would it be worth fighting them re. liabilty. probably not. Johnny, I thnk you have the right and practical read...I just get a little hornery when some mfr dictates the conditions just for the sake of dictating the conditions. I did that 25 years ago with a different product...can you say "demurage." We billed .07 a cylinder every month even tho we and they knew that no one could find any. That was a most sizeable bit of income that could "never be questioned." Until the dealers got together and took us to court and won. The nerve of them. They did so well in court that they kept on pushing and eventually quit the ranks and us. And we were such nice guys, even gave them a free calendar each year.
Please pardon the rant.

[Glen Blanchard]

Well, when I was looking at SSs last year, the fence was a extra-cost option. They had no issue selling just the saw then.

But that's not my question. I'm wondering about the logic behind voiding the warranty if you use a third party fence.

Johnny - I bought the Industrial version of the SawStop 3 years ago when it was the only flavor of SawStop available. If memory serves, the fence was an additional item at an additional cost. I wonder if your dealer is not totally up to speed on the issue or if he has another motive.

BTW - I LOOOOOOVE the saw!!!

[Jeff Willard]

Makes little sense to me. For years Powermatic sold the 66 with your choice of a Biesmeyer, Vega, or no fence. And that was when there were only three or four choices in aftermarket fences.

[glenn bradley]

I would email SS directly. I question (at least) your local dealers correctness on this. Could be right, but seems kinda sudden.

[Cliff Holmes]

I don't think the dealer has any ulterior motive. If I will buy the whole setup, they're willing to keep the fence and give me a $400 store credit. I'd be willing to do this, but the voided warranty is what concerns me. The manager had called SS directly to try and arrange a fenceless machine for me, which is when he found out about the warranty.

[Glenn Vaughn]

According to the FAQ on Sawstop.;com:

17. Can I use a non-SawStop fence system with a SawStop table saw?
Most T-style fences can be used with the SawStop saws, although it will usually be necessary to drill new mounting holes in the table and extension wings to mount the front and rear rails. The front-to-rear depth of the Industrial cabinet saw table is 30 inches while the Professional cabinet and contractor saw table is 27 inches deep, so you must use an extension table of the same depth for the respective saws. For non-SawStop fences that lock on both the front and rear rails, the fence must be sized to accommodate the depth of the table on the SawStop saw.

No mention of invalidating the warranty (no mention in the warranty either).

[Barry Vabeach]

Cliff, I agree you should contact SS directly, I can't see why using a different fence would void any warranty. OTOH, the rails for their fence are used to keep the wings level, and if you don't buy their fence, you would have to buy rails from somewhere to support the wings and the extension table. Also, I think that the wood framed extension table comes with the fence ( there is a diff one if you get 36 inch rails as opposed to the longer rails) so if you want the extension table, you might have to buy their fence - again I would ask SS about this.

[Scott Rollins]

I've had my SS for 3 years. Back then the saw came without a fence. The SS fence was optional, but with some creative rebates from microsoft live and "buy it now" on the bay I bought a incra set-up for my SS for much less than the SS fence. Love both the saw and the fence.

My only thoughts are that they changed their policy. So the question I ask is if you use a non SawStop miter gauge is the warrany still good? If it is no issue then what does the T-style fence matter? If you use a fence faceplate while using the dado blade does it violate the warranty? If you add a extension table to the back of your saw? Curiosity killed the cat.

[Ken Pywell]

Like some of the others, I have had mine for 3-4 years and purchased it without the fence. Does the website list the fence under accessories or as part of the saw?

[Paul Cahill]

I wondered about the fence when I was looking into the PCS a couple of months ago. I called the factory and the lady I talked to (I don't remember who it was) said that for the PCS they had to ship the saw with a fence in order the get a UL listing. She said it was because the primary market for the PCS was not industrial. I did not pursue the matter and went with the stock fence.

[Michael Peet]

FWIW, I looked into both the ICS and PCS at my local dealer (Woodcraft) before settling on the PCS. The ICS had more options than the PCS. The PCS came with 2 choices for rails: 36" or 52"; "none" was not an option given to me in spite of me disclosing my intention to use an aftermarket fence.

YMMV -

Mike