Looking for info on Steel City Tools saws

[craig greene]

Plan to upgrade from my contractors saw (direct drive) to a cabinet type hybrid. Looking at the Grizzly Polar Bear but came across the Steel City hybrids. They have cabinet mounted trunnions, external adjustable 90 & 45 deg. stops, 5 year warranty and come with both 1/8" and 3/32" kerf riving knifes. I have located one but would like to know if anyone has any experience with them and how well they like it. The Grizzly is well reviewed on the net and the few reviews I have found on the Steel City are good also, but far fewer of them. Grizzly's customer service is well known also.

Any input will be greatly appreciated but please don't recommend getting a true used cabinet saw from Craig's list. I have been looking in my area for over a year and have found nothing I would be interested in. The ones I have found are either in need of rehab or priced way more than the new ones I'm looking at. Thanks....

[Doug Palmer]

Craig,

I was in your shoes about three years ago. I went to the Grizzly store in Springfield, MO and looked at all the Grizzlys. I also was able to go to Woodcraft and look at the Steel City hybrid saw. I settled on the Steel City. There really was no comparison in the two. If you see both of them, I doubt you will choose the Grizzly. The Steel City is very nice and I really like mine. The fence is great and very similar in quality to the Beismeyer. If I could afford a full 3 hp model, I might rather have that, but for the money I have never regretted getting the Steel City. In fact I now have a Steel City bandsaw and air filter. There quality is very high as demonstrated by their warrantee and the heft of their tools. I have had no issues at all. They didn't have the riving knife when I got mine, but the guard and splitter are easily installed or removed with no tools. I believe the Steel City hybrid is made nearly identical to the Craftsman hybrid 22116. Get the 50" fence if you can. There are other brands, but Steel City is definitely nicer than the Grizzly IMO.

[dan lemkin]

I really liked the looks of their stuff, and was going to get their drill press... but had difficulty locating a local dealer. Woodcraft stopped carrying them. According to our local store manager, they were having difficulty getting stock and had concerns about the solvency of the company - and opted to stop carrying. Is a shame, hope they are wrong.

[Kev Godwin]

Several members here have or have had the Craftsman 22124 which is nearly identical to the Steel City. The primary difference is the C-man comes with a 50 inch Beis fence. I've been very happy with mine. I can't comment on the Griz myself.

A couple years ago Wood magazine did a tool comparison of the hybrids. If I remember, the Griz did not rate as well as several others.
Kev

[paul cottingham]

I have several of their tools, and really like them. However, I have a hell of a time getting them to respond to customer service requests, and the answers I got were kind of snotty. I seriously doubt I will buy any more of their tools.

[Myk Rian]

I have an early SC Hybrid saw. I love it.

[scott spencer]

Which model are you looking at?

[craig greene]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I'm looking at the 35900 or the 35925, maybe another model that is still 110. I prefer a cast iron top instead of the granite top. Breakage is not the main concern of mine, I like using my mag switch accessories. With a cast iron top I can use them any where on it. I will try and contact the manufacture and just see how they respond to some questions. If they get "snotty" I can take that as a sign and move on. Thanks again.

[paul cottingham]

Upon refection, I could have picked a better word than snotty.

[Paul Ryan]

I owned one of the early model 3hp granite saws and it was a decent table saw. The granite gave me no troubles, i actually prefer it over cast iron, less maintenance and slicker. I sold it when I got a Sawstop. Customer service was better back when the founders were running the show, but since the shake up I have heard customer service is hit or miss. Good to some poor to others. IMHO the industrial fence on the SC saws is the best on the market. Better than any other fence I have used I would love to have one of those again. All the other bies clones are ok but nothing comes close to the SC industrial fence. Dust collection is on par with any other machine that uses a sloped floor design. All in all a decent saw if you have a dealer close by that is a plus, but if you have to do mail order, the grizzly is just as good.