If I get a slider, can I sell my cabinet saw?

[jim mills]

I've had my eye on a euro slider for some time now and am ready to pull the trigger. What I can't seem to get an honest answer on is, will I still want my cabinet saw? Sure, the slider will be a dream for sheet goods, but what about some of the other operations done on a cabinet saw, like small pieces, detailed miters, or creeping up on a crosscut?
I'm considering an OMGA miter saw for crosscuts (face frames, etc.) but I'm still not convinced I wont miss my cabinet saw. What say you?

[Sam Babbage]

Of the operations you mention, small pieces are the only possible problem, depending on the fence system on the slider, but if you have a decent drop saw then that doesn't really matter (or you can jig around the limitation on the slider.) in a perfect world I would keep the cabinet saw as either a dedicated rip or dado saw. It all depends on how much you need the money and, perhaps more importantly, space.

[Rick Lizek]

You don't say what slider you are getting. I had an SCMI SI-15 4' slider and it was dado capable and there was nothing I couldn't do on it from small to big pieces. I'm also very familiar with Omga saws. Just a very heavy duty miter saw. Not anymore accurate than a properly set Makita or whatever. Just holds up better in a rougher environment.

[Peter Quinn]

Why would you need the omega saw and the slider? It's nice to have both, but you can certainly handle miters of all kinds on the smallest of parts with a miter sled on a slider. And you can do very obtuse angles if required with ease. You can buy miter jigs for most sliders, I made one for the griggio at work for about $5 worth of BB and a half hour of my time that works great, though the commercial ones have very good angle measurements and repeatability. For square cross cuts such as FF parts, the slider is king assuming your outrigger is big enough to handle the lengths you need in terms of stops.

I do prefer a cabinet saw for ripping though you could certainly rip on a slider. If space and money were not an issue I'd keep both. Perhaps you could make the cabinet saw smaller bynreducing the rails and making a fold down out feed, throw a mobile base on it? Checkout the felder video for a demonstration of how to accomplish pretty much every wood cutting operation on a slider.

[Mark Rakestraw]

I bought the Grizzly G0623X slider in December. Even though it's a small format slider (60" crosscut) I still wish I would have had room to keep my cabinet saw. I can put a dado blade on the slider, but it's a couple extra steps to do so. Likewise the fence doesn't just lift off like a Bies, you have to slide it off the end, and it's kind of futzy to line up to slide back on. So I can do everything my cabinet saw did, but transitions just take a few seconds, or minutes for the dado, longer. Probably not a big deal if you're doing this for relaxation and aren't really concerned about speed.
Mark

[Steve Griffin]

If it is at all feasible for your workspace/budget, you shouldn't think twice about keeping a cabinet saw. I'd set it up for ripping, and the occasional dado/rabbit. Maybe even a power feeder for ripping. You would hardly ever need to change blades on either saw.

Dang, now I want two saws too.....

-Steve

[Karl Brogger]

Dang, now I want two saws too.....

I want another tablesaw, and a vertical panel saw. I've already got three tablesaws. Don't think because you get a 2nd you won't find a use for a third.

[Frank Drew]

If you do decide to sell your cabinet saw, keep it hooked up to power and in service, if possible; it's much easier to sell a piece of machinery if the prospective buyer can see it working and maybe cut a board or two (or watch you do it).

[Jeff Monson]

I switched to a KF700 last fall. I have not found an operation that I can't do on my slider. After getting used to different techniques required on a slider, there is no way I would want to go back to a cabinet saw. It would be nice to have both, but with the room I have, that is not an option. Slider all the way for me.

[Stephen Cherry]

I started off with a unisaw. I was able to pick up a late model Felder k975 at a good price, and the unisaw was a partial trade. For almost everything, the felder saw is great. It has two good fences, and in my opinion, it crosscuts very well using either of the two fences. (first, by using the flipstop on the sliding table fence, second by using the main fence on the saw table to set length with the aluminum extrusion slid up so it won't cause the workpeice to get stuck between the blade and fence. For anything that comes as a sheet, and for big lumber, it is great.

I did end up picking up an INCA table saw though. And I do use it. It is very precisely made, and fun to use. Great for tenons, etc.

[Mike Wilkins]

Sold my Unisaw after I got a slider with a 6 foot sliding table. It has dado capacity and does a fine job ripping and crosscutting. It would be nice to have a conventional cabinet saw to perform joinery operations like spline cutting and thin rips, but not much of a chance in my 16 X 24 shop. Space considerations usually dictate these decisions. I am considering a smaller saw, like a bench top for just such joinery operations.
Unfortunately there are not many aftermarket jigs for sliding table saws, except for the high-dollar offerings from Felder/Martin, etc. The owners of sliders usually make their own.

[Rod Sheridan]

I went from a General 650 to a Hammer B3 Winner, and wouldn't go back to the cabinet saw.

Of Course I have a smaller slider (51") so the cabinet is square like a cabinet saw.

That means that ripping is the same as a cabinet saw, except better. Why better?

- 3 position rip fence low for thin pieces, short for solid wood and long for sheet goods

- sliding table often provides infeed and outfeed support.

And of course the slider does all those things that a cabinet saw doesn't such as;

- straight line rip

- crosscut large pieces

Once you get accustomed to using a Euro slider, you won't go backwards to a cabinet saw. It does take some time to gain the familiarity with the machine, however the time savings, accuracy and capacities more than make up for it.

Regards, Rod.

[Mike Ruggeri]

I am in agreement with what the other folks have said. I sold my Unisaw when I got my Minimax. At first I questioned the decision to move to a slider but now that I have used it and have gotten used to it, I wouldn't go back. If $$ are not an issue, I would say keep the cabinet saw as it will come in handy for certain tasks or as a dedicated dado machine. For me, keeping the Unisaw after I got the slider wasn't very practical as my shop is limited to 1/2 of my 2 car garage. I haven't found any issue with small pieces or cross cuts - actually the opposite in that I have found many great uses for the sliding table and found that it is easier to build jig/fixtures for it than my cabinet saw.

Mike

[jim mills]

I find the suggestion of keeping the cabinet saw for a dedicated ripping interesting. The slider has a nice rip fence so why not use it? Also, I'm considering a slider with dado capability.

[Mike Ruggeri]

Jim,

I think the comments to keep the cabinet saw are more for ease rather than function. My slider has a nice rip fence and dado capability, too. Can I rip on it an cut dados - absolutely. If I was in a production environment and not a hobbyist where change over isn't a big deal, would I want to keep the cabinet saw set up with a dado blade - yes.

Mike