question for SawStop ICS owners with the mobile base

[Russ Ambrose]

took delivery of an ICS last night and am in the process this weekend of doing the necessary assembly and set up. at this point i have only attached the other extension wing (i have not attached the rails or extension table) and have a question re: the hydraulic mobile base. have the saw in the base and it is sitting completely on the support straps/bars. the base raises up easily and rolls around with ease and when i move the foot level to "lower" the base, it lowers all the way (i.e., until the support straps/bars are resting on the floor) after which you cannot move the BASE. however, i CAN (when the base is in the lowered position) move the saw around inside the base. i can grab the top and (quite easily actually) move the entire saw from side to side/back to front within the "extra" room in the base.

there doesn't seem to be anything "wrong" with this circumstance, but when i mentioned this to the Woodcraft guy this morning, he was quite puzzled and seemed confident that the base wasn't properly lowering all the way. as i mentioned above, however, this does not seem to be the problem/cause. i figured this would play out one of two ways: (1) after getting the rails and extension table installed the saw would simply weigh so much that i would not be able to move it, or (2) i would simply place an appropriately sized block or two of wood in the gaps between the saw base and the base.

but, since i'm knocking off for the night i thought i'd ask whether this was "normal" before resuming work on this tomorrow and see if anybody has any ideas, insight, and/or experience to share. i apologize if this is a truly stupid question. thanks in advance for any and all replies.

PS - for anybody that may recall my table saw posts from a couple weeks back, i will be posting either monday or tuesday about my experience with Delta and why i returned my new Unisaw (complete with pictures of the problem) and traded it for a SawStop, as well as my initial impressions of my SawStop (including my already positive experiences with their customer service).

[Tim Janssen]

Hello Russ,

I have the PCS but have it on the industrial mobile base, like you have and because I wanted to raise the saw so the top would be just below the level of my workbench so I could use that as an outfeed table, I built a plywood platform that just fits in the base. On the bottom of the plywood base I glued 2 thin strips of wood, the strips located inside the steel support bars so that the plywood could not move and possibly interfere with the raising or lowering of the saw.
In my setup I used 2 layers of .75" plywood in order to get the saw up high enough, I also glued two pieces of ply that fitted just within the basecabinet, one along the back and one following the slight curve of the front and this prevents the saw from moving within the mobile base.
I hope this makes sense.
Oh, by the way, I painted the plywood black.

Apr 8. Did some checking on dimensions and weight. The ICS cabinet footprint is 20" x 25" and is about 200lbs heavier then the PCS, its cabinet footprint is
19" x 19". I doubt you'll have much trouble with it moving easily, as others have mentioned.

[Mark Grotenhuis]

I have the ICS with the mobile base, and like Tim I also added a piece of plywood to raise the height of the saw to that of my workbench. I can honestly say I have never had it slide around. I guess if you were to really torque on it; it would move, but under normal operation I've never had it do that. If you were still worried about it I guess you could add a snug fitting piece of plywood under it and bolt the saw to it.

[Brad Gobble]

I have the ICS with the mobile base and if I really shove and pull on the fence rail I can get the right side of the saw to move by a little bit (1/4" I'd guess) but never when using the saw

[Rob Sack]

I have an ICS with the factory mobile base. As I recall, I noticed the same thing when I first got the saw. I called SawStop and although I don't remember exactly what they had me do, I do recall it was a simple adjustment that fixed the problem.

[Larry Frank]

I have the PCS with the mobile base. Like some others, I built a strong wooden base to go inside the base so that the so would be a more comfortable height for me. I think that the mobile base with the hydraulics is the best base for a tool that I have used.

[Thomas L. Miller]

Russ,
I have the ICS and mobile base. My saw has never moved around on the base. I just assembled the base per the instructions. I haven't tried to push it around within the base. I've moved the saw and the extension table several times and it never budged. I ripped about 200 board feet of 8/4 ash on the saw and it never even twitched. When the saw is in the down position, it's like the saw is bolted to the floor. Since I'm only 5'8, I didn't and any height to the saw. Sorry I wasn't more help.
Tom

[Russ Ambrose]

thanks for all the replies. they were all quite helpful. got the rest of the saw/extension table set up. like i suspected, i can - if i REALLY, REALLY try - get the saw to move around a little within the base. however, given the sheer mass of this thing along with the legs of the extension table setting on the floor, i cannot imagine this thing ever moving around during normal use. nevertheless, i will probably put a block or two of wood in strategic places to ensure that it stays in place. thanks again for the input.

[Gary Venable]

I also have the ICS and the mobile base. I have never had it move inside the base either. E-mail or give Sawstop a call their support has always been very helpful.

-Gary

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have an ICS and I'm pretty sure I can move my saw in the base. But the force required is the same (a lot) as it would to move it when it's sitting on concrete..... I was not concerned about it. Until now. Maybe I should fix the base? I've never had it move unintentionally. It may move like 1/4 inch. It does move in the base when I roll it around too.

[Russ Ambrose]

i chatted with one of the SawStop folks today about this and he said that my circumstance was consistent with the size/design of the saw and the base. essentially, no big deal. he said his experience was like mine. he could easily move the "naked" saw (no extension wing, rails, or ext table) around in the base but after fully assembling it he could only move it around with GREAT effort. he agreed that the amount of effort needed to move the fully assembled saw around in the base was more than you'd ever likely experience by using the saw for its intended purpose. he also thought that shimming it with a block or two of wood (while probably not necessary) was not a bad idea.

all in all, this was a really minor thing. more than anything i just wanted to know i hadn't done something really stupid when putting this thing together. i've spoken with the SawStop folks a couple times now with questions and i could not be more impressed with them. a real person answers the phone and you are immediately connected with the appropriate person. the people you speak with listen and intelligently answer your question. it is obvious that they know their product inside and out and can (in a way that normal people can understand) discuss their product.