Thinking of upgrading to SawStop

[Denny Rice]

I am amazed how much good info I always get here, thank you guys for the info and input! Sawmill Creek and its members rock! I am really leaning toward the SawStop. Probably still going to be 30 days before I pull the trigger, I might head back to Woodcraft again and "kick the tires" on the SawStop. I called SawStop today, they were good enough to put a free DVD in the mail for me to watch along with other stuff.

[Rich Riddle]

I am amazed how much good info I always get here, thank you guys for the info and input! Sawmill Creek and its members rock! I am really leaning toward the SawStop. Probably still going to be 30 days before I pull the trigger, I might head back to Woodcraft again and "kick the tires" on the SawStop. I called SawStop today, they were good enough to put a free DVD in the mail for me to watch along with other stuff.

Prices increase Feb. 1, so if you are certain, don't wait too long to pull the trigger. You only have a couple of days.

[Matt Meiser]

Only on the ICS apparently and technically that's a shipping cost increase. Someone from Sawstop contacted me and said that the information a dealer gave me was not completely accurate.

[Bruce Page]

Folks, please leave the Sawstop politics out of the discussion.

Thanks

[Daniel Shnitka]

I have the been more than pleased with the Industrial model. Every was dead accurate on set up. The correct number of nuts, bolts, washer and big clear well written explaination of how and where they are to be fitted.
What many of you have over looked ithe table is oversized relative to the industry standard and this is such a benifit in handling panel/sheet goods. The fence for ICS have came out of the box with no light gaps and the thinest feel blade could not be slipped under the straight edge and the fence. The same with the trueness of the mitre guage, fence and machinest plate mounted on the saw. Right out of the box accurate, accurate, accurate.
What a pleasure to use. It is a treat to be cutting matterial useing such a saw.
The fit and finish are superb. The little extra details of safety switches on the doors, the lock down mechanism for whether it be forthe motor or the start to box. Saw stop listened to a lot of woodworkers when they designed the saw.
When ordering a part or asking a question at head office. Very prompt reply and no run around on any question i asked.
I hear of horror stories from my woodworking friends. The last one being of the the young but experienced woodworker trying to do a blind dado. He has no fingers on his left hand now. One of his fellow woodworkers, Brad rushed him to the hospital with the sawdust collection box from under saw. The surgeon declared the fingers in the sawdust box as "hamburger".

[Steve Rozmiarek]

And even if you do have a huge slider, I can't picture how you would rip a parallel side accurately without a ton of fussing.

I'm not going to discount the safety vs. functionality trade off of buying a slider over a SS. To each his own, and Chris, you clearly thought through the trade off and made the right decision for yourself.

But those who argue that that a euro slider is as safe as a Sawstop are underestimating the danger of rip cuts using their fences on the slider.

I am not trying to convert you sawstop guys to sliders, but, comments like this are so easily lost in the mass of sawstop rhetoric that ensues whenever the subject is breached that I hope their lack of defense is not taken for acquiescence by us slider folks. If any real information is desired on sliding saws, please don't glean it from page three of a sawstop thread.

One question, then I will go away and you all can talk about me. Ok, so you got a sawstop, and you will now not cut your fingers off with your tablesaw. What about your bandsaw, circular saw, jointer, chisels, or kitchen knives? I tend to get complacent when I know something is not dangerous, what happens if that complacency is carried over to those non sawstop tools? Does the sawstop then actually make it more likely that you will cut yourself badly because those other tools combined get used more than a tablesaw?

[Matt Meiser]

Its still not "safe" to run your fingers into the blade any more than its "safe" to crash your car into a light pole because you have airbags and seat belts. Its also not light on the wallet---doing so will cost upwards of $150 if you are running a good blade.

[Carl Beckett]

Folks, please leave the Sawstop politics out of the discussion.

Thanks

Dang......

[Keith Hankins]

I agree with Rod, as usual. A cabinet saw is a cabinet saw. All the quality in the world just means its a cabinet saw that won't need fixed. A Euro slider can actually bring something new to the game. I despise Sawstop's politics, but it's a personal decision.

I found your comment intriguing. Not having used one, what does the Euro slider bring that the plain old CS does not? I don't break down a lot of ply, (I use a festool and rail to do it now) so I've not really looked at that, but the eruo's do fascinate me.

[Jim Foster]

The original post was a request for feedback from Sawstop owners. I don't own one, but have looked pretty closely at it. Seems like it's a good enough saw where the significant majority of owners will not have buyer's remorse, and will reference it positively. As for the extra cost, most times people never complain about paying too much for something if it turns out to be a good purchase. Might warn you, but don't complain.

The biggest question I would have if considering one is how many misfires people get with the brake device and what's the cost/downtime from that. I used to see threads on this, but not lately.

Other incidental info is what's the accident rate with traditional cabinet saws vs. new saws with riving knives vs. SawStop (maybe not a point for discussion in this post), also how good is the dust collection.

Also, it would be nice to get a post devoted to people that have switched to/or from a European slider, where we get feedback of the differences, benefits, extra cost, changes in workflow etc...

Woodworking does lose it's fun when we get politics involved. Also guilty as charged at times.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I found your comment intriguing. Not having used one, what does the Euro slider bring that the plain old CS does not? I don't break down a lot of ply, (I use a festool and rail to do it now) so I've not really looked at that, but the eruo's do fascinate me.

Keith, I think rather than derailing this thread, we maybe ought to start another. Will do so in a bit, work permitting.

[John Piwaron]

I too look for but seldom find the sorts of comparisons you outline. My guess is that the price of these tools is high enough that most hobby guys aren't likely to switch from one to the other. That's bound to limit the number of people that can offer a good comparison. About the closest to that are tool magazine reviews. Those are infrequent though. And may not have the depth or insight of long term use over many kinds of work. Generally speaking, I think they're about the closest to comparisons most people will get.

Yeah, politics suck. When I mentioned it as a factor, I wanted it viewed in the same light as "I didn't care for the purple color so I passed on it." Just one reason among many.

[Prashun Patel]

"...how many misfires people get with the brake device and what's the cost/downtime from that[?]"

I would bet that most people have a similar experience to mine: I had a firing relatively early on. My miter gauge contacted the blade, and the brake fired. I had to wait a week for a new brake and blade to arrive. If I had extras on hand, the downtime would have been 5 minutes or less.

Since then, I'm careful about 'dry running' my gauge through the cut beforehand.

I find that the LED indicators, this experience, and the knowledge that a misfire will mean $80 and wet pants has made me more aware when using the saw - which feels like a good thing.

I have also had a near-fire once when cutting a green piece of wood. The blade spun down, but the brake did not fire. The warning light went on.

[Matt Meiser]

I had to wait a week for a new brake and blade to arrive. If I had extras on hand, the downtime would have been 5 minutes or less.

I bought an extra with my saw to have on hand and greatly reduce the possibility of actually needing it.

[Mike Heidrick]

Never had a misfire. I own extras.