SawStop Sliding Crosscut Table

[Tom Bussey]

Marty,

I would buy a sawstop if my livelihood depended on it. I have a General 350 that I have had for 30 years. Hard to let go of it for what I would have to have. I have a friend who almost lost a thumb and what is that worth. I also have a delta contractor saw with a excaliber sliding table mounted on it and yes I can cut a 4x8 sheet in two. So I do understand your delema. I checked out the grizzle aftermarketslider and the slifing tablesaw and the one problem is one almost gets trapped in front of the blade when ripping. I had an old delta that did that and it was spooky to say the least. Just remember that there is alot of different functions a table saw does and if you want the kind of protection a sawstop offers than the sliders won't do you any good. If you have the money go for it. Just make sure you won't get trapped close to the throw of the blade when ripping. It is something one doesn't think about untill it is to late.

[Carroll Courtney]

Its your money buy what you want,I would think that at that kind of money for a package an upgrade should never be needed.If I had the rm and extra,extra I would go for the real slider.Either way post some pic once you get it home,I'm jealous----Carroll

[John Schweikert]

I have a SawStop with shop made crosscut sled and a Festool TS75. I wouldn't give up either. The TS75 has abilities far beyond breaking down sheet goods. I just clamped the rail to the side of a cedar clad meat curing room and was able to cut out a horizontal window opening in the cedar cleaner than any other tool could do. Taking a track saw to sheet goods is far better than taking a sheet of ply to a table saw. Track saws can be plenty accurate for even the best casework.

[Chris Padilla]

Good point, John.

There are two things one ALWAYS does in woodworking (or other trades, too):

Push the tool through the work or
Push the work through the tool.

One way is usually better/safer/cleaner than the other.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I have a SS PCS and I love it, but I'm now convinced that format style sliders are safer because (1) there's no risk of cutting fingers off when your hands are away from the blade, AND (2) you're out of the path of kickback. The SS can only claim (1)- I have a stupidity scar on my forehead to prove it!

This of course assumes you never use the rip fence in the manner that we use them in North America though. And I know that some euro slider guys still do that sometimes because sometimes I think it's the most convenient way to set up a rip cut...

A few years back, I heard that SS was coming out with a sliding table saw. I was pretty let down when it came out and it turned out to just be a bolt-on sliding table attachment. I actually talked to SS at one point, but they were somewhat hush-hush about it, but they did tell me they were coming out with a slider of some kind. So my expectations were set on a format style slider for some reason.

That would be the ultimate table saw! Seriously, can you think of a safer TS? This way you can use the rip saw like a north american when your workpiece is too long for your slider, and not worry about cutting off your fingers.

I have excalibur sliding table attachment on my saw and it does work well. I use my track saw to break down sheets, and the excalibur and rip fence to make them perfectly square. I'm still getting used to my track saw, but I just don't trust that I can get it lined up accurately based on pencil marks. I just wish I could get both the brake and a true slider in one saw. One can dream I guess!

[Keith Mathewson]

I have a 10' SCMI and a Sawstop, each has its place and one is not a good substitute for the other. I just wish Sawstop would make a slider.

[James Zhu]

I'm still getting used to my track saw, but I just don't trust that I can get it lined up accurately based on pencil marks.

To get the perfect cut using track saw, parallel guide is needed. Check this thread from FOG, http://festoolownersgroup.com/festoo...rallel-guides/

[James Zhu]

This tutorial http://www.solowoodworker.com/mm/slider.html from Charlie Plesums well illustrates why Euro slider is safer and better than traditional table saw.

[John Sanford]

This tutorial http://www.solowoodworker.com/mm/slider.html from Charlie Plesums well illustrates why Euro slider is safer and better than traditional table saw.

A Euro slider is safer than a traditional North American table saw, yes. It is not safer than a SawStop. The two are essentially the same from a TOTAL risk standpoint, just a question of which type of risk one is willing to accept. A Euro slider has a lower inherent risk of flesh to blade contact than a SawStop, whereas the SawStop has much less damaging consequences of flesh to blade contact. If one is optimistic about avoiding said contact, go for the Euro slider, if one is pessimistic, go for the SawStop. (note: When you have a brain fart when using a saw, the risk of making contact goes up by multiple orders of magnitude. What? You say "no brain farts for you!" Well, the tutorial linked above includes, yes, a brain fart that resulted in blood shed. In a tutorial touted as illustrating the superior safety of the Euro slider. )

I'm with Keith above. I would very much like to see a true Euro slider with SawStop's blade brake tech, although I'm not sure such is possible. I am not, however, likely to wait for such a product, as it doesn't appear to be on the horizon.


Back to the OP's question. I've played around some with the slider, it looks really well built. As far as the 90 and 45 stops, that's actually a fairly easy thing to sort out. Simply make a precision triangle that drops into the left side miter slot. Move the cross cut fence up to it, lock it down to your angle, and you're done. Hang the triangle back up. Takes slightly longer than using a detent, but it will never wear out of whack.

[Bill Adamsen]

A sled is an inexpensive, easy to build/replace, flexible, tried and true solution that has the added benefit of storing easily and out of the way. A sliding panel saw squares large panels. That Sawstop accessory looks like it might miss on a few of those attributes. Lot about the Sawstop itself I think are great. But that slide is not a compelling feature.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I'm buying the SawStop for its safety features. I'm a software engineer by day and 10 working fingers are vital to my livelihood...

That is the primary reason that I opted for SawStop. Also, I have a pretty small shop, so I don't really have room for the slider part so I opted for a track saw to break down sheets. Never having used a slider, I cannot comment on anything related to the slider, however. Does a slider help you at all with small parts, or do you still need to use a sled for safety? Can you even use a sled on a slider?

[Mark Rakestraw]

I have both the Stopstop PCS with the crosscut table and a Grizzly G0623X slider. I wrote a long review comparing the advantages of each but took so long the site logged me off and I lost the text in the process of signing back in.....sigh... I'll re-write it sometime but the short answer is that the sliding table is very nice overall with one serious flaw in my view: The stops are not stops but merely place holders, they flex if you actually bump your work piece against them. In my mind it is a design flaw in what is otherwise a premium product and Sawstop should redesign and send out replacements. They politely told me that wasn't going to happen. This is an important function of a crosscut fence: accurate sizing of a batch parts. In making your decision you should add in the cost of buying, and modifying to fit, functional stops. I thought my $1000 would have bought me those already.

Other than those issues I like it. Fence is easy to remove and replace (accurately). Works smoothly. For many things this style table (as opposed to a "real" slider) has the advantage. The crosscut fence being further from the blade means I can break down sheet goods with a track saw and then rip and crosscut to final size without removing the cc fence. Lighter weight means less effort to start/stop table on repetitive cuts, etc. But man those stops......

The picture shows the Sawstop fence stops next to Grizzly's. Note the tiny 3/8" wide section at the pivot point, which rides in nylon bushings. Too much flex even when brand new. I doubt they get any better with use
fence stops.JPG
closeup.JPG

[Martin Shupe]

Mark, did you modify your stops? If so, can you show us how?

I am considering one of these, but I think I will wait until Sawstop fixes this problem, unless you have an easy fix for it.

Thanks for you insightful review.

[Keith Weber]

I was in woodcraft few weeks ago and checking out sawstop with sliding table. I have the grizzly after market slider on my 1023 and the quality of the sawstop slider is WAY better.

I was in Woodcraft recently, too, and I saw a Sawstop slider there. The quality of my 2nd hand Euro Slider was WAY better. It may have a 48" rip capacity, but its not nearly as stout or versatile as a real sliding table saw.

[Mark Rakestraw]

Hi Martin,
I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Here's my stop-gap method:
brace.JPG
Having to loosen the knob and move the brace every time you want to flip the stop out of the way isn't a proper fix. I don't see a way to make their stop more rigid. I was hoping to get some ideas from one of their engineers but "that's not their job". The only thing I've figured out so far would be to buy a couple of the Grizzly stops then have the necessary parts machined to get them to work in the Sawstop's wider channel. I'm hoping I can come up with some easier.
stops.JPG