Advise on Saw for cabinet building

[Ole Anderson]

Start with a slider? Nice if you can afford it or fit it in your shop but not necessary. I did all my kitchen cabinets using my 15 year old Grizzly 1023 right tilt 3 hp table saw, a Grizzly track saw for breaking down sheet goods and a good (shop built) router table. And a few other odds and ends. A new G1023 is $1350 plus shipping, throw in their track saw for $350 and a good router table and router and you are way under $3 grand for your major tools, all brand new. Sure a planer and jointer would be nice, but if your local lumber supplier will surface your lumber four sides you can skip that for now. But beware, this is a very slippery slope you are sitting at the edge of. I went with Euro style cabs with raised panel doors (all Hickory) and assembled the carcases with a quality dowel jig. I did make good use of a Delta lunchbox planer and an old hand-me-down 6" jointer.

[Ben Grefe]

I have been looking around on Seattle CL but nothing is a have to buy yet. I must admit the sawstop has peaked my interest but no used ones. There are a few Jet saws just haven't decided.

As another user in the Seattle area, I think your chances of finding a used Saw Stop on CL are slim. Ontop of that, if something does pop up, I doubt it'll be a good deal. I've been watching the CL used table saw market for a few months now - it's pretty dim. In general, any good CL deal (for any product) around here is snatched up within an hour or two.

I'd have to agree with the other poster who suggested heading up to Bellingham for Grizzly's store. I think they even have a dents n' scratch store that might help you out. The G069x or G1023 saws are probably right in your budget.

Lastly, you can do what every other Seattleite does and drive down to PDX to save on tax.

[Jim Andrew]

Don't forget to watch the classifieds on this forum, and woodweb for combo machines and sliders. I have seen some terrific deals on hobbyist machines. But they are usually halfway across the country from where I live in Kansas.

[Prashun Patel]

1. I agree with Bradley: If your goal is simply to save $$, buy pre-built boxes from a place like Barker Cabinet. They'll even finish them. Most services like this use frameless, Euro-style construction, which may be what you want or not...
2. If you are intent on buying, I would consider a Track saw. Sheets of plywood are a pain for one person (this person) to muscle onto a table saw. Also, you'll be doing a bunch of long cross cuts that may not be appropriate on a table saw. You can make accurate enough cuts for cabinets with a track saw.
3. If you get a tablesaw, and don't feel like rewiring for 220, you can easily do this project with a 110v hybrid saw.
4. The hardest part of cabinets (IMHO) isn't cutting up the parts, it's the doors. To this end, are you prepared with a good router table or shaper to do this?
5. What joinery method are you planning on? Good options (in order of incr. price): pocket hole jig, dowel jig, Domino.

Unsolicited advice: Cabinet construction is straightforward. However, it's been my (hobbyist alert) experience that the first box is fun to build; the rest are tedious. Outsourcing to Barker was kind of the best of both worlds for me.

[Jared Sankovich]

Don't forget about finishing either.

[Ray Newman]

As other posters mentioned, besides tools other factors to consider are finishing the cabinets and the amount of time involved. Realistically, exactly how long do you have to do this project? Could you or your spouse grow tired of working on what could become or appear to be a never ending project?

Also do not forget storage. Is there enough room to store/stack the sheet goods needed so as not warp/distort? Same with any door pieces, trim, cut off pieces, etc. Then you'll need storage for the completed and finished/unfinished cabinets.

[jack duren]

I have a house full of cabinets to build and honestly paying a business to build them for 40 50 60 K just seems astronomical. I have used plenty of wood tools own a small collection and have built things as I needed to, even have done my own windows in my home. So not new to carpentry but mostly new to woodworking. So it has come time to step up to the plate and buy a table saw.

I have used a few small saws in the past sub $300 and the wife really don't want me spending 3K on a saw. But I kind of feel that a bigger saw 36+ is really needed to build quality cabinets for my home. without feeling like shooting oneself. I admit I have lived this long without a table saw but have also hacked my way through, borrowed something and or gone to father in laws to get stuff done. He has a decent sized Jet but in a shop that has never been setup or easy to work in + its a bit of a drive.

So looking for advice on Size and maybe brands of what to look at.
Can I get away with something from Home Depot or should I pony up to something a bit bigger?

40-50-60k for cabinets seems odd when the wife doesn't want you to spend 3k on a saw. If you actually are looking at this much on cabinets and you don't have a "FULL" shop full of correct cabinet making tools your gonna need a year to build them and 6 months to replace the ones that you made that don't fit.

Sorry but this is a weird amount of money on cabinets for someone trying to save a buck without required skills...

[Randy Rose]

Start with a slider? Nice if you can afford it or fit it in your shop but not necessary. I did all my kitchen cabinets using my 15 year old Grizzly 1023 right tilt 3 hp table saw, a Grizzly track saw for breaking down sheet goods and a good (shop built) router table. And a few other odds and ends. A new G1023 is $1350 plus shipping, throw in their track saw for $350 and a good router table and router and you are way under $3 grand for your major tools, all brand new. Sure a planer and jointer would be nice, but if your local lumber supplier will surface your lumber four sides you can skip that for now. But beware, this is a very slippery slope you are sitting at the edge of. I went with Euro style cabs with raised panel doors (all Hickory) and assembled the carcases with a quality dowel jig. I did make good use of a Delta lunchbox planer and an old hand-me-down 6" jointer.

Leaving the original topic for a brief moment, your efforts appear to have yielded exceptionally beautiful results. Nice !