Was about to buy a SS ICS.. Now thinking Minimax SC4. Any other saw I should look at?

[James Zhu]

James,

That saw would cost me a couple thousand, or more to get to me, and I wouldn't see it before I buy it. Lastly, I would be at the mercy of the seller, crating company and shipper.. Not going to risk $10k on that. Also, all I want or need is the saw function. This machine is for processing sheet goods.

I feel like the SC4 Elite is the right saw for me..

Steven,

Understood. I am just surprised that people close to Dallas area have not bought it

Btw, what you said Felder CF731 is for processing sheet goods is incorrect.

CF731 can certainly process hardwood, it is a slider, a shaper, a jointer and a planer. There are lots of threads talking about what you can do with the slider.

SC4 Elite is a slider too.

Both SCM and Felder make excellent machines, they are competitors. I am sure you will be happy with SC4 Elite.

[Steven Wayne]

What I meant when I said "This machine is for processing sheet goods." I should have said "The reason I am looking at buying a slider is to process sheet goods." (primarily).

[John Lankers]

Steven, Felder or MiniMax either machine will make you happy. For effectively processing 8' long boards or sheet good you should have a 9' slider to have room for clamps to secure the workpiece and an outrigger to hold large panels in place.
Buy the best machine you can afford - it will only hurt once, seriously.

[mreza Salav]

Altendorf and Casadei (made by SCM similar to minimax) are also good. There is also Martin but $$$$$.

[Bill Sutherland]

You may have considered this already but if you're wanting to process sheet goods have you considered Festool MFT setup? A complete Festool MFT setup and a Sawstop will have you well under $10K and a lot more versatility.

[Tom M. Schmidt]

I faced exactly this decision over the past couple of months and had my heart set on a Sawstop PCS with all the goodies, ~$4k. Then I learned about sliders and there was no going back. I found new Hammer K3 79" was on a great sale, not a huge amount more money in the grand scheme of things, where you still need sleds and fixtures and such for the SS. Hammer also had the 60th anniversary C3 79" combo on a great package deal, which moved me in that direction as I didn't have a J/P either.

I was fortunate to find a nearly perfect condition 4 year old Minimax CU300 Smart with 8.5' slider and every option, only 250 miles away. Erik and Steve helped me out with information/education and I am sooooo glad I got the longer slider. 8.5' seems plenty for everything I do as a hobbyist and the Minimax is seriously industrial strength for my needs. I anticipate I'll use the slider 90% of the time, J/P more as I start doing more hardwood projects, while the shaper I still need to find tooling for and learn to run safely. The mortiser will probably never get used as I have both Domino machines which are much easier and very flexible to take the machine to the work pieces.

I'd always used the Festool MFT/TS55 for sheet goods, but once I had the outrigger and 8.5' of slider I just throw it on there, break it down, clean factory edges, etc. It's much quicker than setting up a cutting table in my space.

Ultimately I think the combo machine is worth it just for the slider and the other stuff was a bonus in my case. Couldn't be happier with my choice. BTW my quotes for short haul UShip to pick up and deliver were $300-400, so maybe that's an option for you.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

I'd add a shaper to the unit. Doubles the utility of the slider.

[Rod Sheridan]

I'd add a shaper to the unit. Doubles the utility of the slider.

Exactly, it's so great to have a tilting spindle, sliding table shaper..................Rod.

[Steven Wayne]

I have a Festool track saw and two MFT's. I don't feel like they are comparable to having a sliding table saw.

I have no interest in a shaper.

I am an upholsterer and do most of my work in mdf. I do a lot of car audio type fabrication as well. The standard in most shops is a Sawstop ICS. I've been a hobbyist wood worker my whole life. I prefer to work with good tools, and the right tool for the job. Even though most guys doing what I do are happy with a cabinet saw, I feel like the slider is a great addition to my shop and work flow.

I'm hoping to get a chance to see one prior to committing funds.

[John Sanford]

Steven,
Looks like you're in Washington so not too far from salt lake city. Here is one that been on a local classifieds section for a week or so.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=218&ad=39302...0saw&ad_cid=11

If only I had the space.....

Oh, and it's still 1,000 miles from SLC up to SeaTac area. Not exactly "not too far."

[Martin Wasner]

What I meant when I said "This machine is for processing sheet goods." I should have said "The reason I am looking at buying a slider is to process sheet goods." (primarily).

If you want a saw just for cutting up sheets, a slider ain't it. Look into a panel saw. Striebig, Holz-Herr are the two top names. The Striebig being the better of the two.

[Steven Wayne]

If you want a saw just for cutting up sheets, a slider ain't it. Look into a panel saw. Striebig, Holz-Herr are the two top names. The Striebig being the better of the two.

Hmm.. I'm not following. Everything else I've read has said a sliding table saw (like the MM SC4/315 I'm considering) is the right tool for the job if I want to work with sheet goods. You're saying that is not the case? Can you elaborate?

It's really frustrating, it is near impossible to get a good idea of the use and application of the Euro machines, the model differences, who carries what, where to buy, which used machine is good or bad choice, on and on..

I sincerely appreciate everyone's input!

Does the 8.5' SC4 that I'm considering have enough capacity to rip a 97" long sheet of MDF on the wagon?

[Jim Andrew]

I have the Hammer k3 winner, with 79" stroke. Very pleasant to be able to cut perfectly square panels. More length on the slider would be great. Nothing wrong with the Hammer brand quality wise.

[Steven Wayne]

I have the Hammer k3 winner, with 79" stroke. Very pleasant to be able to cut perfectly square panels. More length on the slider would be great. Nothing wrong with the Hammer brand quality wise.

For the life of me I can't figure out how to even get pricing on Hammer equipment. The Euro machinery company marketing and websites are abysmal.

[Dan Friedrichs]

The Euro machinery company marketing and websites are abysmal.

They definitely do not have the "customer is always right" mentality that we have in the US! I finally gave in and "registered" on Felder's website (for access to the videos), and they sent me some email inquiring about what I was looking for (and I just deleted it - whatever). Promptly 3 days later, they emailed me and chided me for not replying to their earlier email!