I'd look for a used quality saw if you have a way to get it in. Tannewitz, Northfield, Oliver, etc. A lot less money, infinitely better than any other option currently available.
Guest
I'd look for a used quality saw if you have a way to get it in. Tannewitz, Northfield, Oliver, etc. A lot less money, infinitely better than any other option currently available.
Member
The saw stop is of course a safe saw but in 30+ years of using a table saw only had 1 real injury ,I miter cut the tip of 1 finger and that was because I took a unsafe short cut. Look at all your options and choose the best saw for the work you do.
Contributor
Jeff, my first choice would be a small Euro slider for many reasons.
If it has to be a cabinet saw, then the SS is first on the list...............Regards, Rod.
Member
You did not comment on space but I think that is a critical variable. I used to use a saw with greater than 50 inch rip capacity and I made a lot of furniture on it for my own use. But I struggled to use it in a 1 car garage shop. Now I use a track saw and a 24 inch rip capacity table saw. These work much better in a little bit smaller shop. If you have the space, a slider or a big capacity table saw is nice. But if your shop is small, I would look for a track saw and smaller table saw, regardless of brand. My saw is a Ryobi BT3100 which is much smaller than the saws you are considering. With it, I've made 7 bedroom sets, 3 kitchen sets etc.. You do not need a huge saw but you need one with a rip fence that stays parallel to the blade, The track saw is safer than the table saw so that may also be a factor for you.
Contributor
May I suggest you check out Mike Henderson's recent thread "Free SS brake". We all like to think it will never happen to us, but as they say...stuff happens.
I had a slider (Felder), and it is a great saw for sheet goods. I simply preferred using the cabinet saw. I now have a SS, which is also a very nice saw.
Rick Potter
DIY journeyman,
FWW wannabe.
AKA Village Idiot.
Member
The safety technology is a personal choice, and is hard to put a meaningful value on because it's different for each of us. In the $1600 range, IMHO you get a more substantial saw with Grizzly than SawStop. Grizzly offers a very good 3hp industrial cabinet saw with a full enclosure, solid cast wings, and excellent fence for < $1600. In the same price range, SS offers a well made contractor saw with a lame fence and steel wings....figure closer to $2k to add the T-Glide fence and solid cast wings to make it a really nice saw that most of us would be happy with.
Once you jump closer the $3k range, the SS gets more competitive IMO. If you have 220v available, I'd definitely upgrade to the 3hp motor and the better fence...you'll have an awesome lifetime saw that'll make you happy every time you use. You might like the 1.75hp just fine, but the fence and smaller motor may pose more limitations....I just don't know if trying to save a few hundred bucks for the smaller motor and lesser fence makes sense here if you have 220v....just my 2 cents.
Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....
Even before I was an owner I could not figure out why folks love to dislike the Saw Stop. If they were being forced like some states do with seat belts or helmets I could see it. I know people who want to not wear their seat belt just because it is required; they actually have no problem with the safety device. No one is forcing the Saw Stop issue. It is just a safety device that one can choose or not. You do have to pay for that feature.
Since the OP is asking about relatively low priced cabinet saws I will resist the urge to shout out "slider!" like a drunken football fan bellowing "Ray-derrzzz!". Sliders are sweet, no doubt. Since Jeff is comparing sub-$3K saws I don't think they apply.
All that being said I would like to know the saws you are trying to compare. My guess is the 1.75HP Saw Stop PCS and the 1.75HP Grizzly hybrid. I guess I should qualify my extreme prejudice; I have Grizzly, Jet, Delta, De Walt, Saw Stop. etc. in my shop. New and old, large and small . . . my point being that my paint preference is pretty much non-existent so you won't hear me chanting "Powermatic-Powermatic" no matter what tool you want to discuss
Like Prashun, my 1.75HP saw did all I ever asked of it. It required careful setup and a well learned application of load but, it would do most anything. My 3HP Saw Stop does the same but, with more ease which equates to cleaner work and more confidence in a given operation. If you are leaning towards thriftiness the Grizzly will give you the best bang for the buck at a low price point. Not an equal "bang" but a good one.
If you are going to consider the Saw Stop price point I would bypass the 1.75 motor. With a few exceptions you will be told to get the better fence which nudges you so close to the cost of the 3HP that getting the lower powered saw makes no sense to me (YMMV). For less than you spend on coffee or beer in a year you can close the gap and have the more powerful saw for the rest of your life. If you're still with me you are starting to see how my twisted mind is able to talk me into almost anything.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Contributor
Glenn your opinion means much more because you qualify it with experience and don't instantly go into bash mode. In fact you don't bash anyone. I hope whatever Jeff decides on gives him years of solid reliable performance. Opinions mean so much more when they are tied to experience. I don't have hands on experience with either saw and won't jump into that fray. For the most part this has been a civil and informative thread.Originally Posted by glenn bradley
Even before I was an owner I could not figure out why folks love to dislike the Saw Stop. If they were being forced like some states do with seat belts or helmets I could see it. I know people who want to not wear their seat belt just because it is required; they actually have no problem with the safety device. No one is forcing the Saw Stop issue. It is just a safety device that one can choose or not. You do have to pay for that feature.
Since the OP is asking about relatively low priced cabinet saws I will resist the urge to shout out "slider!" like a drunken football fan bellowing "Ray-derrzzz!". Sliders are sweet, no doubt. Since Jeff is comparing sub-$3K saws I don't think they apply.
All that being said I would like to know the saws you are trying to compare. My guess is the 1.75HP Saw Stop PCS and the 1.75HP Grizzly hybrid. I guess I should qualify my extreme prejudice
Like Prashun, my 1.75HP saw did all I ever asked of it. It required careful setup and a well learned application of load but, it would do most anything. My 3HP Saw Stop does the same but, with more ease which equates to cleaner work and more confidence in a given operation. If you are leaning towards thriftiness the Grizzly will give you the best bang for the buck at a low price point. Not an equal "bang" but a good one.
If you are going to consider the Saw Stop price point I would bypass the 1.75 motor. With a few exceptions you will be told to get the better fence which nudges you so close to the cost of the 3HP that getting the lower powered saw makes no sense to me (YMMV). For less than you spend on coffee or beer in a year you can close the gap and have the more powerful saw for the rest of your life. If you're still with me you are starting to see how my twisted mind is able to talk me into almost anything
Member
I had a large unisaw I loved, then I moved and got a Grizzly 1023rl with smaller rails and in moving again got the Grizzly 0690 and it is a wonderful saw as well. Have taught classes in a center that had well used, but still functional unisaws. All met my needs, while teaching good technique to others. I do like the riving knife on the newer Grizzly, which will see me to the end.
Contributor
Yep, I'd definitely recommend the purchase of a SawStop. I'd be missing the end of my thumb if I didn't have one.
Think of it as buying an insurance policy that you only have to make one payment on - and then it protects you for life.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Member
Sawstop might be a really great saw, but people pretend that just because it has that one safety feature, they don't actually have to be safe when using it. I can't tell you how many people I see, especially on YouTube, who use a Sawstop and then immediately take off the blade guard and go shoving wood through the blade with wild abandon with their fingers mere inches from spinning death because they think that having that single safety feature will save them. It won't.
The most important safety feature out there is in your head. Don't do stupid stuff. Don't make unsafe cuts. Those of us who have done this for a long, long time have learned how to make safe cuts and use all of the safety equipment that a saw has to offer, or even innovate our own, because we were responsible for our own safety. I think a lot of people today never learn those lessons because they've been indoctrinated to think that the saw is supposed to do it for them, but that's not how it works You are responsible for your own safety and if you learn those lessons, you don't need a Sawstop. If you have the money and are getting it for the fit and finish, which are excellent and I'm not taking anything away from the saw for that, fine. But thinking that the saw makes learning how to actually use the machine safely irrelevant is just wrong.
Moderator
Grizzly: best bang for the buck no doubt (I have a 2000 model...zero complaints..3 hp)
SS: great safety features, great fit and finish...very fine saw...price is up there and near a low-end'ish slider
Judging by the fact that you are considering a sub 2 hp saw, I'm guessing you are a hobbyist. You didn't really mention what your plans are for your saw. Is there something specific you have in mind for its task or is it a general sawdust maker for whatever come up?
Contributor
Am I the only one who thinks the title was supposed to be "Pulling the TRIGGER on a table saw"?
I thought this thread was going to be about a table saw-less shop.
Contributor
1. Select metaphors
2. Mix well
3. ???
4. Profit
JR
Moderator
...or "PUTTING IN plugs FOR YOUR tablesaw"
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