Yet another "Help me buy a sliding table saw" Thread

[David Atterbury]

I am looking to invest in a smaller sliding table saw for my hobby shop. My needs are to accurately and repeatably cut plywood and associated hard and soft woods to build cabinets, shelving and other more advanced furniture projects as my ability, time and skill levels improve. I do not feel that I need to rip full plywood sheets as I have the Dewalt track saw for the longer cuts, but I would like to be able to cross cut a full board. More than that in terms of my needs I cannot say at this point as I am just getting back into woodworking and am looking for accuracy and safety primarily from my shop saw.

I have narrowed my search down to what I believe are fairly comparable machines based on price and features and was looking for your thoughts on the pros and cons of each of them. I am early in my search and am also looking out for used machines, but will go new if I cannot find anything within a reasonable time frame.

My budget is up to (and maybe slightly over) $5,500.

Lastly, is there a good or bad time of year to buy this kind of machinery?

The saws I am considering are:

Minimax SC2
Hammer K3 Winner 79"
Laguna TSS
Laguna P12-4 - I cannot find any details or reviews on this saw so would really appreciate any experiences from anyone who has come across one
Grizzly G0623x - not in the same price bracket as the others, but worth considering from what I can see.

Thanks very much for your help.

[Mike Kees]

David The only saw on this list that I have owned is the Minimax sc2. I just sold it. It was an older version without the handwheel to tilt the blade. Excellent saw, really well made and adjustments were built in to everything you would ever need. The short stroke slider (mine was about 52'' or so) is extremely useful. I would buy one of these for my only saw if I was just doing hobby woodworking. The accuracy and versatility leaves a cabinet saw in the dust. The motor on the one I owned was 3.6 h.p. or so,it did not lack for power at all. I would not hesitate to buy one of these used the build quality is very good, not much that could go seriously wrong. Good luck, Mike.

[Scott Buehler]

Minimax, not minimal. Sorry

[ed vitanovec]

I had the Grizzly G0623X and its a great saw especially for the price. The quality was good and pleanty of power. I think the sliding table saw adds a big safety factor to woodworking. I sold it due to several moves and now wished I still had it.

[Brian Holcombe]

I’ve been very happy with scm minimax tools. I had trouble with the jointer motor and they air freighted a new one to me from Italy.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi David

There have been a number of similar threads in the past several months, and so I was hesitant to post my comments yet again.

I purchased the Hammer K3 Winner with a 49" slider about 10 months ago. This is the second from the bottom, the smallest being a 31" slider. For my purposes it is a good size. I do not work with sheet goods, only with solid hard woods. For this reason I did not get a scoring blade. I have provision for a dado blade, but cannot envision ever getting one as I prefer to either use a router or handsaw and router plane. The motor is 4 hp and runs on 15 amps. It is a powerhouse (my previous tablesaw was 3hp - I can easily tell the difference).

The K3 has a small footprint, however be aware that a 79" slider, as you mentioned, requires some serious space - an equal amount in front and at the rear of the machine. The 49" I have works larger than it looks.

I have other Hammer machines, and so I guess I am biased in this regard. They have all provided very reliable service, and the backup from Hammer/Felder in Perth, Australia has been faultless.



Fence with Wixey digital scale. The fence is magnificent - solid and easy to adjust, with multiple positions ...



I built a router table into the wing. You can just make that out above.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Wilkins]

I have had the Laguna Pro 6' sliding for over 10 years without a single problem. Got it to replace a Delta Unisaw (1964). I seriously considered the Laguna TSS but settled on the one with an outrigger to support larger panels such as plywood.
The other players you stated also make fine machines. If I were in the market for a new slider, the Hammer would be in the running. I just placed an order for the Hammer A341 jointer/planer machine so I am confident in the Felder line of machines.

[Mike Kreinhop]

I am a hobbyist and have the SC2 Classic. I can't rip full sheets of plywood if I wanted to, not because of the saw's limitation, but the dimensions of my workshop won't allow it. However, I cross cut full sheets with no problem. When I was designing my shop, I wanted the Hammer K3 Winner, but didn't want to wait for it to be built and then make my own arrangements for delivery, set up, and commissioning. The local SCM distributor had the SC2 in stock, with delivery and commissioning included in the sale price. Delivery would have been to the final location, but since my shop wasn't ready, I had it delivered to my garage.

I had to move it from my garage to the basement, but the process was easier than I thought it would be. The main assemblies of the saw were easy to separate to make movement down a flight of wooden stairs simple.

My saw has the scoring blade, but I could have waited another week for a version without this option. I decided to take the option just in case I ever wanted it.

[marty fretheim]

The Hammer saws are on sale this weekend. Got an email from Felder yesterday. They might actually have some in stock so you can avoid the dreaded waiting period. There are a couple in your budget.

Marty

[David Atterbury]

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

i have quotes now for the Hammer and the Minimax. Similarly equipped the Minimax is $900 cheaper including delivery. My biggest concern with the Minimax is the shorter sliding table length. I may want to rip down longer stock and cut a glue edge on the slider. To anyone with the SC2, what is the maximum rip length on the slider? Is is possible and/or safe to have a board hang over the end of the slider as long as it’s well clamped along its length.

thanks again.

[Warren Lake]

whats longer stock? how long and solid or sheet or both, relevant to me now as setting up a small slider

[David Atterbury]

By longer stock I meant hardwood or softwood boards longer than the 65” sliding table.

[Jim Becker]

David, there are techniques to be able to rip longer on the short slider; both with suitable parallel ripping guides and with a sled that rides in the slot that goes right down the centerline of the wagon.

[Peter Kelly]

If it's an option, you might wait until August. Should be some sales around IWF.