Best Cabinet saw under $4,000? Help me spend!

[Dick Sylvan]

Nathan,

You really owe it to yourself to look into a sliding table saw. I just sold my PM2000 to buy a combo machine because I recently used a friend's slider and couldn't believe how much easier and accurate it was. I believe Rojek and Laguna both have sliders in your price range (if you haggle a little) and Grizzly has a new one out for under $3K.

I live in the Portland area (Vancouver) and my new toy arrives tomorrow. If you want to drop by and check it out send me a PM. I'm not sure how long it will take to clean the shipping gunk off but you are welcome once I have it set-up.

What combo did you get?

[Dana Vogel]

http://www.lagunatools.com/tablesaws.htm

[Gary Muto]

The PM200 has a good rivng knife and sust collection (safety and health). I would choose it.
I realy agree with your comment that the TS is not the only dangerous machine in the chop. The whirr of jointer blades is always a reminder.
Good luck and congratulations.

[Josh LaFrance]

I just got a pm2000 and love it. It's got the most important saftey feature, a good riving knife setup. I think it's a better setup than the SS. The SS is really nice but for the extra $2k all you really getting is the blade stop. If I had the space I would consider a slider. The new grizzly looks very nice and is only about $500 more than the PM2000. I would have gone with it except I don't have the space and need the ability to roll my saw around which is really easy with the PM2000. The other down side with Sliders is that they won't take a dado blade. You'll have to use a router for all your dados.

[Rick Lizek]

Raise your dream standard!
Slider is the way to go. Much safer and more flexible than a cabinet saw.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0623X

[Don Bullock]

Nathan, I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I did in your situation. I bought the SawStop. After looking at the videos on their site and showing them the the LOML we both agreed that this was the best choice for me. Knowing that the SwaStop technology was available I couldn't justify buying a different saw. I felt that if I did buy another one and had an accident that a SawStop could have prevented I would never be able to live with that mistake. Yes, I use push sticks. I even keep the guard on the saw unless I'm doing something like a dado where one can't be used. For me, safety was my biggest concern. As others shared with me before I ordered it, the SawStop is an excellent saw without the safety features. Is it as good as any other saw on the market? I couldn't say. I "moved up" from an old Chraftsman contractors table saw. What I can say is this is one fantastic saw when compared to my old one.

I realize that some point to a slider as being safer and easier to use. Jim Becker loves his slider. Since I've never used a slider and have only seen them at woodworking shows, I can't advise you on them, but I would encourage you to check them out if you are at all interested in one.

Good luck in making your choice. There are a lot of saws out there to pick from.

[Paul Hendrickson]

Been lurking for awhile as all my stuff has been in storage for a year and won't have the shop up and running for awhile, but one thing has been missing from this thread. Isn't the riving knife the most important safety feature? It is my understanding that the most frequent finger to blade contact is from kickback, and a riving knife all but eliminates this. IOW, the riving knife is what makes the sawstop safer, and you can get a bunch of great cabinet saws with riving knives right now for a lot less. PM66 and Jet are what come to mind first.

[Richard Butler]

I have a problem spending $5 for a cabinet saw but if I wanted to spend that kind of money, then I would go pro. A used Northfield comes to mind.

[Anthony Anderson]

I have the SawStop and love it. No regrets whatsoever. The SawStop is a much nicer saw, and better built, IMO, than any of the other saws that I looked at before I bought. The knife and brake are just bonuses. Absolutely no complaints. Oh, and to the often posed argument, that the safety features will make SawStop owners become careless, I say this, Do you drive in your car and play chicken on the highway just because you have auto insurance? Do you go out and play in lightning storms or run in front of traffic because you have life insurance? Actually the safety features do make me less nervous when I am using the tablesaw, and to me, being less nervous allows me to focus more on being safe. Yes, IMO, the Sawstop is the best cabinet saw on the market right now, with or without the safety features. Do a search here, you will find this discussion has been rehashed many, many, many, many, many, times. Good Luck on your decision. Bill

[Bill Stevens]

1.General 650
2. Sawstop
3. All the usual suspects

[Rob Russell]

This is a bit over your price range, but you'd be getting a LOT more machine than anything mentioned to date. I don't have a Mimimax bias, in fact I'm a Felder owner. This is just a great deal for someone.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=63044

As info, it's a 12" sliding table combination machine with 16" jointer/planer.

[Joe Jensen]

There are few things you need to consider.
1) How much space do you have?
2) Are you ok buying used?
3) What do you do most with the saw, what kind of work do you do?

If you do a lot of sheet goods, have a large space, and you are ok buying used, I'd highly recommend a slider. If I had the space, I'd have a slider. I am using most of a 3 car garage, and if I had a slider I'd lose most of the space I use for projects. Also, I mainly use hardwoods and for me, ripping with the sliders looks like a compromise compared to ripping with a cabinet saw and a good fence. It can be done, but it looks more fussy and slower. When I get a large shop I'll have a slider and a cabinet saw. If the cabinet saw proves redundent then I'll sell it.

I started in 1986 with a used Unisaw. I upgraded to a left tilt PM66 in 1990. In 2006 I upgraded to a SawStop. Zero regrets. IMHO it's better built than the PM66, and mine was an old american built one. The SawStop also has a significantly larger cast iron top than the PM66, and the PM66 is larger than the Unisaw. I was just at a used tool store and I was really surprised at how small the top on the Uni looked after living with the SawStop for 18 months....joe

[Kim Spence]

I have 2 cabinet saws - a Unisaw I purchased new in 2005, and a Sawstop I won from Woodcraft magazine this spring. I only mention that I won the SS because my opinion of the saw hasn't been influenced by having spent $4k on it

That said, I think both saws are fantastic and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase either of them. They do each have their differences and "quirks". Here are my thoughts...

Power - The Uni "feels" like it has more power. Both are 3hp saws, but with the same blade installed on each the SS seems to labor a bit more when ripping thick hardwoods. I do think the SS has sufficient power and I've never had it completely bog down or stall, but it just doens't feel quite like the Uni. I have no way to quantify this, its just based the way they feel in use. Could be due to the SS having a Taiwanese/Chinese motor and I think the Uni has a Weg motor (American company, believe made in Brazil).

Fences - I have a Bies on the Uni and the Sawstop fence on the SS. I give the nod to the SS fence because it glides more smoothly, adjusts easier, and the rails seem to be heavier gauge steel. The Bies is pretty darn nice though.

Fit and Finish - nod goes to the SS, better paint, holes pre-drilled in extension table for easier assembly, etc. But it is machinery so does paint and ease of assembly really matter much?

Safety - obviously this goes to the SS, but only you can decide if this is a determining factor in your purchase.

Since I've had both saws, I've set up the SS for mainly ripping, while I use the Uni for dadoing and with a sled for crosscutting/mitering.

Bottom line - both are awesome saws and I highly recommend either of them. If you've got the cash take the SS plunge, you won't be sorry. But the $2000 extra for the SS could buy a lot of other nice machinery!

Happy shopping.

K. Spence

[Kim Spence]

The SawStop also has a significantly larger cast iron top than the PM66, and the PM66 is larger than the Unisaw. I was just at a used tool store and I was really surprised at how small the top on the Uni looked after living with the SawStop for 18 months....joe

I agree with Joe on this one...having both a Uni and a SS in my shop, sizewise the Uni almost looks like a "toy" next to the SS. The SS top is massive.

[Homer Faucett]

I got a Sawstop back in March. I didn't spend $4k, as I did not buy the fence, but I was definitely leery of pulling the trigger with the price tag. Even with my wife insisting that I purchase this saw, I was sure I would have buyer's remorse.

However, I have to say that I am very pleased with the saw, and the extra piece of mind that comes with the brake makes woodworking more enjoyable for me. While other tools are just as dangerous, I definitely use my table saw more than any other tool in my shop.

I am very impressed with the SS--heavy, wide CI surface, great fit and finish, wonderful riving knife that is easy to swap out with the splitter/blade guard, great dust collection. I am sure that I would have been just as happy with a PM 2000, but the additional safety feature on the SS is the only reason I upgraded from a Delta contractor saw. Once my wife saw the SS triggered at the local woodworking show, that was it. She told me, "You're getting a new saw . . . sooner rather than later."