New General 50-560 Sliding Table Saw - Interesting

[Jim Becker]

I noticed an ad in the back of Woodshop News this past week for a new table saw from General, the Model 50-560...which is a heavy cabinet saw with a beside-the-blade sliding wagon, riving knife and scoring system. Perhaps we'll start to see more of this kind of thing going forward. That would be good for the market. Very interesting and it could be just the ticket for someone who wants the precision of a Format-type slider for cross cutting and the heavy traditional ripping capability of a cabinet saw. I hope I'll get to see one of these at a show sometime to actually examine the sliding mechanism.

[Jim O'Dell]

I just showed LOML the picture and said that it would be a nice saw. She looked at me and said she wanted some cabinets first. And that I'd be dead before I got my shop finished. Guess she knows me pretty good, huh?
Did it show any price tag? Jim. (Well, a guy has to be able to dream doesn't he??)

[Bruce Page]

That's pretty cool. I'd like to see one up close myself.
I wonder if it comes with a granite top...

[Christof Grohs]

Too bad it's General International and not Canadian made...probably the deal breaker for me

[Rafael Carias]

I seen this by coincidence while browsing General's website.

The trend is catching on, Rikon also has a hybrid slider which incorporates a swing arm and an outrigger but it has the traditional fence, the General by contrast does not have an outrigger but does have a European style fence.

[Jim Becker]

Rafael, I suspect the lack of outrigger is because this is a short slider designed for cross-cut work. Outriggers are primarily to provide proper support to full sheet goods since hanging the weight out from the machine is like a big lever.

[Rafael Carias]

Jim, Sorry I didn't mean to knock on the general saw.

I suspect the same thing about the lack of an outrigger but it would be nice to have support if your cross cutting full 8' rips and of course when not working with long rips its always possible to pop off the out rigger and shrink away the swing arm, that is if that option is available.

Who knows maybe general will offer a version with an out rigger which would be nice.

Give the choice i'd probably grab the general saw

[Jim Becker]

Jim, Sorry I didn't mean to knock on the general saw.

I was puzzled when you said this...I certainly didn't see any knock anywhere! I was just clarifying what I saw as a design/feature point.

You bring up a good point about the outrigger being useful for crosscutting wide rips. Honestly, I tend to break down solid stock (in rough form after a skim-plane to see grain and color) at the CMS. I only put my outrigger on the slider when I need to support wide and heavy stock, such as sheets. It's a space thing in my shop...

[Rafael Carias]

No problem Jim.

It would be nice to see an outrigger option.

[Gary Herrmann]

Too bad it's General International and not Canadian made...probably the deal breaker for me

Kinda have my own version - General 650 + Jessem slider + Bies splitter + excalibur dc. I'm sure the GI version will be nice too.

[frank shic]

it doesn't look like it'll handle full 4x8 sheets too easily although it does have the crosscut capacity at 55" in front of the blade. love that blade guard with the dust collection port attached right to it!

[Jeffrey Makiel]

If this saw is targeting the serious home hobbyist, I can understand why it may not handle full size sheet goods. I believe most home shops are very space limited. Or, not willing to give this space up when a circular saw and guide can break down sheet stock to manageable size. This is especially true for basement shops that have difficulty getting materials into the shop.

The industry must be monitoring forums like this one. The advent of economical tablesaws with built in sliders and riving knives is evidence. Perhaps we will see manufacturers offering blade guards that incorporate better dust collection.

-Jeff

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Upon carefully lookin' at the picture Jim provided, I noticed that the blade appears to tilt to the right. I have a right tilt saw now, and would have no desire to buy another right tilting saw. It seems that most of the other new saw models are going with left tilt too.

-Jeff

[J. Greg Jones]

Upon carefully lookin' at the picture Jim provided, I noticed that the blade appears to tilt to the right. I have a right tilt saw now, and would have no desire to buy another right tilting saw. It seems that most of the other new saw models are going with left tilt too.

-Jeff

Right-tilt appears to be the preferred system for European-style sliding table saws. The work-piece on the slider is not trapped under beveled cuts with a right-tilt blade.

[Jim Becker]

Upon carefully lookin' at the picture Jim provided, I noticed that the blade appears to tilt to the right. I have a right tilt saw now, and would have no desire to buy another right tilting saw. It seems that most of the other new saw models are going with left tilt too.

No slider...left tilt would be my choice. But with a slider, you want the right tilt so that the "back side" of a bevel is on the waste side of the cut.