Sliding table makes better crosscuts

With the release of its new sliding crosscut table, SawStop has increased the crosscutting capabilities of its industrial and professional cabinet saws, and its contractor saw, eliminating the need for shopmade crosscut sleds. We installed the crosscut table on the industrial cabinet saw in the FWW shop, and staff members used it over a period of several months.

The table bolts to the saw’s table, so you have to remove the left extension wing. Installation is not difficult, but it does require you to cut the rip fence rails short. The sliding table has 55 in. of travel and allows crosscuts up to 48 in. deep. The fence on the table pivots like a miter gauge, with a range of plus or minus 60°.

It was easy to adjust—simply loosen a large knob and pivot—but it doesn’t have any detents for common angles, so keep a combination square or drafting triangle handy. The fence is 43 in. long when closed and 58 in. long when fully extended, and offers solid support for workpieces. The fence has two sturdy flip stops, with a metric and imperial scale on top for setting them. The table slides smoothly with no slop in the action. The large angle-adjustment knob on the fence provides a convenient handhold far from the blade, and it’s really all you need. Operating the table with one hand is no problem. And when you don’t need the table to slide, you can lock it quickly, using a knob underneath.

A common complaint, though, was that to remove the fence (to clear the way for some ripcuts, for example), you need an Allen wrench, which invariably must be tracked down. It would be more convenient if the fence could be removed or moved without a tool. But that’s a small inconvenience. Overall, the sliding table is sturdy, accurate, operates wonderfully, and simplifies crosscuts. It’s a tremendous improvement over shopmade crosscut sleds.

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