I am considering a new table saw and want to know what experience owners of the Saw Stop TS have had. Are you having any “false negative” activations of the braking system? If so, what is Saw Stop saying/doing about them? Do you feel it necessary to run a metal detector over every piece of stock before cutting it? I like the idea of saving my fingers for my golf game, but not if it falsely triggers on a regular basis.
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Added the sawstop to my shop in July last year and have used it for almost 8 months now. It is the 5hp model with the extension table option. It is an excellent cabinet saw and I am now convinced that it is the best 10" saw on the market. It weighs 750 pounds and has a great deal of steel in the structure; which makes it a very solid piece of equipment. The braking system has never been triggered in the eight months and I have accidently sawed through two staples and once a small finish nail with the brake never going off. When the saw blade is stopped you can test to see if it will detect your finger, by just touching the blade - a indicator light comes on to show that it knows you are there :-)
The justification for purchasing a saw that cost twice what a normal cabinet saw does is very simple; all you need is one incident where you are spending time with a plastic surgeon and you have paid for the extra cost of the saw several times over - not counting the pain and down time in healing.
It seems to me that this saw is the biggest improvement in woodworking machinery in the last fifty years.
"a saw that cost twice what a normal cabinet saw does is very simple;" Huh? Twice as much? Comparing the 3HP model with a Powermatic 3HP I'm seeing $2800 (SawStop) vs. about $2000 for the PM66. That's hardly double.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Ok, let's compare two 5hp saws the G1023SLWX 10" 5 HP Single-Phase Left Tilt Cabinet Saw with excessories and shipping comes to about $1400; which is one of the saws I considered. The 5hp Sawstop with extension table, extra brakes, and fence comes to $3,700 - more than double. When one choses a powermatic or other high quality saw the ratio is less; however, there is a significant premium that one pays for the safety feature and a prospective buyer needs to understand this issue; which is what I was trying to highlight. Finally, if you are going to spend serious money on a cabinet saw, get one with 5hp.There are several additional features of the saw that are not noticed at first look: The blade area in the cabinet is enclosed to make the dust collection more effective, the riving knife is very easy to remove making blade changes extremely easy, and the drive belt from motor to arbor is similar to one of those wider v-belts you find on a harley motorcycle - this seems to make the drive mechanism smooth, quieter, and effective. The riving knife feature is an important part of the safety; as this saw has never kicked anything back at me in 8 months.Do not underestimate the weight issue on this machine, it comes in a large crate and requires some careful planning to move it around. We used a 3 ton chain hoist to move it down into the basement through 4x5 foot shaft that goes from garage to basement. Moved it around in the basement with a 2 ton engine hoist, making the move quite easy. The seperate box with the extension table is also quite heavy; however, it can be unpacked and individual pieces moved seperately.
I guess the issue is the generalization of "cost twice the normal cabinet saw." The Grizzly is not the benchmark when it comes to prices of what most people consider "normal" saws. I'm not wanting to pick a big fight here, just trying to be a little more specific.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forest Girl got it right. I am not saying that Grizzly dosent make a good saw, but it is not fair to compaire a Griz to a SS. The only saws that come close (and not all that close) are Power Matic and General (I've never seen a General in Texas because it is too hot, but others seem to have a high opinion). And in this compairison I am not considering the safety features, just the quality of machining, materials, design and fit & finish. I was sold on the SS before I saw it because of the testimonials here and in all the magazines, but my supplier has them in stock now so I was able to test it out. HOLY COW !! That is an amazing saw. Every thing is HEAVY and well machined, even the paint job is automotive quality.
So is the Saw Stop worth the extra money..... You bet. It is really a great deal. If you have the money you will never be dissapointed.
Mike
Thanks for your input. I have been looking at the Saw Stop for 18 months and am about ready to pull the trigger. I have been using a friend's shop and am just finishing my own. The Saw Stop will be the center piece. Now I just need to figure out how to get it down into my basement. I am thinking of hiring a piano mover.
What you want is someone called a rigger, the trade name for guys that specialize in moving heavy machinery. With any luck you will find one in your local yellow pages. You can even have the machine delivered to their warehouse, much easier than having to unload a trailer at your home, and then have them deliver and install it.
We bought a Saw Stop for our shop and so far I am impressed with it, a quality piece of machinery.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
I have been thinking about getting the Saw Stop into my basement and wondered if I could get it down to a manageable weight by removing the table. That would also help with the top-heavy issue that others have raised. Or would I just be asking for trouble because I would be messing up the factory installation and I would never be able to get the table back square to the blade.
Unlike typical cabinet saws, the Saw Stop is built with the trunnions attached to the underside of the table, and it isn't possible to remove the table without also taking the entire arbor and motor assembly out with it, and that would create reassembly problems.
Uncrated, the basic machine is 24" wide by 36" long, but the 36" dimension could be shortened to around 30" by removing the start switch on the front and the power connection box on the rear.
Strapped to the proper hand truck it should be possible to get the saw into a basement. If you don't feel sure of your ability to do this, hire a pro to move the saw, it would be money well spent.
John
John: Thanks for your advice. It is very much appreciated.
If the trunions are attached to the underside of the table top, then it would be considered a hybrid saw, by definition. A cabinet saw (by def) has the trunions attached to the cabinet, so the top sits or floats on top of the cabinet, so as to lesson the vibration, which also makes it easy to true up the saw.
So this begs the question, #1 Is this saw then factory calibraded to align the blade with the mitre tracks?
#2 Is the vibration on the saw comparable to or better than a regular cab saw?
anyone?
joe p
So you'd classify the Sears Oakton saw (22124) as a cabinet saw, because its trunnions are not attached to the tabletop?My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
John, that was not my definition of what makes it a cabinet or hybrid saw. It is classified this way in table saw books, fww articles ond other mags as well. I am only 36 yrs old, I dont even know what a sears Oakton saw looks like! I will assume this saw was made when they produced top shelf tools. It would be great to see Craftsman get back to top shelf offerings!
joe p
Joe, folks don't always make sense with their answers. The new within the last couple of years, highly regarded Sears Cabinet saw is model number 22124 which some refer to as the Zip Code saw. 22124 is the zip code of Oakton, Virginia. Hence, the reference to Oakton.Personally, whether a saw should be characterized as a "Hybrid" saw is almost irrelevent and silly.Most seem to define a Contractor Saw as one where: the motor is 1.5 to 2.0 HP, is attached to the trunnion, hangs off the rear and the trunnion is attached to the tabletop.Cabinet Saws are large, have motors from 3 HP to 5 HP, have their motor enclosed in the cabinet and the trunnion is attached to the cabinet.Hybrid Saws, can be anything but typically are have 1.5 to 2.0 HP motors, the motor inside the cabinet, have the trunnion attached to the tabletop.From a performance point of view, there is little to differentiate a Contractor Saw from a "Hybrid".The silliness is illustrated by those who would suggest that the SawStop is a Hybrid because it has it's trunnion attached to the tabletop. But, even if that makes is a hybrid, so what?Howie.........
Howie,
Boy, do I feel like a fool. I had no idea the new table saw from craftsman is also referred to as the oakton. I am glad to see them with a nice saw gannering some good press too. I really have not paid attention to the craftsman line of woodworking tools, although my craftsman mower is 17 yrs old and still going strong. I would like to upgrade it, I cant because now I want to see how long it stays strong with a good cut.
As far as how the Saw Stop is classified, I was actually more interested to hear from a present owner on how it is to tune up. Is it a PITA or no more difficult than a cabinet to tune?
I want to sell my pm66 and get a saw stop, and thats why I posted the way I did!
regards
joe p
I was considering the Saw Stop to replace my Unisaw but I ordered a Sliding Table Saw instead.
1.) The Saw Stop is factory calibrated. The blade/slot relationship is easy to adjust if need via set screws underneath the table.
2.) From the reports I have read and how the saw is built vibration is nill. Arbor runout is less than .001" and it uses 2 belts so the mortor vibration is not transmitted directly to the arbor and blade.
3.) It is massive with an extra large table that has the blade more centered in the top than most cabinet saws.
Read the review using the link below then decide and also consider it could prevent a serious accident.
http://woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=reviews&file=articles_484.shtml
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
Edited 3/26/2006 11:28 am ET by JerryPacMan
Yes, the Saw Stop mounts the trunions to the table top, however there is no simularity to a Hybird. Remember, all those amazing, massive, beautifull panel saws you have drooled over use the same style of trunnion.
Mike
I have had one for a few months, no false triggers, no electronic problems. Solid saw and worth the extra cost for me. I especially like the riving knife.
I love the idea of the SawStop saw. However, there is one drawback that the folks at SawStop do not like to mention, that is, it is only usable as a saw with 10" blades or an 8" dado set. If the saw has another size blade installed it will not turn on. Safety feature? So, if you are like me and use blades other than 10" than the saw simply will not work. There is no override of this "feature". I have repeatedly asked the SawStop management if they could install an override switch for those times when you wanted a blade smaller than 10". They said NO. For me, that was a dealbreaker.
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