Running full bore cabinet shop with one 10″ Unisaw. We desperatley need to upgrade to either a sliding table saw or a panel saw. I’m having trouble finding good information on anything under $23,000.
The other issue is space. We don’t have any so we’re leaning towards a panel saw. Any thoughts on the accuracy and efficacy of these?
Any information would be great but please don’t say Altendorf unless you’ve got one for sale cheap or can loan me 10 grand.
thanks,
Abercrombie (no relation)
Replies
Just thought I would throw out some thoughts. While space sounds like a major concern for you it would be appealing to look closely at panel saws. One advantage, you don't have to lift heavy panels full height to a table. However, Ihave never used a panel saw. But running a small cabinet shop i found the need to cut panels more accurately with one cut to save time. And I found that always having to use the side up as the best side was sometimes a nuisance. I was irritated at all the chips that occur using a regular tablesaw on the bottom side of the material-given that we use alot of melamine. So for me the only practical choice was a sliding saw with a scoring blade. I am not sure if it is available but I have not seen a panel saw with a scoring blade option. I did purchase a used sliding saw made by Paoloni an Italian made machine. I have been quite pleased with its 101" slide and 49" rip capacity. Using the rip fence properly and placing the panels on the slider one can make fast work of cutting many same size pieces. What used to take me a day to cut a cabinet job on my 10" jet tablesaw now only takes me a couple of hours. I am considering up grading to another saw. Let me know if you are interested. My Paoloni could possibly be bought right. And another thing. With a simple clamp and the right blade any hardwoods can easily be straight edged. Try that with your panel saw! I also use my slider to trim and square doors with ease. And my slider saw has a much larger motor than that of a panel saw. Heavier saw less vibrations-better cuts any way you look at it. Thats only my opinion of course.
I am considering upgrading my tablesaw to a cabinet saw and was interested in what you had to say about a sliding table saw. What is the difference in cost compared to panel saws. How additional room do I need for this type of saw?
Traneman, If you are looking for an 8' slider consider that it will slide alittle over 8' infeed and out feed ends. Netting a need for over 18' of space front to back. Which really means nothing because you are wanting to cut sheet goods anyway. And my slider has the ability to hold a full 8' to the left of the blade, to square off the end, and 49" to the right side of the blade. Add the arm for overhead blade guard and dust collection that comes from the far right side and you would need nearly 13' side to side to use the saw to it's full potential. As with most my crosscut table to the left side is fully removeable. So I can take it off and store it when not in use which gives me more room to walk through the shop. As mentioned by the previous poster sliding saws can be a big investment. Starting around $10,000 for new. I am still considering upgrading my saw which is a Paloni P 260. Also, many of the sliding saws are three phase which may or may not be an issue in your shop. Mine is single phase. I will hope to get a little over half of it's "new value" when I let it go. Compare that to the price of a really nice panel saw. If you are looking at vertical panel saws they can cost around $2,000 or more. The ones I looked at were nothing more than a circular saw attatched to a set of rails. A slider will have a scoring blade for making cleaner cuts on the first cut, and can still cut hardwoods when needed. In my opinion a large investment "YES". But I can't work without it now. Only the size of your shop, neccesity, and wallet, will determine what you choose. Hope that can be of some help. Let know if you are interested in my good used slider. ROD
If you're looking in the $10k range and want a good sliding table plus more, take a look at some of the euro-combination machines. I happen to own a MiniMax CU300 and just love it, but Hammer, Felder, Robland, Rojek and Knaap are in the market. A sliding table 12" blade with scoring unit, 12" jointer with tersa head, 12" planer, mortiser and 5hp shaper in one 1/2 ton unit is a surprisingly useful tool in a smaller space.
A sliding panel saw is the single most significant purchase I have made to date in terms of ease and accuracy. No longer do I need to ask the wife to come out to the workshop for "just a few minutes honey" (yeah, right).
I would recommend a panel saw if you can fit it into your space. We have several in our shops. For cutting sheet goods they can't be beat. Repeat cuts are easy. It only takes one guy to cut a stack of sheets down to size.
Enjoy
An architecural woodworking school just bought a Paolini 8' slider that I set up for them. Nice saw for $13,000 and know of another guy who has had one for 10 years with no problems. There's plenty of options under $23,000. You try looking for used at somem local dealers? http://www.exfactory.com http://www.woodweb.com http://www.woodquip.com
I worked for a while in a shop that had both and a good vertical panel is much faster and accurate when handling sheet goods, takes lots less space too!
Good luck.
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