Thread: Input on table saw purchase

Brian,

I help supervise our local Men’s Shed. A couple of years ago we replaced our Table saw with the Sawstop Pro version. It is extremely well built, accurate and a pleasure to use. My next saw for my own workshop will be a Sawstop if I can fit it in or if not the new version of the Festool table saw (with Sawstop technology as Festool now own Sawstop).

I don’t take the safety mechanism for granted but it is good to know it is there. Ours has certainly saved at least one set of fingers (not mine) during the past two years.

Regards,

Brian

Am I correct to say that the table too of sawstop is partially pressed steel, rather than cast iron throughout.

On the jobsite saw I believe they use pressed steel, but on the contractor, professional and industrial models the main tables are cast iron. On the contractor model the table wings can be your choice of pressed steel or cast iron. The Pro and industrial models have cast iron as standard. I’d certainly recommend going for the cast iron. I imagine the jobsite saw has the lighter top as it is made to be transported from job to job.

Originally Posted by justonething

Am I correct to say that the table too of sawstop is partially pressed steel, rather than cast iron throughout.

Yep the contractor version (not the jobsite) comes withpressed steel side tables and the 36” version comes with a larger phenolicresin extenstion.
I bought the optional cast iron side tables. And you canactually fit any of the major (carbatec, timbcon etc) cast iron router tablesinstead of the phenolic resin extension. If you need to save space
It wouldn’t be hard to add wood or any other side extensionsif you don’t want to use the pressed steel ones

Originally Posted by Brian45

Hi,

Our Mens Shed is considering purchasing a new table saw to replace our DeWalt saw. While the Dewalt is ok, it is limited in size sheets you can put across it without major efforts and its very noisy. Can we manage with it - yes we can, however we have an opportunity to upgrade in the near future and this is one in tool put forward to replace, the other is a new purchase Vicmac V200 tilt lathe.

Anyway I've identified 5 table saw for consideration and I'm after input both good and bad. I have two Saw stops in the list and while they seem to be the go to machine for Mens shed for obvious reasons. If we take the big safety thing out (not literal) what is the saw like. Transport is all around $850.00 on top of the listed prices.

Laguna Platinum - $3650.00
Harvey HW110LCE 30 - $2399.00 - slide table is $899.00
Saw Stop Pro - $4749.00 plus $130 for the safety system.
Saw Stop 36 Inch T Rail - $5029.00 plus $130 the safety system.
Woodman MBS 300 - $3595.00 for the 5 HP version 3 phase.

All seem good and while I have to go over the specs, if you have any opinion or there is another worth considering please comment. Thanks in advance

Hello Brian,

I recently upgraded my table saw and I considered three of the models on your list and I am able to offer you my opinion on them and my reasoning for choosing the saw that I ultimately ended up with. The saw I was upgrading for was the original Laguna Fusion (2hp) with a 52" capacity rail made out of an aluminium extrusion. My primary reasons for upgrading were more hp to cope with our dense Aussie hardwoods, better dust extraction, better mobility, and I wanted a beefier fence/rail with less deflection. The first one I ruled out was the SawStop Pro 30" because IMO the greater rip capacity and beefier rails and fence of the SawStop Pro 36" was worth the $280 price difference. Thus I narrowed my choice down to the Laguna Dovetail Platinum and the SawStop Pro 36".

After inspecting both saw in store, I ended up choosing the SawStop PCS for the following reasons:

- I wasn't that impressed with the Laguna. It's not that it's a bad saw, it's just that the SawStop seemed better in every category (fit and finish, ease of changing blade guard/riving knife, powdercoating/paint, dust extraction, general design, etc). I've no scientific proof, but I got the feeling that the gauge of steel used for the cabinet seems thicker on the SawStop. At least that was my impression.

- I was concerned about the Laguna's 30" ripping capacity

- the optional HD mobility base for the SawStop was a revelation. Yes it's expensive ($619), but if I chose the Laguna I would have had to buy the all-swivel base with T-extension which costs $420 from Carbatec. I had a similar base on my old saw and it raised the saw too high and it didn't feel as stable. The mobility SawStop mobility base is rock solid and there's no difference in stability with or without it.


In the end my decision came down to the fact that I knew I would have no regrets with the SS PCS and IMHO, the substantial price difference was justified. And although I didn't quite have the funds at the time, I ruled out the Laguna and I decided to save a bit more for the SS PCS. Fortunately for me I didn't have to wait too long. About 2 weeks later a gently-used SS PCS 36" with HD mobility base + overhead dust arm + heaps of extras (blades x 5, dado set, Kreg Mitre gauge, brakes, Magswitch featherboards, insert plates) listed on Gumtree for less than the Laguna. Bargain !!!

I've had it for about a couple of weeks now and I can say it has lived up to my high expectations. One thing that I was pleasantly surprised to discover is how quiet it is. i don't know if it's quieter than the Laguna Dovetail Platinum, but it's definitely quieter than my 2hp Laguna Fusion.

Anyhoo, that's my 2 cents worth. Hopefully it helps you out with your buying decision. Of course, YMMV.



Cheers,
Mike.