Thread: New table saw - SawStop vs others

Unless it has changed recently, I'm pretty sure that the arbor of the SS is 5/8" as well. That's at least one thing you no longer have to consider in your decision.

you will have to buy a specific dado brake for the sawstop if you go down that route. Sawstops have also gone up in price at least once or twice since i bought mine in 2018.

i find there is a bit of a push/talk now about sliding table saws and the large amounts of benefits you get with one if you have the room for it so maybe have a look into those as well.

i've bought a couple of the Carbatec tools, and they're fine enough but i think alot of them just get churned out in a factory in china and sent off as different brands and prices all over the world. The product manuals are normally horrible in both details and description.

There was a recent thread on this which went deeply into the pros and cons of SS v's a slider. If the budget allows and you have the room the slider will do way more and the smaller ones do not take up a lot of floor space against a 52" cabinet saw.

If you've got the cash to drop $5k on a table saw, just do it. You won't regret it. If you don't care for the brake functionality, see if you can find yourself a powermatic. Slightly better build quality, but if its your first cabinet saw you probably won't appreciate the marginal increase in quality between the two.

Comparing a Carbatec to a Sawstop/Powermatic is like comparing a Supercar to a Toyota Supra, both will get the job done but one is considerably better. In terms of what exactly is better, pretty much everything, right down to the knobs, dials and finish of the cast iron. However as said above going from a site saw to a cabinet saw, everything is an upgrade. Whether the upgrades's are of value to you is up to you to decide.

i know the brake functionality may seem like a gimmick for those who haven't a near miss with a saw, but accidents are accidents as no one plans to lose their fingers.

I agree with the others. If you have the space and cash take a good look into a Hammer K3 slider or similar.

Otherwise, are you already geared up with a great bandsaw, dust extraction system, planer/thicknesser etc? If not, and if money is finite, then saving more than 3k on a cabinet saw would go a good way towards one of these. If you are likely to end up buying top quality everything anyway then get what you really want first. But definitely look at a K3 IMO.

Cheers, Dom

Originally Posted by DomAU

I agree with the others. If you have the space and cash take a good look into a Hammer K3 slider or similar.

Otherwise, are you already geared up with a great bandsaw, dust extraction system, planer/thicknesser etc? If not, and if money is finite, then saving more than 3k on a cabinet saw would go a good way towards one of these. If you are likely to end up buying top quality everything anyway then get what you really want first. But definitely look at a K3 IMO.

Cheers, Dom

I am also looking to get other workshop equipment, including band saw and upgraded dust extraction, and possibly planer (although most of my current work is done with sheet goods). I am looking at stuff on the carbatec website primarily, but also open to other suggestions.

I have a thicknesser (dewalt 735) which does the job for me at the moment.

The K3 looks interesting. Might be a bit out of the price range for dealing with sheet goods, especially compared with the Carbatec offering!

Originally Posted by AndrewMP

I am also looking to get other workshop equipment, including band saw and upgraded dust extraction, and possibly planer (although most of my current work is done with sheet goods). I am looking at stuff on the carbatec website primarily, but also open to other suggestions.

I have a thicknesser (dewalt 735) which does the job for me at the moment.

The K3 looks interesting. Might be a bit out of the price range for dealing with sheet goods, especially compared with the Carbatec offering!

I think if you are working with sheet goods, especially larger pieces, a slider like the K3 would be far better than a standard cabinet saw - you can break down sheet goods much easier and with a scoring blade etc you would get better finish cuts. But it is a lot of money and does take up more space if you want a full sheet size.

If I were buying a cabinet saw I would go with a Carbatec, Harvey or similar and put the cash towards one of the other tools you mentioned. 3k+ would nearly get you a Clearvue Cyclone which would be a far better upgrade IMO than the step up to Sawstop.

Cheers, Dom

It is essential and not even an option to have a dust extractor hooked up to a slider, basically no DE = no slider. A slider is streets ahead of a cabinet saw for sheet goods, the two cannot be compared.

Originally Posted by AndrewMP

one of many tablesaw (and other machinery) safety considerations.

I already have several blades and a dado stack with a 5/8" arbour, so I'm not sold on stepping up to a 30mm arbour. That said, I'm not sure if my blades will be compatible with the SS sensors.

Another thing to think about is that it is most likely your dado stack will need to be replaced as most of them have full face chippers that aren't compatible with Sawstop's braking technology. It will not break quick enough to prevent injury due to the extra weight. I had a brilliant Freud dado stack which I reluctantly had to sell and buy a Sawstop compatible stack (they list them on their web site). I could run the saw in bypass mode but that defeats the purpose of buying a Sawstop in the first place. I think the build, accuracy and engineering quality is as good as any, as well as their brilliant way of micro adjusting the blade parallel to the slots. I say go for it. In a few years you will have forgotten the price

Andrew,
The safety advantage of Sawstop can be almost equalled by a guard which is mounted on the edge of the table, and sits over the blade. It can be used for rebating and grooving, unlike standard slot mounted guards.
A commercially made one was available for about $300 US, but you can DIY for very little cost.
The height adjustment is achieved using a small plate vise. The guard can be made from 3 mm polycarbonate, and mounted on rods to slide across the table.
A video by Kelly Mehler called ¨mastering your table saw¨ shows the commercial version in action. He says that its still possible to injure yourself using this guard, but it would be pretty difficult!
I have been using my home made replica for a few years, and find it convenient and effective. It allows me to be more relaxed using the table saw.
If you are interested, I could post a picture or two.
The extra money would be better spent on a vac system, bandsaw etc.
Robert

Originally Posted by robgran

Andrew,
The safety advantage of Sawstop can be almost equalled by a guard
The extra money would be better spent on a vac system, bandsaw etc.

I agree with the last statement, more money gives versatility to the workshop, but can't agree with the first comment when a Sawstop blade lowers below the table within a couple of milliseconds to basically even prevent a drop of blood. No guard can do that. I used a very good guard with my first table saw, Laguna Fusion, and I had an accident that meant a trip to a medical center. I'm not saying that Sawstop will prevent all injuries but it sure does a good job of nearly all of them. There has been lots of discussion on Sawstop on this forum and I don't want to reopen those but Sawstop saws are clearly "much" safer than others.

Originally Posted by barri

There has been lots of discussion on Sawstop on this forum and I don't want to reopen those but Sawstop saws are clearly "much" safer than others.

Absolutely when making the comparison to cabinet saws, making the comparison with a slider is a different argument altogether.

Are you really an MP Andrew? or just hoping to be unpopular.

Originally Posted by aldav

Are you really an MP Andrew? or just hoping to be unpopular.

Let me answer that with another question.... Do you think it could mean anything else?