Josh Baldwin - okay, I just got off the phone with my buddy. He has a Minimax combo machine and also uses the Incra Positioner as a parallel fence:
Minimax_incra_positioner_cropped.jpg
He has been extremely happy with this solution over time. He did say that knowing what he knows now, he would still choose this Incra Positioner as a parallel fence solution if he had to do it over again. The Incra Positioner and the Minimax support table are very stable and accurate for repeat measurements. This is an incredibly accurate parallel fence solution and it's cheaper at only about $300 or so. The Felder/Lamb parallel fence solutions are over twice as expensive.
However, there will be a variance on how straight the slider table edge is. In reality, there is no sliding table saw that has a 100% perfectly straight edge on the slider. I did a quick measurement on my K700S slider here. The dial indicator is placed exactly at the blade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OddK3RtMyw
The video shows that the slider variance is 0.010" over the first 4-1/2 feet of travel, then it quickly drops down to 0.020" on the last bit of the table. That is 1/100" variance on the first four feet which is still extremely good in my opinion. You can only do so much when manufacturing an extruded aluminum piece that is 8 to 10 feet long. This is not the same as a cast iron surface that has been machine milled to .001" tolerances.
The same issue with variance would happen whether you used the Incra Positioner or the Lamb Toolworks DRO parallel fence. If you're picky, you will need to re-zero the fence whenever you move it back and forth. Otherwise, you can figure out the point on the table where the variance is in the middle and align it there. Then you would not really be off more than 1/100" at any position. Make sense?
Chris Parks - There are many ways to accomplish the same thing with these tools, which you have introduced discussion on. However, this thread is really not about that. The OP wants help in making a decision between two or more sliding table saws and my efforts here have been to try to describe the differences and option. For example, even though Josh has said that he will never really use the rip fence, I bet that he may find good use of it anyways. If you had a 40" board and needed a 5" piece cut, the best way is to adjust the rip fence to 5" and pull the aluminum fence back before the blade to use the rip fence as a stopper. Also, until he has made some accurate Fritz-n-Franz jigs, he will likely use traditional ripping anyways for rips less than 4-7" because of the minimum cut size of the crosscut fence flip-stop.
Everyone works differently. I do hear your experience from commercial work and many commercial shop workers will throw on sheets and run them through the slider without any clamping. If you or Josh feel comfortable doing that, then great. I, personally, have been very paranoid and careful over the years when working with this machinery. If you are not using a clamp and your hands are on the material, then your hands could very well be close to the blade. They could even be behind the blade which means instant injury when you run the piece through. This can happen to any experienced mature wood worker. Review this video as reference for an real example on how fast an injury could happen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Z1Q3cf5iw
When I'm using the slider, I want to have the material clamped down so that my hands are not on the material or anywhere near the blade. I'll then use the outrigger table or side-handle on the slider to push the material through. When I build a Fritz-n-Franz jig, I will definitely have a handle on it. If my hand it on the "handle", then it's definitely not going to be behind the blade.
Originally Posted by Aaron Inami
Josh Baldwin - okay, I just got off the phone with my buddy. He has a Minimax combo machine and also uses the Incra Positioner as a parallel fence:
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