Felder Vs Unisaw

[Rick Potter]

It is with deep trepidation that I write this, being sorely afraid of being branded a heretic, thusly being stoned by the followers of FOG; but with bated breath I shall commence.

When I was younger and wealthier, I dreamed of getting a slider. I went to all the shows and showrooms and looked at Mini Max, SCMS, and Felder. I finally bit the bullet and bought a Felder 700 Pro slider/shaper.

I decided to keep my trusty Unisaw because it might be handy to leave a dado set in it, and besides, I had the room.

It is now about 6 years later, and I find myself using the Unisaw about 3-4 times as much as the Felder.

It is not that I don't like the Felder, it is a fine saw. It is just handier for most operations to use the American style saw. I have given it a great deal of thought, and have come to the following conclusion:

Here it comes.....If I had to give up one of the saws, it would, without a doubt, be the Felder.

There, I said it, and I feel cleansed.

Please note that I am not in a woodworking business. It is just for pleasure, and to make stuff for the family (currently redoing the kitchen cabinets. If I were a cabinet maker, the conclusion would be different.

Now the question......Are there any other HOBBY woodworkers who have both, and what would your decision be? Truthfully now, it's cathartic.

Rick Potter

[Larry Edgerton]

I am not a hobbiest, but I have a Minimax slider and an older PM 66, and I have to say I use the PM more then the Minimax as well. I have had that same thought lately as I am downsizing my shop from 9000 sq, ft. to about 2400. I decided that I will keep both, but I have to say if I had to pick one it would be the Minimax, not because I like it more or even use it more, but because the Mini will do everything the PM will, but the PM will not do everything the Mini will.

But I am keeping both. I have a 12" Porter and a DJ 20 I have been having the same debate over and the Porter will be sold. Just not enough room.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

IMHO, they are completely different machines, and if you want to alter your approach to woodworking just a bit, the Euro style better in most every way. Some don't want to do that though, and the American style saw will work better for them. To each their own, but I'm keeping the Felder, and have no qualms recommending them to anyone that understands the difference.

[Thomas S Stockton]

I would disagree that the sliders are better in most every way. I have one and the biggest problem is using the thing to rip narrow pieces. On a lot of sliders it is nearly impossible to have a zero clearence throat plate so that in ripping very narrow stock you need to be careful that it doesn't fall in the hole between the blade and fence. My work around is to use a bandsaw. The other problem if you are doing lots of ripping is that the slider can get in the way especially if you have an 8' slider.
With all that said I think they are safer and much more versatile than a standard cabinet saw.
Tom

[Rick Potter]

Just to clarify, I am keeping both of them, and like both of them, but if it came to a choice, I would keep the Unisaw.

Rick Potter

[brian gallagher]

yes, its important to keep in mind that the longer sliders really gets in the way for working from the back of the saw (ie working off the ripfence, ripping etc). Plus the fence sucks.

We rip on the UNISAW/besimeyer fenced saw exclusively. even for ply sheets.
K700 slider used for all crosscuts and making all square panels.

Its hard handling large sheets by yourself and trying to keep them up against the cross fence to rip. alot of walking around and checking. the smaller panels 5x5 or less.. is where this saw moves fast.

I think there is sort of a mis-information that sliders do everything better in forum discussions. That was my impression before I used one. On the other hand, the flip stops on the crosscut fence (slider) are addictive.

[David DeCristoforo]

The slider and the "conventional" table saw are not really
horses of the same color. There are many stiuations in which
working on the slider will be awkward at best. I have both
and I find that the unisaw is still my go to saw for most
of my work. But when I need the slider, there is no substitute.

[Chip Lindley]

Commercial sliders are fine machines. But, they work best doing the two things they are designed to do--cut sheet goods/laminates *square* with nice chip-free edges.

The Unisaw, (or PM66) are all-around workhorses in the shop, doing a better job on solid stock than a slider will. But, on a small scale, sheetgoods can still be accurately cut square on a 10" cabinet saw, with a sliding table attachment such my older Exaktor (now Excaliber), and the addition of a Modulus scoring attachment.

Ahh, the Best Of Both Worlds......almost!

[Joe Jensen]

You guys are freaking me out :(

I just signed the PO for a Felder KF700SP and no I don't have room in my shop for a cabinet saw and slider. I have been doing this for 30 years and it took many years to decide to switch. I ended up doing this because I'm at a point where keeping things perfectly square is really important to me. I have a Festool guided rail saw and the cut is really good and I've never had a chip on ply or melamine with it, but I don't seem able to get cuts perfectly square. Really close, but not perfect.

Guess I'll be doing a major experimnent :eek:

[Chris Rosenberger]

Commercial sliders are fine machines. But, they work best doing the two things they are designed to do--cut sheet goods/laminates *square* with nice chip-free edges.

The Unisaw, (or PM66) are all-around workhorses in the shop, doing a better job on solid stock than a slider will. But, on a small scale, sheetgoods can still be accurately cut square on a 10" cabinet saw, with a sliding table attachment such my older Exaktor (now Excaliber), and the addition of a Modulus scoring attachment.

Ahh, the Best Of Both Worlds......almost!

This setup has worked well for me for 20+ years.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/HPIM0029.jpg


http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/100_0283.jpg


http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/100_0891.jpg

[John Harden]

I would disagree that the sliders are better in most every way. I have one and the biggest problem is using the thing to rip narrow pieces. On a lot of sliders it is nearly impossible to have a zero clearence throat plate so that in ripping very narrow stock you need to be careful that it doesn't fall in the hole between the blade and fence. My work around is to use a bandsaw. The other problem if you are doing lots of ripping is that the slider can get in the way especially if you have an 8' slider.
With all that said I think they are safer and much more versatile than a standard cabinet saw.
Tom

Thomas, what brand of slider do you have? I bought a Felder and you can either make your own zero clearance inserts or buy them from John Renzetti for $25 apiece. He makes them out of phenolic and they come with the leveling inserts pre-installed. You just install them and run your blade up through the bottom the same way you do on a cabinet or contractors saw.

Even if you have MM or some other brand, I'm sure there are ZC inserts to be had or made.

Regards,

John

[Rick Potter]

Hey Joe,

How about tucking the old saw right behind the Felder just allowing room for the slider to work. Put them both at the same height, and use one as outfeed table for the other. That is what I did at my old shop, and it worked well, and didn't take up too much more space.

Rick Potter

[Wes Grass]

I don't have both, but if I had the room I'd seriously consider adding a Sawstop and dedicate it for ripping.

[Leigh Betsch]

I'm just a hobbyist so I don't use my saw every day but I've had a MM slider and a Delta tilting arbor saw for about 2 years (and a Grizzly cabinet saw for 2 weeks); I haven't used anything except the slider since I got it. I just sold the Delta, glad to be rid of it. I "crosscut" every thing under 8 1/2 ft long with the slider, not much need to use the rip fence when the wagon will stroke 8 1/2 ft. I also made a narrow rip jig to fit on the slider. I do have an upgraded MM digital rip fence but I mostly use it for a crosscut stop.
The only complaint I have is having to walk around the wagon to raise the blade in some instances.

[Ben Abate]

Well, i guess each to his own, I had cabinet saws for 20 years and now have a KF 700 SP and I would only trade for another larger Felder or Martin Slider. Or any other quality slider. I haven't found one job that the slider can't do better than a cabinet saw. Cross cutting is wonderful, straightening a board with a sweep in it is easier than eating pie. With a slider you don't have to spend multiple cuts at the jointer to straighten a board. squaring panels is absolutely wonderful. Throw a full piece of sheet stock up on a cabinet saw and see how easy it is to guide it to rip it in pieces. I have always hated wrestling sheets of plywood and trying to keep them square. Use your slider with a few air clamps or conventional slider clamps and slice from the slider instead of the rip fence. I'm sorry, I see no advantage to the cabinet saw. I just don't. Cutting long tappers is so easy, you don't have to wrestle jigs and what ever. Even if I had room I wouldn't have two saws.

my two cents,

[Gregory Stahl]

Get the parallel cutting devise from Felder--makes ripping much easier. I ripped about 300 12" and 16" x 8' panels--they all came out perfect.





Its hard handling large sheets by yourself and trying to keep them up against the cross fence to rip. alot of walking around and checking. the smaller panels 5x5 or less.. is where this saw moves fast.

[Joe Jensen]

Well, i guess each to his own, I had cabinet saws for 20 years and now have a KF 700 SP and I would only trade for another larger Felder or Martin Slider. Or any other quality slider. I haven't found one job that the slider can't do better than a cabinet saw. Cross cutting is wonderful, straightening a board with a sweep in it is easier than eating pie. With a slider you don't have to spend multiple cuts at the jointer to straighten a board. squaring panels is absolutely wonderful. Throw a full piece of sheet stock up on a cabinet saw and see how easy it is to guide it to rip it in pieces. I have always hated wrestling sheets of plywood and trying to keep them square. Use your slider with a few air clamps or conventional slider clamps and slice from the slider instead of the rip fence. I'm sorry, I see no advantage to the cabinet saw. I just don't. Cutting long tappers is so easy, you don't have to wrestle jigs and what ever. Even if I had room I wouldn't have two saws.

my two cents,


Waiting is very hard. No firm date yet but the sales guy says likely not until the 2nd half of January

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I've got one that a Unisaw is nearly useless on;

I built a sewing cabinet and table for my wife last winter, and used some prefinished maple ply. I bought the "good" stuff from the local cabinet supply place, but when I stacked two sheets on top of each other on the slider to make a set of matched components, it became obvious that the sheets where not square. Turns out that 4 of the 8 where 1/4" or so out of square. Piece of cake to fix it on the slider. How about the Uni?:D

Yes, I know it's possible, but full sheets in three cuts?

Someone mentioned the problem of ripping narrow stock, and I have to disagree. Like John said, get a zero clearance insert and rip away. Heck, the first project I built with my Felder was a toy barn that included lap siding measuring 3/4" wide and tapering from 1/8 to 1/4 across that width. Attach the "fence" jig to the slider so that rather than having a fixed fence to run against, the thin ripped stock is held by the jig on the table as it slides past the blade. Complete control, and a heck of a lot better then the Uni.

As I said before, they are two different machines. You have to not think of a sliding saw as a traditional tablesaw. It's far better!

[Leigh Betsch]

To each his own, but it is interesting that some still prefer the traditional cabinet saw.
It seems that some that know how to use the cabinet saw are hooked and some that really know how to use the slider are hooked, and some of us in the middle who don't know much at all just do what ever we like.;)

[Sean Nagle]

I have no experience with a slider, just an American-style cabinet saw. I am curious if you can cut tenon cheeks using a tenoning jig on a slider?

[Joe Jensen]

I have no experience with a slider, just an American-style cabinet saw. I am curious if you can cut tenon cheeks using a tenoning jig on a slider?

No miter slot on the Felder I've ordered, but it would be easy to jig up a fixture and use the slide. I plan to do it with the shaper and slider. I'm ordering some large diameter rebate cutters for the shaper.

[David DeCristoforo]

"Piece of cake to fix it on the slider. How about the Uni?..."

In any comparison that involves sheet stock, the sliding table panel saw is going to win hands down. That's a no brainer. The slider is also superior for any number of other operations. For example, if you needed to straight line a stack of 10' long boards, a slider with a "ripping hook" would be superior to a "conventional" table saw. To me the whole point of this discussion is that these two machines are not "mutually exclusive". If one had the resources and space to accommodate both, that would obviously be the best way to go. But if one has limited space or funds, the choice needs to be based on priority. If your primary need is processing sheet goods, the slider is going to be the best option. But if you are working mostly with lumber, the conventional table saw is going to be a better machine in general. Allowance must also be made for "personal preference". Like I said, they are not "horses of the same color". Also, it should be mentioned that the cost difference can be substantial. The "best" conventional table saw tops out at around $4,000. A good quality "entry level" slider is going to start at three times that much.

[Leigh Betsch]

But can your cross cut fence and Uni do this?
The timbers are 6" thick, a bit to thick to cut off with my 12" table saw blade, so I wheeled up my MM20, leveled it and used the slider to cross cut the ends. Makes one heck of a miter gage for a band saw.

Then I popped up the shaper and used it to straight line joint the edge using the slider. Kinda nice having a 8ft slider on a shaper also.

[Leigh Betsch]

I have no experience with a slider, just an American-style cabinet saw. I am curious if you can cut tenon cheeks using a tenoning jig on a slider?

I built a jig with my Incra (off my router table) to cut tenons. I've since put the Incra back on my router table and just use the digital readout on the slider's rip fence to position the jig. Cheaper than a store bought tenon jig and uses the accuracy of the slider and digital fence to guarantee a straight and accurate cut.
The first pic doesn't explain very well, the second pic shows how I use it to cut a tenon on a dovetail.

[Sean Nagle]

Very impressive.

I have casually looked at the the Hammer sliders since I need to keep the size down for a smaller basement shop and the cost down since I'm just a hobbyist. How capable are Hammers compared to to the Felder and other production machines or am I better off sticking to the American cabinet saws if I can't step up to the top-end sliders?

[Rick Fisher]

Very impressive.

I have casually looked at the the Hammer sliders since I need to keep the size down for a smaller basement shop and the cost down since I'm just a hobbyist. How capable are Hammers compared to to the Felder and other production machines or am I better off sticking to the American cabinet saws if I can't step up to the top-end sliders?

Dont let being the entry level for Felder fool you.. The Hammer saws are extremely capable.. These big Sliders like the one Joe bought are designed to run 8 hours a day for 20 years, and still be square and capable..

The Hammer is a lighter machine, doesnt have the X-Roll system but for a hobby guy, it will probably last longer than you will. It will have a smaller motor, lighter carriage and lighter frame.. it wont come with all the add-on features and electronics.. but it will cut thousands of sheets of plywood square and easily ..

There is a small cabinet maker in my town with a Hammer Slider.. He claims to have over 1000 hours running time on it and loves it.. Its smooth and accurate..

Sliding saws are designed to reduce labor costs... The really expensive ones will take a thrashing and often come with more bells and whistles and really large motors.. all designed to work faster and save the owner money..

A Hammer slider is in a different league than a Uni or Cabinet saw.. No hobby guy really needs more.. but that doesnt mean they dont want more.. :)

[Ben Abate]

Hi guys,
You know David summed up pretty well, they are horses of a different color. And as someone said. Some fellows who buy sliders don't realize how they should be used. They try to use them like a cabinet saw, that's not why you bought it. Sure some procedures are similar but the slider state of mind is different. Also; the ones of us that are fortunate enough to afford one sort of justify their costs by saying there better than the cabinet saw. Which they are, ha ha ha.

Ben

[Rod Sheridan]

Dont let being the entry level for Felder fool you.. The Hammer saws are extremely capable.. These big Sliders like the one Joe bought are designed to run 8 hours a day for 20 years, and still be square and capable..

The Hammer is a lighter machine, doesnt have the X-Roll system but for a hobby guy, it will probably last longer than you will. It will have a smaller motor, lighter carriage and lighter frame.. it wont come with all the add-on features and electronics.. but it will cut thousands of sheets of plywood square and easily ..

There is a small cabinet maker in my town with a Hammer Slider.. He claims to have over 1000 hours running time on it and loves it.. Its smooth and accurate..

Sliding saws are designed to reduce labor costs... The really expensive ones will take a thrashing and often come with more bells and whistles and really large motors.. all designed to work faster and save the owner money..

A Hammer slider is in a different league than a Uni or Cabinet saw.. No hobby guy really needs more.. but that doesnt mean they dont want more.. :)

I agree, of course I had better, I just plunked down the deposit on a Hammer B3 Winner, replacing a General 650.

I considered the Felder as well, I really liked the X roll table. Apparently the Hammer table is the previous generation Felder design.

I couldn't justify the aditional money for the Felder, not that I wouldn't have liked to :D.

regards, Rod.

[Rick Fisher]

For hobby use, I think people should buy whatever makes them happy.. Any of these Euro Sliders are going to last longer than the hobby owner will likly live..

The great part of these machines is resale.. If a hobby woodworker needs to sell a European slider that has always been used for hobby work, that machine will usually carry a healthy resale value..

[John Harden]

But can your cross cut fence and Uni do this?
The timbers are 6" thick, a bit to thick to cut off with my 12" table saw blade, so I wheeled up my MM20, leveled it and used the slider to cross cut the ends. Makes one heck of a miter gage for a band saw.

Then I popped up the shaper and used it to straight line joint the edge using the slider. Kinda nice having a 8ft slider on a shaper also.


Leigh, very clever use of the slider to cut large stock. Over on FOG and MOG, I've seen how some folks have positioned router tables and other tools nearby to leverage the accuracy and mass of the slider. Pretty cool.

Thanks for posting the pics.

Regards,

John

[Leigh Betsch]

Roll up your band saw to the front of the slider, clamp on an old door to extend the wagon, clamp a timber to the door and presto you have a striate line ripper with a 20" re-saw capacity. The dust collection kinda sucks because the BS is too close to the slider to get the hose on but other than that it works pretty well.
I'm not trying to pick a fight but what do you find that a Uni does better?

[David DeCristoforo]

...why to people keep posting "can your uni do this?" replies??? I would think that is has been agreed by consensus that there are things you can do on a sliding table that you can't do on a "conventional" table saw or at least not easily. I have used my slider for some pretty strange stuff too. But I still find it awkward to work at the slider in "most situations". My unisaw is still the "go to" saw for general shop work unless sheet goods are involved.

[Rick Fisher]

I dont the Uni is built to compete in the Euro Slider market.. :P

Its not a competition.. two different machines..

[Dino Makropoulos]

A good sawman can use any saw better than any showman.

The Unisaw was designed before the invention of panels.

The slider was designed for panels and can do some things (jigs)
better than a Unisaw that can do other things ( jigs) better than a slider.

A traditional cabinet shop uses both.
Sliders for panels and Unisaws ( with feeders) for ripping solid stock.

I saw shops without sliders and shops without Unisaws.
I even saw few shops without a band saw.

Here are some pictures of my latest woodworking project.
Gang cutting and routing hardwood legs for woodworking benches.
I use none of the above tools for ripping, cross cutting and grooving.

After all, is the sawman and his methods/techniques.
The method for the job in the pictures was gang cutting using the least expensive power tools and a large layout table.

Work safe and rethink your ways...every day. :cool:

Pic.#1. The best tool of all. A homemade screw clamp to keep the pieces from moving around.
The rest is very safe, fast and effortless high production woodworking.

Do they make CNC routers with saw units? If they do, nothing compares to that.

[Glen Gunderson]

Roll up your band saw to the front of the slider, clamp on an old door to extend the wagon, clamp a timber to the door and presto you have a striate line ripper with a 20" re-saw capacity. The dust collection kinda sucks because the BS is too close to the slider to get the hose on but other than that it works pretty well.
I'm not trying to pick a fight but what do you find that a Uni does better?

Not cost $12,000?:)

But seriously, sliding saws are awesome, but their cost cannot be ignored. I suppose the question for most woodworkers is, what can a slider do better that justifies spending between 4 and 10 times as much money for one over a cabinet saw? Obviously they excel in a production environment where sheet goods are used, but I'm not sure the cost/benefit equation makes sense for most home woodworkers.

I'd also be worried about the ability to service such a complex machine long term. I've looked at 20 or so year old Minimax tools on the used market that needed a little work and from what I understand, sourcing parts for them is extremely hit or miss, and Minimax has admitted as such. I'd be worried about having no supply for fairly complex and proprietary parts.

[John Harden]

Not cost $12,000?:)

But seriously, sliding saws are awesome, but their cost cannot be ignored. I suppose the question for most woodworkers is, what can a slider do better that justifies spending between 4 and 10 times as much money for one over a cabinet saw? Obviously they excel in a production environment where sheet goods are used, but I'm not sure the cost/benefit equation makes sense for most home woodworkers.

I'd also be worried about the ability to service such a complex machine long term. I've looked at 20 or so year old Minimax tools on the used market that needed a little work and from what I understand, sourcing parts for them is extremely hit or miss, and Minimax has admitted as such. I'd be worried about having no supply for fairly complex and proprietary parts.

You're right, they are expensive, but they don't have to cost 4-10 times as much. Heck, even a Felder, K500S with 98" long slider is under $9K list, before discounts. Hammer's are even less money. MM's are similiar, and Grizzly makes respectible sliders for still less money, as does Laguna. New Unisaws or the Sawstop are $3K.

I've never heard of problems getting parts from MM. Not saying you're wrong, I've just never heard that. I know that sometimes you may have to wait for it to be shipped across the pond, but I've never heard of them ever telling a customer that they cannot get something. If true, that would really surprise me.

Felder has parts for everything, but they are also the manufacturer. No middle man.

One very common misconception about sliders is that they are only for sheet goods. Not so. I rarely use sheet goods but opted for a 9' slider. Nearly all my ripping will be to the left of the blade, on the slider with the wood clamped down (if needed). Much safer and more accurate than trying to run it against a fence. I'm well off to the left and my hands are never closer than 18" from the blade unless I want them to be.

I owned my PM-66 for over 10 years and it was a great saw. IMHO, the design is simply outdated as it's remained fundamentally unchanged in 40+ years. Cabinet saws are very rare in Europe, and with Grizzly now offering low cost sliders and Felder offering their Hammer line, you'll be seeing more and more of them in N. America.

They are not cabinet saws, so if you try to use them as such and insist on doing your ripping to the right of the blade, you may wind up frustrated like the OP.

I think it was Charlie Plessums (EDIT: It was Paul Cresti) here at SC who posted a series of excellent threads on his use of his slider. Very well documented with photos. He explained it better than I can in a short message. If interested, you might look them up. I think he goes so far as to say they work better than a cabinet saw for everything. I'm not sure I'd disagree with him. Add in a shaper to the slider/saw and the possibilities are endless.

Here's a link to some of Paul's excellent threads on the subject of slider -vs- cabinet saw. Very imformative, even if someone ultimately still prefers a CS.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=23389
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=23774
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=24502
hhttp://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=28088 (http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=28088)
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=26285
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=51355
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=34708
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=29871

Regards,

John

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

How very interesting. Maybe you should have never spent the money given that you seem to have a preference.

I got my slider and my old TS got fitted with an abrasive metal cutting blade and that's all it does. I use the Slider for everything wood, I use it for aluminum, and polymers too. The old TS is a spark generator.

I can't imagine how I managed to draw breath before I got the slider.

[Erik Christensen]

I have a Robland and like it for everything EXCEPT dado's - which is a bummer as that is a prime function of a table saw IMHO. It is worse than useless for that - trying to get a dado stack installed inside the cast iron dust shroud without chipping a carbide tooth while inserting the threaded locking pin is a major PITA... and who ever gets a dado stack height right on even the 3rd try (hint - not me). I find myself trying to figure out alternate designs that allow me to avoid using dado's at all - not a good solution. And even worse is the blade height mechanism - a locking lever arm that makes fast changes a snap but accurate absolute height is next to impossible.

On the other hand - making dead-nuts-on square plywood panels fast & safe is ridiculously easy.

Like every tool I have it's accuracy, efficiency & functionality is dependent on the task.

[John Harden]

I have a Robland and like it for everything EXCEPT dado's - which is a bummer as that is a prime function of a table saw IMHO. It is worse than useless for that - trying to get a dado stack installed inside the cast iron dust shroud without chipping a carbide tooth while inserting the threaded locking pin is a major PITA... and who ever gets a dado stack height right on even the 3rd try (hint - not me). I find myself trying to figure out alternate designs that allow me to avoid using dado's at all - not a good solution. And even worse is the blade height mechanism - a locking lever arm that makes fast changes a snap but accurate absolute height is next to impossible.

Don't know about the Robland, but there is quite a lot of room available to install dado blades on a 741 Felder.

Regarding height, I hear you there. This can be a challenge on any saw where you have to measure by hand. For this reason and ease of use (nice way to say I'm lazy), I opted for the electric height adjustment with LED display. Set it for 1.15 inches and that's what it is, exactly.

For dado's, just install the dado blade, push the button to raise it until it is just level with the table top, zero out the setting, then raise away. When the LED display reads .25, that's the height of the tip of the blade.

Once you put your regular blade back on, just scroll through the pre-set's until you find the blade diameter that matches yours (or a custom one you program), and you're done. It has pre-programmed settings for all the standard blades used by Felder. My combo is 315mm or just over 12".

MM offers the same functionality on some of their saws, though I'm not sure of the details. I imagine it is very similiar.

Regards,

John

[Leigh Betsch]

I have a Robland and like it for everything EXCEPT dado's.

You might look into the Freud Dial a Width dado head. I use one on my MM slider and it works well. You wouldn't need to remove it to add a shim you just loosen it up and dial the collar in or out a bit. Mounting isn't a problem on my MM, and my arbor is 5/8 so it will take a standard blade bore, I don't know what the Robland uses for an arbor size.

[Paul B. Cresti]

Wow! who made all those great posts about sliders ? ;)

Seriously though, I still agree that once you have a slider you will never want to use a CS again. Yes I agree it will take some getting use to but the end result is worth it. Along the way you will learn to create your own jigs or even find more creative uses for your slider....never thought about bringing your bandsaw over (that was just plain cool, Leigh)

One of the most important things to remember is the safety factor with these saws. You will not need a blade stop device as you will not be near the blade and if you use the overhead cover/dc like I do there simply is no chance to contact the blade.

[Leigh Betsch]

Along the way you will learn to create your own jigs or even find more creative uses for your slider....never thought about bringing your bandsaw over

Wait till next week, I plan to bring my drill press over and poke a bunch of holes in the timbers, while they are still on the slider. Seems a lot easier that trying to balance a 8 ft timber on a 2 ft DP table.