Newbie with some Table saw questions.

[Louie Ballis]

Hi all, I am new to this forum and it seems that there is a lot of good information out there.

I am a hobbyist wood worker for the past 3 years and absolutely love it. I have a detached one car garage 12x20 that serves as my dedicated workshop. I generally have placed all of my tools on rollers, and wheel them into the driveway to use them. As a result during bad weather I either cant work, or must work in a very cluttered space.
After alot of planing and thought I have decided to do away with the clutter and organize everything so that it can be used inthe shop for the most part. I have found some plans to go by and hope that I can make it work.

The center of the shop against the right wall facing the door is going to be the tablesaw which finally brings me to my question. I want to upgrade to a hybrid saw (for the dust collection and power-something better than the contractor type saw that I am using). I plan on building a 5x5 table that will serve as both an out-feed table and work bench.

I have read alot of negative reviews on the Delta 36-750 which is their version of the hybrid with a 50 inch biesmyer fence. Since Delta makes the very well respected Unisaw is this negativity warrented?

Any other possible suggestions as to the saw?

thanks for any and all help,

Louie

[Myk Rian]

I have a Steel City w/30" fence. Works well in my half of a 2 car garage.
I love the saw.

[Bill White]

Look at Grizzly saws.
Bill

[Chris Tsutsui]

Price and value wise, a lot of people here have turned to Grizzly table saws.

I've been shopping for a saw for a long time and if I can't find a Unisaw on craigslist for a good price, then I'm just going to get a Grizzly model that suits my needs.

[Cliff Holmes]

I have read alot of negative reviews on the Delta 36-750 which is their version of the hybrid with a 50 inch biesmyer fence. Since Delta makes the very well respected Unisaw is this negativity warrented?

Ford made the GT-40 ... and the Edsel. Nothing says they can't get it right 30 years ago and screw it up today.

+1 on the Grizzly saws. I love mine, the only reason I got a SawStop was the safety. There's no way I would have paid that much for the marginal quality upgrade.

[Greg Wittler]

I have read alot of negative reviews on the Delta 36-750 which is their version of the hybrid with a 50 inch biesmyer fence. Since Delta makes the very well respected Unisaw is this negativity warrented?

When I was looking into getting a Hybrid, I remember reading negative reviews about the Delta Hybrid in regards to its Table mounted trunions as oppsoed to cabinet mounted trunions which are more similar to a cabinet saw. But I also read that this only makes it harder when you first set it up. I didn't really look into it much further because I decided to get a cabinet saw instead.

Greg

[Louie Ballis]

Thanks for the response so far.

My first tought was to go with Grizzly as I have their jointer, 14 inch bandsaw and assorted grinders etc. Which all preformed wonderfully.

However early this week when I called the informed me that they had stopped production of their hybrid saw.

[Chad Easterling]

Check out Grizzley's website. They have some good deals running on a few of their tablesaws. Can probably get a cabinet for close to what their hybrid was.

[Van Huskey]

My first choice is the Woodtek 148-271 would be my frst choce with the Dewalt DW746X, Grizzly G0478 and Jet JPS-10 right there behind it. The Woodtek has a built in mobile base, digital readout and solid power. In my opinion it is the best performer with not as much press and a price when the base is considered (if you need it) to be at or below the rest.

[Mike Heidrick]

I have read alot of negative reviews on the Delta 36-750 which is their version of the hybrid with a 50 inch biesmyer fence. Since Delta makes the very well respected Unisaw is this negativity warrented?



I owned the 36-752 that had a 50" unifence and two cast extenson tables.

The only negativity was that people thought they were unisaws and not a hybrid. In 1993 there was not much in teh way of hybrids around. The 2.25hp motor was awesome and cut everything. The dust collection could be improved but other than that EVRY unisaw accessory works out of teh box on that saw. It was great and only upgraded because I boughtan ICS Sawstop.

No way I would have traded that saw with a unifence/biesmeyer and marathon motor for a 1023 or any that does not have a riving knife. Now a 1023 with a riving knife and a unifence or biesmeyer fence might be a different story.

[Guy Belleman]

for the amount of money you will spend on the smaller motor, etc, of that hybrid, may as well go for a cabinet saw, which, depending on the model, might cost less. I have worked in the garage for years, and made every cabinet saw mobile, and enjoyed the extra power and features.

Right you can get several of the Grizzly cabinet saws for less than you will spend on the Delta hybrid. And I have owned both a Delta unisaw and Grizzly 1023 saws and they are all fine saws. My only regret is that I had to sell each as I moved to a new location.

good luck.

[Peter H Brown]

Have had a Grizzly table saw for 3 years and am very happy with my choice. I have a Grizzley G01023SLW which has a router table insert on the right end of the cast iron top which I have found very handy. 3 horsepower motor required 220v circuit but I'm happy with the power when I'm cutting into 2" thick hard maple. Grizzly makes good tools (I also have one of their 6" jointers and a 14" band saw). They have good support and service as well which is hard to find in the power tool business.

Why are you thinking hybrid saw rather than a cabinet saw?

-Pete

[Van Huskey]

I usually assume anyone looking at a hybrid only has 120v. If the OP has 220 then I would suggest a cabinet saw Grizzly has the 1023SLW for $939 shipped, I do not know of a hybrid that is even close to as good a buy.

[Louie Ballis]

Guy, you are right. I can buy a Grizzley 3 hp ts, for less than the Delta hybrid.

Although the shop as it stands is not wired for 220v I cant think that it would be that big of a project (for an electrican) to do.

After some research I really like the grizzley 1023, but as to which one I am not sure. Is it best to go with a 72 inch rail? my shop is only 12 feet wide and I dont want to place it against a wall. And I dont know if I can get the router table extension with a longer rail.

Has anyone had any experiance with the grizzly sliding table saw attachment made for the 1023 ts?

Louie

[Don Morris]

If you're a hobbyist, are you sure you're going to need 72" rails? I have the Griz 1023SL with 54" rails because I'm in a basement shop that is only 10' wide. With a folding outfeed table, I haven't really missed 72" rails. The Griz with a Biesemeyer splitter, Grr-Rippers (2), grip-tites, a selection of push sticks, is a dynamite combination. A riving knife can be added too! Every major tool I have is on a mobile base, so an efficient hobby shop can be achieved in a limited space. A little bit of a PITA, but when space is at a premium, you "do what you have to do".

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a General 650 with 32" rip capacity.

I custom ordered the saw with the small rails, standard was 50".

I have a basement shop in a townhouse, and neither need or have space for a larger rip capacity.

Most of my projects are solid wood furniture, so the 32" is more than adequate.

If space is at a premium, a cabinet saw is a good choice.

Regards, Rod.

[Louie Ballis]

Good point and thanks for your insight Don.

The standard rail system would work about 95% of the time. If not I can always add the longer rails later.

I did plan to put the(1023) TS on a mobile base with an out feedtable (also mobile) as you did. Do you move it around much? Or just move it to get it out of the way?

[Jerome Hanby]

I bought longer rails with my Incra TS-III thinking it would be nice to be able to deal with sheet goods. But it turns out that no mater how long the rails are, I'm never going to be comfortable running a full sheet of plywood or MDF. I use my lower middle class version of a track saw to break down sheet goods and would have been just fine with 50-ish" rails.

[Derek Gilmer]

My shop is half our two car garage. I've got a grizzly g1023slw in there with the shopfox mobile base. Grizzly's clearance prices are hard to beat, the 3hp is $750 right now and the 5hp is $795 and the 3hp with 7 ft rails is $895. To maximize space I have been playing with different layouts. I do not have the long table but if I scooted the table saw to the left I could probably fit it. Here is a rendering of my shop layout. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=130427. I'm going to build movable tables to help capitalize on space. The simple one is built now and I'll be building the adjustable one sooner or later.

I can definitely vouch for the grizzly. I spent about 6 hours this weekend feeding wood through it and it worked perfectly.

[Rich Johnson]

But with the 54 inch rails you can only rip 26 inch to the right of blade. If your making cabinets dont you find that a limitation?

[John Sanford]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you shift the rails to have more run to the right (or left if desired)? I know I can if needed with my Incra, although the carriage doesn't get any longer!!

The Steel City and Sears Craftsman (made by Orion, who also makes Steel City) hybrids are considered to be top notch. You may be able to scoop one of them up at a good price.

[Joe Shinall]

I also have a limited shop and can tell you a 5x5 table is great at first, but just gets in the way later. Unless you can map the table out to really help your storage. Ill see if I can find it, but Lowe's had a plan in a brochure about a year ago that I wanted to build but never got around to it. It's a cubby system under the table sides, and in the middle is a cubby system that runs the length of the table for storing board lumber. It really is a great design and will help you. If I can find it, I will scan it and PM it to you.