Slideing table saw input

[Kirk Duff]

I'm all over the spectrum makeing the decision on purchaseing my new table saw. from Cabinet saw, to slideing table to slideing table with scoreing. I have a couple of question that I would like input from all of you about.

if money was no option a cnc panel saw would be suitting in its brand new shop. but it is a limitation


I'm looking hard at the grizzly G0623X. I like the 63" slider, it has a scoreing blade and the small foot print.

Does any one have one of these with some hours of use? how does it work?

Does it work well wth a dado blade?

The last question I have is what do you loose by haveing a scoreing blade that is driven by the main belt/ motor over a unit with a seperate motor? there is a large price difference for this option is it something I'm going to wish I had?

thanks again

Kirk

[Rod Sheridan]

Kirk, since you only want to know aout the Grizzly brand, I can't help you with that.

However my slider has the mechanical scoring unit, driven from the main saw motor, obviously it is spinning whenever the main motor is.

I guess the scoring saw bearings will fail at some time, however my experience with industrial machinery indicates that I'll be dead before the bearings need replacing.

I really like having a sliding saw..................Regards, Rod.

[McKay Sleight]

In a previous life I used and serviced an SCMI and also a Laguna sliding table saw. The SCMI was a great saw, but as with most things that students use, it was constantly needing adjusting. The Laguna was used on a daily basis. It also used a separate motor which was nice. The cuts were very good but not the capacity is not what the grizzly offers. I know that Griz quality has gone up in the past few years, but I doubt that is as good as the SCMI or the Laguna. You need to ask yourself if this is going to be used my one person or more. If it is used by everyone that comes along, then a higher quality saw is a must. You do not want to step over dollars to save pennies.

[Chris Fournier]

I can't comment on the Grizzly saw that you're looking at. I have an SCM slider with a scoring saw. It does a great job on laminates. My scoring saw has it's own motor which I am grateful for as its very noisy while spinning at almost 10000 RPM and I only turn it on when I need it.

[Rick Fisher]

I would look at the Hammer line of sliders.. Also look at used.. There are literally hundreds of used sliders on the market right now .. Owning woodworking machinery means pulling wrenches from time to time.. Buying new doesn't change that ..

[David Kumm]

I would always look seriously at high quality used vs lower quality new in the slider world. The table and crosscut fences must stay in adjustment or you will go crazy. Age does not hurt quality. If you use the scorer running off the main blade you should intend to size panels most of the time. Going back and forth between ripping and panel cutting on a shorter slider is a pain on it's best day without having the scorer to deal with. The scorer will also reduce the depth your saw can cut, even if operated with a separate motor. You can find good used stuff for the price of a new hammer. Not even close. Dave

[Larry Edgerton]

My SCM has a scorer run off of the main, and when I bought it I bought a new belt for it so I had one on hand. Spare belt is still hanging in the cutter cabinet, and no bearing issues after 15-20 years, can't remember......

Plus there is just something about having really good tools that appeals to me. Makes me feel I have to work to the same standard as the tools I own.

[Jeff Monson]

Hammer has a nice sale going on right now, I'd take a good look at them in comparision to a Grizzly. Hammer makes a really nice slider.

[Larry Edgerton]

You can't say Grizzly and Felder in the same sentence! I'm sure there is a law.....

[Brian Ross]

You can't say Grizzly and Felder in the same sentence! I'm sure there is a law..... I know what you are saying Larry but even now the Altendorf W series saws are made in China and they have gotten great reviews

[Kirk Duff]

Rod I would be interested in hereing about your Saw. What size slider did you end up with? I'm scotish and getting my head around the price is always the challenge. I'm open to any good input. I tried a pm after your last post but your mail box is full

thanks Kirk

[ed vitanovec]

Kirk,
I've had the Grizzly G0623X for 2 years now, I am very happy with it. It has pleanty of power, the slider is smooth and accurate. The scoring blade is driven off the 5hp motor and having a scoring blade for a machine like this is a plus. I have cut plywood with and without the scoring blade and it does make a difference. I have also lowered the scoring blade below the table and cut plywood with a good 80 tooth saw blade, the results was just as good with a scoring blade. The quality of this slider is really good, it may not be as good as a 10K euro saw but for 3K its the best bang for the buck. Another nice thing is you can use a full size dado blade with it. The only dislike I have is with the blade guard, you can't see through it. One day I'll get around to mounting my excaliber overhead blade guard. I did a write up on my saw and here is the link.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?107213-Grizzly-G0623X-Sliding-Table-Saw-quot-GLOAT-quot

Regards!
Ed

[Chris Tsutsui]

I'm the owner of a Hammer A3-31, and the owner of a Grizzly 1023SLX and am in the market now for a slider so I've been doing my research.

It's good to hear an update that you're still a satisified owner with the G0623X. If the saw comes from a good factory then it doesn't matter what country it comes from, and Shiraz said in another post that the G0623X comes from the same factory that produces their best bandsaws.

I should mention that the G0623X has a cross cutting capacity of 78.5". In order to buy a Hammer model with that capacity you need the K3W 79x48 which starts at aroung $5K. You do get extra rip capacity though with the K3 at this size. (48 instead of 33)

I'm also very pleased with the transport mechanism the Hammer machines have. Rock solid on the ground until you use the lifting bar, then it's effortless to move around a 600-800lb machine on concrete. Much better than any base that uses swivel type casters.

I believe that the Hammer machines have negotiable pricing or combo discounts while the Grizzly models have fixed pricing so that's something else to keep in mind. I'm a big fan of the used market but it has just been rough finding a compact slider for all the ones I see are too big and require a hefty rotary phase converter.

I really wish I could compare using the machines side by side, but it's just not going to happen. If i'm shopping for a saw only, it would be a no brainer to go with the K3W, though the extra $2k you'll have if you buy the grizzly makes the decision more difficult. $2K could buy a shaper, a small festool collection, cyclone, the list goes on...

[Richard Coers]

"and Shiraz said in another post that the G0623X comes from the same factory that produces their best bandsaws."

Can you direct me to that post? Did he mention which band saws come from which factory?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Kirk, I have the Hammer B3 Winner with the 49" slider and scoring.

Having mechanical scoring isn't an issue, when you don't use, you lower it below the table.

I can use a 10" (250mm) blade with a scoring blade mounted (scoring blade is 80mm diameter), or a 315 mm (12 inch) blade without the scoring saw mounted.

You would want a Hammer K3 which is the sliding table saw, the B3 has a shaper built in.

My saw has a crosscut capacity large enough to crosscut a sheet of plywood, if you need more slider travel you'll need the larger sizes.

http://www.hammerusa.com/us-us/video/hammer-k3-winner.html

Watch the above video and PM with any questions, I've cleaned up my inbox.........Rod.

P.S. Watch this video also, just ignore the shaper parts.

http://www.hammerusa.com/us-us/video/hammer-b3-winner.html

[Gary Curtis]

I owned the General 350 saw with their bolt-on slider. I kept it for 3 years then sold it. A slider has more capacity than a home hobbyist typically needs.
I researched this topic before my purchase and after. There are no books that give tutorials on sliders. Kelly Mehler owns a Felder. And Mark Duginske does too. I took a class with Mark at the Felder showroom. Both of them write textbooks on WWing machinery. But they've written little about a slider, and there is much to learn. Calibration of the machinery is a topic in itself.

Here's my summary of sliders. They are great if you are doing production volume work. Probably necessary for that. They are great if you are doing a lot of crosscutting. But they have few advantages over a cabinet saw for ripping.

They are safer than a cabinet saw. If you are cutting up sheets of plywood, the slider bears the weight of the wood through the cut. Nice. But, as in my case, if you want to slice up 4x8 sheets of ply, you will need a very big machine. But, as another poster here mentioned, I see used sliders on Craigslist every week (in Los Angeles) and many more on eBay. Sorry, I have no experience with scoring blades. My local plywood dealer here with an Altendorff wasn't real excited about scoring. He felt a sharp blade did almost as good a job.

[John P Clark]

I have a Hammer k3 with the winner package - 78 in sliding table, scoring blade, and a 4.5 hp motor. The scoring blade is run off of the main motor, and it is easily adjustable, so when you do not need it, you can adjust it downward. I would look at the saw any day over the grizzly, it is a little more, but it is the last saw I will ever need. You can also get a dado blade and insert for it.

[Mike Wilkins]

I have owned a Laguna Pro 6 foot sliding table saw since March 2009, and it has been a great machine. Check the website for the specs, but it does have a seperate motor for the scoring saw, multiple adjustment capabilities, and lots of power. The sliding table is 63" and is enough for me. I would be unable to handle a slider with an 8 foot or longer sliding table, due to the size of my shop (16 X 24). This machine is a 1000 pound beast, and I have been very satisfied with it. I did the normal progression of tablesaws like many others, from an el-cheapo tabletop machine, an old Delta/Milwaukee 8" saw, Craftsman contractors, to finally a Delta/Rockwell Unisaw, which I sold after the Laguna arrived. You will love the capabilities of a slider, although there is a learning curve from the usual cabinet-type saws you were used to.

[Steve Ryan]

My local plywood dealer here with an Altendorff wasn't real excited about scoring. He felt a sharp blade did almost as good a job.

Very true. I have a 25+ year old Altendorff with the shim type scoring adjustment. Pain in the butt to adjust it to be perfect. Also have a much newer Altendorf Elmo with the "easy" scoring adjustment. Still a pain, but smaller pain. Only used scoreing a little bit before we found that a good blade is much faster. Also safer because you really cannot see the scoring blade when it is spinning, and you really need to hang on to smaller pieces because the scoring blade will push them forward when you cut.

[David Kumm]

hAVE YOU SEEN THE fELDER K15 ON WOODWEB? Dave

[Kirk Duff]

I did the normal progression of tablesaws like many others, from an el-cheapo tabletop machine, an old Delta/Milwaukee 8" saw, Craftsman contractors, to finally a Delta/Rockwell Unisaw,



Mike you have hit the Nail on the head for me. I'm makeing the progression as you did and most of the people here have but with the Slider I'm trying to skip a step which is causeing me to over look quality for cost. I'm going right from contractor saw to slider.

I'm starting to think I should spend the money on a good cabinet saw with a exaktor slider see how things go then make the move to the saw I want instead of the one that will fit the foot print I have and a better budget for the right saw

Thanks for all the replies

[Rod Sheridan]

Kirk, in my opinion it's good to skip a step, and save money at the same time.

I wish I had skipped the cabinet saw step and gone straight to a small slider, especially now with the Hammer K3 less money than the cabinet saw I bought......Rod.