Curtis Myers
01-18-2015, 7:29 PM
After some internal debate I got a Sawstop sliding table on Friday for my Sawstop 3hp pro saw.
First impressions:
1. Way to much $$$!!!
2. Its a good bit heavier then I expected. The guy at Woodcraft brought it out to my truck on a cart. I think I read 85lbs
3. The fence is awesome, large, thick walled and heavy duty. The reason I got the Sawstop slider vise one of the competitors (Laguna, Grizzly, BusyBee etc...)
4. Overall quality seams very nice
5. The slider fence stops were not assembled properly where they egg shaped the nylon washers resulting is a non-90 degree to the blade (see picture)
6. The sliding table leg adjustments will prevent me from moving the table saw much. Unless you have an unusually flat floor the legs will need adjusted after moving the saw. The sliding table must be parallel and 0.010 to 0.020 higher then the saw table top per instructions.
7. The instructions indicate drilling holes to mount slider flush with the front of the saw. No need. The slider is pre-drills for regular mount (49" crosscut capacity) and for flush mount (37" crosscut capacity). They also have two sets of holes for relocating the on-off switch. The cavity in the slider allows for drilling and locating the switch how you want.
8. Options (as I see it) for cutting or relocating saw fence:
......a. cut about 11.5" off fence rectangle tube and angle iron
......b. relocate fence rectangle tube and angle iron to right and re-drill 6 holes
......c. relocate fence rectangle tube and angle iron to right to where three existing holes line up and re-drill three new holes (this is the one I did). The angle iron that holds the fence rectangle tube has two grooves for the miter slots. Align the left groove with the right miter slot and three of the holes line up. I still had to cut 1-3/8" off the fence rectangle tube and angle iron. I also gained ripping fence real-estate. Had a 36" saw ripping fence, Now I have a 49" ripping fence. The angle iron on the back of the table saw I did not have to cut. I did relocate it and drilled three hole like the front.
9. The fence does not have indents for any angle (not even 90deg). This is where my pause and internal debate stemmed from. My thought was to use the miter slots to true the sliding table fence when needed for 100% perfect 90deg cuts. Using a Starret square is challenging without using three hands. My plan is to make a jig. The jig will be similar to a small sled. Use UHMW for the miter slot and baltic berch for the sled base and sled fence. Use right hand to hold both fences together (creating a perfect 90deg) and the left hand to tighten the sliding table fence securely. So far it works perfect in theory. Have not built the alignment sled yet.
10. After using it a few times I think I like sliders. The degree markings are large and can get nearly perfect 90deg cuts just using the dial. The accuracy is as good as any miter gauge or even the Kapex I had. The aligning sled I mentioned above will the telling factor for me.
11. The instructions are lacking. Called Sawstop about the stops not being 90deg to blade and asked how to set the friction of the slider. Sawstop is sending me new stops and the instructions on how to set the slider friction.
The pieces on top of the saw is what I had to cut off the fence rectangle tube and angle iron (about 1-3/8")
304618
With this temp setup of the right table saw insert you can see the ripping real-estate I gained by moving the fence.
304619
304623
Sliders fence stops were not 90deg to blade due to washer crushed and egg shaped.
304620 304622
First impressions:
1. Way to much $$$!!!
2. Its a good bit heavier then I expected. The guy at Woodcraft brought it out to my truck on a cart. I think I read 85lbs
3. The fence is awesome, large, thick walled and heavy duty. The reason I got the Sawstop slider vise one of the competitors (Laguna, Grizzly, BusyBee etc...)
4. Overall quality seams very nice
5. The slider fence stops were not assembled properly where they egg shaped the nylon washers resulting is a non-90 degree to the blade (see picture)
6. The sliding table leg adjustments will prevent me from moving the table saw much. Unless you have an unusually flat floor the legs will need adjusted after moving the saw. The sliding table must be parallel and 0.010 to 0.020 higher then the saw table top per instructions.
7. The instructions indicate drilling holes to mount slider flush with the front of the saw. No need. The slider is pre-drills for regular mount (49" crosscut capacity) and for flush mount (37" crosscut capacity). They also have two sets of holes for relocating the on-off switch. The cavity in the slider allows for drilling and locating the switch how you want.
8. Options (as I see it) for cutting or relocating saw fence:
......a. cut about 11.5" off fence rectangle tube and angle iron
......b. relocate fence rectangle tube and angle iron to right and re-drill 6 holes
......c. relocate fence rectangle tube and angle iron to right to where three existing holes line up and re-drill three new holes (this is the one I did). The angle iron that holds the fence rectangle tube has two grooves for the miter slots. Align the left groove with the right miter slot and three of the holes line up. I still had to cut 1-3/8" off the fence rectangle tube and angle iron. I also gained ripping fence real-estate. Had a 36" saw ripping fence, Now I have a 49" ripping fence. The angle iron on the back of the table saw I did not have to cut. I did relocate it and drilled three hole like the front.
9. The fence does not have indents for any angle (not even 90deg). This is where my pause and internal debate stemmed from. My thought was to use the miter slots to true the sliding table fence when needed for 100% perfect 90deg cuts. Using a Starret square is challenging without using three hands. My plan is to make a jig. The jig will be similar to a small sled. Use UHMW for the miter slot and baltic berch for the sled base and sled fence. Use right hand to hold both fences together (creating a perfect 90deg) and the left hand to tighten the sliding table fence securely. So far it works perfect in theory. Have not built the alignment sled yet.
10. After using it a few times I think I like sliders. The degree markings are large and can get nearly perfect 90deg cuts just using the dial. The accuracy is as good as any miter gauge or even the Kapex I had. The aligning sled I mentioned above will the telling factor for me.
11. The instructions are lacking. Called Sawstop about the stops not being 90deg to blade and asked how to set the friction of the slider. Sawstop is sending me new stops and the instructions on how to set the slider friction.
The pieces on top of the saw is what I had to cut off the fence rectangle tube and angle iron (about 1-3/8")
304618
With this temp setup of the right table saw insert you can see the ripping real-estate I gained by moving the fence.
304619
304623
Sliders fence stops were not 90deg to blade due to washer crushed and egg shaped.
304620 304622