Midrange Table Saw Advice

[John McKissick]

Currently using Bosch jobsite saw with gravity rise stand, great tool but need bigger table/rip capacity.
115V and mobility to move in and out of garage over a 1" threshold are limiting factors. Trying to keep price under $2k but the Sawstop may creep over a bit.

I have done enough research starting to confuse myself so I thought it time to consult the experts.

Sawstop contractor 36" T-glide with either mobile base
Powermatic 64B adding a mobile base
Jet Proshop II 30" adding a mobile base

My question is, beyond the specs, of these choices what should I be aware of in actual use that might help me decide?
Sawstop seems to have the best growth potential but they don't allow the use of router extension and mobility base, at least from the factory.
Powermatic seems to be the most robust although I really don't know

What is important to me is of course fence accuracy and ease of use. Probably want to have a router table extension soon. Made one for my current jobsite saw.

I read some news Sawstop business is being or has been sold so long term viability of the company seems questionable.

Any other models to move higher up on my list, Grizzly, Delta which seems to have a good deal of negative reviews?

Thanks for helping a newebie to the forum

[Darcy Warner]

Sawstop was bought by festools parent company.

They actually have a new portable saw coming soon

[John McKissick]

Festools sounds like a sound parent company.

Any links on the new saw specs or availability date? Not ready to buy right now so a few months wait is okay

[Stan Calow]

Sawstop does offer a mobile base for the contractor saw. Do you mean something else?

[Frank Pratt]

How big is the door to the garage? A contractor has the motor hanging out the back & will need to be removed to get it through anything less than a double door. How about a hybrid saw?

[William Chain]

You'll do fine with any of those selections with a proper setup and tune. Buy yourself a nice saw gauge if you do not already have one, and carefully align the slots to the blade, and then the fence, and you'll be just fine. Your selections are limited by your imposed voltage requirement, but there are options.

Do you have anywhere to go and see any of these options in the flesh? See what you like. There are mobile base solutions available from third parties to suit your needs as well.

[John McKissick]

You can get either mobile base but when you configure it on the website both the outfeed option and the router extension are disabled when either base is selected. Options are a little different with the cabinet version. I have a question to Sawstop on it, still waiting.


Sawstop does offer a mobile base for the contractor saw. Do you mean something else?

[John McKissick]

My door is quite wide, double sliding doors about 12 feet wide

[John McKissick]

Not really in practice especially new.


You'll do fine with any of those selections with a proper setup and tune. Buy yourself a nice saw gauge if you do not already have one, and carefully align the slots to the blade, and then the fence, and you'll be just fine. Your selections are limited by your imposed voltage requirement, but there are options.

Do you have anywhere to go and see any of these options in the flesh? See what you like. There are mobile base solutions available from third parties to suit your needs as well.

[Frank Pratt]

With that threshold, you might need to fabricate or modify a mobile base with really large casters, like 6" or so. most mobile bases have small wheels that would have problems with a 1" hump in the floor.

[Prashun Patel]

I own the Sawstop PCS (not contractor) and have owned the Jet Proshop (1).

Sawstop PCS: Besides the safety features, here's a couple things you might not think of:
- The price of the brakes and new blades can add up. I've tripped mine 3 times, each time contacting my aluminum miter fence. Trips are inconvenient and at least $100 each time - and that's if you don't use pricey blades.
- The dust collection is very good.
- The riving knife is very easy to change.
- I do not use my blade guard. Not because I am lazy, but I find it inconvenient. The pawls get in the way and can damage the work. Bad reason, but it's true.

Jet Proshop
- I loved this saw. The enclosed base made it really a mini cabinet saw. The dust collection was great - especially when I put a Sharkguard on it. I found this set up better than the Sawstop at dust collection. I liked the Sharkguard better than the Sawstop.
- At 1.75hp, it would occasionally bog down in +2" hardwood. Multiple passes were necessary. Not a big deal if it's infrequent. I appreciate the power of the PCS now.

[John McKissick]

Great info, just the type e of input I was looking for. Thanks


I own the Sawstop PCS (not contractor) and have owned the Jet Proshop (1).

Sawstop PCS: Besides the safety features, here's a couple things you might not think of:
- The price of the brakes and new blades can add up. I've tripped mine 3 times, each time contacting my aluminum miter fence. Trips are inconvenient and at least $100 each time - and that's if you don't use pricey blades.
- The dust collection is very good.
- The riving knife is very easy to change.
- I do not use my blade guard. Not because I am lazy, but I find it inconvenient. The pawls get in the way and can damage the work. Bad reason, but it's true.

Jet Proshop
- I loved this saw. The enclosed base made it really a mini cabinet saw. The dust collection was great - especially when I put a Sharkguard on it. I found this set up better than the Sawstop at dust collection. I liked the Sharkguard better than the Sawstop.
- At 1.75hp, it would occasionally bog down in +2" hardwood. Multiple passes were necessary. Not a big deal if it's infrequent. I appreciate the power of the PCS now.

[Prashun Patel]

One more thing I'd add. The Proshop version 1 did not have a riving knife. That was ultimately the reason I upgraded from it. If it had one, I am not sure I would ever have needed to upgrade.

Sawstop is no better than any other saw with a riving knife at preventing kickback.

[Jerome Stanek]

I would not use a Sawstop on job sites that are open air as a little mist could trigger the brake. I have cut when there is just a lite rain falling

[William Chain]

I’m not quite sure what that comment means but I’m trying to help. I have a sawstop because I felt the replacement of a brake and blade ($200 total) was better than talking to an orthopedic surgeon.

Your cited options are from three leading manufacturers with fine offerings. Set them up right and you can’t make a bad choice on your list. Buy the right mobile base with large casters and you’ll clear your entryway.


Not really in practice especially new.

[Edward Dyas]

You could probably purchase a good used cabinet saw for as much or less than a new contractor saw would cost, especially if you are looking at sawstop. You alone can only tell if you really need a sawstop. If you are accident prone or you are teaching your kids to run a saw then a sawstop is probably a good idea. Most of us that have made a career out of woodworking has had to learn how to operate a saw safely without even a guard on the saw much less a saw with an automatic brake. I've been in the business for 46 years and have only seen one accident and this guy was so accident prone he shouldn't have be working with his hands at all.

Normally with used machinery you can tell just by looking at it whether it has had normal use or has been abused. As long as a machine has had reasonable care it will last. I've got machinery I use daily which I bought in 1972 and only the on/off switch needs to be repaired on one of them. The other is functionally like brand new.

I don't like Delta either. I've had a lot of issues with the quality of their equipment and way they have discontinued parts for much of their machinery. I needed parts for a planer that at the time wasn't even 10 years old and the parts were unavailable. The last straw was a grinder that only lasted two weeks. I could have taken it back but the time and gas would have cost more than the grinder was worth so I replaced it with a dollar store grinder that has lasted many years.

[Jim Andrew]

2nd on checking out c list or next tech classifieds for a table saw. Guess facebook has buy and sell sites in your area. If you follow the safety rules, you do not get your hands close enough to cut yourself with a table saw. I keep a push stick on my fence to be able to reach it at any time. Helps if you have had training on woodworking while in school. A cabinet saw is generally a higher quality machine than a contractors saw, and if you do not have to drag it to your job works great in a shop situation. I used to use a job site saw on the job, and have another saw in my home shop. That is, after I got too old and weak to drag a contractors saw around from job to job.

[John McKissick]

Oh, good to know. I usually move my saw out to the driveway so mist/light rain is possible. Might be a "show stopper".

Thanks Jerome


I would not use a Sawstop on job sites that are open air as a little mist could trigger the brake. I have cut when there is just a lite rain falling

[John McKissick]

Perhaps wrongly I have excluded cabinet saws due to their extra weight with my need to move saw over the 1" threshold to use it. I don't feel I need a Sawstop for safety as I work pretty safe but having that feature would sure help my conscience when my son used the saw. Everything I have read about so far about Sawstop was it is a great saw even without it's famous feature. Don't mind paying a little extra for quality especially in a durable equipment.

Accidental activations would get pretty costly with $80 cartridge and $50 or more blade

Thanks for your helpful reply


You could probably purchase a good used cabinet saw for as much or less than a new contractor saw would cost, especially if you are looking at sawstop. You alone can only tell if you really need a sawstop. If you are accident prone or you are teaching your kids to run a saw then a sawstop is probably a good idea. Most of us that have made a career out of woodworking has had to learn how to operate a saw safely without even a guard on the saw much less a saw with an automatic brake. I've been in the business for 46 years and have only seen one accident and this guy was so accident prone he shouldn't have be working with his hands at all.

Normally with used machinery you can tell just by looking at it whether it has had normal use or has been abused. As long as a machine has had reasonable care it will last. I've got machinery I use daily which I bought in 1972 and only the on/off switch needs to be repaired on one of them. The other is functionally like brand new.

I don't like Delta either. I've had a lot of issues with the quality of their equipment and way they have discontinued parts for much of their machinery. I needed parts for a planer that at the time wasn't even 10 years old and the parts were unavailable. The last straw was a grinder that only lasted two weeks. I could have taken it back but the time and gas would have cost more than the grinder was worth so I replaced it with a dollar store grinder that has lasted many years.

[John McKissick]

CL is a possibility and I did do a quick search and as usual posts lacked info I need, poor photos and my requirements are a little constraining. I haven't tried FB yet


2nd on checking out c list or next tech classifieds for a table saw. Guess facebook has buy and sell sites in your area. If you follow the safety rules, you do not get your hands close enough to cut yourself with a table saw. I keep a push stick on my fence to be able to reach it at any time. Helps if you have had training on woodworking while in school. A cabinet saw is generally a higher quality machine than a contractors saw, and if you do not have to drag it to your job works great in a shop situation. I used to use a job site saw on the job, and have another saw in my home shop. That is, after I got too old and weak to drag a contractors saw around from job to job.

[Larry Frank]

I read this comment and really wondered-

"I don't feel I need a Sawstop for safety as I work pretty safe but having that feature would sure help my conscience when my son used the saw."

if my son was using the saw, it would be a SawStop and I would be teaching him safety, safety,safety.

[Todd Bender]

If there's any way to get 230v in your shop, do it.

[justin sherriff]

have you looked at a mobile base like the rockler all terrain base?
https://www.rockler.com/rockler-all-terrain-mobile-base-holds-up-to-800-lbs

[Edward Dyas]

That's it in a nutshell. If anyone else is using your saw then sawstop is probably a good idea. I think if I still had employees I would probably invest in sawstop even though it's scary that they might someday discontinue the brake for that model. I've never seen a sawstop up close. I don't know if the brake could be disposed of and the saw used like any other saw so I can only speculate.

[William Chain]

With the exception of some of the really big saws (model CB, which use a clear cartridge), there is only one cartridge (blue cartridge) for 10" blades and one cartridge for 8" dado stacks for the JSS, CNS, PCS, ICS. Uniformity in parts is sort of a critical business viability thing. The cartridges aren't going anywhere.


That's it in a nutshell. If anyone else is using your saw then sawstop is probably a good idea. I think if I still had employees I would probably invest in sawstop even though it's scary that they might someday discontinue the brake for that model. I've never seen a sawstop up close. I don't know if the brake could be disposed of and the saw used like any other saw so I can only speculate.

[Charles P. Wright]

Accidental activations would get pretty costly with $80 cartridge and $50 or more blade

I've had a saw stop for 5 years or so, never any trip [false or otherwise]. Everyone's work practices differ, but I usually use either the stock miter gauge or an incra sled, where you can see the cut line and if you extend over it, then it would be pretty obvious.

[Frank Pratt]

I would not use a Sawstop on job sites that are open air as a little mist could trigger the brake. I have cut when there is just a lite rain falling

I wouldn't use any cast iron machine anywhere there was mist in the air.

[Tom Trees]

An option if the machine might be in the mist is one of those Harvey/Deft machines with the TIN coating which is titanium nitride or something close.
It's the gold you see on drill bits.
They look pretty good and not too heavy with a sheet metal base, riving knife, arbor that will take dado blades if you specify it, miter slot each side of the blade.
I think they are only 10" though.
Maybe there are other suppliers of these machines over there, guessing they would have the TIN coating but unsure?

Tom

[John McKissick]

I hadn't seen that yet. Looks interesting


have you looked at a mobile base like the rockler all terrain base?
https://www.rockler.com/rockler-all-terrain-mobile-base-holds-up-to-800-lbs

[John McKissick]

There is always a way with enough money. Not particularly practical


If there's any way to get 230v in your shop, do it.

[glenn bradley]

I wouldn't use any cast iron machine anywhere there was mist in the air.

Too true. This is a perfect place to use an aluminum and plastic jobsite saw.

[Jim Dwight]

I bought a SawStop PCS 1.75hp saw with the 36 inch fence about a year ago and have not tripped it yet. I like it. It is heavy. I would not want to push it in and out of my shop onto the driveway. I weighs about 500 lbs. I've had several other table saws. The immediate predecessor was a Ryobi BT3100. I made a lot of furniture on it. I built a base for it and got the extension rails so I had about 5 foot of rip capacity. But later I decided a track saw and a smaller table saw make more sense for my little shop. I do not find the 1.75 hp to be a frequent issue. The only time I've tripped the overload it was due to the kerf closing up and pinching the blade. If I had shoved a wedge in to stop that it wouldn't have happened. I've ripped oak and hard maple up to about 2.75 inches thick without difficulty. You have to use a good blade for these kind of rips. I use full kerf and thin kerf blades about equally on it. 3 hp would be nice occasionally but I can make anything I need to with my 1.75 hp saw.

With a really good mobile base it might be possible to push a PCS around but a contractor saw seems more viable for this. Unfortunately that ends to mean a less sturdy top and at least the potential for more difficulties with accuracy. I considered the Rigid but got scared off by the reports that some change blade angle when you raise and lower the blade. Great mobility and dependable accuracy don't go easily together in table saws.

[Rick Potter]

If I had to run a table saw over a 1" threshold on a regular basis, I would just attach boards to the sides, stick axles through them and install some 8" (?) inflatable wheels from Harbor Freight on them at a point where the saw is off the ground 1 1/2". The tires should roll right over the impediment.

Simple 6" squares (donuts) of plywood with a 3" or so hole in the middle will keep it from moving around, yet easy to just roll off when needed. If steering is needed, I leave that up to you, I would just use a simple lever.

This all assumes you are not height challenged ;).

[John McKissick]

A custom cart is a consideration. Just put 5" wheels on a custom planer cart and that rolls over threshold nicely.


If I had to run a table saw over a 1" threshold on a regular basis, I would just attach boards to the sides, stick axles through them and install some 8" (?) inflatable wheels from Harbor Freight on them at a point where the saw is off the ground 1 1/2". The tires should roll right over the impediment.

Simple 6" squares (donuts) of plywood with a 3" or so hole in the middle will keep it from moving around, yet easy to just roll off when needed. If steering is needed, I leave that up to you, I would just use a simple lever.

This all assumes you are not height challenged ;).

[Doug Garson]

How hard would it be to make a temporary ramp to get over the 1 in threshold.

[Carl Beckett]

How hard would it be to make a temporary ramp to get over the 1 in threshold.

This is worth a thought. I had a garage with a lip for a long time (think they like it that way to ensure water drains out and away, and the inside of the garage is sloped towards teh door as well). I happened to find a piece of steel bar that was milled at a relatively shallow angle, and I just put that down when wanting to roll something in/out. It definitely helped.

At that time all of my tools were on casters, including an old school 12" jointer and a massive 24" belt sander (both of these had to be over 1000#). The jointer I could get over that lip if needed. The widbelt, no way I would try it because it was a bit top heavy. Quality heavy duty casters can move a lot of weight with ease.

My current combo machine is pretty heavy (again likely over 1000#). It is moved around on the 5" (??) casters and a johnson bar on the front. The johnson bar setup works well and once in place the weight of the machine sits on feet not casters, so it stays.

My recommendation is a johnson bar type setup, and a small ramp. Would be able to move it pretty easily.

That rockler base looks pretty straightforward. Would think with a small spacer ramp, and wheels the size on the rockler, you could roll pretty much any saw in/out so are not constrained on saw type.

(I have visited the ER due to a table saw injury, if I did not own a slider I would own a sawstop, especially if a child was going to use it - and agree teach safety)

[John McKissick]

It would be possible to do that but still not a trivial task getting a 350 pound cabinet saw over it. I am looking at the Rockler all terrain mobile base. Little pricey but looks to be exactly what I need and I am being drawn to the PM1000 saw.

https://www.rockler.com/rockler-all-terrain-mobile-base-holds-up-to-800-lbs



How hard would it be to make a temporary ramp to get over the 1 in threshold.

[John McKissick]

I have a planer cart I made that is well over 100 pounds. Regular 5" casters make it a snap to get in and out. The Johnson bar is a good idea I'll keep in mind but probably try without it first.

Not sure when I can pull the string on this purchase, life getting the way currently.

Thanks for your input



This is worth a thought. I had a garage with a lip for a long time (think they like it that way to ensure water drains out and away, and the inside of the garage is sloped towards teh door as well). I happened to find a piece of steel bar that was milled at a relatively shallow angle, and I just put that down when wanting to roll something in/out. It definitely helped.

At that time all of my tools were on casters, including an old school 12" jointer and a massive 24" belt sander (both of these had to be over 1000#). The jointer I could get over that lip if needed. The widbelt, no way I would try it because it was a bit top heavy. Quality heavy duty casters can move a lot of weight with ease.

My current combo machine is pretty heavy (again likely over 1000#). It is moved around on the 5" (??) casters and a johnson bar on the front. The johnson bar setup works well and once in place the weight of the machine sits on feet not casters, so it stays.

My recommendation is a johnson bar type setup, and a small ramp. Would be able to move it pretty easily.

That rockler base looks pretty straightforward. Would think with a small spacer ramp, and wheels the size on the rockler, you could roll pretty much any saw in/out so are not constrained on saw type.

(I have visited the ER due to a table saw injury, if I did not own a slider I would own a sawstop, especially if a child was going to use it - and agree teach safety)