Minimax s250 slider

[Michael J Evans]

Hi all
Doing my daily browse of used equipment I came across a old minimax s250 sliding table saw, at what I assume is a decent price. This appears to be a older machine as google doesn't have much info on it.
I currently have a old craftsman 113 that I want to upgrade from.
Can anyone give me any info on this saw and what to look for if I do go look at it? Im not in any rush to buy a saw, but It fits my budget at 500.

No experience with sliders never seen one in person. Not even sure if it would fit in the garage shop. I have a three car garage that I currently dedicate about 1.25 bays to woodworking but could expand Into my other space.

It appears to be 3hp/230v/60z

Any insight appreciate
Thanks
Michael.

[Phillip Mitchell]

$500? I’d be on the way to at least comb it over if it’s reasonably close. Do you know what sort of life / type of use it’s had up to this point? How long is the stroke of the slider?

I don’t have any experience with that model, but hopefully someone who does will come along. I’d imagine the main thing to look out for will be the mechanics / bearings / etc that make up the slide mechanism, if they’re worn, if they have adjustability, if you can find replacement parts. I have 2 old (green, late 70s era) SCM machines and I love them, but proprietary spare parts can be challenging to track down in a timely manner. SCM doesn’t really support their vintage machines at this point, though I have gotten a few useful parts diagrams and manual PDFs from them.

[Michael J Evans]

$500? I’d be on the way to at least comb it over if it’s reasonably close. Do you know what sort of life / type of use it’s had up to this point? How long is the stroke of the slider?


I have no idea of condition, length of stroke / any of it. The seller is about a hour away, so I will have to make a trip after work to look at it and then likely another trip with a rental trailer to pick it up. Hopefully it's not gone in the mean time.

Which brings me to a side note. I have a standard 6' pickup bed with canopy ( no trailer) can these says be semi quickly disassembled to fit in a pick up / make moving manageable for 1 person? I don't have any people locally who could help me move it, so it will be me, myself and I.

[Joe Hendershott]

I have no idea of condition, length of stroke / any of it. The seller is about a hour away, so I will have to make a trip after work to look at it and then likely another trip with a rental trailer to pick it up. Hopefully it's not gone in the mean time.

Which brings me to a side note. I have a standard 6' pickup bed with canopy ( no trailer) can these says be semi quickly disassembled to fit in a pick up / make moving manageable for 1 person? I don't have any people locally who could help me move it, so it will be me, myself and I.

I took delivery of a SC4e not long ago and would not not even imagine in my wildest dreams that it would go in a 6 foot truck bed. The crate mine was on would not fit on the semi tailgate and needed a forklift to unload.

Looking at Google it appears the 250 came in an eight foot and 5 foot wagon choice. This will impact the weight for sure. I did set up my 3e using an engine hoist and some other mechanical help. It took a full day to get it together and ready to go.

I mention this so you can get some scope on the job, you might be able to get it done faster/easier for sure but it is a heavy machine. I have seen people load a small pickup in many 'creative' ways though. To me it would warrant a rental truck or even better a low trailer.

[Erik Loza]

"If" it's the S250 I'm thinking of, that's a small-ish machine. the "250" in S250 is sawblade diameter in mm. That being said, the various US distributors in those days imported machines in all sorts of wacky configurations, so I def. would put eyes on it.

Regrading transport, get a trailer. It would require rigging from overhead to lift that thing out of a truck bed. At least a 2-person job in best case scenario. OP, be aware that spare parts will probably be unavailable. Older machines often are missing flip stops, fences, etc. Hope this helps,

Erik

[Jim Becker]

Here's a photo I found in an old "IRS Auction" listing from 2007...it may or may not be the same configuration as what you are considering.

https://www.irsauctions.com/auctions/00009678/bigpicts/57704A.jpg

[Michael J Evans]

Here's a photo I found in an old "IRS Auction" listing from 2007...it may or may not be the same configuration as what you are considering.

https://www.irsauctions.com/auctions/00009678/bigpicts/57704A.jpg

Jim very similar to the pictures I've seen of this one. Except this one has no overarm guard and it does not have the horizontal piece going across the slider with clamp.

[Jim Becker]

The clamps are somewhat an "accessory' as are many overarm guards. I think what's most important is if the machine is serviceable and not "beat to death", but even then, for a low price like that, I'd already be home with it. :)

[Michael J Evans]

Thanks Jim
Is the piece going horizontally across the sliding table the clamp?

[Michael J Evans]

Thanks Eric

[Phillip Mitchell]

I wouldn’t even consider trying to disassemble and load something like this into the back of a pickup. (Low) Trailers are vastly preferred by most for moving heavy/bulky equipment.

The problem with the truck bed is that you have to get it up in there without damaging the machine and/or your truck and that can be a real challenge in the absence of a forklift...and then you have to get it out when you get home, which is again a mechanical problem unless you have a forklift of cab drive directly under something like a chain hoist or you want to build a pretty stout ramp, which certainly can work but takes some time, effort and planning.

Trailers that are low to the ground are so much easier to load and unload and almost always easier and safer to position the machine and strap it down safely for transport.

I have a 1 ton DRW truck with a flat bed and still prefer moving heavy machinery with a trailer (either 4x8 tilt or 6x12) simply because I don’t typically have a hydraulic loader of any kind on the unloading end. I’ve moved machines up to around 2k pounds and about 9’ long with pallet jacks and/or black pipe and ramps from a low trailer on flat ground and while it still requires planning, some common sense and moving slowly, it’s way easier to deal with than getting heavy stuff out of a pick up without a loader or heavy duty chain hoist.

Is the machine 3 phase? Odds are that it is.

[Michael J Evans]

Doesn't matter now. Checked the Facebook listing to message the guy about going to look at it tonight and the listing says sold...
I had messaged him last night about it and he said he'd get back to me today lol. Guess it wasnt meant to be.

[Phillip Mitchell]

$500 for an SCM slider usually doesn’t stick around for long at all, even if it does need some TLC. There will always be another saw...and another after that :D