Bryan Hall
03-21-2022, 4:02 PM
During my Sawstop nightmare I was looking hard for my next saw. I was considering a Harvey, but wanted local support. I also considered a small combo machine from minimax, but again, not much for local support if I had an issue. Somehow, I have no clue, my search engine managed to pop up the Shop Fox 10" 5hp W1811 sliding table saw. Vendor being the most unlikely place I would have ever looked, Home Depot.
Grizzly lists this saw at $6600 delivered with a two year warranty. I was able to get it delivered from the Depot, with a 5 year warranty, for $3400! It was a pretty impulsive buy. I saw it, knew there would be limited quantity, so I just pulled the trigger and hoped for the best.
Shipping took about a month. I was pretty nervous, pallets were getting lost and sent all over the country, parts were stuck in snowstorms, the actual delivery got subcontracted out, it was a good test of patience. I was sure something would show up damaged, but no, it was all perfect.
Unboxing and assembly were smooth with just one person Nothing was too heavy or too hard to move around. Leveling the rip fence table and the outfeed table were probably the most time consuming/annoying part since you're crawling around on the floor for a bit. I really appreciated the full length power cord that came with the machine. I threw a brand new FS Tools blade in it.
Overall first impression upon completion of setup and general feel of the saw: The slider, a short stroke, is really nice. Very smooth, no issues, and extremely easy to calibrate. The fences, tapes, measurement dials are ho-hum. They work, but feel a bit clunky and inaccurate. Taking the riving knife in and out is a pain, and if you drop the arbor nut when changing the blade it goes straight into the dust chute below. It won't take much to cleanup and upgrade some of these items, others will be long term nuances to know and work around. I tried the 5 cut method and the 3 cut method to check for square cuts. Better accuracy than I've ever had before and it only took a few minutes to dial in.
First project:
I had a closet renovation on the books and the new saw was ready just in time. Walnut wall paneling, shelving, cabinets, and barn door. Essentially, it was going to have plenty of plywood panels to excel with, while also giving me a chance to evaluate how it would handle with smaller parts with the door and face frame build. Everything went extremely smoothly. I could tell right away why people like a full stroke. Doing full length rips on a plywood panel or even on solid stock would be nice. However, using it like a cabinet saw was no trouble whatsoever and I also have a very efficient setup for my tracksaw. That being said, the speed and accuracy with the slider was phenomenal. Cutting small and large parts in batches was quick, easy, and every single piece matched perfectly. The scoring blade did everything I could want of it and the veneer was flawless on rips and crosscuts. I had no trouble cutting the solid doors and they turned out beautifully as well.
Safety:
This is something I knew was going to be a benefit, but I didn't realize how much I'd notice it. Because of the way the slider is operated you really eliminate the finger amputation and kickback issues. You're always off to the side and once you've used a slider for a few days you start to realize how much safer you are. Even from a dust standpoint. Standing off to the side nothing is blowing up in your face when doing crosscut and rip operations. I leave the shop cleaner than before and get the feeling my lungs appreciate the additional layer of protection. Some overhead collection will be my first upgrade when the time is right.
All said and done I'm completely thrilled. I have no doubt that the European machines might have some nicer elements to them. However, for the price of $3400 with scoring blade and dado capability and a 5 year no questions asked materials and labor warranty I just don't think anything could have come close in price and/or service.
Grizzly lists this saw at $6600 delivered with a two year warranty. I was able to get it delivered from the Depot, with a 5 year warranty, for $3400! It was a pretty impulsive buy. I saw it, knew there would be limited quantity, so I just pulled the trigger and hoped for the best.
Shipping took about a month. I was pretty nervous, pallets were getting lost and sent all over the country, parts were stuck in snowstorms, the actual delivery got subcontracted out, it was a good test of patience. I was sure something would show up damaged, but no, it was all perfect.
Unboxing and assembly were smooth with just one person Nothing was too heavy or too hard to move around. Leveling the rip fence table and the outfeed table were probably the most time consuming/annoying part since you're crawling around on the floor for a bit. I really appreciated the full length power cord that came with the machine. I threw a brand new FS Tools blade in it.
Overall first impression upon completion of setup and general feel of the saw: The slider, a short stroke, is really nice. Very smooth, no issues, and extremely easy to calibrate. The fences, tapes, measurement dials are ho-hum. They work, but feel a bit clunky and inaccurate. Taking the riving knife in and out is a pain, and if you drop the arbor nut when changing the blade it goes straight into the dust chute below. It won't take much to cleanup and upgrade some of these items, others will be long term nuances to know and work around. I tried the 5 cut method and the 3 cut method to check for square cuts. Better accuracy than I've ever had before and it only took a few minutes to dial in.
First project:
I had a closet renovation on the books and the new saw was ready just in time. Walnut wall paneling, shelving, cabinets, and barn door. Essentially, it was going to have plenty of plywood panels to excel with, while also giving me a chance to evaluate how it would handle with smaller parts with the door and face frame build. Everything went extremely smoothly. I could tell right away why people like a full stroke. Doing full length rips on a plywood panel or even on solid stock would be nice. However, using it like a cabinet saw was no trouble whatsoever and I also have a very efficient setup for my tracksaw. That being said, the speed and accuracy with the slider was phenomenal. Cutting small and large parts in batches was quick, easy, and every single piece matched perfectly. The scoring blade did everything I could want of it and the veneer was flawless on rips and crosscuts. I had no trouble cutting the solid doors and they turned out beautifully as well.
Safety:
This is something I knew was going to be a benefit, but I didn't realize how much I'd notice it. Because of the way the slider is operated you really eliminate the finger amputation and kickback issues. You're always off to the side and once you've used a slider for a few days you start to realize how much safer you are. Even from a dust standpoint. Standing off to the side nothing is blowing up in your face when doing crosscut and rip operations. I leave the shop cleaner than before and get the feeling my lungs appreciate the additional layer of protection. Some overhead collection will be my first upgrade when the time is right.
All said and done I'm completely thrilled. I have no doubt that the European machines might have some nicer elements to them. However, for the price of $3400 with scoring blade and dado capability and a 5 year no questions asked materials and labor warranty I just don't think anything could have come close in price and/or service.