Sliding Table On Table Saw

[Paul Douglass]

Are sliding tables on a table saw worth having? I see these once in a while and they look like they would be a nice addition but how do they work when cutting large sheet stock? Does the table lock in place? I was looking at this saw in particular.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/tls/289069283.html

[Paul Johnstone]

My guess is that you have to remove the sliding table (or part of it) when doing large sheet goods.. Wouldn't it get in the way otherwise?

It seems like it would be great for crosscutting shelves to identical lengths, and other tasks that you'd normally do with a tablesaw sled.

[Mark Hubler]

Good info here http://benchmark.20m.com/reviews/DeltaSlidingTable/delta_sliding_table_review.html . Delta made the original, and there is a Grizzly copy. These can cross-cut 36" wide with the fence in the rear position and 24" with the fence in the forward position.

[Rick Lizek]

Typically they do lock. I wouldn't remove it to work sheet goods. That's the whole reason to have it. Of course if one isn't used to the idea it's a bit awkward but I've been using sliders in commercial shops since 73 so to me a saw without a slider is only half a saw. The one pictured in Craigs List is an add on slider. European sliders are typically from 4' to 12' travel lengths. Excalibur, Exactor, Laguna, Jessem and a few others make add on sliders.

[Ted Miller]

There are great for sheet stock but can eat up some serious space if you only cut a few sheets here and there...

[frank shic]

ted's got it right. i started with the delta sliding table which worked pretty well but i found that the fence had to be re-aligned constantly and the carriage was much too small for crosscutting a full sheet of plywood which requires a stroke of at least 48". i have recently upgraded to an exaktor 60" sliding table and am seriously loving it! not only can you crosscut an entire sheet widthwise and thus eliminate the extra step of cutting it down with a circular saw but setting the fence is fairly easy even if you have to remove it. i have positioned the fence in the rear position approximately 1" away from the blade so that i can still perform finish rips. keep in mind that even with the sliding table pushed all the way back, you can still rip at least up to four feet without interference and without having to remove the fence.

the increased safety and ease of squaring stock is well worth the measly $500 i bought it for off of craigslist. the main drawback is the enormous amount of static space it eats up. if you're going to be building mostly cabinets and can spare the space, i highly recommend the exaktor, otherwise the jessem slider seems to be the best option for those on a more limited space. someone mentioned repeated crosscutting which is a definite plus with a sliding table - clamp a piece of scrap on your rip fence (don't forget to account for the width in your measurements!!!) and you just slide, push and repeat until you've got all your parts. for speed, accuracy and convenience, there is simply no comparison between a sliding table versus a guided circular saw system.

[Paul Douglass]

thanks for the info. I think I will pass on the sliding table, I am just a hobbiest...