New General 50-560 Sliding Table Saw - Interesting

[Jim Becker]

I noticed an ad in the back of Woodshop News this past week for a new table saw from General, the Model 50-560 (http://www.general.ca/pagemach/machines/50560a.html)...which is a heavy cabinet saw with a beside-the-blade sliding wagon, riving knife and scoring system. Perhaps we'll start to see more of this kind of thing going forward. That would be good for the market. Very interesting and it could be just the ticket for someone who wants the precision of a Format-type slider for cross cutting and the heavy traditional ripping capability of a cabinet saw. I hope I'll get to see one of these at a show sometime to actually examine the sliding mechanism.

http://www.general.ca/machines/gi/50/50560.jpg

[Jim O'Dell]

I just showed LOML the picture and said that it would be a nice saw. She looked at me and said she wanted some cabinets first. And that I'd be dead before I got my shop finished. Guess she knows me pretty good, huh? :D
Did it show any price tag? Jim. (Well, a guy has to be able to dream doesn't he??:D)

[Bruce Page]

That's pretty cool. I'd like to see one up close myself.
I wonder if it comes with a granite top...:D

[Christof Grohs]

Too bad it's General International and not Canadian made...probably the deal breaker for me :(

[Rafael Carias]

I seen this by coincidence while browsing General's website.

The trend is catching on, Rikon also has a hybrid slider which incorporates a swing arm and an outrigger but it has the traditional fence, the General by contrast does not have an outrigger but does have a European style fence.

[Jim Becker]

Rafael, I suspect the lack of outrigger is because this is a short slider designed for cross-cut work. Outriggers are primarily to provide proper support to full sheet goods since hanging the weight out from the machine is like a big lever.

[Rafael Carias]

Jim, Sorry I didn't mean to knock on the general saw.

I suspect the same thing about the lack of an outrigger but it would be nice to have support if your cross cutting full 8' rips and of course when not working with long rips its always possible to pop off the out rigger and shrink away the swing arm, that is if that option is available.

Who knows maybe general will offer a version with an out rigger which would be nice.

Give the choice i'd probably grab the general saw

[Jim Becker]

Jim, Sorry I didn't mean to knock on the general saw.

I was puzzled when you said this...I certainly didn't see any knock anywhere! I was just clarifying what I saw as a design/feature point. :)

You bring up a good point about the outrigger being useful for crosscutting wide rips. Honestly, I tend to break down solid stock (in rough form after a skim-plane to see grain and color) at the CMS. I only put my outrigger on the slider when I need to support wide and heavy stock, such as sheets. It's a space thing in my shop...

[Rafael Carias]

No problem Jim.

It would be nice to see an outrigger option.

[Gary Herrmann]

Too bad it's General International and not Canadian made...probably the deal breaker for me :(

Kinda have my own version - General 650 + Jessem slider + Bies splitter + excalibur dc. I'm sure the GI version will be nice too.

[frank shic]

it doesn't look like it'll handle full 4x8 sheets too easily although it does have the crosscut capacity at 55" in front of the blade. love that blade guard with the dust collection port attached right to it!

[Jeffrey Makiel]

If this saw is targeting the serious home hobbyist, I can understand why it may not handle full size sheet goods. I believe most home shops are very space limited. Or, not willing to give this space up when a circular saw and guide can break down sheet stock to manageable size. This is especially true for basement shops that have difficulty getting materials into the shop.

The industry must be monitoring forums like this one. The advent of economical tablesaws with built in sliders and riving knives is evidence. Perhaps we will see manufacturers offering blade guards that incorporate better dust collection.

-Jeff :)

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Upon carefully lookin' at the picture Jim provided, I noticed that the blade appears to tilt to the right. I have a right tilt saw now, and would have no desire to buy another right tilting saw. It seems that most of the other new saw models are going with left tilt too.

-Jeff :)

[J. Greg Jones]

Upon carefully lookin' at the picture Jim provided, I noticed that the blade appears to tilt to the right. I have a right tilt saw now, and would have no desire to buy another right tilting saw. It seems that most of the other new saw models are going with left tilt too.

-Jeff :)

Right-tilt appears to be the preferred system for European-style sliding table saws. The work-piece on the slider is not trapped under beveled cuts with a right-tilt blade.

[Jim Becker]

Upon carefully lookin' at the picture Jim provided, I noticed that the blade appears to tilt to the right. I have a right tilt saw now, and would have no desire to buy another right tilting saw. It seems that most of the other new saw models are going with left tilt too.

No slider...left tilt would be my choice. But with a slider, you want the right tilt so that the "back side" of a bevel is on the waste side of the cut.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Sounds reasonable. But the General International model has a scoring blade that I'm guessing will address the backside kerf quality issue.

As far as binding, I think it's better to trap a board being beveled with a sliding table rather than trapping a board being ripped. I attribute my opinion to the fact that a slider provides improved error free guided movement, while a rip cut is more 'free hand' requiring the operator to maintain pressure against the fence while feeding. Also, I would envision that the sliding table would moslty be used for sheetgoods which are inherently more stable than solid stock being ripped (i.e., the release of internal stresses).

-Jeff :)

[Stan Welborn]

I like the looks of the General over the Rikon offering. The sliding carriage is right beside the blade where as the Rikon looks to be a replacement for the left wing.

[John Gornall]

This Canadian Delta sales flyer shows a Delta tablesaw with slider and scoring cutter at 5000.00.

Page 2 on the far left: http://www.houseoftools.com/content/houseoftoolscom/Flyers/DeltaSpringFlyer2007.pdf

[Mike Wilkins]

Saw the same ad in Woodshop News, and sent General an email requesting additional info and retailers in the area. Never got a response.
While in the Woodworking Shop Store in Raleigh, NC last week, I inquired about this saw as they used to sell General. I was told that they and the local Woodcraft no longer carry General machinery. The sales guy stated that General concentrates on the industrial market a lot now. Seems a shame as this company has long been thought of as a good company with good products. I hope they don't abandon the hobby/small shop market as I have had my eye on some General tools for a while.
Lets hope.

[Mike Goetzke]

I know I'll get bashed for this, but, that looks alot like the sliding table concept on my first TS:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/BT3100%20Sale/th_smt.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/BT3100%20Sale/smt.jpg)

[Gary Curtis]

The saw in my shop is a General 350 with a sliding table. The saw itself is made in Canada, while the slider and components are from China. Having a sliding table that bolts onto a cabinet saw presents some compromises, particularly with cutting capacity.

It is interesting that the General company has not shown much interest in promoting this product. Before the recent price hike, the cost for mine including an optional 5hp motor, was about $2900. I always wondered if even that modest cost put off a lot of amateur buyers. A pro would want bigger piece of equipment and would lean to one of the European Format saws (Mini-Max, Knapp, Felder).

But limited to the scope of projects for which it was designed, it sure enables a person to knock out work fast. And reasonably accurate. This new one is even smaller than mine, so it is definitely aimed at a user who is considering the Jessem.

Gary Curtis:)

[Jim Becker]

I know I'll get bashed for this, but, that looks alot like the sliding table concept on my first TS:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/BT3100%20Sale/th_smt.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/BT3100%20Sale/smt.jpg)

The Ryobi did have it's "miter slider" closer to the blade than most after market sliders for the larger saws, but there is still a bit of space there that could get in the way of some operations. And I'm sure you'll agree that its capacity is somewhat limited purely due to size and mass. But kudos to them for putting this kind of utility on a portable machine! There was not a lot of competition in that space that showed any boldness as Ryobi did with their design.

[keith ouellette]

I would be weary of any sliding table without a good demo first. I had one and it did not work well at all. I felt the design was poor and the adjustments were very course. The general looks like a different set up though. I get by with a home made cross cut sled that runs along the miter slot. Doesn't that have the same effect.

[Joe Spear]

Unfortunately, the Rikon doesn't have a riving knife, just a regular splitter.

[Jim Becker]

I would be weary of any sliding table without a good demo first. I had one and it did not work well at all. I felt the design was poor and the adjustments were very course. The general looks like a different set up though.

They appear to be using a Euro type bearing setup for the sliding wagon...that's a good sign, IMHO.

[Mike Goetzke]

The Ryobi did have it's "miter slider" closer to the blade than most after market sliders for the larger saws, but there is still a bit of space there that could get in the way of some operations. And I'm sure you'll agree that its capacity is somewhat limited purely due to size and mass. But kudos to them for putting this kind of utility on a portable machine! There was not a lot of competition in that space that showed any boldness as Ryobi did with their design.

I had a Ryobi of some sort for almost 20 years. Paid $450 for the first one and $120 for my last. I built mine into a cabinet and added a second set of rails to gain capacity. Now that the kids are getting older (maybe me too) and I have more shop time I bought a Uni. What a difference, but, besides a sliding table my Ryobi had a riving knife and my Uni doesn't.

Mike

[Joe Mioux]

anyone notice the fence? what is up with this?

[Jim Becker]

anyone notice the fence? what is up with this?

Looks like a normal Euro design fence from the picture...they are similar to a UniFence in design.

[Gary Curtis]

The fence is the typical European rip fence. By law (for safety considerations) the fence cannot extend back beyond the front half of the saw blade. I forget the exact limit point for the end.

It accomplishes what we try to achieve here by having the outfeed end of our fence toe out .005" or more.

Gary

[Fred Voorhees]

Being that I will be in the market for a new cabinet saw in a few months, this could very well be an avenue that I might want to peruse down. Thanks Jim for the heads up.

[Jim Becker]

Being that I will be in the market for a new cabinet saw in a few months, this could very well be an avenue that I might want to peruse down. Thanks Jim for the heads up.
Oh, man...does that mean we're going to be carting a cabinet saw up those stairs and into your shop?? Oy! :eek: :o :p :) :D

[Fred Voorhees]

Oh, man...does that mean we're going to be carting a cabinet saw up those stairs and into your shop?? Oy! :eek: :o :p :) :D

We'll get it up there.........no matter what.:o

[Gary Curtis]

When getting excited by sliding table saw, look carefully at the specifications. As I mentioned earlier, I own a General 350 with a sliding table. The publications specifications leave out a critical number that you need to know.

Specifically, what capacity does the slider offer in front of the blade. European sliding tables publish that specification. Other manufacturers don't.

This new model General I don't believe will crosscut a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Mine certainly won't. That's not a big deal if you have a Festool plunge saw and guiderail. But like most folks, I had stars in my eyes and imagined a machine that would do it all. A sliding table saw capable of crosscutting full sheetgoods is a really large machine. One capable of ripping the same sheet, is a monster.

Gary Curtis