Tool Selection

[Shawn Siegrist]

I've been building cabinets and furniture for family and friends for years and have decided to start selling my cabinets and furniture. I currently have a Rigid 10" hybrid table saw, 6" jointer, and drill press. The table saw is only 1 1/2 hp and bogs down under a heavy load. I'm thinking about purchasing a powermatic 2000 series table saw or a steel city 35680 3 hp or 35626 5 hp table saw. The powermatic saws are $1000.00 more than the steel city, are they worth the extra money? Does anyone see any reason to go with a different jointer and drill press? I'm thinking about purchasing a Rikon 14" bandsaw, the sales person at woodcraft recommended it over the Jet or Powermatic bandsaw. Any thoughts on that?

Thank you,
Shawn

[Prashun Patel]

I'd probably get a 17" or better bandsaw.

[John Thompson]

I'm thinking about purchasing a powermatic 2000 series table saw or a steel city 35680 3 hp or 35626 5 hp table saw. The powermatic saws are $1000.00 more than the steel city, are they worth the extra money?.......

IMO... no. You get a riving knife and built on casters with the PM which are nice but not worth the extra $1 K. I just sold a Uni-saw to get the Steel City 5 HP which has larger and wider spaced trunnion castings than anything I've seen.. including Saw-stop. The tolerances as just as good also.

Monday I had 2000 linear feet of milled and air dryed pecan (hickory) delivered to me to straight edge.. rip and surface for a client. I ran the 5 HP in two hour spurts all day on Monday (changed from one Amana 20 tooth blade to another sharp one at 1000 linear feet) and it didn't burp with 4/4 (1") to 12/4 (2 1/2") stock and hickory is tough stuff.

I would agree to move up to a 17" BS if your budget affords. I have the Ridgid 15" DP currently (getting the SC 17") and it is fine for most applications.

Good luck...

Sarge..

[scott spencer]

Hi Shawn - The PM2000 is a well respected saw with some nice features, but the bargain hunter in me winces at the prospect of paying $1000 extra for a Taiwanese made saw. What it offers beyond most 10" cabinet saws is a 30" deep table vs the standard 27", a riving knife vs a splitter, and a built in mobile base. I think I'd put some of the money saved on a bigger jointer. Grizzly offers the G0605X for < $2200 shipped that offers several comparable advantages, and has a 5hp motor and 12" blade. It does not have a built in mobile base that I'm aware of.

Only you can decide what saw is really best for your venture, but there are several excellent choices available. I wouldn't necessarily take a saleperson's word. The used market is an option. Good luck!

[Greg Cole]

Not knowing the full arsenal of tools you have.... do you have a planer or jointer? Bandsaw? Dust collector? Making things without a timeline you can kind of work around not having a "full arsenal" but if you're building for customers, time is always an issue & working around not having a certain tool eats alot of time (and effort).
I'd be more apt to add to the collection if I didn't have one of the above before upgrading.
I just got a Steel City 3HP cabinet saw a couple weeks ago after using a General Int'l contractor saw for @ 5 years. Good machine by all accounts, but not nearly the machine of a full on cabinet saw.
If I was to part with $ for a PM it wouldn't be a PM2000.

Greg

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Shawn, I have a general 650 saw, and think it's about the best of the traditional cabinet saws.

If I was going to buy a cabinet saw now, it would be the Saw Stop, simply for the safety feature.

That said, I am considering replacing my 650 with a Hammer K3 Comfort sliding table saw or a B3 Winner Comfort Sliding saw/shaper.

There isn't anything wrong with a cabinet saw, aside from the saftey features, a 70 year old design, and the difficulty of cross cutting panels.

Once you've looked at a European sliding saw, the cabinet saw looks pretty poor in comparison.

I purchased a Hammer A3-31 combination 12" jointer/planer to replace separate high end stationary jointer and planer. The cut quality, and reduced noise of the Hammer is amazing, not to mention the fact that I now have a 12" jointer/planer in the space formerly occupied by just my 8" jointer.

You can also get European combination machines that incorporate the sliding tablesaw/shaper and jointer/planer into one unit. A horizontal slot mortiser can be added which gives you a five function machine, with incredible features and performance. All that's missing is a drill press, bandsaw and good dust collector.

Don't overlook a good collector such as an Oneida cyclone.

Other European manufacturers are Felder and Mini Max, who make excellent machinery as well.

I suggest you check the Felder USA website, once you logon and register you can download a video that's over an hour in length. It shows a Felder machine being used to make a desk. Very informative. It will open your eyes to what cabinetmakers and hobby people are using in areas other than North America.

Mini Max probably have the same sort of demo videos.

Regards, Rod.














Regards, Rod.

[Ray Schafer]

Shawn,

I have a Unisaw. I am very happy with it. ... but I have to say that having a Sawstop would really make me and my wife feel a lot safer. If you are going to be doing a lot of woodworkiing, I suggest that you seriously consider it.

Ray