After hours of internet searching I'm now convinced that a slider is the way to go, and that we are in the early stages of a trend that will have us all using them before too long. Personally, at 68 years old, I can't wait!
I registered on the Felder site and got a phone call about some deep discounts on the Hammer K3 machines, sales person emailed me some useful info and they're sending me catalogs. It was good to make the contact and learn about their aggressive marketing to exactly the likes of me -- serious hobbyist, retirement age, ready and able to buy quality for the joy of it, and adventuresome to transition to a euro style table saw.
Grizzly G0623X versus the Hammer K3 models-- no doubt that Felder/Hammer quality has got to surpass Grizzly (though I wonder whether Grizzly's quality would still satsify), but my dilemma right now is not so much about that, or even about the cost. My problem is what length sliding table to aim for. Clearly the longer ones are more useful, both for sheet goods and ripping rough lumber, but I'm not a production woodworker and I wonder whether most of the time the long table would be in my way. After all, for sheet goods, like most of us, I've typically cut them down roughly with a hand held circular saw first, then brought them to the table saw. For the amount of casework I'll be doing, I won't mind doing that if the slider is too short to cut full sheets, and I'd still enjoy all the other benefits of the slider. For ripping lumber longer than the slider, one of the videos I've seen shows a plywood sled for rips with he slider locked.
I'd appreciate any comments you-all might have on:
--Sliding table length: What are the deciding factors? What workarounds for shorter sliders? Is the Grizzly 63" enough? Is the K3 78" enough? Will I be sorry going with, say, the K3 48" version? Why will I be sorry?
--Hammer vs Grizzly: Where would a hobbyist notice the quality differences? What features does one have over the other? Is it true that the Hammer rip fence complaints have been addressed in the newest "Winner" models? Are you Grizzly owners still lusting after a "true" euro saw, or has Grizzly actually achieved that?
--Rikon sliding table saw. Happy compromise? Sad compromise? Do you, or did you, own one?