SawStop in the shop

[Dave Wright #2]

The SawStop 10" Professional Cabinet Saws are finally rolling out to Average Joe shops. Mine came in last week. There have been some detailed threads elsewhere, but I thought to mention it here as a follow-up to the earlier threads.

I finished the saw setup and power feed Saturday afternoon. No technical problems worth mentioning. I would say that this one went very smoothly compared to previous major power tool setups. For now all I can offer is preliminary comments and assurance that it's not vaporware. We lowered all 659 pounds (shipping weight for the main crate) of it to the shop floor last Tuesday evening.

What a gorgeous saw! My wife says that it looks like it should be going 200 mph around Daytona. I couldn’t help stepping out to the shop for a look every now and then despite being plenty busy this weekend. My Delta Contractors Saw suddenly looks so old, small, worn, and crude. The SawStop height and tilt wheels turn so smoothly. They lock down with such a light touch, though I’m not sure they need to be locked down because I haven’t noticed any creep or backlash. Very smooth running too. I am going to get a great amount of pleasure out of working with this saw.

So far all I’ve done is cut up a piece of scrap plywood to calibrate the fence scales and check operation. Blade alignment is spot on and the cuts are clean. Everything works as represented by Steve Gass. I have some experience with Unisaws and the PM66 in our Guild shop. So far this machine appears to be in a different class. It is expensive but you get what you pay for. Plenty of thoughtful design, quality materials, and precise manufacturing.

I am happy to field questions about the saw, and will post from time to time with field experience updates.

[Jim Becker]

Nope...it can't be in your shop. We can't see it. Pictures are required to prove that it exists! (Congrats on your new saw...)

[Tyler Howell]

Talk is Cheep Dave. We want pictures! !

Conrats on the toyl! Did you do the hot dog test yet???

[Maurice Ungaro]

Sounds way too nice to be in any shop associated with anyone posting here. Please provide your address so we can arrange for removal and return your shop to "normal" standards.

Maurice

[Dave Wright #2]

[Michael Ballent]

Doubt that he would want to spend the 50 bucks plus the cost of the blade... Congrats on the saw, now if they could license the technology to the other manufacturers the price would come down... I am interested in the saw. Anyone know how many they have sold?

[Dave Wright #2]

Yep, my plan is to leave the brake testing to the woodworking magazines. The price might come down, but I bet not for a number of years. There is a whole lot more iron, machining, and electronics in this saw than others. Current buyers may be paying for R&D, but future buyers will be paying for marketing and middlemen. The price might not come down - or at least not without corners being cut elsewhere in the design.

I happened to have just asked Steve Gass for an update on the waiting list. There are now about 800. That number of orders might be filled by April 2005. Incoming orders are matching or exceeding their production rate though. As for "how many have been sold?" I guess that would be orders filled plus orders placed. Maybe 900 total.

[Frank Pellow]

The saw does look good Dave. I am happy to see one actually in someone's shop and happy to hear that, so far, the saw has met your expectations.

Congratulations, and thanks for being brave enough to take one of the early saws and testing it out for the many who I hope will follow. I also hope that reports from you and others continue to be good.

I sure would like to hear something about this saw that actually tests the saw and does not concentrate on what I consider to be a monor safety feature.

[Rich Person]

I believe mine is around order #700 and change and they are estimating March/April 2005. Perfect timing for some more reviews to come around.

Dave, just out of curiosity, what number is yours? (number off the line and/or serial number).

[Dave Wright #2]

Cool. Another order holder @ SMC. I'll check mine for any telltale numbers. It's from what I consider to be the first full production run, and it might have been one of the first dozen that were shipped from their warehouse. I preordered mine real early. One day I visited their site and the order page wasn't up. The next day I dropped by again and it was there. I noticed that the preorder was non-binding so I went ahead and put my name down. It wasn't until over two years later, when I saw the machine in person @ IWF, that I decided to go through with the order. The saws may be numbered, but I doubt that they were tracked through shipping and released in the same order.

Saws from this run, and presumably later ones, have a red and yellow master disconnect on the right side of the saw. This disconnect does not appear in the FWW test photo or the SawStop website photos, so those saws are preproduction versions.

I will post here if there are any problems with the saw. For now it looks like you'll be getting a great saw. I might get around to posting some assembly notes for the benefit of those here who have them on order. For example, the electrical connections are designed for crimp-on loops. You can rig the power with regular stranded copper, but should use the proper loops for a meticulous installation.

[Chris Padilla]

Looks slick, Dave. That is a massive top, too! Look forward to additional comments from you as you use it.

[sascha gast]

congrats on the saw. i love the safety aspect of the saw, but i can't decide if i love the look. it's a lot of black, absorbing shop light. not that color matters and i can't say i LOVE my yellow monster, but i wish it was a lighter color.
sure looks solid though.

again, congrats and now make some dust.

sascha

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Dave,

Nice looking saw. I really like the big shut off button. I'm still waiting to make a knee swithch for my PM66.

Sascha, have you heard of spray paint? Once it is yours it can be any color you want.

Work safe... Maybe by the time i have my pennies saved the system will be availavble on the ManiMax combo.

[Dave Wright #2]

The gloss black looks even more eye-catching in person. It's as close to sexy as any saw I can think of, and not in a goofy way like recently designed Hitachi handheld tools. There's a dark side (pun intended) to the color scheme though. The gloss black is spotted by TopCote overspray. Wipes right off the powder coating. The extension table is gloss black PLAM too, which will bother me until it gets enough scratches to qualify as patina. The cabinet interior is flat black. You need a flashlight to make adjustments inside unless the zero clearance insert is out.

They don't seem to have wasted much time on the color scheme though. I think it was essentially set way back when they started their company. The website always had that look too.

Ever go to custom car shows? That's sort of the look. The winning cars are as strong functionally as they are aesthetically. Under the hood this saw has some pretty cool parts.

It would be an ironic turn for a SawStop buyer to paint their saw PM yellow, particularly when you remember that the "SawStop Cabinet Saw" shown on their website early on was actually a PM66 that had been painted gloss black.

[Dave Wright #2]

The shutoff paddle is put in exactly the right spot too. I walk up to the saw feeding stock. My left leg naturally comes to a stop a fraction of an inch in front of the paddle. When the cut is done I simply bend my knee slightly and the paddle chunks (solid feel and sound) in and stops the saw.