Table saw quandary (not another which table saw should I get)

[Adam Levitt]

I currently have a Sawstop jobsite saw. I live in Israel so I had to pay an arm and a foot, thankfully not a finger, to get the saw here and working (inverter, 12 v deep cycle battery and charger to get 60hz 110v. It wouldn't work on 50hz 110v).
I do not need this saw to be mobile and after moving it around my shop a bit I've found a permanent place for it. So now I want to start working on building a big heavy cabinet for it with out feed table, attached router table and a fence replacement. This in hopes that it will be more like a cabinet saw.
The other option is to try and sell this setup. Not a big market here, but I may get someone to take it off of my hands for a pretty big discount. I can then get the Sawstop PCS 36".
What do you think will be the major differences between the two saws? Biggest differences from what I understand is stiffness and the cast iron tables which should maybe be flatter than the current aluminum ones, but how much of a difference will this make in my cuts?
What do you think?

[Ben Silver]

While don't have the Sawstop, I do have a jobsite saw with the aluminum table. It is not terrible as a table. It does seem that it doesn't slide as well as the saws I grew up with at home (craftsman and then Jet). As for being stiffer or more flat . . . the performance I get from the Rigid saw is unremarkable and I couldn't say that it is the saw rather than my lack of skill that gets indifferent-to-meh results.

The moment I feel I can afford to get a saw with a good cast iron table I will let my current saw go without looking back.

Last note, I am not concerned with Sawstop since I am a casual user and don't make cuts if I am uncomfortable with where my hands will be. Most of the usefulness of the Sawstop that I can see is for worksites where speed of work is important and so mistakes are occasionally made that would cause serious injury.

[Frank Pratt]

PCS: smoother, much quieter, much better dust collection, bigger table, much better fence. Just don't get the premium fence (it's not) get the T-glide fence. The PCS mobile base is very good, but you can upgrade to the ICS base & it's even better. This is an excellent saw for the price even without the safety feature.

I haven't actually used the jobsite saw, but had a good look at it when shopping for my PCS.

[Ben Rivel]

Man thats like going from a Corolla to a Ferrari! Sure theyll both get you there, but they arent even in the same two worlds. If you enjoy working with the Jobsite, youre going to flip over backwards after working with the PCS. I have never heard or read of anyone wishing they would/could have stayed with their jobsite saw after upgrading to a cabinet saw. Unless they needed it to be portable that is.

[scott spencer]

There's always a big difference between a portable jobsite saw and a full size stationary saw. Portability is really the only advantage of a jobsite saw. The table area in front of the blade will be a significant difference. The fence options on the PCS are better too... the T-Glide fence is excellent. The difference in motor noise are huge, and the PCS motor will have substantially more torque. There's also a big difference in mass and stability, reliability, repairability, etc.


These are not the same two saws we're discussing, but they make the same point about area in front of the blade...that alone is a big safety feature IMO:

[Adam Levitt]

Thanks for the replies. I'm now trying to sell the jobsite saw. If successful will buy the 3hp PCS.