Hammer slider vs. Minimax

[mark mcfarlane]

... I don't want to get something that is not as good of quality so that has me a little concerned about hammer. Though I have found a used one for basically the same price as I could sell my sawstop. Part of me says(and my wife too) just buy what I want now and be happy.

If you have a used Hammer available for a reasonable price you can buy it and sell it in 6 months for the same price if it doesn't meet your needs. I suspect it will be fine.

FWIW, I just ordered an 8.5' MiniMax CU300 combo machine today, but that was to meet my needs.

If I was primarily making cutting boards I would think that an 8' slider would get in the way a lot, unless you are starting with 8 foot stock. In which case, like Jim said, you can make glue line ready rips on the long slider with appropriate clamps/stops... and that could save you a lot of time.

[Andy Giddings]

Just noticed there's a Hammer B3 (saw/shaper) for sale in classifieds if you are interested

[Larry Edgerton]

Andy beat me to it, but here it is.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...w-Shaper-Combo

That price is bottomed out, you could buy it and sell if you don't feel it fits you needs for the same money. Put a general location at the top so people kinda know where you are. State would be fine.

[Ryan Pappas]

Andy beat me to it, but here it is.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...w-Shaper-Combo

That price is bottomed out, you could buy it and sell if you don't feel it fits you needs for the same money. Put a general location at the top so people kinda know where you are. State would be fine.

Ok thanks guys I'll check it out. I'm in Birmingham Alabama. I guess I haven't really looked to see how to display that.

[Erik Loza]

I won't give you an unbiased suggestion as to which brand I suggest folks buy best but I can can give you an unbiased answer on build quality: The Hammer is not as robust as the Minimax Classic series and the Minimax SC4 Elite is in a whole different league than either. All that being said, I don't see how you could go wrong with a Hammer B3 for the price that one is being offered at. Assuming is has no major issues. It will be light years ahead of anything you have ever owned. Best of luck in your search.

Erik

[scott vroom]

I'm also looking at K3 winner 79" and SC2. The K3 comes prepped for a dado; looks like the C2 is not. I was surprised at the weight difference (K3 851 lbs, SC2 595 lbs). Seems like a big difference for 2 machines with similar specs.

[Ryan Pappas]

I have decided to sell my sawstop and get a sliding table saw. I have narrowed it down to hammer k3 79x48 and minimax. I have the SC2 and the SC4 in mind for minimax. Also adding in the SC3 to the mix. I mainly make end grain cutting boards so not sure if a full 8ft is necessary for me but I know myself and I tend to want the best. Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Well with the help of Sam Blasco and a lot of thought I have decided on the Minimax SC4 Elite. I feel like it is a better built machine and will last me lots of years. I came close to pulling the trigger on the SC3 Classic but was told the footprint on the SC4 Elite isn't really much difference so I figured might as well have the bigger slider. Hopefully in a week or so I'll be heading to Atlanta to pick it up.

[glenn bradley]

I think you will be very happy. I agree with others here in that for your purposes, bigger is not better. Minimax offers a good variety of accessories of a very high quality. Enjoy your machine.

[Jim Becker]

Congratulations, Ryan! That's an excellent machine!

[Michael Koons]

Congrats! Same as my saw and I love it. Accuracy and repeatability are a dream and it is built very well. You'll enjoy it immensely.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM. I know you have a great resource in Sam, but if I can be of any help, happy to share experiences.

[Robert Baker36]

Well with the help of Sam Blasco and a lot of thought I have decided on the Minimax SC4 Elite. I feel like it is a better built machine and will last me lots of years. I came close to pulling the trigger on the SC3 Classic but was told the footprint on the SC4 Elite isn't really much difference so I figured might as well have the bigger slider. Hopefully in a week or so I'll be heading to Atlanta to pick it up.

How do you like your machine? I assume you have had it for a while and can offer some insight. Rob

[Ryan Pappas]

I love having a sliding saw. I will never go back to a cabinet saw that’s for sure. As far as the SC4, I would say it is the best saw at its price point. If my budget was higher I may have gotten a different saw and/or brand. I am a tool nerd so I’m constantly looking at new machines and I could definitely see other features that I wish my saw had. With that being said, I am very new to sliders so a lot of my aggravation’s could be from user error and not enough hours with the machine.

[James Cheever]

Hi Ryan. I am looking at moving from my 24 year old 52” Delta Unisaw / Unifence to a MM slider. I’m currently thinking of the SC4. If you don’t mind me asking, can you tell me what options you ordered with your SC4? After you use of it over the last year, would your have made any different choices?

Thanks.

[Brian W Evans]

James,

I hope you don't mind me butting in on a question you asked of Ryan, but I also have the SC4 Elite. I purchased an extra cam clamp for the sliding table and I'm glad I did. I don't use it often but, when I need it, it's there. If I had to do it over again, I would buy the MM overarm blade guard/dust collector. I cheaped out and bought a Grizzly that I don't like that much. Having seen the MM version online a few times, I think I would have liked it much better.

My other advice would be about saw blades. The SC4 can run 12" blades and I bought some Forrest blades to use in mine. Most online retailers carry 12" blades with 1" arbor holes, but the SC4 has a 5/8" arbor. I bought the 1" hole blades and use an adapter to make them work on the 5/8" arbor. If I had to do it again I would order the 12" blades from Forrest with a 5/8" hole. It would be a little more expensive but I don't like using the adapters. Any future blades will have the 5/8" hole.

On the other hand, the 5/8 arbor allows you to use 10" blades off the shelf, and the 8" dado sets that most of us have (the dado blade insert comes with the SC4).

Best of luck.

[Jim Becker]

I'll echo what Brian Evans just wrote....I have two of the cam clamps with my S315WS and use them. It would be nice to have fancy pneumatic clamps, but... And for the blades, I recently transitioned from my 10" Forrest blades to 12" Forrest blades, although I bought mine in 5/8" bore from SilversMill for a good price. The machine actually performs a little better with the 12" blade it's designed for...better tip speed I suspect, although it was perfectly fine with the 10" blades, too. I don't know what's standard these days, but I use the smaller miter gage accessory a lot more than the full outrigger. If it costs money, IMHO, it's worthy to have for many cross cutting operations that don't involve large panels.

And yea...I need a better over-arm blade guard as the one that attaches to the riving knife is a bit restrictive. That's a project I have planned...