Talk me out of a used 5hp Sawstop?

[Todd Bender]

If I could afford it, I'd certainly test drive (with the intent to purchase) a Sawstop for the same reason I wear a seat belt while driving.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

No room for a 52" in my garage I don't think. The way the jointer, planer and router table are situated I don't see how the 52" would fit.

I put my 52" ICS on their mobile base. It's an awesome base. Everything in my garage are on mobile bases. It will fit. You just need to juggle a bit. I also have a dust collector, band saw, drill press etc. It will fit. Get it. You will not be sorry.

[Simon MacGowen]

You're correct that a sliding saw is different from a SS, but the lack of a blade brake (in the sense that you're referring) is a non-issue. You don't need a wiener brake on it because your wiener (or any other extremity) doesn't get anywhere near the blade. If it is, then you're using it wrong!

The real things that makes the sliding table saw different than a SS, are things like straight line ripping, larger capacity, ease and accuracy of handling sheet goods, scoring blades, etc...

A slider is an upgrade to a Unisaw. A SS will add a level of protection if you put your hand into the blade, but won't add any other functionality over the Unisaw's capabilities.

Just recently in another thread where someone shared a video in which a guy used a sliding saw with his fingers close to the spinning blade. I asked if that was a proper way of using a sliding saw but no one answered my observation.

Also a prototype sliding saw (Italalian?) with a saw stop feature could be seen a YouTube video shared in this forum before. A sliding saw and blade brake are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Simon

[lee cox]

The first time he trips the Sawstop by accident and has to spend all that money he will be wishing for his Unisaw. The other sad thing is he will lose his high dollar blade and he will have to wait a week or so before he is up and running again. So all work stops.

[Mike Henderson]

The first time he trips the Sawstop by accident and has to spend all that money he will be wishing for his Unisaw. The other sad thing is he will lose his high dollar blade and he will have to wait a week or so before he is up and running again. So all work stops.

I don't understand why someone would have to wait a week to get up and running again. I accidentally tripped my brake (with my thumb) and I went to my local supplier and bought a new brake. I had extra blades so I was back up in maybe an hour. I now keep an extra brake in my shop so I could be up in 30 minutes or less.

And if I didn't have the SawStop, I'd have been a lot more than an hour in the ER and in recovery time.

As far as money goes, the cost of the brake and the blade was nothing compared to what my ER cost would have been.

Mike

[Peter Christensen]

Get the SawStop. Get a spare brake and you won't have an accidental cut. It's just the way things are. Who only has one blade that they couldn't get by with one of the others? Get a spare blade if that's critical too. You have spare tires in your cars and don't gripe about them. You have several rolls of TP in the bathroom just in case and you'll really gripe if there isn't! Having an accidental brake activation as a reason not to get the saw is poor argument. Having to bear the cost of brake activation is nothing in comparison to writing a check to the hospital when you can't hold a pen anymore.

Looks like I just repeated what Mike said. Should learn to type faster.

[John Sanford]

Sorry, I can't talk you out of it. If you were thinking of going the other way, SS to Uni, I'd take a crack at talking you out of it, but that ain't the case. Were it me, the SS would be in my shop and the Uni up on Craigslist already. As a safety upgrade, it's worth it. The extra 2hp and larger table surface may be handy as well.

Before cutting or doing anything else to the fence rails, you may be able to simply swap the rails from the ICS with the Uni's rails, and use the ICS fence. If it weren't for the greater depth of the ICS over the Uni, you could do a complete fence system swap, although that may still be possible.

[Bryan Lisowski]

I'm sure your Unisaw will cut anything the SS can. I think you mentioned that the SS is $2000, personally I think that is high for a 12 year old model.

[lee cox]

I'm sure your Unisaw will cut anything the SS can. I think you mentioned that the SS is $2000, personally I think that is high for a 12 year old model.

Sounds like he needs to buy an extra brake and a copy of his good saw blade. It all adds up.

[Simon MacGowen]

Sounds like he needs to buy an extra brake and a copy of his good saw blade. It all adds up.

Even more, if he also goes for the dust collection blade guard, overhead dust collection, a spare ZCI for angled cuts, and a brake for dado cuts (and the hydraulic mobile base). Are they all worth it? Only he can decide...I have gone down the SS path with all the optional features (except the slider) and have been very happy with the money spent.

Simon

[Patrick Irish]

Sounds like he needs to buy an extra brake and a copy of his good saw blade. It all adds up.

Believe it comes with extra dado and regular brake and blade guard. Hoping to see it tonight and maybe bring it home. It will have to stay strapped in my small pickup until I sell the unisaw.

It weights 680lbs. Hope my little doge ram 50 can handle it. I hauled the unisaw Home it.

[Nick Decker]

Hope you have some beefy friends, and a place to park the truck indoors.

[Carlos Alvarez]

Back to the topic: Talking you out of it!

1. Because fingers are over-rated.

2. Most hospitals have at least a few hot nurses (of both genders, I don't judge).

3. More power? That means more noise and electrical cost. Think of the planet. Speaking of which, do you ever worry about what sort of planet we're going to leave behind for Keith Richards?

4. The Saw Stop has a pretty paint scheme, the Unisaw is ManlyGray(tm). You don't want people wondering about you, do you?

[Simon MacGowen]

Back to the topic: Talking you out of it!

1. Because fingers are over-rated.

2. Most hospitals have at least a few hot nurses (of both genders, I don't judge).

3. More power? That means more noise and electrical cost. Think of the planet. Speaking of which, do you ever worry about what sort of planet we're going to leave behind for Keith Richards?

4. The Saw Stop has a pretty paint scheme, the Unisaw is ManlyGray(tm). You don't want people wondering about you, do you?

5. A SS makes you lower your guard and numbs you with a false sense of security (...and you may start driving without putting on your safety belt first)

6. A SS prevents you from calling in sick on a Monday, after working in the shop the whole weekend, because a bandaged thumb, if it happens, does not qualify for sick days.

Simon

[Carlos Alvarez]

Hah, yeah, those too.

For the record I think the SS is simply a crutch for people who don't want to be careful and orderly, but I can't resist easy jokes.