SawStop Promotions?

[Simon MacGowen]

I do move my existing cabinet saw around a lot. The mobile base for it was handmade and works fantastic. I still don't understand the difference between the two dust collection arms by SawStop. Why one over the other?

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Don't get the newly released TSG-FDC Floating Overarm Dust Collection Guard. Unlike the dust collection blade guard and overarm dust collection, you have to move the bulky/heavy floating arm when you make cuts for different thickness of stock or different width of stock. It is a pain and the dust collection effectiveness is not as good as the other option. I don' know why SawStop re-introduce this type of dust collection seen used before SawStop was even invented. $400, I think.

Simon

[Mike Heidrick]

When i bought mine in 2006 (5hp cb now called ics) i paid shipping to woodcraft and still had to pick it up there and paid tax lol. Ill take using it 12 years vs waiting till now lol.

[Doug Dawson]

You *just* missed it, Sawstops promotions are run like clockwork from 3/1 through 4/30. It's not a discount, its a free PCS mobile base or Overarm Dust Collection boom (which requires that you buy the upgraded blade guard if you get the 1.75hp saw)

If you are looking at the saw the ICS Mobile Base is MUCH nicer than the PCS Mobile Base...

Using the ICS Mobile Base under a Sawstop PCS is like living in a candy colored dream. There is no other mobile base before it, all kneel. :^) Too bad it's only fitted for the Sawstops, the company could really go to town with other applications.

[Frank Pratt]

I don't think the ICS base would be too hard to fit to other cabinet saws, provided the overall dimensions didn't exceed that of the ICS SawStop

[Nick Decker]

I don't think the ICS base would be too hard to fit to other cabinet saws, provided the overall dimensions didn't exceed that of the ICS SawStop

Agreed, just drop a piece of good plywood in there, good to go. It is expensive, though, as mobile bases go.

[Bernie May]

I have the PCS with the dust collector hooked to the riving knife. I threw away the boom as it did not suck sufficiently. I hook the dust collector directly to my Ridgid shop vac. Works great except for cuts where the cutoff is less than the width of the dust hood. Then I lose a little dust to the side. May try the suggestion of putting a board on the left side of the blade.

[Ben Rivel]

I have the PCS with the dust collector hooked to the riving knife. I threw away the boom as it did not suck sufficiently. I hook the dust collector directly to my Ridgid shop vac. Works great except for cuts where the cutoff is less than the width of the dust hood. Then I lose a little dust to the side. May try the suggestion of putting a board on the left side of the blade.

I hear people comment that the overarm dust collection doesnt work well. I think its due to the stock setup or their dust collector because mine work awesome connected to my Oneida V-3000. I have mine setup like this:

File May 04, 5 55 57 AM.jpg

[Ben Rivel]

Seems prices for the SawStop are the same no matter where you go.

Best deal I have ever seen aside from the promo is buying from AcmeTools via eBay when eBay is doing a 10% eBay Bucks day. Sometimes its 6% or 8%. Thats what I did and got hundreds back from that via eBay Bucks and AcmeTools is free shipping no sales tax for most.

[Doug Dawson]

I tend to agree. The only incentive then is the $200 overarm dust collection. But are there any advantages to the other more expensive floating dust collection arm?

Some people want to go toe-to-toe, eyeball-to-eyeball, with the spinning blade, and I can sort-of understand that, but with proper setup that's unnecessary, and I rather doubt that the floating arm is going to be more efficient in general, judging by the videos I've seen of the floating arm in use. Maybe for the "I don't want a blade guard" crowd it might be appealing. Perhaps that's who they built it for.

Doug

[Matthew Hills]

... and my dado stack (Freud SD508) was too heavy for the SawStop's brake so I had to switch to a lighter weight stack

This is the first I've heard of this. (I had previously heard that you need an 8" stack, as the 6" sets wouldn't work with sawstop).
What dado sets do work?

(I will say that I like my delta/dewalt 8" stack better than my 6" freud)

Matt

[Roger Marty]

I don't understand all the praise for the ICS mobile base. I'm sure it's nice and all, but are you all moving around your saws that often? I have a tiny shop and do occasionally move my PCS saw around and the free mobile base works fine for me.

I also use a Freud SD508 dado set. Yeah, it has the shoulders on the blades but the brake should still stop it.

[Doug Dawson]

Agreed, just drop a piece of good plywood in there, good to go. It is expensive, though, as mobile bases go.

Speaking more generally about mobile bases, you have three types. The ICS mobile base is "one foot tap, the whole thing is raised." Then you have the Jet-type mobile bases, where you're using the wheels and it's a situation where you are or are not locking the wheels. Then you have the Bora/Portamate type bases where the wheels lock individually and would settle on "studs" that could accommodate the uneven floor when the rolling capacity is disengaged.

Depends on what you want or need.

Incidentally, Bora has a new adjustable base, the 3550, which is 4-wheel swivel, kind of interesting, I put one under my planer recently, and I like it a lot.

Cutting the (NOT-really-adjustable) ICS mobile base down to support other machines would be, well, when you get down to it, not something you're going to do.

I like steel plate if you're going to bolt something (such as a press etc) down to an intermediary with a larger-footprint mobile base. It's easy to work with, and I don't like surprises.

Doug

[Nick Decker]

"Incidentally, Bora has a new adjustable base, the 3550, which is 4-wheel swivel, kind of interesting, I put one under my planer recently, and I like it a lot."

I hadn't seen that one. The drawback, as I see it, is having to walk all around the machine to enage 4 levers, six if you have an extension on your saw. No thanks.

[Steve Mathews]

Apparently SawStop has a tight rein on pricing and shipping costs. The free shipping offered by Acme Tools mentioned in an earlier post does not include the handling charge of the same amount as shipping. It also seems that dealers can't even sell floor models at reduced prices except under strict rules. So much for competition with anything having to do with SawStop.

[Nick Decker]

Really not that unusual, Steve. Any number of other brands do the same. Festool, anyone?