SawStop Promotions?

[Steve Mathews]

Looks like I'm finally submitting to the safety advantages of a SawStop and now plan to buy one. How often do their promotions occur?

[Keith Hankins]

If you talking the ICS ....never. If you talking the PCS, every spring they generally do a promotion that gives you either the overarm guard, or the industrial mobile base. Thats about all I'm aware of. Call them they easy to talk to. Or, call your local wood craft they seem to be in the know.

[Dustin Bullard]

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...

[Ben Rivel]

Once a year and you just missed it. But, really the only thing worth considering via the promotion is the overarm dust collection as the ICS mobile base is MUCH nicer than the PSC mobile base they offer in the promotion.

[Steve Mathews]

Once a year and you just missed it. But, really the only thing worth considering via the promotion is the overarm dust collection as the ICS mobile base is MUCH nicer than the PSC mobile base they offer in the promotion.

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? I'm hoping the quality of the saw itself is worth making the change from my Jet 10" cabinet saw, which I like very much. After my wife saw an episode of This Old House where they discussed the virtues of a SawStop she's made the rare request that I purchase another tool.

[Patrick Irish]

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? I'm hoping the quality of the saw itself is worth making the change from my Jet 10" cabinet saw, which I like very much. After my wife saw an episode of This Old House where they discussed the virtues of a SawStop she's made the rare request that I purchase another tool.

Do you move your saw around a lot? If not, I'd do a ceiling drop down DIY for the dust collection.

I got a CB/ICS used of craigslist recently and had a sharguard from a unisaw. I ordered the riving knife from sharkguard that has notches for the guard. I'm going to do a ceiling mount duct setup because I don't like having the arm in the way. At least that's the plan.

The ICS mobile base is amazing. It lifts the whole setup including the 52" rails and extension

[Steve Mathews]

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?

I never thought this would happen with a tool purchase but this is one I'm grudgingly going into the more research given on the SawStop. All I want to do now is just get it over with.

[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?

.

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

[Dustin Bullard]

I have a PCS 1.75hp and it is a fantastic saw. I would strongly suggest getting the upgraded T-Glide Fence but otherwise the saw is very well built with superb dust collection. I wasn't specifically impressed with the Overarm dust collection but others have been (and I just re-purposed the boom to use on my sanding station where it is great...).

If I had to come up with a few gripes they would be pretty minor: I don't care for how expensive the zero clearance inserts are (even though they are really nice) and my dado stack (Freud SD508) was too heavy for the SawStop's brake so I had to switch to a lighter weight stack. Finally you can't use specialty blades like the fancy Mitre Fold from Rockler or, as far as I'm aware sanding discs are a no go on the SawStop.

[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

[Nick Decker]

Steve, I'm a fairly new PCS owner, having taken advantage of this year's promotion. I opted for the overarm dust arm.

I'm very happy that I went with the ICS mobile base, every time I move the saw (quite often). It just works beautifully. Too bad SawStop won't let you apply the value of the free standard base toward the ICS base.

I don't know what kind of dust collection system you have, but it will need to be pretty powerful to get the most out of the overarm dust collector. My modified Harbor Freight (2 hp) unit is "just OK" in that regard.

In reading another recent thread here about overhead dust collection for slider saws, it seems that what is really needed is more along the lines of what a shop vac does. The connector hose for the overarm is much smaller (2"?) and the air movement that's provided by the 4" dust collector hose just isn't strong enough. That's what I'm guessing, anyway.

As others have mentioned, the dust collection blade guard is MUCH better than what comes with the saw, even if you're not using it to collect dust.

[Frank Pratt]

The 3 HP PCS comes with the dust collection guard anyway. The promo is for the overarm duct assembly, or the PCS mobile base. I didn't want the OA duct because I have a router lift in the table & it would get in the way. I think it's better to drop down from the ceiling anyway because of less airflow loss.

Some sellers (Lee Valley did) will give you credit for the PCS base & you can just pay the difference for the ICS base. It is an expensive base, but well worth it. It really is that good.

[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

[Simon MacGowen]

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...

+1 on the mobile base. Get the ICS mobile base for the PCS if that is the model you are looking for, unless you don't plan to move your saw around a lot.

The freebie is about $250 in value, but if quality and safety are the primary consideration, I would not wait for the next promotion unless it is just a few months' wait.

The overarm dust collection boom and the dust collection blade guard are even more important than the mobile base. Get those two before the mobile base if your budget really is set to certain amount.

Welcome to the world of tablesawing with joy, if dead squareness, dead straightness, and dead precision are what you have been longing for ("dead" for woodworking purposes).

Simon

[John Sanford]

They've been running the promo twice a year. March/April and either October/November or November/December, I can't remember which, though I lean towards October/November. Having had the PCS mobile base, count me in the crowd that says skip it and go with the ICS, especially if you go with the long (52") fence. The key functional difference between the two bases is the ICS base allows you to spin the saw in place. The PCS base requires you to drive it like a shopping cart or any other vehicle with two fixed wheels. If you have a lot of space and/or don't move it much, the difference may not matter.