About that Sawstop

[Michelle Rich]

I have used a contractor saw for 32 yrs. I make the vast majority of my living from woodworking. I make furniture, smaller type stuff, and turnings. Would I like a 3hsp saw..sure. but I cannot say that the 1986 delta has ever let me down. The 2hsp rating is ridiculous for your dewalt 120v saw. It cannot really be that ..so the contractor may be more power as it will have more "torque" behind it ... If you have the cash, sure, why not? But if you are a weekend warrior that contractor SS would be a terrific new tool,, keep having fun in your shop.

[Nick Decker]

Warren, you mentioned a lot of "purpose-built jigs." Again, I hear you. Whether you opt for a contractor or cabinet saw, you'll immediately appreciate a well-machined cast iron top. Real estate aside, jigs that ride in the miter slot are much happier when that slot is the same width throughout. My old Dewalt was bad in that regard; the two ends of the slot were tighter than the middle. I think it had to do with whatever the coating was on the aluminum, but no amount of sanding/filing ever got it consistent.

[Jerome Stanek]

Festool also has one price for their tools. Stihl sells only through authorized dealers that have a certified repair person on site.

[Van Huskey]

You really cannot compare the two motors the way you are...quite often universal motors, like the one in that jobsite saw, have their ratings pegged at "the meltdown point", rather than what the actual horsepower is while using it. Induction motors, like those on a contractors' style saw or a cabinet saw, have ratings more reflective of reality.

Exactly, most universal motor machines are rated "creatively" and many of the worst offenders (shop vacs) are rated on the spike of energy created when the rotor is instantaneously stalled. This is similar to comparing a 3 hp router to a 3 hp shaper.

[Jim Becker]

AFAIK fixed pricing is not legal unless the store is factory owned.
Bill D.

No, a manufacturer can set minimum pricing for their dealers with no problem and it's pretty darn common in many types of products.

[Brett Luna]

Fixed pricing, not to be confused with price fixing.

[Lee Schierer]

The DeWalt is a direct-drive 15 amp saw nominally rated at 2 HP. The Sawstop is belt-driven and rated at 1.75 HP. Will I really be giving up about 1/8 of the power by moving to the Sawstop? I don’t know enough about how the motors are rated or how the different drive technologies impact the cutting power to understand if I am comparing apples to apples on that hp rating.

Can anyone offer me any insights on this?

According to electrical charts a 15 amp current is typical of a motor producing 1 Hp. A 2 Hp motor would draw 24 amps. Basically you draw about 14amps per Hp. So it appears you are probably not giving up any power at all. Many manufacturers of power equipment rate their saws HP at locked rotor current which is much higher than running current. Sears was notorious for this.

[Ray Newman]

"The dealer has lost interest in dealing with SawStop and just wants the unit gone so he has reduced it to $1400."

--Warren Wilson

"Reduced" to US $1400??

Find out exactly what is included. My local Woodcraft lists the SawStop job site saw with cart and fence for US$1299 + $100. shipping. See:
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/s...w-w-cart-fence

You can also "build and price out" any SawStop at: https://www.sawstop.com/build

[Charlie Hinton]

There's lots of hp/amps charts out there.
The 70% efficiency column in this one closely matches the motor plates on my tablesaw, bandsaw, dust collector, and jointer.
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/e...ps-d_1455.html

[Simon MacGowen]

I actually do my woodworking under my carport roof and need to move the saw around regularly, so portability is a requirement and the contractor’s model seemed to offer a good compromise.

.

The PCS and contractor saw have similar footprint.

But trust me, when it comes to mobility (not portability), the PCS fitted with the upgraded mobile base (free for the ICS) is unbeatable. With the hydraulic mobile base, I can move my PCS with just one hand. Of course, in actual use, I move my saw with two hands because I work in a tight room.

Simon

[Charlie Hinton]

I think the contractor saw will be a big step up from the Dewalt even in baseline configuration.
Its easy for me to spend your money, but unless you have the inside track on a super deal on the contractor saw you are already into it for $$$ so I would try real hard to squeeze the 1.75hp PCS with the 36" T-glide fence into the budget.

[Jim Becker]

"Reduced" to US $1400??

Find out exactly what is included. My local Woodcraft lists the SawStop job site saw with cart and fence for US$1299 + $100. shipping. See:
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/s...w-w-cart-fence

The saw he's considering is a contractors' style saw, not a job-site saw...

[Ray Newman]

Mea culpa, mea culpa. I looked at the wrong saw.

[Roger Marty]

Huge step up.

[Frank Pratt]

Sorry, I think you misread my statement. "I also feel that a contractor saw is only an incidental step up from a job site saw."

With the alignment problems overall, and specifically with bevel cuts, the contractor saw can be quite painful. As a qualifier, if 99% of what you do is with the blade at 90 degrees to the table, you can get the saw aligned and leave it there and use it with very good success. The weaknesses start to show only if you make more liberal use of all that a tablesaw can do for you.

I ran a contractor saw (with about $300 of after market stuff thrown at it) for years with good success. As my needs grew, the need for a saw that can cut an accurate bevel and be returned to 90 degrees repeatedly became important to me. Until I needed those things, I was fine. Today, there are things I still do not need so buying a tool that does "more" would add no value for me.

I am happy with an 8" jointer. Someone else wishes his 12" jointer was a 16" but, I don't have that need. We are all different (thank goodness) and our satisfaction with a tool is tied to what we do and how we do it ;-)

Right you are. That's me not paying attention again. But I had a good Jet contractor saw for 15 years that I took great pains to precisely set up when new & it stayed that way for as long as I had it. Aside from the power difference, there isn't that much I can do with my PCS that I couldn't do with the Jet. The PCS though, is much quieter, smoother, infinitely better dust collection, excellent safety features (aside from the wiener saving tech) and quality of build. I've had it for a few years now & it still makes me smile every time I use it. To me the extra cost for the cabinet saw is well worth it.