Cabinet saw or slider for a hobbyist?

[Jim Becker]

Congrats, Jesse! I watched a video the other day of someone receiving and unpacking, assembling their new Felder saw.

Here it is in case you want to see it:

[Jesse Brown]

Thanks, I got a Hammer B3 since I'm just a garage hobbiest, but I'll check the video out anyways. The crate was actually easy to unpack, even by myself. I rented a pallet jack to move it into the garage, but used a floor jack and the mobility kit for everything else. The delivery guy was grumpy (maybe just a bad day?), but everything was in good shape, and he brightened up when I gave him some cash.

[brent stanley]

Wow, you're going to love that! Congrats!

B

[Ray Newman]

Jim Becker: thanks for that video link. Definitely a very impressive machine.

Jesse brown: good luck with your Hammer.

[Jesse Brown]

It took a few hours to get things put together, but it wasn't hard, and I didn't run into any problems. I'll probably just use it for a while before I get too crazy with fine-tuning stuff. Besides, I was expecting my old saw to sit around for weeks or months, but instead it sold within a couple hours, so I haven't had a saw for months now, and the wife project backlog is huge :P

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[Jim Becker]

Looks great, Jesse! You're going to enjoy having that slider in your shop. There will be a few things different as has been mentioned many times here at SMC, but you'll adapt soon enough and enjoy the benefits, too. Repeatable precious is amazing on these things and you're almost never in the "line of fire" while cutting, too. Congrats!

Now go make your "primary customer" happy...

[Andrew V Smith]

Well... I stumbled across this thread having never really considered a slider and now you guys have me debating it

[Mike Shields]

As a hobbyist, I went from a cabinet saw to a slider combo, then back to a cabinet saw.

My opinion is that your choice of the tool should be based on how you plan to use it. A slider excels with sheet goods (with huge space requirements). Since solid wood is the majority that I work with, a Sawstop PCS is my tool of choice.

[Derek Cohen]

Oh I don't know about that, Mike. It is a personal choice at the end of the day. I went from a contractor saw with crosscut table, used for 20 years, to a choice of SS with crosscut table and the Hammer K3, and decided on the K3 at the end. I have a smaller slider (49") and it is a good compromise for medium-sized furniture. I only work with solid wood. I do not work with sheet goods. I do not do production work, just one-offs. This particular saw is perfect for me. That is not to say that it would suit another.


Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Shields]

As I said, it was my opinion...

[Günter VögelBerg]

I have the Grizzly 5hp saw with the sliding attachment. I mostly like it, and consider it an improvement over just the cabinet saw, but the build quality is definitely short of the high-end European machines. I have about 4 foot "stroke" for crosscut and it is nice because I can square up a plywood panel on the table saw, which before required the track saw or some other equipment. I have also learned that with the help of a hold-down on the sliding portion of the saw I can make awkward rip cuts accurately without having to use the fence. I recently had to cut very precise 16.5 degree tapers over a 4 foot length and the slider made it easy.

[Derek Cohen]

As I said, it was my opinion...

Mike, my apology if my comment sounded dismissive. That was not intended. I am in agreement, and was attempting to illustrate the other choice. It is a choice, and as always this comes down to personal preferences, not right or wrong.

Havva good weekend.

Regards from Perth

Derek