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Thread: Choose my Sawstop for me

  1. #1

    Choose my Sawstop for me

    So Sandy Clause has decided that I can get a Sawstop for Christmas and my anniversary (Jan 14). So, now I’m looking to see what to get. I think I’ve pretty much got it narrowed down to the PCS 1.75hp (no 220 in garage and not going to put it in). I am not interested in the 30” fence, so 36 or 52 it is. I’ve got to rearrange for the saw, so I can accommodate either length fence.

    Also, looking at overarm dust collection, but unsure of which one to get. Looks like the “overarm dust collection” uses 2.5” at the blade and that hooks into the 4” at the base. Whereas the floating arm uses 4” through the tube to a sep connection?

    Also looking at mobile bases.

    Lastly looking at a dado blade for saw.

    Thanks!
    Kevin

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    River Falls WI
    Posts
    490
    A good choice for the 1.75 PCS, I got the 3 HP one. Due to some health issues, I did not get it hooked up for a while. I love the saw now that it is running. I got the 36" rails, the 52" would have been too big for my basement shop. Others will say get the Industrial Base, I wish I did, but manage with the PCS base. I have the standard guard with the 2.5" port, I run a hose to a small shop vac across the ceiling. Just upgraded this last black Friday to a C-Man 3 HP 6 Gallon vac from ACE, that does a much better job. Enjoy the saw! Dan

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    3,078
    36" Rails and Fence

    Industrial mobile base

    Overran dust collection based upon what dust collector you have

    Buy an extra brake cartridge

  4. #4
    If you can wait, Sawstop usually offers either a free mobile base or overarm dust collection option. I think this offer starts late March.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Central Missouri, U.S.
    Posts
    1,263
    Your situation sounds very similar to mine (except that I already bought one ). 1.75 hp is working just fine, as are the 36" rails.

    The ICS base is more important in small spaces like mine, where the saw needs to move in an arc to get into position/storage.

    I'm using the 2.5" dust collector setup, with just a single 4" DC fitting. At first, I wasn't impressed with the dust collection at the blade, could barely feel any suction from that hose. Then I noticed the actual lack of collection when I had to make cuts without the guard in the picture. The small hose is pulling in more than I thought, and my guess is that includes a lot of the small, invisible junk. I'm sure a dedicated vac on that hose would be better, if you choose to go that route.

    I have yet to read any glowing reviews of the larger 4" setup. Looks cumbersome to me.

    Here's a tip: Check your blade-to-miter slot for parallel before you start assembling the cast iron wings and table. I didn't need to change mine, but if you need to, the adjustment points are easier to get at. Not a big deal either way, just something to think about.

  6. #6
    I personally bog down 5hp cabinet saws all the time ripping hardwood. It’s no big deal and usually my own fault as I’m feeding reall fast.

    Non the less I would have no patients for less power. I’d go for ICS..

  7. #7
    Since you already decided on the PCS and 1.75 hp I recommend the largest size rails that will fit in your shop, extra cartridge and industrial base with special emphasis on the latter. The smaller overarm dust collection is overpriced and anemic in my opinion. Don't forget the dado cartridge and insert if needed. I'm not overly impressed with my 5hp ICS but it's an OK saw.

  8. #8
    As Steve said the overarm dust collector is anemic.

    If you can run you hard duct work to right above the saw. Then add a 4” adapter to a short run of 4” fleet hose. You will get excellent results and it cost about the same as the Sawstop stuff going all quick fit Nordfab. With this said I hardly ever use over blade dust collection. But when I do it really reall works.

    I also second the mobile base. It is very nice. Get whatever length rails suit you best. You can always buy longer ones from sawstop for fairly short money if you ch get your mind.

  9. #9
    Thanks for all the help thus far. As far as DC goes, I don’t have anything currently and will be getting it with the SS. As it sits currently, the SS will be the only thing on the DC. I have a lunchbox planer that I’ll most likely hook up to the DC however. I don’t own a bandsaw or jointer, so I won’t have that to contend with. My mitre saw is on a mobile cart and I just wheel that out to the driveway when I use it,

    I’ll be replacing a ridgid job site saw that I never could adjust for square and frankly, just don’t trust it to cut anything but rough dims. I then true everything up with handplanes.

    I wasn’t expecting this until the wife told me yesterday to call the local (1.5hrs away) woodcraft and see what they had in stock. I thought she was kidding, but I think there may be some hidden agendas in store here...

  10. #10
    If your suspicions are true, and they probably are......

    PASS ON THE SAW!

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Lebanon, TN
    Posts
    1,719
    The industrial bas e is a life saver in a small area. I got the overarm dust collector, but prefer to use my cross cut sled most of the time , so the overarm just sits in a corner. I didn't pay for it, it was part of the promotion.

    I have the 36" rail setup, due to shop space.

    The OEM blade is alright, but search around this forum, because there's many that are better and these get discussed fairly frequently.

    Mine is 115V, I did occasionally have issues running my saw and Jet dust collector on the same 20A circuit. Fortunately, I have multiple 20A circuits, but it meant one of them had to use an extension cord.

    Sounds like you might be getting the shop floor model already assembled, but if not, the instructions and packaging are excellent.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Newark, Ohio
    Posts
    356
    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Frank View Post
    36" Rails and Fence

    Industrial mobile base

    Overran dust collection based upon what dust collector you have

    Buy an extra brake cartridge
    +1 but I would add a dado cartridge and throat plate from Infinity Tools, love mine and haven’t regretted the shorter fence. I love the industrial mobile base but rarely use the over arm dust collection. Also, be advised if you get a dado set, 8 inch are the only size you can use and make sure the blades do not have the anti kick back tabs on them as they are not recommended by Sawstop due to the safety brake.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Evanston, IL
    Posts
    1,424
    I have the 3hp pcs with 52” rail, overarm dust collection and pcs mobile base.

    If you cut sheet goods often, I’d recommend getting the longest rail you can fit in your shop. Even with my 52” rail, the overarm dust collection sometimes interferes with cuts on full sheets and I need to disconnect it and rotate the vertical section of tubing to horizontal to get it out of the way. I assume, but don’t know for certain, that the overarm is sized for your rail length and would be a bigger problem for sheet goods with a shorter rail. If the 4” ducted dust collection avoids this interference, I’d go for it just for this reason, and I work with hardwoods far more often than sheet goods.

    The dust collection is pretty good with the smaller tube unless you are just trimming the edge of a board, in which case dust sprays all over the table. It does occasionally clog at the blade guard if very thin offcuts are sucked up into it, and it can be a pain to get into and clean out. That’s another reason to look at the 4” duct option.

    The pcs base works great for me, but I almost never move my saw and I have a big dedicated shop space right now and can roll it back and forth to move it when I need to. If you will move it often in a smaller space, users rave about the quality of the ics base and you should consider that.

    Your mind is made up about the motor and I won’t try to change it, though I am tempted to.

    I can’t imagine working without outfeed support. If you have room for a dedicated outfeed cabinet, that is easy to build. A folding outfeed support is also easy to make yourself, and the most recent Fine Woodworking “Tools and Shops” issue has an article by Christian Becksvoort on one. If you want a factory option, though, Sawstop offers one. I haven’t read much about it, but may look into it myself when I downsize my shop. It may only work with one of the two mobile base options, so there might be a tradeoff involved.

    The Sawstop promotion of the free pcs mobile base or overarm dust collection is worth about $199. If you are interested in either of those items, it might be worth waiting for. It is the only price break you will find on a Sawstop unless some place will offer free shipping without increasing the saw price to hide that cost. When I looked at my local Woodcraft, they already had the shipping cost baked into the saw price, then they wanted to charge for local delivery. I believe in paying the required sales/use tax whether or not the seller collects it, but others may look for online vendors that allow them to avoid it.

    The Sawstop blade is a typical cheap blade included with any saw. Don’t plan to use it for anything but rough cuts. You may want an extra brake, just in case, but Amazon has them with same day or next day delivery if that doesn’t set you off schedule too much to bear. You will need a dado cartridge and throat plate. I’d also recommend a blank plate to cut yourself for zero clearance. The included plate, at least when I bought mine, is not zero clearance because it requires more space to allow for angled cuts.
    Last edited by Jon Nuckles; 12-24-2018 at 12:25 PM.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Posts
    2,005
    3HP PCS 36" with Overarm and ICS mobile base.

    Highly recommend setting some money aside for some high quality blades (I recommend Forrest, thats all I use). Love the saw, zero complaints. 36" has been more than enough for me as I have no interest in breaking down sheets with my table saw. I have a track saw for that. Overarm dust collection works awesome after swapping the wye for an actual Y splitter. Other than that I recommend a Jessem ClearCut Stock Guides, some MagSwitch feather boards and an Incra miter gauge!
    If at first you don't succeed, redefine success!

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Ben Rivel View Post
    . Other than that I recommend a Jessem ClearCut Stock Guides, some MagSwitch feather boards and an Incra miter gauge!
    +1 on the stock guides. With that in place, you can handle 4x8s all by yourself. No sweat.

    Be careful with the Incra fence...more than a couple of my friends activated their SawStop when the blade cut through the fence!

    Simon

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