For a newbie like myself out there, why is ripping hard on a slider? I thought you could lock the slider in place and use it like a non-sliding saw, is this not the case? Sorry for the rookie question
For a newbie like myself out there, why is ripping hard on a slider? I thought you could lock the slider in place and use it like a non-sliding saw, is this not the case? Sorry for the rookie question
Last edited by Bert McMahan; 12-31-2018 at 12:15 PM.
To elaborate on Darcy's reply - you usually want to stand just to the left of the blade, so you're out of the line-of-fire for any kickbacks - but the beam (the fixed part supporting the sliding part of the slider) is right there. So you end up either standing to the right of the saw blade (unsafe) or reaching over the sliding table (awkward)
First time I went to the old guys shop he had two cabinet saws. I asked why and he said one is for ripping one is for cross cutting. Two people could work but more so for him alone it was faster. The cross cut saw had a wood sleigh on it. Seems primitive but he ran a shop with 425 employees that had everything and 10 of everything there then in his home shop he had all he needed.
I set up the same with two saws one ripping one cross cutting only I put an Excalibur sliding fence on each side of the cross cut saw. Pretty good id say no more spinning a part around after squaring to cut to length. Surprised no manufacturers do that. The only negative was they were first generation of those sliding tables and they were junk. On solid smaller stuff face frame, doors etc worked well. Panels they would not cut consistently square. Set it up perfect cut some panels and for sure something would be off and you spend more time down the road in adjusting for that. Put on heavy stuff like 1 1/4" MDF and even more so.
IVe stood behind big sliders in show rooms and said to sales guys I could not rip on this. They say yes you can. You get used to one way and there is zero chance id be leaning over to rip when the support part sticks out the back and id have to stand to the left. more recently read of the stops to the left and how people rip which the sales guy didnt tell me. All fine but id be faster on a cabinet saw. One rip fence one setting and rip.
I got an entry level slider, one of the small capacity ones and on those and likely a number of them you can stand behind them and rip to the rip fence. A bar does extend out back maybe 7 Inches if remember correctly. I can still stand behind those saws and my inseam is high enough I can stand over the bar as well if i wanted or to the left of it. I think some maybe the hammer stuff nothing extends back or very little on the entry level ones and SCM has two models of what i have and the other model looks like a better slider trace system, not sur how it extends.
I realized even if this is entry level for a slider id keep it for that fact alone that i can stand behind it. the other things and likely 10 of them blow away the General saws I was used to. From the weight of being solid and heavy, to the better fence, to real HP, The generals at 3hp were well underpowered or powered right for what they were, to the blade capacity of up to 16" and on and on.
The slider this one on a bar im not impressed with the setup aspect as changing one thing changes another but the actually motion is excellent compared to the aftermarket tables i had on the other one. You feel the weight to move it but then it just floats. The old excalibur no mass, they start easier but then there is friction all the way, on the days they were really out they were like an exercise machine and I wasn't into putting in the time to keep them on track. Know they made them better and better.
I'm fairly new to woodworking and know very little about sliders but wouldn't a SawStop with their sliding table be a solution?
Steve Rowe's youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmE...XFkWwsQ/videos) has a few videos about the sliding table saw. Saw Stop's added on sliding table is far away from the blade, it is not a true slider.
Jim, if you have space, this crazy horse dolly (https://www.thecrazyhorsedolly.com/videos.html) makes handling sheet goods easier.
I usually load sheets with the carriage locked and the saw running. For the times when i forget to turn it on first I have a long 3/4" dowel at hand to push the start button under the sheet.
If I had room for two saws I would have a cabinet saw as well as a slider. As is, I would never go back to a cabinet saw alone. 8' straightline ripping, panel handling, Fritz and Franz etc, far outweigh the inconvenience of leaning over the carriage and walking around the beam to set the rip fence- for me.
James, that crazy horse dolly actually looks quite useful. Thanks for the link.
Last edited by Kevin Jenness; 12-31-2018 at 4:16 PM.
I am not sure when the first long beam sliders were born but I think the first sliders made were arguably the finest saws ever. The Wadkin PK, Martin T17, Oliver?, Northfield #4, etc. All of these saws were very short stroke(same length as the table) and crazy precise.
I have a Martin T60C short stroke (6’) and would never go back to a cabinet saw. Coupled with AirTight clamps and F&F jigs, this saw has been the biggest game changer for my life of woodworking.
I believe EVERY WW machine should be a “slider”, even router tables and bandsaws.
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When I looked for a table saw, the only choices I had were sliders or contractor saws, as I was not been able to find a cabinet saw in Germany. Now that I have my Minimax SC2, which dominates my shop, I wouldn't replace it with a cabinet saw if one were available.
The only limitation I have found to date is the inability to rip full sheets of plywood or lumber longer than seven feet. This is a limitation of my shop, not the saw. The distance between the wall and the leading edge of the blade is 93 inches and full sheets here are just over 98 inches long, so I can't rip a full sheet. I can crosscut full sheets on the slider without any problems, but I rip full sheets in my garage using the track saw and haul the pieces to the basement.
I don't remember my learning curve being more than a day or two. I use the fence as a cutting reference almost as often as I use the slider deck.
As James stated, the slider must be slightly higher than the cast iron table. I don't know about the SC4, but the SC2 has four M8 bolts and locknuts to set the slider height. I watched the tech commission my saw, and the slider adjustment took him about ten minutes to set up.
Only you know what kind of saw will work in your shop. I made furniture for 40 years, needed a big saw. Now I go months without ever turning on a table saw. Either turning or cycling. Unfortunately for me, an old Minimax combination machine is only worth pennies of what I paid for it. I keep it around now for the 12" jointer and use a Sawstop for all my other cutting. Damned large footprint for a 12" jointer!