'03 Minimax SC2 vs. New Grizzly Slider

[Mike Kees]

Stewart I spent about $120 bucks on bearings, some hard felt for the bearing carriage (it cleans the ways the bearings roll in) and a new drive belt . It probably took me about 15 hours to get everything dialed in . I also welded up a butt bar for this saw. The nice thing about these saws is they are set up for 10'' blades so if you have a collection already you are in business.

[Greg Parrish]

Yeah that is one down side to the fielders. The pin holes mean your off the shelf box store blades don’t fit.

Stewart I spent about $120 bucks on bearings, some hard felt for the bearing carriage (it cleans the ways the bearings roll in) and a new drive belt . It probably took me about 15 hours to get everything dialed in . I also welded up a butt bar for this saw. The nice thing about these saws is they are set up for 10'' blades so if you have a collection already you are in business.

[Stewart Lang]

Adam, thanks for the offer but a 102" stroke is gonna be too long for my shop. Also, I'm in Central FL, a little far from Ohio. Thanks though!



The one thing that gets me about buying from a company like SCM (along with Powermatic and others) is that they use a dealer network. SCM marks up the price from the manufactorer, and then the dealer marks it up to retail price. I'm not sure what their point rate is, but I know certain speciality industries have a 40-50% mark up from dealer price to retail price. You're basically paying a lot more for twice as many people to make a profit. One reason why actual cost isn't a factor of quality to me.

So even though a SC2 starts at $6k, while a Grizzly is $3k, I know the SC2 is not twice the build quality, because a lot of that extra cost just goes to the dealer. How much better of a build quality is it? 10%? 20%? I don't know, but at least with Grizzly I know there isn't a double mark-up.

Interestingly, I've had both Grizzly's 16-1/2" Dovetail Machine and Powermatic's 16-1/2" Dovetail Machine in my shop, and they are COMPLETELY identical. Only difference? One is almost $4k, one is almost $7k. Just for the markup.

[Jim Becker]

All my SCM/Minimax gear was bought directly from the company. Sam Blasco is the current US rep.

[Larry Edgerton]

I'm questioning your 10% diffidence in quality reference. I may be biased though ..............

[Mike Kreinhop]

The one thing that gets me about buying from a company like SCM (along with Powermatic and others) is that they use a dealer network. SCM marks up the price from the manufactorer, and then the dealer marks it up to retail price.

I might be missing something in your statement, but SCM is the manufacturer, unlike other brands that are re-badged machines made elsewhere. I visited one of the SCM factories near Vicenza, Italy on one of my business trips, but I wasn't allowed to tour the factory floor. However, from what I could see, manufacturing material was being delivered and finished product was being shipped.

When I shopped around for a small slider saw, the price of the SC2 Classic was the same if I bought it from a distributor or from SCM directly.

[Rod Sheridan]

I might be missing something in your statement, but SCM is the manufacturer, unlike other brands that are re-badged machines made elsewhere. I visited one of the SCM factories near Vicenza, Italy on one of my business trips, but I wasn't allowed to tour the factory floor. However, from what I could see, manufacturing material was being delivered and finished product was being shipped.

When I shopped around for a small slider saw, the price of the SC2 Classic was the same if I bought it from a distributor or from SCM directly.

Agreed, when you buy an SCM or Felder/Hammer you’re buying directly from the manufacturer, unlike Grizzly, Powermatic etc.

Regards, Rod