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Thread: Thinking about upgrading to a sliding table saw

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Lafayette, CA
    Posts
    204
    A couple of years ago I went from a Unisaw (vintage 1983) to a Hammer K3/48 inch slider. Overall I'm happy with the upgrade. I do, however, miss having a miter gauge slot to the right of the blade for jigs, etc. A couple of things I've found to be frustrating on the K3: 1) the slot on the slider is not standard, and so will not accept commercial miter gauge runners for jigs, etc. 2) the fence lacks a crosshair...and so I find it more difficult to quickly get a precise setting than with the Bissemeyer I had on my Unisaw (I added a DRO to solve this issue). I went with the short stroke due to the size limitations of my home shop...and so I also often rip using the rip fence--no problem with the short stroke model. Hope some of this is useful.

  2. #17
    Thanks so much for all the replies!

    I'll update my shop floor plan in SketchUp and see what I can figure out.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Winterville, NC (eastern NC)
    Posts
    2,360
    I had a Delta Unisaw prior to getting a Laguna sliding table saw. Sold the Unisaw shortly after but wished I had kept it. I later got a standard cabinet saw to use for joinery purposes such as dadoes, rabbets and groove cuts. The slider excels at cross cutting to length and large panels, in addition to the scoring feature. I think that having both a standard cabinet saw and a slider in your shop is a bonus if you have the space.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Central WI
    Posts
    5,666
    Here is a short slider set up for ripping. While not as handy as a 10' machine, for the space needed, it is pretty efficient.DSCN3690.jpgDSCN3691.jpgDSCN3692.jpgDSCN3693.jpg Tonight I was cutting for trim stock. The fence needs to be stout or anchored in the back, and the cast iron table needs to be thick to handle the stress of the feeder. I'm sure many have this set up on a cabinet saw but it works just as well on a slider and moves things along quickly.

    Finally moved back out of the way. DSCN3694.jpg Dave

  5. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey Kretz View Post
    ...he breaks down sheet goods on his sliding saw, but still cuts them to final size on his cabinet saw...
    Curious. The only reason I could see someone preferring the cabinet saw is for ripping thin pieces. Never had a customer tell me they used a cabinet saw after getting the slider. Lots of guys, however, tell me they break down the panels with a track saw first, then process the pieces on the slider. Or, I have had bigger shops keep the cabinet saw and leave it just set up for dado's. Just my 2-cents.

    Erik
    Ex-SCM and Felder rep

  6. #21
    Here is a Felder k700s 110" slide with 49" rip capacity in a inside garage dimension of 23' x 23', drawing is slightly off but full stroke can be done. AD941 shown as well. Most of the time only the front half of the slide is used so its not like its taking up the whole space.

    I have no plans to keep my cabinet saw it can all be done safer and better on a slider and I am way attached to it - I have had it 30yrs and it was my first "real" piece of equipment I bought I have probably easily put a million dollars worth of jobs thru it...

    Mark

    Capture.JPG
    Last edited by Mark e Kessler; 07-24-2019 at 11:15 PM.

  7. #22
    I had two cabinet saws before purchasing a Hammer K3 49". I still have the K3, but a KF 700 SP is now the main saw. Both of the cabinet saws are sold at the time of the K3 purchase. As others have said, sliding table saw excels at processing sheet goods. With the KF 700 SP and 3200 mm sliding table, the track saw is not being utilized as it used to. A hydraulic lift table makes handling 4x8, 5x5 sheets even easier by myself. I heavily modified a HF hydraulic lift table. Another effect is the idling of the chop saw as well.

    There are a myriads jigs one can make to make the slider even more safe. Fritz and Franz is the first jig one should make. Parallel rip fence/stops to be able to rip using the sliding table. Hold down clamps are a must for such operations. There are a lot of documentation of what people have used or made. I have made the T-nut for the sliding table T-slot out of hard wood and metal. All of them are still in service. I made extra stock that I don't think I will run out for years. For very thin, 1/8 inch rip of solid wood, I use either my cross-cut fence's end (extended with a wood/laminate wood piece) or a parallel stop as the reference point to the left of the blade (for this, you have to move the rip fence for each new cut). The set up of the sliding table saw takes some time to master. Once mastered, it gets faster and more intuitive. You will need some precision tools but that depend on how precise you want to be. I have reference 36-inch and 72-inch straight edges, a large square, a precision level, feeler gauges, and indicators. However, you can get away with just a level with grounded surfaces, feeler gauges, and a square.

    The workflow for truing up lumber has gotten a bit easier too. Rough lumber gets first cut on the slider to establish a straight face, then to either bandsaw or jointer, then finish at the jointer/planer. Cutting tenons on the slider with the cross cut fence and flip stops are effortless. F&F jig makes cutting small piece safe. There is a learning curve with a sliding table saw. It gets more intuitive as time goes by. I, for one, would not reverse to a cabinet saw.

    Felder now has PCS on their top end machines. Spend the money if you want even more safety tech. I have found that being out of the path of the saw blade has increased the safety factor tremendously.

    Budget for 3-phase converter if you're heading that way. If you move your machines, budget for a pallet jack, narrow forks, if you go with Felder/Hammer. I decided against mobility kit because the pallet jack can move other heavy machines. Moving a KF 700 SP with a pallet jack is very easy.

    WS

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Three Rivers, Central Oregon
    Posts
    2,340
    I echo everything Rod said. I've got a Hammer K3 51" short stroke and with the slider pushed forward it's ergonomically identical to a cabinet saw. Best of both worlds. I would never go back to a cabinet saw.

    Here's the footprint:
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Last edited by scott vroom; 07-28-2019 at 7:06 PM.
    Scott Vroom

    I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Posts
    99
    Does anyone know anything about the Paoloni P150 slider? I might be able to get one fairly cheaply. It seems a little small though.
    The slider stroke is only 59 inches
    cutting width 43 inches
    Table 34 x 22 inches

    Is the quality similar to the Hammer?

    Steve

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Central WI
    Posts
    5,666
    Paoloni is at least equal or possibly a tad better than Hammer- maybe closer to 700. If you can't handle a longer slider, the Paoloni would be a good machine if priced right. I'd guess 2000-2500 ? Dave

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Posts
    99
    Thank you.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Suffolk, VA
    Posts
    7
    If you can fit a 8' slider, I would try everything possible to do that. Pre-breaking down sheet goods is time consuming, more waste. I have a slider and a cabinet saw. My cabinet saw is setup with a ripping blade for narrow stock as it is easier to work around than the slider. I would never get rid of the slider. In fact I'm upgrading my Felder K700S to a Altendorf next week. It does eat up real estate, but you can work around that. You can put some mobile tools in front or behind it, roll out of the way to use full stroke of the slider.

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Cache Valley, Utah
    Posts
    1,722
    After using conventional cabinet saws for 25 years I switched from a nicely restored Delta 12/14 cabinet saw to a MiniMax SC4E. I'm still learning all the tricks to using the saw, but generally I like it a lot better than the cabinet saw. I got rid of my 12" RAS and have learned how to break stock down on the slider, and of course I got rid of the 12/14. I DID keep my Powermatic PM-65, which I generally only use for occasional fussy crosscut work like tenon shoulders, and because my router table was built into the PMs left wing. I installed the PM on the back of the slider as close to the wagon as I could get it, and it takes up essentially zero extra room.

    Sam Blasco has a lot of good Youtube videos on using a slider; also Extreme Woodworker. Watch the videos a few times, use the slider, then a couple of months later, watch them again.

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