Looking for Advice on a Sliding Table saw

[Ronald Blue]

I have an opportunity to purchase a 2 year old ShopFox sliding table saw. I'm not looking for a critique of the machine. That's not my question. I know a slider can be safer, and easier to do many different things. After looking into the general concept isn't a slider more suited to volume breaking down of sheet goods? If that's true I see it as a luxury but not a necessity. I just don't know that I would get anywhere near enough benefit from it to put it in my shop. Any and all constructive input and knowledge welcome.

[Mike Kreinhop]

In my shop, I use a track saw to rip large sheet goods, but use the slider for everything else. I can't imagine using my slider just to break down sheet goods.

[Ronald Blue]

I claim no slider knowledge so that's why I'm here. So a slider does everything a "conventional saw" does along with keeping your hands away from the blade. I suppose I should look at YouTube as I'm sure there are many videos touting the benefits of a slider. I know there are more than a few here solidly behind the sliders role in woodworking. I wish I knew someone that has one of any brand I could see in use.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

A slider is good with sheets, but it's also great with solid stock. Ripping a straight line off the carriage in lieu of jointing flat is a game changer. You can also rapidly crosscut to length using the stop systems on most saws. I know nothing about the Shop Fox, my experience is with Felder predominantly.

[Mike Kreinhop]

I didn't buy my slider because it's safer, I bought it because it was the only saw available that wasn't a contractor saw. I was looking for a nice cabinet saw, but there is no market for them in Germany. There are plenty of vendors in the UK who sell cabinet saws, but none would ship to Germany. I am glad I bought the slider and wouldn't consider replacing it with a cabinet saw now.

For safety, I don't think any device with a large spinning slicing device can be truly safe. Make it idiot proof, and someone will find a better idiot. However, in my opinion, the slider is about as safe as can be. When I see some woodworking videos with people pushing sheetgoods over the exposed blade of a cabinet saw to the point where their upper body is over the blade, I am glad I have a slider. Now that I installed a positioner on the sliding wagon, I do all of my crosscutting and ripping while standing to the left of the blade.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

There are a lot of things to know about sliders. First of all, there are "true" sliders and "sliding attachment" sliders. True sliders have a sliding table that goes right up to the blade. This is what you want. Sliding attachments are basically a sliding wing that adds on to a cabinet saw. I have one of those, and it's almost worthless. It's extremely hard to keep in tune, and you have tons of table between the slider and the blade. You can't do what a real slider does best- and that is ripping straight edges on lumber. I worked at a shop that had a true slider with a 10' sliding table. Oh what a dream. We would buy mahogany by the truckloads and it was all rough sawn. I would use the slider to straighten one edge, then dimension with that edge against the fence. I also would use it to dimension sheet goods. We would buy plywood as big as 5x10' and it was wonderful to use the slider.

I would get a slider with no less than an 8' sliding table unless you ONLY do small stuff, but even if you do small stuff, you're probably going to want to rip a 4x8 sheet longways, or true up the edge of an 8' board before dimensioning. I would personally want 8' or more- preferably 10' for a slider. I would have a cabinet saw to go with the slider for dadoes and small cuts.

Sliders can have scoring blades, and that is great for laminates and fine veneered plywoods, but it's not a necessity.

Keep in mind that they take up a ton of room due to the sliding table, although the table extension usually folds down when not in use.

I hope this feedback is helpful.

[Tom Bain]

You will likely get a range of views on here. Most everyone who has a slider or converted from a conventional table saw (like myself) will sing their praises. There is a non-trivial learning curve to exploit a slider to its full capabilities and I would encourage you do as much research as possible before making the decision. I will also note that many sliders have large footprints and can take up considerably more space in the shop than a conventional cabinet saw.

[Jim Becker]

I was unaware that ShopFox offered a sliding table saw unless it's a cabinet saw with an attached sliding table. These are different than a Euro type slider in that the edge of the sliding portion isn't right at the blade. Grizzly (who makes ShopFox) does make true-sliders, however. There is a different aspect with safety with a true Euro type slider than there is with a cabinet saw that has a sliding table attachment.

I mention this not to be critical of a specific machine; rather, to be sure that we are all on the same page relative to the type of machine you are asking about.

[Ronald Blue]

It's a ShopFox 1811. I'm still on the fence literally if it's the right move for me.
amazon.com/Shop-Fox-W1811-10-Inch-Sliding/dp/B004IYJ9WE

[David Kumm]

A short stroke slider of that design has some design issues for both sheet and solid stock. The support arm in the front will always seem to be in your way and a sliding saw should be built stout enough to not need that. If you move the saw in the shop, you will need to adjust the support every time ( unless you go to the exact same spot ) or the table will not travel consistently compared to the fixed table. A short slider generally uses the rip fence to rip long stock like a traditional saw. The table sticking out the front will be awkward. The crosscut fence must be easily removed and more importantly, reinstall at exactly 90 or you will go crazy. I have sliders from 18" to 10' and my favorite sizes are either 39" or 10'. Dave

[Rob Sack]

True sliding table saws are terrific but they are expensive to buy and you have to allow a lot of shop real estate to accommodate the travel of the sliding table, assuming the saw has an 8 ft or larger sliding table. I almost pulled the trigger on one several times, but just couldn't give up the amount of space it would take up. I currently use a Sawstop ICS saw with an Excalibur sliding table. The Excalibur sliding table is now coincidentally manufactured by Sawstop. My interest was being able to crosscut 4 x 8 sheets. I know several manufacturers make a "short slider" that can handle a 48 - 60' crosscut, but I never found one to my liking despite searching at numerous AWFS trade shows. Being able to rip a 4 x 8 (or 4 x 10 depending on the slider) would have been nice, but I get great results using the rip fence. Straight lining solid lumber is also a nice feature, but my 12" jointer with an 8 ft bed solves that problem.

Despite it's appearance, the Excalibur (now Sawstop) sliding table is incredibly accurate and consistently holds its adjustments just fine. Panels come out perfectly square every time. As far as safety is concerned, the only thing safer than a Sawstop table saw is to avoid cutting wood in the first place.

[Mike Wilkins]

I have a short stroke slider and use for everything from sizing plywood panels to solid wood processing. They do play a big part in some commercial shops for breaking down panels for cabinet builds, especially the longer stroke machines. But myself and others on this forum use their machines often for solid wood processing, especially for sizing to length and ripping.
As a side benefit, I feel safer using my slider vs. a standard cabinet saw.

[Mike Kees]

True sliding table saws are terrific but they are expensive to buy and you have to allow a lot of shop real estate to accommodate the travel of the sliding table, assuming the saw has an 8 ft or larger sliding table. I almost pulled the trigger on one several times, but just couldn't give up the amount of space it would take up. I currently use a Sawstop ICS saw with an Excaliber sliding table. The Excaliber sliding table is now coincidentally manufactured by Sawstop. My interest was being able to crosscut 4 x 8 sheets. I know several manufacturers make a "short slider" that can handle a 48 - 60' crosscut, but I never found one to my liking despite searching at numerous AWFS trade shows. Being able to rip a 4 x 8 (or 4 x 10 depending on the slider) would have been nice, but I get great results using the rip fence. Straight lining solid lumber is also a nice feature, but my 12" jointer with an 8 ft bed solves that problem.

Despite it's appearance, the Excaliber (now Sawstop) sliding table is incredibly accurate and consistently holds its adjustments just fine. Panels come out perfectly square every time. As far as safety is concerned, the only thing safer than a Sawstop table saw is to avoid cutting wood in the first place.

If you think that an Excalibur is accurate you need to try out a real slider. It will truly "knock your socks off".

[Ronald Blue]

Thanks for all the input. I thinking I'm going to pass on it. I'd rather put the money into something else. Ironically I have a Craftsman zip code saw that was given to me. It's okay except for a lousy fence. (Yes I'm cheap). I have a slider attachment for it that I haven't gotten around to installing. It's an Excalibur. Maybe if I recover more from Covid I can get some things done. I'm not pushing myself to hard though. One day at a time.

[Jim Becker]

It's a ShopFox 1811. I'm still on the fence literally if it's the right move for me.
amazon.com/Shop-Fox-W1811-10-Inch-Sliding/dp/B004IYJ9WE

Ok, that appears to be a ShopFox version of the base Grizzly slider which sells for $3295 plus $175 for freight on sale. And yes, it's a "True slider".

I will say this...I'd NEVER go back to a cabinet saw from a slider. If I have to downsize my saw if we downsize our properly, I'll have another slider that just has a smaller wagon capacity. But it will be a true slider.