Cabinet Saw B-Day Present?

[Julie Moriarty]

For the past couple of months I've been working on a neighbor's kitchen remodel (he thought he turned the stove off but rather turned it on high and a fire followed) To do the work, another neighbor offered his PM 66 and what a difference working on that has been compared to my old Delta contractor's saw.

Apparently, I have been doing a lot of raving about working with a cabinet saw because the other day my SO said, "Someone's birthday is coming up. Seems like I know what to get her."

I'm torn, for one because "DO I REALLY NEED IT?" and another "Do I have enough room to fit one?" It would have to be a smaller table. No way a 52" would fit. The other thing is I'd want to retrofit the sliding table presently on the contractor's saw onto the new saw.

IF this happens (big IF) the likeliest candidate is the Delta Unisaw, 5HP with a 36" table.

Any thoughts?

[Robert Engel]

Good saw, big motor!

[Clifford McGuire]

What a great birthday present!

I have the 5HP 52" PM66. It's a great saw. Not sure what I'd do w/o it. I've had it for almost 20 years and I could get by with the smaller table. And I build a lot of furniture.

[Curt Harms]

I have 27" to the right of the blade (including a router table) and don't miss having more. If I need to cut bigger I cut slightly oversized using a P-C 314 & saw guide. Me and 4 X 8 sheets don't get along for a few reasons. I chose 27" because that fits in the space allotted. The splitter for a Delta Unisaw fits my Griz 1023 (late '90s version) without modification and I suspect other accessories made for the Unisaw would fit as well. If I were going to drop the coin for a new Unisaw I'd probably get a SawStop instead. I'd suspect the sliding table could be mounted with some cleverness, at least take a look.

[Jim Becker]

No sweat on the shorter fence/right side table setup at all. While I'm sure there are some folks who use the wider setups for actual cutting, I strongly suspect that for many people, a good chunk of that real estate becomes, um...."storage". And yes, you will absolutely benefit from a sturdy table saw that has a lot of mass. Less vibration. More power. Easier "dialing in" that stays that way. Etc.

Congrats in advance for your prospective birthday present!

[Harvey Miller]

I found the cabinet saw had a smaller footprint than the comparable contractor's saw. No motor hanging off the back. Before I bought I made a wooden strip 'outline' of the one I was thinking of to figure out if I could work around it. I eventually went with a 36" rip.

[Ron Selzer]

mobile base will make a big saw fit in a small space. Have a 5hp SawStop ICS 36" with mobile base. Constantly jacking the saw up and turning or moving it to work around it or use it.
Bought the mobile base just because now realize it is a very important feature. Without it would cut the saw down to 24".
5hp would be the minimum, a true sliding saw would be nice also. I had a Delta contractors saw for 29yrs before upgrading
Ron

[glenn bradley]

I wish I had a picture of a friend who stopped by to cut some material on my cab saw. He runs a tricked out contractor which can be very workable, I used one for years. The look on his face at the smooth, quiet, quick operation of the saw was priceless. As long as you've been doing this I think you deserve to treat yourself. Happy Birthday (coming up).

[Richard Coers]

Treat yourself to a lifetime of keeping your fingers too, get a Sawstop.

[Bill McNiel]

Julie,
The step up from Contractor's to Cabinet will amaze you. I upgraded to a Delta 3HP (not sure the 3HP is still manufactured) over 20 years ago and have vever had a single issue. BTW- IMHO 3HP is plenty but 5HP is beyond. I'm not really sure at all that the Cabinet footprint is appreciably bigger than the Contractor.

Regards - Bill

[Bruce Page]

I upgraded from a Sears contractor to my 3hp Unisaw 20 years ago. I have never wanted for more hp. I still smile every time I turn it on. I have the 52” but rarely use it all.

Happy Birthday!

[Michael W. Clark]

I have the 52” rip, love it when needed. Grizzly 1023 5 HP cabinet saw. No complaints. Happy Birthday!

[Derek Arita]

Alright...here's my $.02...first, don't worry about the size thing. You'll find the room you need, believe me. It will be worth the trouble. Now, as for the 66...about 10 to 15 years ago, I wanted and got a 66. I was so disappointed with the fit, finish and over quality of the machining that I sent it back. Webbing on the underside of the tables seemed undersized. I got another 66 and ended up sending it back as well, for the same reasons. I finally decided that a 66 was not for me and got a PM2000. I have been happy with the PM2000 ever since. The tables are flat and fit and finish are great as well. I'm a hobby woodworker, so I doubt the motor will fail before I do, but if it does, I'll replace it with a Baldor.

[Andrew Seemann]

Due to space limitations, I used to have a 32" rip fence on my Unisaw, which did most of what I needed. I have 52" now, which I much prefer, and do use enough to justify it, but I could survive with 36" if I needed to.

Unless you do a lot of ripping of dense hardwood more than 2" thick, a 5 HP motor is probably overkill. I have a 3 HP on my Unisaw, and I almost never need (or want) more power than that. For the price of that 5HP Delta, you are at about the same price as a 3HP SS PCS 36". I don't want to start the "SS vs I hate SS debate," but even if you turn the safety stuff off, it still is likely a better saw than the Delta.

This all assumes you can actually find any of these in stock somewhere.

[Jack Frederick]

This set-up has worked out very well for me. As to, do you need it? Given your appreciation of the 66 you will smile every time you turn your new cabinet saw on, so yes, I think you need it.