Sliding Table Saw Companies - Have I missed any options?

[David M Peters]

I'm shopping around for sliders and am compiling a spreadsheet of options. I'm considering both European & Asian machines. Have I missed any companies? Altendorf und Martin are off the table

Cantek
Casadei
Felder
Grizzly
Ironwood
Laguna
Maksiwa
Robland
Rojenk
SCM
SketchNBuild
Stallion

Thank you all for your input!

[Jim Becker]

Seems to be a pretty good list to work from for your research. You'll find that most of the previous discussion on this topic here revolves around Felder/Hammer and SCM/Minimax, both of which are well represented in our community.

[Brian Holcombe]

The two eliminated are likely the nicest, Personally I’d hunt for those on the used market.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

You will find that most of those odd-ball brands are the same machine with different names slapped on the side. If you go that way, at least buy from Grizzley, they support this forum and have service after the sale. I suggest you look at your choices by country of origin, you'll find that the Austrian/Germans, and the Italians are the top tier, the others are sliding saw shaped objects. Look at that "massive" trunnion on sketchnbuild, or the slider "bearings" on the stallion with it's plastic components to see the difference. You can get a good quality used saw for the price of one of those new shiney turds. I agree with Brian, you knocked the best one off the list already.

[David Kumm]

I'd go used on a slider but add Biesse. They own a plant in China and probably make some of those listed. The build on the Chinese machines tends to be heavy but the precision has been somewhat hit or miss. That seems to get better every year and I haven't looked at any recently. Lightly used sliders come up regularly. My experience is the heavier industrial machines might have seen harder lives but still hold their settings better than lower end new. Dave

[Peter Kelly]

I'm shopping around for sliders and am compiling a spreadsheet of options. I'm considering both European & Asian machines. Have I missed any companies? Altendorf und Martin are off the table

Cantek
Casadei
Felder
Grizzly
Ironwood
Laguna
Maksiwa
Robland
Rojenk
SCM
SketchNBuild
Stallion

Thank you all for your input!

You'll probably find that several of those brands (Maksiwa, Cantek, Ironwood, SketchNBuild, Stallion, Laguna, Grizzly, etc.) are all the same Chinese or Taiwanese machines with different paint so you might as well go with whomever gives you the best deal on overall cost and shipping. Otherwise, SCM/Casadei or Felder. Robland stuff is pretty nice but Martin USA haven't been real responsive in my experience.

[David M Peters]

One I missed, Bailiegh,also stocks the usual Asian clones 😉

[Rod Wolfy]

Hammer has some.

[Ronald Blue]

If you're interested in used this can be at the least the source of discussion.

https://www.irsauctions.com/search-results/?view=&ind=

Just search for tables saws.

[Erik Loza]

OP, I work/have worked for two of the companies on your list and have MANY slider owners. What exactly are you looking for in a slider? I don’t mean price or features. What specific need are you actually trying to fill? Hobby shop? Pro shop? Or? Reason I ask is that your list is kind of all over the place. Not the European vs. Asian part. You have machines on there that have tiny sliding tables and little motors, then 3-phase 10’ machines that only a commercial shop would look at. “I need a slider. This is what I’m planning to do. This is my budget (I know there is one, because you said Martin is not on your list... though a Chinese Altendorf might be) and these are the things most important to me”, are really the questions that need to answered. Hope this is not coming across as impolite. I sell sliders for a living and the “spreadsheet types” rarely end up happy owners in my experience.

Erik

[andrew whicker]

Laguna's are their own design (at least as far as bandsaws). I've talked with an ex Grizzly engineer about woodworking and metalworking tools. He thought Lagunas were decent machines, but they weren't the same design as Grizzly, et al.

Also, the other advice he gave was to find machines that Grizzly, et al have been manufacturing for long time. Sliders, for example, have been slowly fixed and modified as necessary over the years. So they are probably pretty good machines (for their price point).

[David M Peters]

Hey Erik, thanks for the question! Not impolite at all. I do realize that my manufacturer list is all over the place - I'm compiling a spreadsheet of saws as I do research and am just tossing them on.

I'm a hobbyist looking for a machine that at a minimum will be able to clean up the long edge of a piece of 8x4 plywood. I can fit a 10' table but if I don't need to pay for it then all the better. I'd really like to keep the budget at $10k or less. Must-have features:

* Single phase
* Overarm dust hood
* Minimum wagon travel of 96"
* Readout sights on the crosscut flip-stops

Nice-to-haves:

* Operable whilst holding a whole piece of plywood - I like the models with the option of putting the controls on the end of the wagon
* Loading idler roller on the outrigger
* Dado capability

I don't need CNC or electric movement features.

Since 2014 I've had a short-stroke slider from Grizzy that has treated me well enough but now that I'm out of my small basement shop I'd like to get something more capacious.

[David Kumm]

Take a look at Mac's clamps for sliders. They are machine jewelry and a great safety feature. You really need a 9' table to rip ply. You don't want to have to remove the crosscut fence to do so. A 10' is the best length. I really like my short stroke and 10' sliders but anything in between is frustrating. I'm also a three phase guy and you can often get a much heavier saw and a RPC for less used than a single phase machine. I've got a 9 hp motor on my large slider and needed all of it on occasion. Dave

[Erik Loza]

Hey Erik, thanks for the question! Not impolite at all. I do realize that my manufacturer list is all over the place - I'm compiling a spreadsheet of saws as I do research and am just tossing them on.

I'm a hobbyist looking for a machine that at a minimum will be able to clean up the long edge of a piece of 8x4 plywood. I can fit a 10' table but if I don't need to pay for it then all the better. I'd really like to keep the budget at $10k or less. Must-have features:

* Single phase
* Overarm dust hood
* Minimum wagon travel of 96"
* Readout sights on the crosscut flip-stops

Nice-to-haves:

* Operable whilst holding a whole piece of plywood - I like the models with the option of putting the controls on the end of the wagon
* Loading idler roller on the outrigger
* Dado capability

I don't need CNC or electric movement features.

Since 2014 I've had a short-stroke slider from Grizzy that has treated me well enough but now that I'm out of my small basement shop I'd like to get something more capacious.

That's great info, David. From the Felder side, you have two options that are somewhat within that budget range: The Hammer K4 Perform and Felder K500S.

Just an observation as well: You probably won't be able to get a European-made machine WITH overhead sawguard for $10K or even $11K. No matter Austrian or Italian. That option adds around $1K just by itself.

Good luck with your search.

Erik

[Kevin Jenness]

I would suggest looking for a used industrial machine in good shape and plan to add a rotary phase converter to handle it. You will wind up with a much more capable saw within your budget than buying a new unit such as Erik cites plus be open to future 3 phase equipment opportunities. Free advice, worth every penny.