Hybrid saws vs cabinet saws

[Michael J Evans]

Hi all
Trying to decide on whether I want to go with a hybrid type saw or a cabinet saw. Either the harvey alpha hw110lc-36p, Harvey C300, grizzly g0771z or g0123rl.
I'm a little stumped at the "hybrid" saws. As far as I understand it a hybrid saw is a cabinet saw with a 110v motor? They all seem to have cabinet mounted trunnions (which is what makes a cabinet saw, a cabinet saw?) And maybe some slightly lighter weight components, right?
But isn't the big deal about the cabinet saw the trunnions?

The point I'm getting at is for someone like me who has a decent bandsaw to handle thick rips, and mainly just wants a cabinet saw for very accurate ripping in sheet goods / final ripping solid wood. does a 3hp cabinet saw do anything the 110v version can't besides make me feel good?

Thanks
Michael

[Matthew Hills]

The main feature of a "hybrid saw" is that the motor is mounted inside the cabinet, rather than hanging out the back. This helps with space and dust collection (*).

Not all hybrid saws have cabinet-mounted trunnions. The sears zipcode saws do; my Jet proshop's motor is hung from the table.

My proshop has a good fence and I get good cut quality with a thin-kerf freud fusion blade--great for consistent cuts.
I do think the 3hp saws are better if you want to run a full-kerf blade and/or do a lot of work with thick hardwoods.


(*) having an enclosed cabinet does not guarantee very good dust collection -- a blade shroud below the table and above-table dust collection really help.

Matt

[Myk Rian]

I have one of the Steel City saws with the upgraded fence. Cabinet, large cast top, and trunion motor mount. It's a great saw. Same as the C-man hybrids.

12406d1208053170-steel-city-pics-100_2715s.jpg

[Jim Becker]

To be clear, the so-called hybrid saws are the evolution of what were "contractors' style saws" from back in the day. These are economical machines, often will run on 120v power and can satisfy the needs of many woodworkers. The advantage of this newere design is as has been mentioned above...unlike the older contrtactors' style saws, the hybrids move the motor, etc., into the cabinet for a cleaner footprint and look. They typically retain the trunnions connected directly to the table like their predecessor and are generally a little lighter in weight than a "full" cabinet saw.

[Robert Engel]

Hybrids appeal to a certain market. Perfectly good machines, in fact I have one (Jet 1 3/4HP) in addition to a 3HP cab saw. Just my opinion, I would say a good saw, good fence, but not the caliber of a full on cab saw.

If money isn't the issue, I'd go with a 3HP cabinet saw and it would be a SawStop. It'll be the last one you buy.

[Michael J Evans]

I have one of the Steel City saws with the upgraded fence. Cabinet, large cast top, and trunion motor mount. It's a great saw. Same as the C-man hybrids.

12406d1208053170-steel-city-pics-100_2715s.jpg

Good to hear. Thanks

[Michael J Evans]

To be clear, the so-called hybrid saws are the evolution of what were "contractors' style saws" from back in the day. These are economical machines, often will run on 120v power and can satisfy the needs of many woodworkers. The advantage of this newere design is as has been mentioned above...unlike the older contrtactors' style saws, the hybrids move the motor, etc., into the cabinet for a cleaner footprint and look. They typically retain the trunnions connected directly to the table like their predecessor and are generally a little lighter in weight than a "full" cabinet saw.

Hi Jim,
The Harvey, Grizzly & Laguna have cabinet mounted trunnions. The Harvey & Grizzly being iron whereas the Laguna trunnion is aluminum. The Laguna proshops would actually be the cheapest out the door to me, but I am having a hard time getting past the Aluminum trunnions. My next issue is the Harvey and grizzly Hybrids are within about $500 of the same branded 3HP cabinet saws. I currently don't have 220v in my Garage so I factor in approximately another $400 to get 220V put in, that puts the cabinet saw approx 900-1000 more than a Hybrid... I just don't want to be kicking myself later on not spending that extra 1K for the 3HP saw (more like 1300-1400 by the time I factor in a loss for selling my hybrid). Back to the point though, if the Hybrids have the cabinet mounted trunnions, good fence and I don't need the 3HP, why should I go for the 3HP "cabinet" saw?

[Michael J Evans]

Hybrids appeal to a certain market. Perfectly good machines, in fact I have one (Jet 1 3/4HP) in addition to a 3HP cab saw. Just my opinion, I would say a good saw, good fence, but not the caliber of a full on cab saw.

If money isn't the issue, I'd go with a 3HP cabinet saw and it would be a SawStop. It'll be the last one you buy.

Robert, if money was a semi issue and you don't need the full power of a 3HP saw, what would you do?

[glenn bradley]

I've had contractor, hybrid and cab saws. I'm currently using my old hybrid (C-man 22124) while building out a new space. My current cab saw is a Saw Stop PCS 3HP. The hybrid always did all I asked of it but, required a bit of finesse. With good alignment and blade stabilizers it would do wonderful work. I attribute a lot of that to the relatively heavy build, the cabinet mounted trunnions and the Biesemeyer fence.

The Saw Stop was my choice at the $3k tier regardless of the safety feature. The heavier, more powerful machine cuts easier which promotes safety and confidence in the operation being performed. The Bies-clone fence works very well. The saws leading up to the cabinet saw format were stepping stones for me. You just need to decide if this is your last saw or your next saw.

[Jim Becker]

Hi Jim,
The Harvey, Grizzly & Laguna have cabinet mounted trunnions. The Harvey & Grizzly being iron whereas the Laguna trunnion is aluminum.

Interesting that they call them hybrids in that case...marketing at its finest!

The increase in power with the 3hp saw does have some benefits, but depending on what you do, you may not notice them so much. You'll have to weigh the cost/effort to have 240v available for the more powerful saw vs the practicality of getting the 1.5hp/2hp option and just plugging it in. Of course, with no 240v in your shop, that also impacts dust collection, so that should be part of the consideration when it comes to the "do I add a subpanel to my shop to permit 240v tools". Someone in another thread recently mentioned that there "may" be financial incentives for getting 240v in a garage so charging EVs can be supported. I haven't looked into that, however.