New SawStop ICS 5hp - Only 76 Decibels

[Charles Coolidge]

The new ICS powered on for the first time tonight and made some cuts. I was stunned how quiet it was only 76 decibels. My previous 5hp saw the 12" Grizzly Extreme G0696X was in the mid 90's so about 20 decibels louder. Even got some good news on the new 3hp cyclone which was 89 decibels far quieter than my old 1.5hp which was just near 100 decibels.

First cuts were trimming Incra 5000 miter sled panels, wow so smooth. Smooth running smooth cutting. Freud 80 tooth. The SawStop overhead dust collector also worked great. I only had about 10 bits on the table saw after. Again a different experience from the Grizzly which would literally spew sawdust out the top/front of the saw.

Super happy so far with this Sawstop setup!

ics02.jpg

[ChrisA Edwards]

Congrats, I think you'll love it. I don't have the ICS, but I love my 3HP PCS.

[Jacob Mac]

That's a good looking saw. Definitely on my dream list of tools

[Aaron Liebling]

Coming from a dewalt contractor saw to the same setup, I had the exact same impression - so smooth and so quiet. I would have loved a slider if I'd had room, but as it is I'm very satisfied.

[Brian Tymchak]

Congrats on the new saw. I'm green with envy!

I've found that noise levels at the TS are dependent on the blade and a newly sharpened blade is noticeably quieter than a duller blade. For whatever reason, a WWII that I put on was noticeably louder just running (not cutting) than a Freud blade.

[Charles Coolidge]

Some additional ICS feedback

1. The industrial mobile base 5 stars, it's brilliant!

2. The folding outfeed table 2 stars. SawStop needs to redesign this. I'm sure some engineer is patting themselves on the back for cramming it into the smallest box possible but at the expense of a horrid assembly and functionally a better design. The washers they provide to adjust it level with the saw table are .040 thick which means you will be way too high or too low. I had to chase all over town to find some thinner washers to get it level. Raised height is floor dependent so if you don't get the saw rolled back into the exact same position you have to adjust it level. That's why you see one leg kicked out sideways a bit. Referenced to the saw like the HTC would be a better design. The fancy (SawStop) embossed panel is fancy form over function, just give us a flat level insert. The rear rail clamp install is retarded. I see why some people complained about the end caps interfering with raising/lowering the table because you have to actually pull the clamps back about 1/2 inch from the front of the rail for proper clearance. I used a long 1/2 inch diameter rod from my mortiser, set that in front of the clamps and jammed them up against it. That spaced it perfectly and evenly but none of this issue was covered in the assembly instructions.

3. Overarm dust collector 4 stars. Sawstop needs to drill the holes for this in the underside of the saw's side table where it attaches. Bending over/upside down drilling screw holes is not a fun install. It's great the arm rotates out of the way, the lock knob to lock the arm in place is retarded. Mine refuses to snap lock in place without a lot of jiggering. Yes I read the instructions on this, also retarded. Just a bad design. That said it works great.

4. The riving knife attachment is moronic 0 stars. It was not centered to the blade from the factory so I had to loosen the bolts to adjust it which involved 30 minutes of jiggering while cussing.

That said I'm super impressed with the fit and finish on the ICS. The fence faces are a bit wavy but not that it will be an issue. It was easy to dial in, arbor runout was less than .001. The dust collection inside the cabinet was interesting, the blade is fully enclosed and a 4 inch dust collection hose internally up to that enclosure vs other saws have a 2.5 inch hose. There's a door on that enclosure you can swing out for blade changes and other adjustments which was a nice touch.

[Aaron Liebling]

For the folding outfeed table, much better off just building your own:

https://www.rockler.com/learn/foldin...-outfeed-table

Also, I don't think I had to drill any holes for my overarm dust collector???

[Eric Cothern]

I got the 1.75 about 3 weeks ago, I too was amazed at how quiet it was.

[Thomas Wilson]

The sound comes from vibration. The vibration comes from imbalance in the rotating mass and manufacturing imperfections like run out. The magnitude of the oscillation is dependent on the stiffness and mass of the structure. A quiet saw means less vibration which translates into a smoother cut. The ICS really is great for smooth cuts. I have the 3hp ICS. I have to admit I never tire of hearing the huh-wum sound when it fires up.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have the old 5hp ICS. Yes it's a joy.
Take the time to set your saw so it cuts perfectly straight. Then take the time to set your ruler on the saw to cut at the inch marks. Once set, you don't have to measure with a tape rule. Set your indicator at 4" or what ever, and cut. Lesson learned, check your tape rule against the tape on the saw. One om my tape rules was not the same as the saw (1/4" off over the 52"), so things did get a bit off when I first measured marked with the tape rule and cut. I tossed that one out and solely use the tape on the saw.....
You'll love that saw.

[Charles Coolidge]

Kyle speaking of tapes and rules, the Wixley digital scale I ordered for the Powermatic planer is kind of cheap and the install is not the best. I'm eying this EL400 DRO instead. Stupid money but I owned one of these before on a metal lathe, accurate to .0002. The scales can be cut to length. HUGE display which is much easier to read with my old eyes. It's 2 axis so I was thinking of using one for the planer and the other for the ICS.

https://www.dropros.com/Electronica_...xis_Mill_Kits:

[Andrew More]

4. The riving knife attachment is moronic 0 stars. It was not centered to the blade from the factory so I had to loosen the bolts to adjust it which involved 30 minutes of jiggering while cussing.

I'm wondering if you got a bad one here. I've got the PCS instead of the ICS, but I was super impressed with the riving knife/overblade guard attachments. Not only were they perfectly aligned, but the swapping system is so easy I'm much more likely to have one or the other installed, meaning better dust collection and safety when the blade guard is attached.

[Charles Coolidge]

I'm wondering if you got a bad one here. I've got the PCS instead of the ICS, but I was super impressed with the riving knife/overblade guard attachments. Not only were they perfectly aligned, but the swapping system is so easy I'm much more likely to have one or the other installed, meaning better dust collection and safety when the blade guard is attached.

The swapping system is easy. The issue is the saw arrived with the riving knife out of adjustment. The knife was flush with the teeth on the left side of the blade, all the gap was on the right side of the blade e.g. the knife was not centered. To center it required loosening the socket head bolts and there's so much slop in that whole assembly coupled with those bolts being difficult to get at this was pretty annoying. The knife had to be moved to the right but also bolted down parallel to the blade. Suffices to say there's room for improvement.

Now I could write paragraphs on what I love about the saw, love this saw overall. The few issues I'm noting are in the spirit of a balanced review.

[Andrew More]

Suffices to say there's room for improvement.

Sure I get that, but since I did not run into the same issue you're reporting, I have to wonder if it's a manufacturing defect, rather than an issue with the entire line.