Contributor
Pat, my late 90's unisaw is alive, kicking and not going anywhere any time soon. It does everything you could ask of any cabinet saw.
That said, lots of folks have moved to sawstop for the added safety and delta (unfortunately) has largely abandoned their client-base so they're not attracting a lot of new customers. There's lots of options nowadays though and sliders are freaking awesome if you have the room for one.
[OP]
Member
Interesting. I have a Delta dust collector, drill press and lunchbox planer. I have noticed I don't see those anymore. Apparently, Delta went away with The New Yankee Workshop. Further reading reveals Delta management flew the brand into the ground. It appears if I bought a Unisaw I would likely have trouble getting parts support these days.Originally Posted by John Kananis
I see Harvey and SawStop both have slider options. I will keep a slider in mind as a future upgrade.
Last edited by Pat Germain; 05-21-2022 at 1:03 PM.
If the water is 100 feet down, it doesn't matter how many 90 foot wells you dig.
Contributor
Seems I touched a nerve, which was not my intention. OP stated that they had been away for about 10 years, and it was unclear if they understood their options, I was just trying to be helpful. Harvey seems to make fine machines, I'm sure their table saw will be great. FWIW, the Power Tool Institute has stated that with the induction of the UL 987 safety standard there have been no reported blade contact injuries on a table with the new guard installed. The massive caveat here being with the new guard installed.
PTI-StatementTableSawSafety.pdf
[OP]
Member
No problem at all, Andrew. It's just a running gag that SawStop owners like to recommend their saws. As I mentioned, I'm also considering a SawStop. I appreciate your concern for my safety.
If the water is 100 feet down, it doesn't matter how many 90 foot wells you dig.
Contributor
Fair enough. FWIW, I've love for there to be another saw with the same feature, but since Bosch lost the lawsuit that doesn't seem likely to happen for another couple of years. Which is sad, because the Bosch was the superior mechanism, IMHO.
Contributor
Pat,
Last Fall I switched from a 3hp cabinet saw to a Euro slider.
A few observations:
1. The footprint of the slider is slightly less than that of my cabinet saw. Both scenarios provide 48+ inches right of the blade;
2. The slider allows the user to safely perform operations that are either difficult or dangerous on a cabinet saw, even with a Sawstop - e.g. no kickback when using the carriage instead of the rip fence to process a piece of wood. Squaring a panel or large piece is very easy on a slider.
3. The addition of the outrigger augments the footprint of the machine but it usually not a problem since the piece being processed is often of equal or greater width.
4. The 3hp on my cabinet saw was adequate for my needs (hobbyist).
5. If buying new, a Euro slider will be more expensive than most cabinet saws. The price difference is much smaller when comparing with a Sawstop. Although not frequent there are occasionally some good used machines offered on the market.
These few lines are intended to provide you with some additional data points for your analysis.
Regards,
Jacques
Contributor
Could you quantify this a bit? Exactly how big is the foot print and which slider are you using?
[OP]
Member
Interesting. I had not considered a European slider. I will look into this. I'm not familiar with those saws. Can you tell us what brand and model saw you are using?
Thanks!
If the water is 100 feet down, it doesn't matter how many 90 foot wells you dig.
Contributor
Andrew / Pat,
As my shop is a single car garage (14x20) I have chosen to go with a Hammer B3 (this is the saw/spindle unit that has the same size as the K3 saw) with a 2000mm carriage (80 inches). It replaced a General International 3hp cabinet saw. The distance from the wall to the left side of the B3/K3 is a few inches less than what it was with the GI cabinet saw.
The front-to-back distance is somewhat similar. I had built a cross-cut sled for the cabinet saw and had added a « support arm » (piece of oak bolted to the left wing) on the infeed side to support the sled when pulled fully back. This support arm was about the same length as the equivalent steel beam on my Hammer.
The beam extends roughly another foot at the back (outfeed) of the B3/K3. If one chose the shorter configuration (Rod Sheridan and Derek Cohen have done so, among others) the front-to-back distance of the slider then becomes similar to that of a cabinet saw.
As mentioned earlier, the total footprint increases when the outrigger is installed, but it is only on the saw when needed, at which point one needs the space to move the piece being cut anyway.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if more clarifications/information is needed.
J.
Contributor
Pat Check out the Classified ads on Sawmill Creek. Ian Guy has a Hammer K3 for Sale. I also have the Hammer K3 Winner with the comfort package but on mine like Rod's saw I opted for the 31 1/2" rip capacity and have not missed the larger 48" 1 bit. This saw does take up less space than my General International saw that it replaced. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....-(Kansas-City)
Contributor
Pat,
Robyn has provided you with an option worth serious consideration.
J.
Contributor
One thing I don't think folks realize is that the outfeed table on a slider "slides" out of the way when you need the space, unlike the a fixed outfield table on a normal cabinet saw. You must still allocate the floor space for the wagon to stroke but when the wagon is pulled back the space is open for a walkway.
The Plane Anarchist
Contributor
Plus the outrigger and long fence can be quickly detached when not doing a sheet goods project. And a slider can be fitted with a shop made Fritz & Franz jig to allow safe cuts of small pieces.
My first saw was a slider, then we moved, got a cabinet saw and hated it. I now have another slider and very happy. (80” slider, but I would recommend longer if you have the room. If not, the shorter sliders are still much better than a cabinet saw + sled)
[OP]
Member
Wow, that's a really spiffy saw. Not sure how I'd get it from Kansas City to Colorado Springs. I expect shipping would be quite punishing.
If the water is 100 feet down, it doesn't matter how many 90 foot wells you dig.
Contributor
Pat, I'm a recent convert. I sold my 3 HP cabinet saw that had rails that allowed a 50" cut to the right of the blade. It was replaced with a MiniMax SC2C with 48" right of the blade. I love the saw and do not miss the cabinet saw even though I had many, many jigs and fixtures that worked great. I would prefer a smaller distance right of the blade and will probably address cutting the table down this winter. The slider allows me to make so many different types of cuts both quickly and, more importantly, safely. If you can swing the cost, I would take a look at a short stroke slider.
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