Harvey ST-1500 Sliding Table question

[Jay Houghton]

I recently sold a machine I didn't need and now can repurpose that money into something else. I recently got a Sawstop and was thinking of the Harvey sliding table attachment for it. Expensive but it sure looks like the build quality is first class. You essentially get the Harvey miter gauge as part of the price so that's a $300 value. Still, doesn't make it cheap.
I do worry about the space requirements but not having to lug the sled around would be nice and a slider would be a nice way to trim glue ups and panel ends, that kind of thing.
Anyone have experience with one of these?
Jay

[Michael Burnside]

I'm in the same boat. It's either Sawstop or Harvey but I can't decide which one to get. I've used the Sawstop brand which was awesome and started the whole "hmmm I think I need that" but the Harvey sure looks nice too.

[John Kananis]

I have the Harvey slider on my unisaw (had to drill some holes). I really like it (it stays square for one) and it's making me want a real slider quite badly but that's not happening for a bit. I'll be happy to answer any questions.

[Jay Houghton]

I've viewed just about all the video on YouTube and the reviews are definitely good. Some had a problem or comment here or there, but in the main it gets good reviews. I think it's actually cheaper than the Sawstop slider. They both MSRP at $1399 but right now the Harvey is $1199. But with shipping and tax it does climb quite a bit.
Harvey definitely seems to make a quality tool, heavy extrusions, bearings instead of friction fit, excellent machining and engineering. I started looking at their miter gauge which is on par with the JessEm, at about $300 delivered. I seem to do a lot of casework like cabinets and vanities and the like. I do have a Festool track saw which I use to break down sheet goods, but I've always thought a slider was the way to go.
Can you take the fence off and use it on a miter slot as a miter gauge? How often is it "in the way" for normal tasks when you're using the rip fence or tenoning jig or finger joint jig, that kind of thing?
Jay

[Richard Coers]

The achilles heel I've always found on attachment sliding tables is when you take off the fence to do a large rip and have to return it back to a perfect 90 degrees. A little play here and there in the mechanism makes you have to check 90 degrees every time. Make sure they addressed that issue.

[John Kananis]

The fence isn't designed to be removed and fit into a miter slot. You can generally move everything out of the way aside from the rail system (the stationary part with the legs) which is a little inconvenient at times but generally not a big deal. The thing I don't like is repositioning the power switch, it's not convenient at all where it is and I'm going to have to revisit its mounting location at some point.

[Aaron Inami]

I think both of the sliding tables are practically identical (they may even be manufactured from the same company). Differences..

Harvey sliding table has the micro-adjuster knobs for the flip-stops. The Saw stop version does not.

Sawstop uses a clear window with red hairline on top on the ruler for setting the flip-stop (which I generally like better). The Harvey has a red lever that uses the edge against the ruler.

I think the indent system on the commonly used angles for the miter gauge is engineered better on the Harvey version.

[Richard Coers]

The fence isn't designed to be removed and fit into a miter slot. You can generally move everything out of the way aside from the rail system (the stationary part with the legs) which is a little inconvenient at times but generally not a big deal. The thing I don't like is repositioning the power switch, it's not convenient at all where it is and I'm going to have to revisit its mounting location at some point.

Maybe you could clarify how you would rip a sheet of plywood in half. What is the process to get 24" clear to the left of the blade for ripping. Sorry if I am being dense.

[John Kananis]

I don't think you're being dense. For 24 inches, you're going to have to remove the fence from the slider. For smaller cuts, you can put the fence (miter bar) at 60°.

Maybe you could clarify how you would rip a sheet of plywood in half. What is the process to get 24" clear to the left of the blade for ripping. Sorry if I am being dense.

[Ronald Blue]

I have the SawStop slider on my PCS. From looking at the photos it looks like a virtual twin to the Harvey. I'd be shocked if parts weren't interchangeable. I've been very happy with it. I've not had to remove the fence yet but I'm sure at some point I will. I am also sure at that point as Richard says I will have to check 90 again. It glides freely and is a delight to use. I will say the flip stops seem a little flimsy. If you push the stock against it to hard or bump it to hard when positioning it flexes. I haven't looked to see if Harvey uses the same stop. I looked and they are identical on the Harvey.

[Richard Coers]

Got it, thanks. That putting the fence back on is where I had trouble with other attachments in the past getting it to return to 90 degrees to the blade.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

I've got a sliding crosscut table on my Sawstop Pcs. Yes, there's a minimal amount of slop when you mount the miter fence but it's easy to deal with.

When I mount the fence to the sliding table I twist it clockwise or counterclockwise until it stops and I lock it in. Then I square the fence to the blade. When I need to remove the fence for a cut, when I remount it I twist it the same direction, lock it in and it's square again.

Cliff

[Malcolm Schweizer]

We were looking for a 10” cabinet saw for our professional shop. We looked at SawStop and a kind person let us come look at his Harvey. (Harvey doesn’t have a retail showroom here). The SawStop was (in my opinion) very flimsy and I was very disappointed in the overall build quality. The Harvey, on the other hand, was very well made. It had zero play if you tried to move it side to side. It had a parkerized finish like a gun barrel. (Maybe not technically Parkerized, but it was like a matte anodized finish that looked very durable.) It had micro adjusters on the stop blocks. It is so far the only sliding table that I would trust to be as accurate as a sled.

Full disclosure- we decided neither saw was industrial strength, although we would have gone with the Harvey out of the two.

[Edwin Dodds]

I have the Harvey sliding table, and love it! I think Harvey makes the Sawstop version for them, but it's a watered down version of the Harvey. I installed mine on a Delta saw, so I had to drill some new holes for mounting, but that wasn't hard to do.
I also love the micro adjust stops. Yes, there is some flex in them if you push hard, so they likely wouldn't be good in a commercial enviroment. I find just touching the work to them gives very accurate and repeatable results.
Removing and re-installing the miter fence is not hard to do - I do it all the time. I found there was some play between the miter bar and the T slot, so I attached a piece of adhesive backed shim stock to the side of the miter bar to take up the play. Doing this gives it a better chance of being dead on 90 degrees when re-installing it, although I usually check it with a square as well.
By the way, to check it for square you should reference from the miter slot, not the sawblade.
Ed.

[Michael Burnside]

I caved during Harvey's "flash sale" yesterday, and pulled the trigger on their slider for my SawStop. At $999 and less than ~$1060 shipped+tax, it seemed like a reasonable deal. I have some 30" maple panels I need to dimension, so looking forward to using the slider on those and having a new tool in the kit.