Slider question

[Jacques Gagnon]

Erik,

…it looks like I was writing my comments at the same time as you.

My machine is the Comfort package and I echo the comment regarding the mitre index system.

Jacques

[Erik Loza]

Erik,

…it looks like I was writing my comments at the same time as you.

My machine is the Comfort package and I echo the comment regarding the mitre index system.

Jacques

Haha, no kidding Jacques. I took a fair number of “what does it cost to get the outrigger as an accessory” from existing owners. By the time we got the freight cost and lead time worked out, the customer was always like, “Umm… Let me get back to you”. Which is why I always encouraged folks to budget for it as part of the original build.

Erik

[Jim Becker]

Haha, no kidding Jacques. I took a fair number of “what does it cost to get the outrigger as an accessory” from existing owners. By the time we got the freight cost and lead time worked out, the customer was always like, “Umm… Let me get back to you”. Which is why I always encouraged folks to budget for it as part of the original build.

Erik

The same reasoning goes into why I always suggest that folks looking at "that other brand" buy the standard package because there are a lot (make that "all") of essential things that are included and don't have to be optioned at higher costs. I a manufacturer is bringing in any pre-determined configurations/packages, that standard setup likely has some efficiencies in production that make for an attractive buy, even if there are one or two goodies that a specific person might not use very often or at all.

[Jacques Gagnon]

Erik and Jim,

I completely agree with you and including the shipping costs associated with an « after the fact » purchase, there are even more savings at play, not to mention lead time for such deliveries.

[Todd Zucker]

These are all very helpful insights. I have been looking at the B3 Comfort with 1250mm table and miter index and crosscut. Felder says this unit would be a special build, not something in stock in the US, and would take about 2 months. I will ask them if they have a standard configuration B3 with the longer table and the bells and whistles that is easier for them to sell at a good discount.

I might give some thought to driving to the showroom in Carrolton. I did that before buying the A3-31.

Giving the B3 a permanent location makes perfect sense and fortunately doesn't rule out a longer table. The garage is deep, and the machine should have plenty of room when idle, and I could move the cars and open the double doors at the rear of the garage to accommodate moving the table back and forth.

Rich, I think my real hobby has become rearranging tools in the garage instead of making furniture. The decision to finally buy a table saw was prompted by an unexpected opportunity to buy a really good one in good shape with accessories at a really decent price five miles from my house. It would have been ideal if I had done some homework and planning beforehand, but it seemed like the opportunity might disappear if I waited. The saw is impressive, but once I put it in the garage, it seemed like it had grown a couple of feet in every direction, and adding a permanent outfeed table might be problematic space wise. My "better fit" comment referred to space constraints and my lack of experience with a table saw of any kind, rather than insinuating that a slider is "better" than something else. Jim B's comment in an earlier thread about being in the "line of fire" until he got his slider back also resonated with me. Being inexperienced with a table saw and having some space constraints, it made me think a slider could be the "right fit."

If I go in this direction, it might end up being a "buy twice, sell once, cry once" scenario. Wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Rod Sheridan]

Haha, no kidding Jacques. I took a fair number of “what does it cost to get the outrigger as an accessory” from existing owners. By the time we got the freight cost and lead time worked out, the customer was always like, “Umm… Let me get back to you”. Which is why I always encouraged folks to budget for it as part of the original build.

Erik

I’m probably one of the few people who added the outrigger a couple of years after buying the machine.

Fortunately I live in Toronto so there were no freight charges.

Regards, Rod

[Steve Jenkins]

Todd, if you come up to the Felder showroom they are very helpful. I have a slider although it’s not a Felder I’d be glad to give you some tips and time playing with it if you want. I’m about 45 minutes north of Felder outside of McKinney.

[Chris Parks]

I’m probably one of the few people who added the outrigger a couple of years after buying the machine.

Fortunately I live in Toronto so there were no freight charges.

Regards, Rod

I am also one of the few who added the outrigger after purchase and it cost the same price as it would have fitted by Felder from new. My saw will crosscut a full size panel and I have never needed more than that over the 11 years I have owned it. The one thing I never regret adding is the fine adjuster on the rip fence, adding a DRO to the rip fence combined with the fine adjuster is the icing on the cake. DRO's are under a $100 each now and I have recently also added one to the outrigger fence as well.

One advantage I have found buying the outrigger later is that I now have two crosscut fences that can be fitted to the sliding table one at each end and the advantage to that is they can both be set to the same dimension and a piece of 20** series extrusion then placed against both flip stops and used as a parallel fence or an angled guide as needed. Using a $100 DRO on each fence is an added winner and a cheap alternative to the very expensive alternatives available up to now. I would recommend this approach to anyone with a slider, buying another crosscut fence and a couple of cheap DRO's is a relatively inexpensive exercise on top of the machine cost.

[Jacques Gagnon]

Chris:

I went the other way around. I bought the Comfort configuration and added an additional fence + mount and ended up on the same place as you and Rod. Two fences, two flip stops.

Todd:

As I stated in an earlier post, I work in a small shop (single car garage - 14 x 20) and it was relatively easy to fit the 2080mm slider. By the way, if you decide to go ahead and choose the B3 you may wish to order the height gauge for the shaper (mm version) as you will find it very useful. You may already have one on your A3 and be tempted to use it on the shaper - it will work but will test your patience as the pitch is the same but the rotation of the dial is reversed. DAMHIK

[Chris Parks]

I am going to start a new thread to continue this discussion.