Hi Everyone,
Introduction of myself/ current tools:
I am a novice hobby woodworker. I live at home with my parents, and our shop is set up in a small garage. I am currently working on producing several sets of furniture for a new apartment that I plan to move into in about a year. I'm a young engineer and work full time doing mechanical design and grew up always building things. I am just now getting into fine woodworking. (Most of what I have done before would most likely be considered carpentry.) My shop mostly consists of tools my father inherited passed down from the two generations above him. In addition I have added some modern tools to the mix in the form of a Makita 18V circular saw, drill, and orbital sander + dewalt plunge router. I also picked up a festool domino 500 from a very generous neighbor.
My current "table saw" is a Shopsmith multi tool from the late 40's. (the shop smith also has a 4 inch magna jointer attachment, as well as a bandsaw.) While it cuts hardwood without bogging down, its missing all of its safety hardware, has a small cutting surface and is a huge pain to set for each cut. (additionally angled cuts are unrealistic with anything but skinny boards since the table tilts instead of the blade.) Since I myself am using the table saw, getting my father back into the shop, and have been doing work with both my girlfriend and younger brother, safety is incredibly important to me. I would not like this to turn into a debate discussing the "false sense of security" a sawstop can provide. I intend to treat this exactly as I would any other table saw. I am personally relatively risk averse to begin with, and the sound and sight of a carbide tipped blade spinning at 4,000 rpm is more than enough to keep me respectful of the potential danger.
Question:
I am trying to decide between the Sawstop contractors saw, and the 1.75 hp professional cabinet saw. I would like to understand if the contractors saw with the upgraded fence would be sufficient for making hardwood furniture, or if the upgrade to the PCS is worth the extra ~$900. Both saws would have the 36" T-slide Sawstop Biesemeyer clone fence. Important factors for my personal situation are:
1) Quality of cuts for hardwood furniture making.
2) Small size of the shop
3) Portability down the road. I am just at the beginning of my career and far from settled in terms of housing. The saw will most likely spend the initial part of its life in my parents' garage along with the other tools. But at some point will need it to come with me if I leave the greater area.
4) Cost: pretty self explanatory. While I do feel in a pretty solid financial situation to make this purchase, its alot of money to spend, especially as a relatively new woodworker.
5) Any other major factor that you guys point out!
Thank you to everyone for your input!
Best wishes,
John