So all of this started out because I'm unhappy with my miter saw. It's capacity is limited, and more importantly, the fence isn't square to the blade, making it very inaccurate. Those are the two things I want: The ability to rough cut boards up to 12" wide, and accurately cross-cut smaller pieces, e.g. face frame rails and stiles. Harbor Freight makes a great 10" sliding miter saw that would be perfect for rough cutting. And there are lots of affordable 10" fixed miter saws that can do both straight and angled cuts. But one machine that does it all can get expensive, and more important unwieldy. The Kapex and the new Makita LS1016L appear to be the only two saws that combine accuracy and capacity without the need for a 4' deep cabinet to mount it on.
So that's one thought...
At the same time, I'm thinking about upgrading my table saw. I've been very happy with my JET Proshop, but I've always considered it to be an "temporary" saw. When I bought it two years ago, manufacturers had just started to include riving knives, dust shrouds and better blade guards on their machines. So I figured that if I waited a couple of years I'd have a lot more choice - and I was right for a change! Also, it'd be nice to have some more power for cutting heavier stock.
My biggest gripe with the table saw is that they need so many accessories before they're useful. It starts with an outfeed table. You can't rip anything over 2ft without one. There is typically only 7"-8" of space in front of the blade, so it's always tricky keeping a a long board tight against the fence while cutting the first foot or so. Crosscutting with the standard miter gauge is also limited. That means either investing in a good after market miter gauge, crosscut sled or sliding table attachment. Of these three, only the sliding table really works with larger panels/ sheet goods (unless you build a monster crosscut sled that requires a winch to hang it from the ceiling :swoon
Want to miter or taper? More jigs. The top of the line machines now have riving knives and good guards (with dust collection), but many table saws require a separate solution like Shark Guard or Excalibur overarm guard. Combined, all these accessories would cost more than twice what my saw cost!
I was intrigued by Grizzly's two sliding table saws, the G0700
and the G0623X:
Both of these are VERY competitively priced.
Neither is capable of handling a full sheet of plywood, but cutting moderate sized panels, table tops etc. should work extremely well. Compound miter cuts also appear to be very feasible, which means my future miter saw only has to make straight cuts. There is also the safety factor. For most operations, your hands aren't even near the blade. Combine that with built-in hold down clamps and flip stops and other gizmos on the sliding carriage, and it's easy to see how the operations that are difficult on a table saw becomes simple on a slider. Now, don't get me wrong, I can see where a traditional cabinet saw has advantages over a slider, especially when it comes to ripping. But that's primarily about setup time, not capacity.
Not too many people here on the forum have a slider. I know Travis has a Felder and he has mixed feelings about it. Dino loves his. Has anyone else looked at these, or something like the Hammer K3?
So that's one thought...
At the same time, I'm thinking about upgrading my table saw. I've been very happy with my JET Proshop, but I've always considered it to be an "temporary" saw. When I bought it two years ago, manufacturers had just started to include riving knives, dust shrouds and better blade guards on their machines. So I figured that if I waited a couple of years I'd have a lot more choice - and I was right for a change! Also, it'd be nice to have some more power for cutting heavier stock.
My biggest gripe with the table saw is that they need so many accessories before they're useful. It starts with an outfeed table. You can't rip anything over 2ft without one. There is typically only 7"-8" of space in front of the blade, so it's always tricky keeping a a long board tight against the fence while cutting the first foot or so. Crosscutting with the standard miter gauge is also limited. That means either investing in a good after market miter gauge, crosscut sled or sliding table attachment. Of these three, only the sliding table really works with larger panels/ sheet goods (unless you build a monster crosscut sled that requires a winch to hang it from the ceiling :swoon
Want to miter or taper? More jigs. The top of the line machines now have riving knives and good guards (with dust collection), but many table saws require a separate solution like Shark Guard or Excalibur overarm guard. Combined, all these accessories would cost more than twice what my saw cost!I was intrigued by Grizzly's two sliding table saws, the G0700
and the G0623X:
Both of these are VERY competitively priced.
Neither is capable of handling a full sheet of plywood, but cutting moderate sized panels, table tops etc. should work extremely well. Compound miter cuts also appear to be very feasible, which means my future miter saw only has to make straight cuts. There is also the safety factor. For most operations, your hands aren't even near the blade. Combine that with built-in hold down clamps and flip stops and other gizmos on the sliding carriage, and it's easy to see how the operations that are difficult on a table saw becomes simple on a slider. Now, don't get me wrong, I can see where a traditional cabinet saw has advantages over a slider, especially when it comes to ripping. But that's primarily about setup time, not capacity.
Not too many people here on the forum have a slider. I know Travis has a Felder and he has mixed feelings about it. Dino loves his. Has anyone else looked at these, or something like the Hammer K3?
