Looking for new table saw/ sawstop contractor

Dave Black

Member
Messages
638
Location
Central PA
I would like to replace my delta 1HP direct drive TS and would like to get a sawstop. I would like to get the cabinet model but I didn't win the Popular woodworking or Wood magazine sawstop sweepstakes even though my wife and I and my brothers all entered everyday:( so I think the the cabinet model is out. My wife said she is going to get me the contractor model for our anniversary:thumb:. My question is does anybody have the contractors model, I know a few of you have the cabinet model and love them. Like I said before my current saw is 1 hp and the sawstop is 1.75hp, is that enough? There aren't too many times when it isn't enough power, there have been some though, The current saw only has ~2.25" deep cutting capacity and that has been a pain at times. The sawstop has 3.125" capacity, which will be nice but do I need more than 1.75HP for that. Any thoughts on this, pros/cons?
Thanks
 
Dave, look forward to the answers you find. I can't help you directly, but any information you gather will be utilized by me so in anticipation of good info, thanks for asking the question.
I have told my girls I would have a sawstop saw in my woodshop by the time their kids (my grandkids) are old enough to be in the shop working. Like you, the cabinet is pricey, and have wondered about the contractor model. Although, after the youngest's wedding this coming spring, if I don't buy any (well so many) guns, I could swing it in a couple of years. Sorry I am no help.
 
Dave, look forward to the answers you find. I can't help you directly, but any information you gather will be utilized by me so in anticipation of good info, thanks for asking the question.
I have told my girls I would have a sawstop saw in my woodshop by the time their kids (my grandkids) are old enough to be in the shop working. Like you, the cabinet is pricey, and have wondered about the contractor model. Although, after the youngest's wedding this coming spring, if I don't buy any (well so many) guns, I could swing it in a couple of years. Sorry I am no help.

Small kids are one of the reasons I want one, I have a 1 year old and a 1 year old nephew that run around the shop.
 
I have the "Industrial Cabinet SawStop" and I just simply love it, it is a very well built saw, lots of great little things that add up to a really well built and thought out saw, but yeah, it is not cheap.

I'm sure you realize that they now have three versions of the SawStop for sale;

ss-pcs31230-tgp52.jpg
SawStop Industrial Cabinet saw

SawStop.jpg
SawStop Professional Cabinet Saw

sawstop-contractor-table-saw.jpg
SawStop Contractor Saw

I understand that the Pro cabinet saw is about $2900 with the 36" rails, but I wonder if there are not deals to find out there?

The Industrial unit comes with a choice of motors, the 3Hp, 5Hp, or 7.5Hp, the Pro model comes with the 3Hp only and as you pointed out, the Contractors saw comes with the 1.75Hp motor, which is also the only one with a 110v power option. If you do not have 220v in your shop, you would have to have that upgraded to get the Pro or Industrial saw.

When I bought mine, the Pro was not out yet, and as it was payment for the first aparto renovation, I did go for the best saw I could get, but, if I was buying one now, from my own pocket money, I'd look real hard at the Pro model.

I see these prices online right now......

Industrial 3Hp $3909 ($3449 + 36" rail and fence $370 ext table $90)

Pro 3Hp
$2900 that includes the 36" rails and table

Contractor 1.75Hp
$1780 that comes with the 36" rail and fence set up

That is just an example of pricing, who knows what you can get by looking arounc, but I see the Pro model as being $1120 more than the Contractor saw.

What you have to ask yourself is it worth that much more, and only you can really answer that question.

I will say this, if you look at the $1120, and lets just round that up to $1200 to make it easier, over the next 10 years, that is really not a lot of money. I know that $1200 is nothing to sneeze at for any of us, but I would have to ask if you are really going to be completely happy with the contractor saw, you may well be very happy with it, but, for 10 bucks a month more (over 10 years) or about 33 cents a day, you could have the Pro model, which I'm sure you would never need to upgrade from.

I know it is all down to the money, but if you buy the cheaper saw now, and down the road realize that the mid price saw is what you really wanted/needed, then did you really save any money?

I will say this, I very much doubt you will find a better contractor saw than the SawStop unit, and if they say 1.75 Hp, it really will be that power rating, no some hyped up number that sometimes happens with other tools.

Just my two cents worth!

Best of luck!:wave:
 
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Stu brings up valid points about amortizing the extra $1200 over the years. If there's a way to swing it, I think you'd be happier in the long run.

That said, the difference you would see between a 1 hp direct drive and a 1 3/4 hp belt drive will be like night and day. (I also had the same or similar Delta saw before I got my Ridgid TS3650, so I know the feeling.) Unless you're cutting lots of thick hardwoods for hours on end, I doubt you'll run into any limitations with 1 3/4 hp. Personally, I hope I'll be able to get the Pro Cabinet saw for my next saw upgrade, but if the Contractor model is all I can afford, I'll be glad to have it. ;)
 
i don`t own any of the sawstop offerings so can`t speak from firsthand experience about their equipment.....
as far as horsepower and contractor type saws vs cabinet saws i do have quite a bit of experience:eek:......
contractors saws are designed to be semi-mobile and are built to both price and weight points. a fellow can use them in a shop enviornment but i have found them to be both underpowered and lightweight..
my last "contractors" saw was an older delta that i outfitted with cast iron wings, a 5hp motor and a 52" biesmyer fence....it did okay bolted to the floor but i had to replace the arbor bearings at least once a year, the bars that were used in place of a trunion would flex when severly loaded affecting the cut...
i generally just offer the advice that there`s no substitute for horsepower and cast iron..
from a pragmatic point of view a tool that is well made will perform better for longer and will retain more of its value on the used market, a tool that is "oversized" for the job will not stress its parts while working and as a rule will maintain its accuracy and dependability much longer than one that is "undersized".
think of using an s-10 vs a 1 ton to pull a loaded trailer...both will pull the trailer.....
i now have two saws in my shop, a 7-1/2 hp and a 9 hp and have tripped the thermal overloads on both of them when i get to slinging boards, but as a general rule neither is underpowered.
my advice would be to buy the most horsepower you can in a cabinet saw for a saw to use in the shop, if you know you`re going to drag the saw out to jobs then look at the contractors saw but know going in that it will most likely be your spare saw in the future.
 
Tod, you really do know how to work your tools :D

I know of several people who are the second or third person in their family to be using the same cabinet saw, most are the old cabinet Delta cabinet saws. Certainly there have been bearings replaced, motors too, not to mention fence upgrades, but the basic saw is still in use. I think that if you were to buy the Pro SawStop (or any other good quality cabinet saw) if it is taken care of, it will outlast you, and that, is real value.

Has anyone here seen the new SawStop Pro cabinet saw in the flesh?

Cheers!
 
We have replaced all the saws in our entire school district with the saw stop saws though they are a great machine I am still with the firm belief that nothing can replace plain old education and common sense when it comes to safety around machines after all it worked great for us when we were kids. It is amazing how we survived our youth without all the safety devices availible today. How many remember the pics of the lathe with the long hair wrapped in the wood? ( sorry mind just wandering, must be that age thing )

I have been looking at cabinet saws the past year as I want to upgrade my old contractor saw and i am really interrested in the new delta that is coming out ( great reviews so far) . I also do like the powermatic2000 ( not readily availible in Canada yet) and it's mobile base idea. I agree with Tod that power is a huge issue when it comes to a saw and underpowered is not the way to go. If you can hold out, wait to get the better machine.
 
We have replaced all the saws in our entire school district with the saw stop saws though they are a great machine I am still with the firm belief that nothing can replace plain old education and common sense when it comes to safety around machines after all it worked great for us when we were kids. It is amazing how we survived our youth without all the safety devices availible today. How many remember the pics of the lathe with the long hair wrapped in the wood? ( sorry mind just wandering, must be that age thing )

I have been looking at cabinet saws the past year as I want to upgrade my old contractor saw and i am really interrested in the new delta that is coming out ( great reviews so far) . I also do like the powermatic2000 ( not readily availible in Canada yet) and it's mobile base idea. I agree with Tod that power is a huge issue when it comes to a saw and underpowered is not the way to go. If you can hold out, wait to get the better machine.

I substitute taught for twenty years and can't even imagine some of those kids being near machinery, let alone using it. For safety, a padded room chained and shackled closed from outside would be the only solution.
If you district can afford them, I agree that using SS in a school shop is a wise decision.
BTW, please note, I said "some of those". This is not a general indictment of all young people. But, young is still young. It's a frontal lobe development thing.
 
The vast majority of woodworkers don't have cabinet saws. There is a lot of high quality work that comes from shops with contractor saws. 1.75 hp is plenty, unless you're mowing through 3" thick tropical hardwoods. Even then, you could probably do it with a good blade and a slow feed rate.

For $1700 bucks, my eyes might wander toward a non "Sawstop" cabinet saw.

Paul Hubbman
 
I have a tricked out contractor's saw that has served me well over the last ten years, but if I was to do it all over again, I would have opted for a cabinet saw. I certainly can understand the appeal of the SawStop, but if I could not afford the Pro or Industrial version then I would get the best cabinet saw I could. Tod's advice and the reasons he state are right on. I heard the same advice ten years ago, "there`s no substitute for horsepower and cast iron", but humans are funny animals as we need to continually discover for ourselves old truths.
 
Well I already did get the best cabinet saw I could a Unisaw over 60 years old. I would do exactly the same thing all over again. It is a great saw cross cuts & rips just fine. Only $900 including sweat equity & router table, fence & extension table & motor to change from 3 phase. I Think that is around the cost of a real good contractors saw. I am happy with the results.

Remember there are deals like this out there to be made.

Of course this may not be the route of choice for some people.
 
Man the saw stop debate could begin. But that isn't the direction intended for this question I am sure. I am quite happy with my Delta table saw, but like cell phones, even though I have an aversion to them, when the girls started driving, they had track phones and before they could go on a date or go somewhere in their trucks, they had to have minutes to be able to call me if something happened. So even though I personally don't like cell phones (I realize they have their good points) I utilized even demanded this new technology be with them to maybe help in a bad situation. Thus my reason for watching this thread, as a grandpa wanting to instill wood working in my family genes for generations to come, I would not want to live with myself if something were to happen to one of my grandkids on a table saw when for mere pocket change (compared to hospital costs of a finger or fingers cut off and reattached) new technology could save that heartache. It does come down to a personal decision and who we want to work in our shops and what we are comfortable with. No right or wrong decisions on what type of saw you use as far as I am concerned.
 
I don't have a Sawstop, but here's my .02c on the matter, having read through the thread.

Dave,
if it were my $ or credit going out the door I would be looking Hard at the Pro model if ONLY for dust collection. I have a Ridgid 3650 CS, which has a 1 3/4 hp motor. I Can stall it out, (actually I pull more power than my current shop wiring likes which amounts to the same thing), however i'm usually pushing too hard/fast on a thicker chunk of hardwood than I ought to be. Once I get the power back on and I slow down the saw works just fine.

I haven't had my DC hooked up in awhile, so I may be biased solely on the amount of dust I've been sweeping up lately, but I would Love to have the cabinet saw just for dust control (power would be nice too, but I'm not stressing my current saw that often, so it is just an added bonus), as well as the sawstop technology.
 
having looked at the sawstop, and watched the vids of it in action, there is only one downside that i can think of. that is if you by accident, touch the blade and as it should, the safety feature kicks in, unless you have another blade and cartridge, your cutting day is over.
 
I have too thought about buying an old unisaw or something BUT I keep coming back to: what if someone gets hurt. Two things that my new saw would NEED to have are a zero clearance insert and a riving knife. I am not sure how many old saws have either and last time I looked there weren't too many new saws that had a riving knife. As far as dust collection goes, from what I saw, the contractors saw does have a nice dust chute around the blade and is supposed to work very well. I would really like to get the cabinet model but I don't think there is any way to talk the wife into it, the contractor model is a stretch.
 
I don't have a Sawstop, but here's my .02c on the matter, having read through the thread.

Dave,
if it were my $ or credit going out the door I would be looking Hard at the Pro model if ONLY for dust collection. I have a Ridgid 3650 CS, which has a 1 3/4 hp motor. I Can stall it out, (actually I pull more power than my current shop wiring likes which amounts to the same thing), however i'm usually pushing too hard/fast on a thicker chunk of hardwood than I ought to be. Once I get the power back on and I slow down the saw works just fine.

I haven't had my DC hooked up in awhile, so I may be biased solely on the amount of dust I've been sweeping up lately, but I would Love to have the cabinet saw just for dust control (power would be nice too, but I'm not stressing my current saw that often, so it is just an added bonus), as well as the sawstop technology.

Ned,

After I did these simple mods to my Ridgid 3650 saw I no longer have to sweep the floor. 7-4-09 005 (800 x 600).jpg

7-4-09 007 (800 x 600).jpg

7-11-09 004 (800 x 600).jpg

As far as power I don't mind being able to stop the blade when cutting. I've worked on saws with 10 hp motors you couldn't stop the blade and if a board kicked back for some reason you were hurting for a while!
 
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