The company that makes the SawStop is the same company that makes the iCarver I have for testing, I met and I've talked to the engineer and project leader of the iCarver extensively. This is the same company that makes a lot of the tablesaws out there, they are in Taiwan a Democratic country, they are NOT in China, so don't go down the "Bash China" route
Do you remember that there was a delay, I think near a year long when the SawStop first came out? Do you know why that was? I was told that when they took the contract from SawStop to build the saws, the specs for the saw were so high and the tolerances were so tight they were a bit surprised, but they were confident that they could build the saw in the same factory using the same tools that they built all the other tablesaws they built, Oh, did I mention that this company is the largest builder of tablesaws in the world? The build or have built, Grizzly, Delta, Ridgid, Oliver (they actually now own Oliver) General International, DeWalt, etc etc. Well they found out that they were wrong, the could not build the SawStop to the specs wanted in the old plant, the tolerances were just too high, so they broke ground and built a new plant just to build the SawStop. I was told this story in person at the trade show I met these guys at, where I first saw the iCarver, I went to said trade show to see the SawStop in the flesh, as I was looking to get one, a Japanese company imported it (and wanted over $10K for it
) I was walking around and I saw these guys in a booth with some lathes and the iCarver. I heard this story before I owned a SawStop.
I've never owned a saw that is of this quality, but I've worked on a few other cabinet saws. The saw is extremely well built. The safety feature certainly figured big in my decision to buy it. If you take the safety feature away, it is still a great saw, I think on par with anything out there in the same price range, (I'm talking about the SawStop Professional model) but how can you take the safety feature away
That is like saying "He is a really wonderful guy and very helpful, but he is an axe murder, but lets just ignore the axe murder thing for now...
The riving knife is a very important safety feature as well, as it will stop the vast majority of kickbacks. I know that some of the others are finally putting real riving knives on their saws, but in Europe, they have had them on their saws for nearly a generation, why are they only now coming to North America? I think part of the reason is because of the SawStop, this is a great feature of the machine, and this also raised the bar, so the other makers have had to respond.
If you want "Cheap and Cheerful" with no safety device, but a decent riving knife it would be hard to beat the Grizzly G0690. The thing is, as I get older (yes, I know I'm not old, or even close to it) I have recently started to have some trouble with my hands, they take a lot of abuse, and I've started to drop stuff, enough so that I'm noticing it, well, this is exactly the kind of simple "Whoops" that can end up in a trip to the emergency room, I'm sure we all know someone in that boat
If you can afford the more expensive saw with the built in safety feature, then that is a choice you have to make, if you really cannot, then you cannot.
I know of several cases of guys (none here) on other boards that were like "SawStop, what a waste of money, I've been working on tablesaws for 30+ years, I've still got all 10 of my fingers....yada yada yada..... " one simple "Whoops" later, three months off work (hard when you are self employed) and $50,000 in medical expenses..... guess what they bought
Would I buy one again, yes, in a heart beat, and I think if you are looking at moving up to a full on cabinet saw, honestly the last saw you will ever buy, then the SawStop is a great choice, the safety feature just makes it a better choice, but in the end, that is what it is, a choice, and one that only you can make