Sawstop Cabinet Saw running great
 

Dear Folks,

I have benefited from this group over the years thought I should contribute
when I did something daring and it worked.
Basically, I upgraded my 12 yr old Grizzly contractor saw with a Vega fence
to a Sawstop cabinet 3hp saw. The saw is a well-designed and smooth running
saw. I have had it for three weeks now, and I'm quite happy with it.

It comes with a biesemeyer clone fence which is solid and accurate. The
reviews posted earlier are accurate and quite detailed so I won't repeat
them. I am a hobbyist and wanted to upgrade to a cabinet saw. I think the
sawstop saw is a excellent saw and should be considered if you want to
acquire a cabinet saw. (http://www.sawstop.com ).

The only surprise was the weight of the saw. It comes in one solid piece of
steel (~650 pounds) and it was tricky to get into the basement. But with a
case of Guinness, three friends, a block and tackle, a piano dolly and a
refrigerator dolly, we succeeded.

The manual discussing installation, use and safety features is easy and fun
to read. The riving knife on the saw is wonderful and so far, the saw is so
much fun to use, that my woodworking project list has doubled.

So, if you have gotten your fingers too close to a running saw blade to be
comfortable, and you are considering a new saw, this one is the one to get!

Signed,

Having-fun-in-Jersey

Tom

Tom wrote:
Dear Folks,

I have benefited from this group over the years thought I should contribute
when I did something daring and it worked.
Basically, I upgraded my 12 yr old Grizzly contractor saw with a Vega fence
to a Sawstop cabinet 3hp saw. The saw is a well-designed and smooth running
saw. I have had it for three weeks now, and I'm quite happy with it.

It comes with a biesemeyer clone fence which is solid and accurate. The
reviews posted earlier are accurate and quite detailed so I won't repeat
them. I am a hobbyist and wanted to upgrade to a cabinet saw. I think the
sawstop saw is a excellent saw and should be considered if you want to
acquire a cabinet saw. (http://www.sawstop.com ).

The only surprise was the weight of the saw. It comes in one solid piece of
steel (~650 pounds) and it was tricky to get into the basement. But with a
case of Guinness, three friends, a block and tackle, a piano dolly and a
refrigerator dolly, we succeeded.

The manual discussing installation, use and safety features is easy and fun
to read. The riving knife on the saw is wonderful and so far, the saw is so
much fun to use, that my woodworking project list has doubled.

So, if you have gotten your fingers too close to a running saw blade to be
comfortable, and you are considering a new saw, this one is the one to get!

Signed,

Having-fun-in-Jersey

Tom


Come on now, admit it.

You're dying to try the "hot dog test", aren't you?

Good Luck with the saw.

Steve

Welcome to the group! I hope it won't be long before there are lots
of us. I'm impressed that you were able to get it into a basement
safely. A friend and I struggled to just get mine out of his truck
and straight down to my garage floor using a 12 part tackle.

Every now and then, usually before heading in at the end of a shop
session, I pop open the doors, pull up the insert, and look closely
at the guts of this saw. Every part seems to be overengineered, well
made, and suited to its function. Allen head bolts everywhere. Lots
of cast iron and very thick sheet metal. No sharp edges.

The only complaint I have about the saw, at least at this point
(almost two months operation), is that the anti-kickback teeth on the
full guard leave scratches on the wood unless I run the blade at least
1" higher than the top of the wood. I asked Steve Gass if he would
personally choose running the blade 1" high or working without the
anti-kickback teeth. His choice would be to remove the teeth. They
are attached with allen head bolts - easy to pull off and set aside
in case you want to try them again later on. No pop rivets on this
saw.

I'd be interested in any significant experiences and comments that
might come up as you continue to use your saw.

Regards,

Dave

"dwright" wrote in
message

The only complaint I have about the saw, at least at this point
(almost two months operation), is that the anti-kickback teeth on the
full guard leave scratches on the wood unless I run the blade at least
1" higher than the top of the wood. I asked Steve Gass if he would
personally choose running the blade 1" high or working without the
anti-kickback teeth. His choice would be to remove the teeth.

You bought the saw that should be the safest on the market, they you remove
the anti-kickback teeth? At the recommendation of Stave Gass yet???????

Maybe a swipe or two with a file to take a lip off would eliminate the marks
they leave and you still have some protection.

Ed,

I hadn't thought of trying that. I probably won't get around to it
today, but will smooth the teeth but still keep their tips sharp. If
that takes care of it then we have a design/manufacturing suggestion
for SawStop.

The scratches are very shallow. If ripping hardwood they may not be
noticeable at all. Ordinary sanding prep before finishing would
probably get rid of them. Might actually be a non-issue.

Take Care,

Dave

Dave, did the saw come with an extra cartridge or two ?

On 29 Jan 2005 16:00:24 -0500,
lid (dwright) wrote:

Ed,

I hadn't thought of trying that. ....

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 09:38:56 -0500, the inscrutable "Tom"
spake:

Dear Folks,

I have benefited from this group over the years thought I should contribute
when I did something daring and it worked.
Basically, I upgraded my 12 yr old Grizzly contractor saw with a Vega fence
to a Sawstop cabinet 3hp saw. The saw is a well-designed and smooth running
saw. I have had it for three weeks now, and I'm quite happy with it.

That's good, Tom. I'm glad you're happy with it.

But, for goodness sake, be -sure- to tell us what happens when (not
if) you trigger that puppy. I want to hear about the down-time, the
cost of the mechanism, the time it takes to install it, and how much
the replacement table saw blade costs. I understand they eat them
during the safety-stop process.

I know that the repair costs won't be anywhere near the $2,500 the
saw sold for, but I'm curious about the actual "Oops!" or "Thank God!"
costs.


================================================== ======
TANSTAAFL: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
http://diversify.com Gourmet Web Applications
==========================

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...

I know that the repair costs won't be anywhere near the $2,500 the
saw sold for, but I'm curious about the actual "Oops!" or "Thank God!"
costs.


The Oops might be a bit costly, but the Thank God cost will be significantly
cheaper than the alternative.

The saw cost includes one 10" cartridge. I bought a couple extras
plus an 8" dado cartridge. I also happen to have one of the
preproduction cartridges. It works too. I don't plan to set any of
these off on purpose though.

The cost of a brake release is your blade (presuming it cannot be
restored by your friendly and competent neighborhood sharpening
service), the spent cartridge ($59), and maybe 10 minutes work.

General word has been that the blade is wasted, but that may not be
true. I have one of the stopped blades and its brake pawl hanging on
my wall (demo). There doesn't appear to be damage to any of the teeth
that aren't buried in the pawl. Several teeth are in the pawl. Even
if they are all wasted it would only cost $20 - $30 at my sharpening
service to have them replaced and the entire blade resharpened.

"dwright" wrote in
message ...

General word has been that the blade is wasted, but that may not be
true. I have one of the stopped blades and its brake pawl hanging on
my wall (demo). There doesn't appear to be damage to any of the teeth
that aren't buried in the pawl. Several teeth are in the pawl. Even
if they are all wasted it would only cost $20 - $30 at my sharpening
service to have them replaced and the entire blade resharpened.


I can almost guarantee you that he blade will need to be retrued/flattened
again also.

"dwright" wrote in
message ...
Ed,

I hadn't thought of trying that. I probably won't get around to it
today, but will smooth the teeth but still keep their tips sharp. If
that takes care of it then we have a design/manufacturing suggestion
for SawStop.

The scratches are very shallow. If ripping hardwood they may not be
noticeable at all. Ordinary sanding prep before finishing would
probably get rid of them. Might actually be a non-issue.

I'm thinking may it is just a burr on the tip. Take a look and maybe you
can fix it easily. They may get better with us anyway.