Equipment/tool recomendations.

[dmidkiff]

My shop is coming together slowly. The cold and rain has stopped construction for over a week. So I've been spending time searching for a good table saw. I've looked at all the major brands that fit my needs. I don't want any thing that is 3 phase, but am looking for 5HP. The one I had was a Delta/Rockwell unknown age. It was a 3HP and I could shove a 2" X 4" through it. I purchased used in 1996 and had new bearings, belt, and arbor installed about 2 years ago. It was great. My thinking is that I will need 5HP just to have as good as I had. Has anyone had any experience with Baileigh machinery? They are in Wisconsin. Made in Taiwan. Wish there was a place close by to see some of these saws before purchase.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

[Kyle Stapleton]

Sawstop, safety first.

[ntraub01]

Grizzly tools are great machines. We have both Grizzly and Delta table saws and everyone prefers the Grizzly over the Delta. Just because they are not as expensive as the more prominent brand name machines don't overlook them. They make great machines and we've had zero issues with any of their machines. They also have a HUGE selection of different machines all the way from small contractors saws to huge multi-head, horizontal sliding panel saws.

In addition to good tablesaws we invested in high quality Forrest blades for the machines. Regardless of how much horsepower you have, if you are trying to cut material with a butter knife it is going to be tough and more dangerous. For a while last year we were sending blades to Forrest for sharpening and retipping every month because we were cutting a huge amount of 6/4 oak lumber. Yes, resharpening is more time consuming and you have to have a replacement blade ready to swap but in the long run it was much cheaper than buying "disposable" blades.

Before purchasing our SB, I seriously looked at the Baileigh CNC machine and even went as far as calling them for information etc. etc. I never received a return call and thusly I now have a SB. I was concerned about their customer service seeing that I was reaching out to them for information about a $15k machine and they never returned my call. Could be a fluke but I wasn't going to take the change of making such a huge purchase and not being able to get service or tech support.

Having said all of that, I agree with Kyle, if I could do it all over again I would purchase Sawstop machines. Even IF there is any performance difference from one machine to the next, all of that goes out the window after somebody loses a finger or a hand.

Happy shopping!!

[steve_g]

The older I get, the more sense a SawStop makes… My bifocals don’t always give a good undistorted view of the world, My grip isn’t what it once was and my attention span is …… what was I saying? Besides that, I can fall asleep standing!
SG

[Ajcoholic]

The older I get, the more sense a SawStop makes… My bifocals don’t always give a good undistorted view of the world, My grip isn’t what it once was and my attention span is …… what was I saying? Besides that, I can fall asleep standing!
SG

Putting all politics of the company aside.. I have owned and operated daily ( and that's thousands upon thousands of fbm lumber - just this past week I processed 1400 board feet of lumber on it) a 5 hp saw stop industrial saw for 4 yrs plus now.

It's a great saw. Smooth , stays in adjustment, lots of power to cut even 8/4 hard maple as fast as I can push it through a good ripping blade - and the guard and dust collection is second to NONE.

The safety aspect aside, it's a great saw.

[gene]

Have you looked at places like Redmond tools .look on woodweb and i am sure that there are many used equipment dealers . also look at e bay . you can get good deals there also. i bought a ryobi 10'' new in the box PORTABLE table saw for 99.99 free shipping . There was also a portamatic slide table saw about 1 year old that sold for about 3900.00 . i have a 10 '' Jet table saw and a 10 '' grizzly and the grizzly has more power by far.

[dmidkiff]

Saw Stop was my early choice but was turned off by the price. I will give a second chance and see if I can find a dealer near by. I fear the closest to be in Houston. Will look at Grizzly again too. Thanks for the input. I really respect the opinions of the people of this forum.

[waynelocke]

I have also used a SawStop for 4 or 5 years. It is hands down the best saw I have ever used. The safety is just a plus.

[scottp55]

Old fashioned and poor now, but never regretted buying my 3 hp Unisaw/Unifence with sliding LH miter fence and mobile base in '94. Still passes the nickel test after 18yrs and 20,000+bf of hardwood and a lot of Redwood and Cedar and a few Exotics. Only time she ever bogged was 12/4 (17" wide-HEAVY) Hop Hornbeam slab and that was because it was 10' live edge and the crew got her in a bind. 10/4 Teak no big deal
Now a days mainly cross cutting by myself in the chair, but still love it.
NOT a professional environment though except for the first 3 years building the house with a 3 man crew 5 days a week.
Just saying.
Would love to see some of the newer saws though.
Amish carpenter we buy hardwood from has TWO Unisaws of unknown Vintage in his shop being driven by a Diesel outside his shop running a full length shaft under his floor. Belt driven through floor
Weird seeing a Unisaw run pretty much silently that his Dad passed down to him 20 years ago, after HE'D been using them for most of his career
scott

[mtylerfl]

Yes, the SawStop is a great saw - I love it! I invested in the 1.75 hp cabinet version in Sept. 2012 along with the integrated mobile base.