Replies

1. 
   Close Enough | Dec 21, 2008 07:31pm | #1

   When my Delta gets a little more worn out and my $$ are saved, I'm buying a Sawstop.  The recent reviews I've read rate it highly, and any saw who's designer is willing to stick his finger into the blade to show his faith in the safety feature, is good enough for me.  When we hear about 10,000 cases per year in the Emergency room, I'm not willing to be one of them.  I'm sure we'll be seeing sawstop bandsaws and other equipment in the future.  The other manufacturers must be scrambling.

1. 
   Domer | Dec 22, 2008 01:30am | #2

   Thanks for the response. That is my thought. My son thinks I should get a cabinet saw as I can get one for the same price. I think I don't need or want a cabinet saw. I don't cut anything that I need more horsepower for and I don't really want to wire for 220.That being said, my son has a pretty good head on his shoulders so I want to listen to his concerns.

1. 
   troys | Dec 22, 2008 10:08am | #4

   I have a Jet contractors saw at home and have used the Saw Stop cabinet saw at my local CC which replaced their old uni-saws and the Saw Stops are a really nice tool. If I was to replace my saw at home I would hold out for the cabinet saw I really don't like the motor hanging off the back of the saw also the cabinet saw is much easier to adjust if things get out of whack. If the blade on a contractors saw gets out of parallel on a contractors saw it is much harder to get aligned than a cabinet style saw because the saws guts are mounted to the table on the contractor style saws whereas the cabinet style saws they are mounted on the body of the saw. Anyway if you have heard this before I apologize. But if money is not a major issue go for the cabinet style saw. Happy holidaysTroy

2. 
   adastra001 | Dec 22, 2008 09:59am | #3

   I own one of the Sawstop contractor's.

   The brake is worth it, in my opinion. Riving knife and dust collection are nice.

   The saw itself is an OK tool, but not perfect. Has the same shortcomings as other contractor saws.

   If you want to know more I can share my experience so far.

1. 
   Domer | Dec 22, 2008 05:46pm | #5

   Please do tell me more about your experience so far. My debate is whether to buy the Saw Stop Contractor's saw now or wait a few months to see what the other companies do.Thanks,Domer

1. 
   adastra001 | Dec 22, 2008 09:43pm | #6

   If you do a search on this forum or sawmillcreek for "Sawstop Issue" you should find my post with a specific description.It involves their recommendation to return the saw to headquarters in Portland (from Hawaii) to make a not uncommon adjustment that contractor type saws that use torque rod carriages combined with hanging motor design can/will need throughout their service life.

   The saw came out of their factory packaging needing this adjustment.The saw performs adequately as a tool, there are contractor/hybrid saws that perform equally for half the cost that offer riving knives and better carriage design. However the others do not have the brake. I accept the weaknesses of their contractor saw for what the brake offers.Their customer service is polite and fast, however I think they do have some work to do. To suggest a table saw be returned to Portland for a common adjustment because they did not anticipate the issue is quite an oversight. I identified the issue (having dealt with it with a contractor saw from another manufacturer) and wanted to know how to deal with it with their saw as I did not want to unintentionally void the warranty. They then told me their saw was not designed to be adjusted in the field and to return the saw to Portland for adjustment. There was a question as to who would cover the shipping cost (major issue from Hawaii). They did offer to cover the cost if they determined the problem was a manufacturing issue; which they would decide upon inspection. This problem is a factory assembly issue, not necessarily a defect and I wanted a predetermination before I paid freight because this saw came from the factory needing this adjustment. Eventually Sawstop described the procedure required to make the adjustment, however in a "hit or miss" manner. They do not have a way to verify the this adjustment is back into specification other than partial disassembly, adjusting, then reassembling the saw and taking measurements at the blade. Other manufacturers with similar carriage designs have a method for verifying this adjustment before reassembly. FYI they reportedly do have a less expensive hybrid or cabinet saw in development. That could be worth an inquiry.

3. 
   JohnWW | Dec 22, 2008 09:47pm | #7

   The comment about the SawStop being a great saw, even if it didn't have the brake mechanism, applies to their big cabinet saw, The contractor's version is a nice saw, but it still a contractor's saw and has the same alignment problems that plague all contractor's saws.

   John White

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   adastra001 | Dec 23, 2008 01:07am | #8

   Update:After spending the morning with the saw I can say it there is a way to align the connecting/torque rods without turning the saw upside down and I was able to fashion a jig to give reference so the operation is not a "hit or miss" procedure.Saw is now aligned but it is worth noting I had to come up with the process and alignment jig myself. Thanks, Sawstop.Its also worth noting that the bolts for the connection rods were only tightened to 20-30 ft/lbs from the factory. In other words they didn't require effort to loosen them. Usually in a saw of this design these are really cranked down tight. Could have been a simple error at the factory.However would like to repeat that initially Sawstop's response was that this saw was not designed to be adjusted in the field, it needed to go back to Portland.Their cabinet saw is very sweet and the contractor is a decent saw but the brake makes it worthwhile.

1. 
   Domer | Dec 23, 2008 02:13am | #9

   I think I read in your message that your saw was one of the earlier ones. Do you think that Saw Stop might have fixed some of the problems you have had?Secondly, you said that there are several other saws with better riving knives and trunions for quite a bit less. Would you share with me which saws you like best?Domer

1. 
   adastra001 | Dec 23, 2008 03:18am | #11

   To me the brake is a huge advantage but suspending reality and instead of Sawstop its an Acme contractor saw with same features but not a brake.The Grizzly G0661 has a riving knife and a single piece carriage, plus the motor is fixed and supported equally by both trunnions and doesn't hang out the back. But it is a new design so there could be issues, would really like to hear some reviews or user reports. I was ready to buy this saw when Sawstop told me they were finally ready to ship their contractor after a long wait. There were delays getting the Grizzly out but I think they are shipping.There is a new hybrid set to release by Ridgid, should be around $600. Riving knife, mobile base, granite top, no motor hanging behind. Nobody has one of these yet so its a question mark but it looks very similar to the Craftsman/Steel City/Delta hybrid saws.Table saws are mandated to have riving knives so all will eventually be offered with this nice feature.Downside is all the others will amputate or maim should you accidentally come in contact with the blade.I'll accept the shortcomings for the peace of mind. There are still a lot of ways to get hurt in a shop but having one less is a good thing. I woodwork for a living so am too often working when tired or in a rush so the brake is worth it to me even if there are better tools. I know how to work around the shortcomings but will be glad to eventually upgrade sometime in the future.

2. 
   USANigel | Dec 23, 2008 02:21am | #10

   Well done on getting your saw sorted! I agree it should be easy and in the instruction book.

   Often is the case when "stuff" gets in to Joe Publics hands the problems show up!

   Send them your idea for adjustment in the field, I think you should get a reward for this too!

3. 
   hdgis1 | Dec 23, 2008 09:02am | #12

   Sir/Mam:I do not intend for this post to be confrontational in anyway. If it comes across that way, i apologize. Skipping straight to the heart of the matter - You seem very knowledgeable about table saws and their mechanical structures. You also seem knowledgeable with regards to the various shortcomings of literally all contractor saws. Given these assumptions on my part, what were your expectations when you purchased the Saw Stop? It is, at heart, a contractor saw and therefore subject to the same problems as all other contractor saws.I suppose it is clear that you purchased the saw assuming that any problems you faced may in fact be dealt with by you, yet were obviously stymied when such a simple problem required what you considered to be extreme measures, i.e. - you sending the saw back at your cost. I don't think that it was unreasonable for them to expect for you to pay return shipping when the possibility existed that the saw was manufactured to the standards set forth by its designers. If you feel that my response is worth your time, please feel free to reply.Chris

1. 
   adastra001 | Dec 23, 2008 12:35pm | #13

   My expectations were that the Sawstop contractor would likely have the same limitations of other contractor saws. I didn't expect it to perform like a cabinet saw. I also expected the manufacturer to have procedures to address the common issues the torque shaft type carriage can/will have. The saw was out of spec by their standards out of the box. It required adjustment, it was not a manufacturing defect; it was a manufacturers assembly error.Realignment of torque shaft contractor saws is an occasional (eventual?) adjustment that will be required during the service life of the tool. Its common enough that Delta has a technical bulletin available for download describing in detail the process to realign the torque shafts and get the trunnions coplanar. If you are familiar with this procedure I suggest you take a look at the Sawstop manual on their website and have a look at their design. The standard reference points for this alignment are not accessible.If the Sawstop design were just a copy of other saws I wouldn't have even bothered calling them. However their design presents obstacles to realigning in the traditional way. And there is the issue of the brake, I did not want to inadvertently loosen a ground wire for example that could affect the performance of the brake.Mostly I wanted to save myself the time of "reinventing the wheel". I assumed that since the saw design does not allow the common method of adjustment they must have a Sawstop-Contractor-specific procedure. I didn't want to take the time to develop a process, device an alignment jig and then find out they had alternate reference points built into the castings to allow for quick service.Yes, the suggestion to ship the saw to Portland for a fairly common adjustment threw me for a loop. Could have just been a tech support person's error but aligning the trunnions of a contractor saw is not some unknown issue. It is not as common as setting 90 and 45 degree stops but it definitely is part of life with a contractor saw with this carriage design so I did expect them to have a field procedure for realignment.Now that I have the procedure and alignment jig doing this adjustment is a 15-20 minute process and it is done with the saw in place, no removal and disassembly required.

4. 
   asepulvida80 | Jun 03, 2012 09:39pm | #14

   Aligning Contractor Saw

   Could you please explain how to align this saw? I was messing around with it all weekend and became very frustrated.