Official Luthiers Forum!

Unfortunately the sawstop only uses 10" standard and 8" dado set. I think it will have an error code with other blade sizes. If you want to slot fretboards, or use small blades with thin kerfs for ripping binding/purf, veneers, etc. I'm not sure you can do it with the sawstop.

Thanks guys!

I just got off the phone with my local Woodcraft where I am a frequent flier and I spoke to a guy who runs the place. He said that although he can get me a SawStop contractor's saw he has not carried them yet waiting to see what the demand might be. According to him I am the first one who has asked about it.

Pricing is out of my range because when you add in the stand and fence it goes over $2K which is way more than I wanted to spend. But I hear ya Don my friend and I am still loving my Festool stuff that I purchased solely on your recommendation.

I think that since I have gotten this far without a table saw and since all I want to use it for is guitar building that although many of the saws that folks are recommending here are great they may not be the best value play for me. And I should have been more clear with a budget number which I would like to keep under $1K and this of course includes the requisite must-haves i.e. fence, stand if needed, Kevlar athletic supporter......etc.

The Jet hybrid should come in just under a grand. Its been rated pretty well.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

I agree. And know where the blade is, but keep your eye on the fence. And use a push block. Never those long notched sticks. Those are scary.

I just taught the Fundamentals of Woodworking class for the first time this summer at Red Rocks, and it's pretty scary letting 12 newbies use the tablesaw for the first time! I've gotta say, I wouldn't have felt any less nervous with a SawStop. But lo and behold, no kickbacks, and no missing fingers!

Hesh, I understand your budget concerns. I do, however, still have to vote for a more powerful saw. Unisaws are great. I like the Powermatic too, and Grizzly makes great stuff. I'd go for one of the hybrids at the very least.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

im sorry, but please do not spend $2000 plus dollars on a contractor style saw. for that money there are much better saws to be had. seriously.

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sweat the small stuff.

No prob Heath my friend I don't want a table saw that much........

Still looking here and listening to everyone's point of view and thanks again for your help!

Not sure what you mean here, Todd. Isn't the rip cut the one that benefits from a splitter?

I've been using a Jet contractors saw that I bought new about 11 years ago. It does what I need, but I've been looking forward to replacing it when the new shop gets built. I'm thinking Griz 1023 SLW. Then get the Jet off its legs and on to a bench to save room, and make it a dedicated fret board slotter. Unisaw and Powermatic 66's look great, but my sense is that a lot of the advantage is in a cabinet shop running the saw 8 hours a day and wanting it not to need tuning too often. I'm also wary of used machinery, unless it was owned by a hobbyist who never used it. There are so many things to wear and get loose; I've watched people spend a lot of time and money trying to get a used machine tuned up, including the heavy duty old Powermatics, Deltas, etc.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Howard, I'm pretty sure he means rip cuts with the blade at 90 deg, not tilted. I was confused at first too.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Hesh here is a link to a pretty good review on the Ridgid
http://benchmark.20m.com/reviews/Ridgid ... eview.html

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

didnt mean to be rude, just thought it needed to be said.

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sweat the small stuff.

Hesh -
As for Sawstop and luthiery please check out the following issue. I was told by the Sawstop people that the saw would NOT turn physically turn on without either the 10" blade or the 8" dado blade installed, citing its' inability as a safety feature. I specifically asked about using the saw with a 6" blade (for fretting) and was told that was not possible with the Sawstop. I had one ordered and immediately cancelled the order. I want my table saw to do whatever I throw at it and, as much as I love the safety aspect, the saw is no good for luthiery unless the Sawstop people build in an override to allow for blades other than those protected by the Sawstop safety device.

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Sylvan
http://www.wellsguitars.com

Hesh ,for the money you can`t beat the Bosch.Very accurate .I use it to cut scarf joints ,fret slots, you name it.If it`s set up properly it will never kick back.I built a stand for mine that has wheels,so I can roll it around.It`s also light enough that I can actually lift it into my pick up truck alone.I believe Lowe`s has them ,and you can get a stand with wheels,which may even come with it.I use this saw in my construction business daily,mostly for cabinetery.I`m convinced it`s the best saw in it`s category.The alternative is a huge heavy cabinetery saw costing in the thousands.For building guitars it will be more than you will ever need.
James W B

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

Marc and Sylvan very good catch that the SawStop won't use it safety feature with the blades that we use in Lutherie.

Uncle Bob I read the review - thanks, and it seems that all I can find is the Rigid TS3660 which I suspect is the current model. HD lists it but is out of stock but they also offer free shipping which is pretty cool on a nearly 300 pound saw.

Hi Hesh,

I haven't talked to you in a long time.

I'll put in my plug here for the Rigid TS3650. I got one on sale from Home Depot for a little over $500.00 about a year and a half ago - I'm pretty sure HD keeps them in stock. It has a good fence, movable base, splitter and anti-kickback device as standard. I use it for necks/side slots/scarf joints, fret-slot cutting and even cutting bindings from side scraps. It needs zero-clearance inserts, but these are easy to make - see most recent issues of Fine Woodworking.

I like this saw and I use it a lot. It seems to work well for my purposes. Good luck in your search. Hope to see you next month in A2.

Best,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

I've been doing a lot of research here and I would buy the Woodtek based on Todd's recommendation in a second if I could find where to purchase one locally or get one shipped for less than a fortune. If anyone has any sources for Woodtek please let me know. Most of what I find on the web are forum comments.

The Rigid looks great too and that is high on my list.

I wanted to ask what folks think of a Hitachi http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=159372-46578-C10FL&lpage=none

These are available locally, are inexpensive, and I have been using the crap out of my Hitachi chop saw and love it.

Thanks!

Hesh, I think if you're talking "Woodtek", not "WoodTech" the Woodtek saws are made in Taiwan just like Grizzly and the Jet etc.
When you talk about Woodtek vs Grizzly, it's all apples and apples for the most part.
They are available through Woodworkers Supply.

Also, let me add that the precision of a typical contractor's saw will never equal that of a decent cabinet saw. Especially the HomeDepot/Lowes type of saw. They just aren't built for precision work. They're made for contractors who will beat them up and toss them in a couple years. You're better off with a Grizzly cabinet saw such as what Brock has for guitar work.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Man I feel like Chris in the film Platoon........ The Heart of Darkness thing......

Will someone just give me a stinkin link to click on and I will buy something and be done with it...... Geeze........

Hesh, this is not about YOU! It's about table saws and opinions! You asked for it!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Hesh believe me that's all the saw you will even need for what you are going to do. The most important part of any saw is the fence. Most lower end saws come with real crap for fences. I have used the unisaw, contractors saws and portable saws and unless your into intricate joints or making furniture this saw will meet your needs.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Uncle Bob thanks my friend that works for me

Waddy..........

Hesh:

I, too, have a unisaw. Delta is introducing their redesigned unisaw currently. It has some great new features worthy of your consideration. Much better dust collection tops my list.

Having been on your website and seeing your work, I am surprised at your safety concerns. You obviously work with routers, bandsaws, etc. and the same care and respect is due a table saw.

I disagree with those that have recommended the contractor or hybrid saws. I have not used all models, but those I have used had vibration (lack of mass) or power problems.

The new unisaw with a 5hp motor....tool lust never ends.

Danny R. Little

Thanks Danny - but as mentioned I have a budget here and want to use 110V. I have no doubt that the unisaw is absolutely superb in all respects.

Given a choice of having a healthy fear of a tool and not having a healthy fear of a tool I am proud to be a stinkin coward....... But - I am working on becoming an informed, trained coward.....

Hi!
I use the Bosch with the fold up legs. It's got lots of power, and using my fret slot blade I can cut rips for purfling at .020, rosette strips etc. I just shove it against the wall in my shop and pull it to the center when I need it, andit hooks onto my shop vac. I've had it for 18 months with no problem. And it's inexpensive.
Cheers

hesh, this is the saw you want. it has all of the features you claim are important to YOU. i will shut up now.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/2-HP-Hy ... -Saw/G0478

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sweat the small stuff.

Someone one pointed out that woodworkers that come to lutherie via carpentry or furniture work can usually be spotted by the placement of the table saw -right in the middle of the shop.
I went directly into lutherie and began with hand tools and a band saw. An early shop that I shared had a unisaw and I got used to the stability of cabinet saw and thought that I could never be happy with something smaller. I was wrong.

I have added some power tools over the years and found a nice little INCA table saw on Craigslist last year. I got it mainly to use it as as a fret slotter.

It has some nice features:
It is a very high quality compact saw.
It has a 2HP 120/240V motor, so there is enough power for most anything guitar related. I use it wired for 120V.
It is small and light enough even with its very well designed stable wooden stand that I can move it around without wheels pretty easily. I do move it to the side when I am not using it.
It is well made precision machine and the fence is simple and accurate. I do use the saw for more than fret slotting and like it a lot.
It has a lot of other features I won't mention here,

but... Some of the draw backs are:

Although it can take a 10 inch blade, the blade won't retract fully into the table. (Actually, the blade stays still and the table moves up and down). An 8 inch blade will allow for full retraction.
Another little inconvenience is that the arbor is 20mm, so any blade you buy has to have a 20mm hole. LMI wanted an extra 100 bucks for this little detail added to their fret slotting blade (and the two stiffeners), so I had a friend do that for me. I noticed in the new LMI catalog (page 126) that they use the same INCA saw for fret slotting.
The table is aluminum, so magnetic feather boards are out.
INCA, a Swiss company, is no longer in business, so parts and accessories are not easy to find.
They can be a little pricey, so shop carefully.

I would not want to do a lot of plywood cabinet work on it because of its size, even though it could be set up to do it with outfeed tables and such.

If you can get by all of those things, it is a great little saw for lutherie work.

Rob Girdis