Sliding saw

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I have a small cabinet shop and am using an older Unisaw. I would like to upgrade but I don't have enough space or 3phase power for a large sliding table saw. I see that Grizzly has a sliding saw G0623X with a scoring blade that I need. It only rips 33" wide. That seems very limiting. Any ideas on how that would work or any other saws.

Bruce H

you don't need three phase to run a sliding saw. a rotary phase converter will work. look for a used saw. if you get an Altendorf it won't need to be up-graded in the future. (there are other name brands that are also good) in a small shop making cabinets a Striebig vertical might be a better idea.

cabinetmaker

Vertices panel saw and keep the Unisaw you will need it for solid wood

Mike Fuson

You can add a slider attachment to your saw. I’ve always liked the looks of the Excalibur.

Roy

I also have a small shop. I bought a Hammer k3 winner 5 years ago, its been a good saw. Its not an altendorf, but I'm the only one using it so it gets treated right as it little lighter duty then an altendorf or a martin. Felder and Hammer also have diffenert length tables the suit your shop size.

rich c.

The Grizzly machine is likely to be more of a hobby machine at that price point. Depends how you work, but a vertical panel saw usually works better in a small shop. Sliders are really big space hogs!

Jeff

Member

I’m in the same situation and have read as much as I can on the same grizzly saw.

I don’t think the rip capacity would actually be limiting. The only time I need more than 33 inches is croscutting plywood. With a sliding saw you won’t need the rip fence anymore.

The slider on the grizzly only has a 78” stroke, so for the rare times you need to rip a sheet of ply between 33 and 48, you’ll just have to rip off the waste piece.

I still haven decided between a slider and a vertical saw. I’ve never used a vertical saw.

Karl E Brogger

I agree with getting a vertical panel saw. If you're manually processing sheet goods, it's the best option in my opinion. Especially in a small space.

If I could only have one saw, I would get a slider though.

Bill Phillips

Member

I don't have enough room for a vertical and a table saw so I may go with the grizzly. I do have an excalibur on the unisaw now and it works ok but I check it for square everytime because it can get knocked out easily. Jeff. I liked what you said about not needing more than 33" rip because you can cross cut those pieces. I was wondering about that. I hope its not much trouble to remove the fence to rip and reinstall to crosscut. I have to do that now and I don't like it. I notice that it looks like there is a cross cut fence on the back of the table and another smaller one on the front. Do you know what that is about.

Jeff

The back fence is for breaking down sheetgoods. That way the sheets can be slid onto the saw and not need to be lifted over the fence in front. The front miter gauge is similar to a standard miter gage in any saw. Look up some YouTube videos on sliding saws and you'll see how the back fence is used for sheet goods.

The main thing pulling me away from a vertical saw is the difficulty of cutting smaller parts like drawer fronts.

Scott

Space is always a limiting factor, I have the same problem myself, but I would get a scm or a minimax, you can buy used for very reasonable, you can get an 8 ft slider and the table in the sliding side of the saw just flips off the saw with two screw handles. You can also find them in single phase.
In my opinion you will be disappointed with the grizzly.

Dave Rakauskas

Just for information purposes, Vertical panel saws can handle small parts like draw fronts and toe kicks nowadays. Most verticals added a full length small parts support area in the early 2000s. Saws older than that won't have them. Picture of a 3" part on the support area is attached.

Dave Rakauskas
Colonial Saw (Striebig USA)

View higher quality, full size image (886 X 665)

http://www.csaw.com/striebig/striebig-compact-series/striebig-compact/

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Bruce H