My wife is jealous

Great review! Is that table extension granite also or just colored the same?

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Great Review thank you …so much …...

I need a primer on a “RIVING KNIFE” If you do not mind explaining what a Riving Knife is and its purpose?

I have a Steel City Dust Collector ….and love it ..I had been wondering about the quality of other Steel city tools …I have been looking at the Steel City mini lathe..as a next possible tool in my shop..

thanks again

-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."

A riving knife is like a splitter but it tops off just a little below the top of the blade. This allows you to do blind cuts with it still installed.

Look at the 3rd picture on the left hand side. The thing that is right on top of the blade is the riving knife. Close to the blade, just a little under height of the blade, no reason to remove it so it stays in place and the say stays safe.

I agree with your wife. I’m jealous too! Nice review.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

Good review although I would like to hear more about the functionality and how the saw performs under load. I have wanted one of these granite top saws since i first saw them. Now that I have heard from someone that actually owns one I want one even more! As far as the inserts being low, I would just use the one it came with as a template and make my own from baltic birch.

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Great review. I want to upgrade my contractor’s saw and have been looking at this one, the PM2000 and Sawstop. The granite top is, to me, the top selling point on this one. It sounds like you have a nice tool to play with. Let us know how it performs.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

The right side of the saw is a standard table-board; the whole top isn’t granite, but ~ 1/2 of the work surface is.

The biggest reason I chose the SC over the PM, was price. Of course, after I saw the granite top in person I may have chosen the Steel City over the PM2000 if they were similarly priced.

Bosch 4100/Riving/24”/portable=$599-699
SteelCity/50”/3HP/Riving/Granite=$1399
Powermatic/50”/3HP/Riving/CastIron=$2299.

For $900, I could almost have 2 saws. The Sawstop at over $3000 was just too far away. Plus I’ve heard that the riving knife (along with the quick-change features) can potentially prevent a lot of the accidents that the Sawstop was designed to eliminate.

That reminds me. The quick change features of the riving knife are good, not great, but with no tools, I can safely change between riving attachments (included: 1xthin kerf, 1xthick kerf, 1xHooded splitter) I’m still giving it a 5 star rating just because I have no comparison to other saws and the new quick-change requirements. My last saw was a 2 wrench x 5 minute change and thus often left the splitter off.

Oh, and the saw came with a pretty good blade. It’s not a Forrest, but it has cut very well so far. And it saved me a trip to the store.

-- - http://www.sawdustroad.com

Excellent review! Much appreciated!

-- Cheers!

I have wanting to hear someones first hand experience withis product since it came out ladt Summer / Fall.

Thank you for sharing.

-- Kip Northern Illinois ( If you don't know where your goin any road will take you there) George Harrison

I am curious. How do the rails attach to the granite table? What do the bolts go through?

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net

The mounting holes appear to be epoxied-threaded-inserts. They were fairly clean, so I couldn’t really tell you if there was any other type of anchoring going on. If I’ve still got a shot at one, I’ll send a picture.

-- - http://www.sawdustroad.com

Thanks. I figured as much. Epoxy will hold them.

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net

I just bought the 30-Inch 1.75HP version with the granite top and set it up last week. I also noticed that the table insert doesn’t sit flush. Mine tilts in at the back so even though the sides are level, the middle is below the table surface. Steel City is sending me a new one. What did you end up doing about yours?

-- Jon

That’s frustrating. I tried to contact them the day I wrote this review and no reply. I’m trying again now. Does your fence align with all of the holes in the granite?

-- - http://www.sawdustroad.com

I didn’t encounter any problems installing the fence (30” Industrial Type II), the holes aligned properly.

-- Jon

Ok; Left another message on the support form and was given a phone number to call: 877 724 8665. I asked for Sam and he said they had just received the information and have a replacement insert under fabrication, hopefully to be deliverable within 6 weeks. With respect to the fence rail and the granite extension, their only advice was to make the hole bigger using a drill as a new rail couldn’t guarantee a better fit. Oh well;

I’ve been using the saw without adjustment and have no complaints. My biggest headache is most likely caused by my introduction to a cabinet saw, not the steel city saw, and that is the fact that my dust collector is doing a mediocre job with the dust.

-- - http://www.sawdustroad.com

Thank you for the great review. I am currently considering this model. Also thank you Jon. It is nice to hear from mutiple people and it is good to hear that TCT is addressing the issue with the table insert. Hopefully it will be ironed out by the time I get ready to buy, which will probably not be until next spring.

Thanks again.

-- Scott in Texas

Thats a nice saw.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

It’s a Hybrid saw, not a cabinet saw.

Just wanted to check to how the saw is performing. I am going purchase the same saw in about 2 months. Mama doesn’t know yet.

Still love the saw and I’m glad ended up with the 50 inch table. In my small shop, the extra workspace is great, hard to get around, but once it is setup in a good place, it pays for the space it takes up.

Dust doesn’t seem to leave the saw as easy as I’d hoped, but I’ve only got a small 1.5 hp dust collector.

Hopefully by the time you get the saw, their early mfg problems are fixed (alighnment/insert). If not, just make or get a zero clearance insert and it should be fine. Don’t really have much to compare the saw to as it’s my first 3HP, and it runs much smoother, stronger and better than my old contractor saws. 100% behind the riving knife. Kickback count to date is still 0!

-- - http://www.sawdustroad.com

Thanks for the review, very helpful. Its one of the finalists in my upcoming table saw purchase.

-- Adventure? Heh! Excitement? Heh! A Woodworker craves not these things!

I got my granite-topped Steel City 50 inch 3hp hybrid about a year ago. Had the same comments about the rails not lining up with the holes in the extensions very well. Also noted the lameness of the throat plate and immediately made my own zero clearance insert.

An additional note: my saw was kinda rough upon winding down after turning it off and didn’t seem to have as much power as I expected – turns out a buncha set screws on pulleys were LOOSE! The other review mentioned some roughness at 45 deg – he should open up the non-motor side of the cabinet (there’s a removeable panel there, not the motor cover) and check the set screws on all his pulleys.

Otherwise, I love the granite and I have ripped 3” thick white oak like buttah (Forrest ripping blade). Especially after I fixed those set screws.

-- I am an anal-retentive procrastinator. Is it a wonder my projects never get done?

I got my granite-topped Steel City 50 inch 3hp hybrid about a year ago. Had the same comments about the rails not lining up with the holes in the extensions very well. Also noted the lameness of the throat plate and immediately made my own zero clearance insert.

An additional note: my saw was kinda rough upon winding down after turning it off and didn’t seem to have as much power as I expected – turns out a buncha set screws on pulleys were LOOSE! The other review mentioned some roughness at 45 deg – he should open up the non-motor side of the cabinet (there’s a removeable panel there, not the motor cover) and check the set screws on all his pulleys.

Otherwise, I love the granite and I have ripped 3” thick white oak like buttah (Forrest ripping blade). Especially after I fixed those set screws.

D’ohBoy

-- I am an anal-retentive procrastinator. Is it a wonder my projects never get done?

thanks for the review

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

If your wife wants to buy her own saw let her.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †