1) Have you set off the BRAKE?
2) Is the BRAKE easy to set off?
3) Are you happy with the horse power?
4) SET UP TIME?
5) Any other opinions?
- richardchaos
I have the PCS, not the contractor saw, so my answers are based on that. Though I'm confident that the braking system is the same.
1) Have you set off the BRAKE?
Yes. The saw did exactly what it was supposed. Though it was not my finger or any part of me. I had a brain fart and tried to cut into a metal miter gauge.
2) Is the BRAKE easy to set off?
Only triggered the break once as stated above. I hit a small nail once and it did not trigger. I have cut aluminum, but of course disabled the brake for that cut.
3) Are you happy with the horse power?
I have 3 HP PCS, so not comparable. But yes I'm happy with 3 HP.
4) SET UP TIME?
Again PCS. But hardware was very well packed and organized. Spent the most time shimming and adjusting the cast iron wings. Nothing wrong with them, just spent a lot of time getting them aligned as best as possible.
5) Any other opinions?
My PCS seems to be of very high quality. I would expect all of their other saw to be of similar quality.
Someone mentioned negative business practices by Saw Stop. They are referring to attempts of the Saw Stop founder to get legislation passed requiring his braking technology or similar feature in table saws.
I won't get into that, but wanted to make sure you didn't take that as a comment about customer service. SawStop customer service is considered very, very good. Most people have excellent things to say if they have needed help from customer support.
I also recommend you buy from a local SawStop dealer if possible. When I looked into it, the pricing was effectively the same. If I found a lower price online, then it didn't include shipping. Or if I wouldn't have had to pay sales tax, then the price was higher. If you buy from a local dealer, you'll also get dealer support.