# Better saw than most



## PlanBWoodworks (Jan 29, 2017)

Wow, Sawstop has really changed their design. When did they add the second floor and 3 car garage? Just kidding. Hope you enjoy the saw. I am getting ready to purchase a Sawstop or Powermatic myself.


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## TheStairMaster (Mar 22, 2018)

.......Wow, Sawstop has really changed their design. When did they add the second floor and 3 car garage? Just kidding. Hope you enjoy the saw. I am getting ready to purchase a Sawstop or Powermatic myself…..

Lol, right…they were asking me for a pic and that was the quickest problem solver to be able to finalize the post; anyway, that is my latest project, only problem, my wife was my boss on that one, lol.
But thank you, I really feel like a kid in a candy store with that saw around.


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## jimintx (Jan 23, 2014)

I'm glad you like the new saw. You got plenty of horsepower.

Are you planning to teach the kids learn to use the saw, and do other wood work? Seems like there is not nearly as much of that going on these days.


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## TheStairMaster (Mar 22, 2018)

> I m glad you like the new saw. You got plenty of horsepower.
> 
> Are you planning to teach the kids learn to use the saw, and do other wood work? Seems like there is not nearly as much of that going on these days.
> 
> - jimintx


That's for sure; whatever they decide to do for their day job, fine by me but, they have to learn everything I know; when I got married, first thing I did I thought my wife everything I know about woodworking, mind you, she works in cardiology, but to this day, she can do anything I can, aside lifting heavy stuff; the idea is, if I kick the bucket, I need them to be able to run the show just like I am; I do all kind of work, I deal with pissy, pretentious costumers that drives me crazy at times, hell, I even became like them, I started building high end homes lately on my spare time, therefor I instill in my kids/wife the instinct of survival and being able to change things on a moment's notice if they fall on hard times, hence them knowing other things besides being in front of a screen. So far so good, the kids follow the instructions fairly well; one thing I do with them that is somewhat unorthodox is, I pay them for working in the shop with me, now, they are not adults, they are kids, but still teach them the value of earning, and, of course, they still have to do their around the house free work; I hope that answers your question, lol. Dan.


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## jimintx (Jan 23, 2014)

Dan, that's more than enough explanation. FWIW, I totally approve of your approach. I did a little of that, but not really as much as I likely should have. I do not have a business to pass on, however.


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## TheStairMaster (Mar 22, 2018)

> Dan, that s more than enough explanation. FWIW, I totally approve of your approach. I did a little of that, but not really as much as I likely should have. I do not have a business to pass on, however.
> 
> - jimintx


Considering how crazy things are these days, no parent is immune from kids getting out of control, so I am trying to keep them busy with what really matters and hope for the best.
Also, my goal is not primarily to pass the business to them, but to pass knowledge that might come in handy one day, the way I learned this, is while playing in my grandfather's shop, my father know how to do woodworking, but he had a different day job so I learned from his dad the basics that eventually I built upon to get me where I am today. Dan


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## PJKS (Dec 21, 2016)

Well done !!
You will not regret your purchase ….


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## TheStairMaster (Mar 22, 2018)

> Well done !!
> You will not regret your purchase ….
> 
> - PJKS


Thanks, I see you went the same route. do you have a good experience with this particular saw?? dan.


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## Ted78 (Dec 3, 2012)

My grandfather said you need to know three different ways to make a living. In his case, farming, operating a mobile grain grinder he built out of an old model T, and third way that might not have been entirely legal and led to him hiding out in Canada for a while. May have kept him from going hungry though.


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## sciesauteuse (Mar 29, 2018)

Nice machine.

But is it available in Europe?


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## TheStairMaster (Mar 22, 2018)

> Nice machine.
> 
> But is it available in Europe?
> 
> - sciesauteuse


The answer to that question is best answered by the company itself.


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## Rayne (Mar 9, 2014)

> Nice machine.
> 
> But is it available in Europe?
> 
> - sciesauteuse


Probably not too far off it not already since Festool owns SawStop now.


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## TwoThumbBruce (Feb 21, 2010)

Stairmaster, Thanks for this info and the resulting posts. I'm newly retired and have convinced The Wife that a whole shop full of tools will save us a tons of money… Threw out my old cheapy table saw before the move and now trying to evaluate what's on the market. Would love to have one like your's but WOW! I could not do justice to that saw! Congratulations, though, it sure is nice.

If you know of reviews, comparisons, discussions, etc. on current saws could you point me in the right direction? I'm hoping for under $1000. The reviews I've found so far are several years old. LJ may have some recent reviews, but I'm still looking….


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## CyberDyneSystems (May 29, 2012)

Congrats on the investment in your fingers 

We set up our ICS back in 2012 after our unisaw motor dies. I teach in a University, so SawStop was the only thing that made sense for a replacement, the only decision to be made was which one. Well, I managed to get them to spring fr the ICS.

Best saw I've used short of an Altendorfer or Oliver. Simply amazing.
Ours has remained flawless.

Keep a spare brake cartridge (and blades) on hand. We've never used it's safety feature in "live fire", but we have accidentally triggered it twice when we came across hidden brad nails. (oops)


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## TheStairMaster (Mar 22, 2018)

> Stairmaster, Thanks for this info and the resulting posts. I m newly retired and have convinced The Wife that a whole shop full of tools will save us a tons of money… Threw out my old cheapy table saw before the move and now trying to evaluate what s on the market. Would love to have one like your s but WOW! I could not do justice to that saw! Congratulations, though, it sure is nice.
> 
> If you know of reviews, comparisons, discussions, etc. on current saws could you point me in the right direction? I m hoping for under $1000. The reviews I ve found so far are several years old. LJ may have some recent reviews, but I m still looking….
> 
> - TwoThumbBruce


Sorry for the late response, but what I can tell you is this:
Over the years, I owned only powermatic and delta tools, at the time they were the best and between the two companies I had to balance the finances, even when I had a large shop, I never felt the need for a slider since I also use the "extension table" as a fabricating table thus using the same space for multiple purposes, worked for me very well along the years; these days, I built myself a large garage/barn, over 1000 sq ft and use it as my "mancave" for all my woodworking tools; I am lucky that my wife all along understood the value of tools when it comes to jobs/projects, latest I flip/build new construction homes where my tools are essential in everything I do with regards to these projects (I build my own cabinets/custom closets/make majority of trims and of course, do all my stair work) so, with that said, I decided to invest in this ICS strictly because I work a lot from my home where I have 4 kids that might decide to mess around with my power tools, they do a multitude of tasks but they are still somewhat young where they might make the mistake of not paying attention to the table saw (there are other power tools they might get hurt on but the table saw is the most accident prone); if you wait until you have the funds to buy what is in your best interest, you might never accomplish that there for, get what you need as long as you don't set yourself back major way. Now, one shouldn't let their guard down and think that this stopsaw will save your behind, I still use the same safety protocol around all my power tools but that pace of mind that "in case" you might forget where your hands are, you will end up with few stitches vs a hand short of a few fingers, that is if you lucky.
Unless you are one lucky guy, woodworking crowd knows the value of tools and you won't get a deal on good tools unless the owner died and their family, not realizing the value, gets rid of the tools at any price.
Good luck in your search.


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## TheStairMaster (Mar 22, 2018)

> Congrats on the investment in your fingers
> 
> We set up our ICS back in 2012 after our unisaw motor dies. I teach in a University, so SawStop was the only thing that made sense for a replacement, the only decision to be made was which one. Well, I managed to get them to spring fr the ICS.
> 
> ...


I have no intention to find out how well the cartridge works in "live fire" (I like that term) but did get myself spares for both regular blade as well as the dado set; I am sure that one of these days I will find out how it works may it be thru metal touch or wet material but until than, this thing is better than I expected; even that I got the wheels for it as well, I keep it dedicated to one side of my shop (the barn these days, lol) with a " 8×5' solid extension table that I use for putting things together as well, that is what I did in my old days and I guess old habits don't die easy, works for me really well, as I mentioned to another woodworker fellow here on this site, I never was big enough where I needed the fender/martin slider, maybe its just me, but sliding table saws are not my thing, I worked on plenty of them so unless you do a lot of the same thing, I find them in my way; I do all kind of projects therefor realestate is more valuable to me than slider, again, maybe its just me but that is the truth; financial aspect didn't play a role, if I can afford to but this ICS for sure I could've found a slider not much more expensive that the ICS used. Over the years I learned to be ahead of the game thus I ended up learning how to do a lot of hight end custom woodworking in this expensive homes, may it be natural exotic woods or panted woodwork, I enjoyed that more than cookie cutter jobs (back in the day I did quite a few Eye glass Factory store fronts and other commercial work where I had to put down a bond before I walked out of there with the contract in my hand, so not only I walked out of the bidding joint with a job that I had to put my own funds into the material/salaries, but also had to leave behind a 5% bond fee to guarantee the time frame and the job completion, fun stuff right?).
So, before I become boring, I can tell you, saw stop is as good as powermatic saws, I enjoy working on it, I have other toys in powrmatic brand and delta brand, I enjoy those as well, but safety is a must when one works around these high RPM sharp tools, thus I choose careful these days.
Good luck with those university kids, don't blink, they might mess things up for you, lol.


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## TheStairMaster (Mar 22, 2018)

> Well done !!
> You will not regret your purchase ….
> 
> - PJKS


thank you
sorry for the late response, these days I keep pretty busy in the shop thus never get the chance to keep up with your guys compliments, no ill intention there.
Dan


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## jimrolf (Jul 23, 2018)

How did you decide between 5hp and 3hp?


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## TheStairMaster (Mar 22, 2018)

> How did you decide between 5hp and 3hp?
> 
> - jimrolf


Hi
I got my dust collector with a 5Hp, so I got the table saw in 5Hp, just in case I needed when I have to cut real thick material; of course, price wise the 5Hp is way more expensive but I rather invest smart now vs regret it later. Hope it helps. Dan


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