Selling my SawStop to get a CSC

[bwehman]

Basically the title. I challenged myself this last year and treated the table saw as an unavailable tool to see if I could make it work. I ended up building an entire kitchen from scratch, which meant over a dozen cabinets, face frames, and even 5/4 white oak counters, all with just a TS 55 and all the available track sizes + parallel guides (Festool). It was shockingly easy.

Another notable project was a white oak bed. Never once touched the SawStop and worked out great.

I *do* have use for a table saw though for smaller parts. I also make book boxes for a couple clients and the scale of those are just too small to make effectively using tracks. But between the Kapex for cross cutting and a small table saw like the CSC, they'll be easy to make.

The one and only feature I'll miss is the assurance offered by the SawStop safety tech. For those who've made similar switches... any regrets leaving that feature behind?

 

[SoonerFan]

I went the other direction….from a small table saw + track saw/rails to a SawStop. One of the main reasons I did it was safety. Now that I have that safety feature, I would not be without it. I kept the track saw kit but no longer have the smaller table saw.

 

[Lincoln]

Basically the title. I challenged myself this last year and treated the table saw as an unavailable tool to see if I could make it work. I ended up building an entire kitchen from scratch, which meant over a dozen cabinets, face frames, and even 5/4 white oak counters, all with just a TS 55 and all the available track sizes + parallel guides (Festool). It was shockingly easy.

Another notable project was a white oak bed. Never once touched the SawStop and worked out great.

I *do* have use for a table saw though for smaller parts. I also make book boxes for a couple clients and the scale of those are just too small to make effectively using tracks. But between the Kapex for cross cutting and a small table saw like the CSC, they'll be easy to make.

The one and only feature I'll miss is the assurance offered by the SawStop safety tech. For those who've made similar switches... any regrets leaving that feature behind?

Some nice work there. Can you tell me more about the book boxes?

 

[ChuckM]

I went the other direction….from a small table saw + track saw/rails to a SawStop. One of the main reasons I did it was safety. Now that I have that safety feature, I would not be without it. I kept the track saw kit but no longer have the smaller table saw.

After using the Sawstop PCS or ICS for almost 20 yrs, I now refuse to operate a table saw that doesn't have the finger-saving feature.

 

[jonnyrocket]

I sold my sawstop ICS recently and now have only the CSC SYS 50. Having a very portable and very accurate saw has been great. It truly allows you to bring the saw to where the work is happening.
Recently I tried to do some long narrow rips of hard maple. The quality and ease was not the same as it was with my sawstop. If I wasn’t pressed for time, I could have addressed the challenges and made it work just as well. But since it was the first time doing something like that on the CSC SYS 50, the results weren’t to my level of desired outcome.
My overall take-away is that the CSC SYS is great for what it is. As long as you don’t expect to be able to do everything that you could do on your sawstop PCS on the CSC SYS 50 as quick and as easily as you could do it on your sawstop, you’ll be OK. And with time, you’ll adapt to its abilities.
But this also works the other way. You can do things on the CSC SYS 50 faster and easier than you could on your sawstop, thanks to the built in sliding table.

 

[luvmytoolz]

The sliding table was the absolute clincher for me and is more handy than I ever thought possible. I can now batch out large quantities with ease knowing every one is identical. It would easily take me at least twice as long using the dropsaw.

I sold my cabinet saw a couple years ago as I just didn't have room for it, and won't till I build another shed. So the SYS50 fills my needs beautifully in the meantime.

The bandsaw or tracksaw take care of anything the SYS50 isn't suitable for.

 

[bwehman]

The sliding table was the absolute clincher for me and is more handy than I ever thought possible. I can now batch out large quantities with ease knowing every one is identical. It would easily take me at least twice as long using the dropsaw.

I sold my cabinet saw a couple years ago as I just didn't have room for it, and won't till I build another shed. So the SYS50 fills my needs beautifully in the meantime.

The bandsaw or tracksaw take care of anything the SYS50 isn't suitable for.

Agreed about the bandsaw mention. I don’t think the conversion would be possible if I didn’t have a nice bandsaw.

 

[bwehman]

I sold my sawstop ICS recently and now have only the CSC SYS 50. Having a very portable and very accurate saw has been great. It truly allows you to bring the saw to where the work is happening.
Recently I tried to do some long narrow rips of hard maple. The quality and ease was not the same as it was with my sawstop. If I wasn’t pressed for time, I could have addressed the challenges and made it work just as well. But since it was the first time doing something like that on the CSC SYS 50, the results weren’t to my level of desired outcome.
My overall take-away is that the CSC SYS is great for what it is. As long as you don’t expect to be able to do everything that you could do on your sawstop PCS on the CSC SYS 50 as quick and as easily as you could do it on your sawstop, you’ll be OK. And with time, you’ll adapt to its abilities.
But this also works the other way. You can do things on the CSC SYS 50 faster and easier than you could on your sawstop, thanks to the built in sliding table.

Great perspective. What about the rips were troublesome? Just literally slower (which makes sense) or was the saw actually bogging down throughout the cut?

 

[luvmytoolz]

Agreed about the bandsaw mention. I don’t think the conversion would be possible if I didn’t have a nice bandsaw.

I don't think a lot of people realise just how useful and versatile a bandsaw is, it may not be the most accurate machine in the shed, but it's magic for breaking down sheets and timber. I also use mine a lot for work with jigs batching out things like doorstops, etc.

 

[bwehman]

I don't think a lot of people realise just how useful and versatile a bandsaw is, it may not be the most accurate machine in the shed, but it's magic for breaking down sheets and timber. I also use mine a lot for work with jigs batching out things like doorstops, etc.

100%. I use it a lot for rough carpentry too, like ripping fence boards or 2x4s. I have a carbide resaw blade on there and it feels way safer ripping down lumber than the table saw does.

Right now the table saw basically doesn't rip anything in my shop that isn't faced and jointed.

 

[smorgasbord]

Right now the table saw basically doesn't rip anything in my shop that isn't faced and jointed.

That's good practice, but a ripping sled on the TS can do that safely, too.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

About 15 years ago we remodeled our kitchen/living room/dining room into one large space. The kitchen took up the old kitchen area and dining room. I did all the work myself including making tons of cabinets. I was on the Eurekazone & Makita bandwagon at the time and decided to try to as much as I could w/o the nice maybe 3-year old Unisaw I had. It worked well and I did most of the work on the track saw systems. I decided to sell the Unisaw. Think as a hobbyist performing this big job while still having a day job burned me out and I lost some interest in the hobby. Later I determined I needed a TS. I bought a Bosch table top TS but it wasn't enough. Then I found a deal on a Craftsman version of the Ryobi portable saw with the slider and liked this but still not enough. Then one day I was paging through Craigslist while watching TV and by chance opened a sale for a 1950 Uni for $125! I took my youngest son with me and we picked it up. He also helped my refurbish the entire saw. Now this old Uni is the perfect size. It is smaller than the newer cabinet saws but that allows me to store it where the others couldn't fit. I have been using this saw for 12 years now and still love it.

 

[BarneyD]

Several weeks ago my son called me and asked if I could help him haul home a Unisaw that he was getting for free. I tried to look up the Delta serial number but it didn't match anything. I agreed to help, and met him at the company that was giving it away. A guy came out with a forklift with the saw on a pallet. It was easy to load onto my pickup. The plan was that I would take it to my shop, go thru it, make any repairs required, then bring it to my son's shop. I asked the guy who brought it out what was wrong with it. He said "nothing, it's as good as day one". I asked why they wanted to unload it and he said the company bought a Sawstop and just wanted to get rid of the Unisaw. The reason the Delta model number didn't match anything was because the Unisaw had a factory plaque on it saying that it was custom made for this company, a one of a kind apparently. I never bothered to haul it home, just delivered it to my son's shop, since no repairs were needed. He's now working on getting 240V out to his garage so he can use it. Quite the deal he got. I was jealous indeed, but happy for him.