Replacing a Unisaw with a SawStop?

[law_kid]

Just wondering if anyone has "upgraded" (or seriously contemplated doing so) their Unisaw to a SawStop. What sold you on it (just safety?), what are the pluses/minuses, etc.

Would appreciate any input.

[mbw]

I'd like to update my old uni for a new uni. But seriously I think the only advantage saw to saw is the skin sensor. I heard a story just last week, about a guy who switched to sawstop, and sold his uni to his inexperienced neighbor, who proceeded to cut off two fingers the first week he had it.

[s9plus20]

I have 2 Unisaws. A SawStop came up on Craigslist about a month ago. The price suckered me into getting it, knowing I could easily get my money back if I didn't like it. Its a 3 hp pcs with the short fence. My Unisaws are 2004 and 2005 models. Both have Unifences. I bought the 2004 new, added a Dewalt sliding table, and Uniguard when I purchased the saw. It has the long fence. I got the 2005 from my brother when he moved and got out of woodworking. It has the short fence and I added a router wing to it.

The SawStop is a very nice saw. Fit and finish are great, perhaps better than the Unisaw. Same power as my Unisaws. Same accuracy.

I much prefer the Unifence over the SawStop fence, which is nice/smooth/accurate, I just prefer the Unifence.

I much prefer the riving knife of the SawStop.

I like the Uniguard however I dislike the big support bar part of it.

My shop is really not big enough for 3 saws, so I will probably get rid of a saw or two.

My small Unisaw doesnt take up much more room than a router table. Its nice to keep my tenoning jig on it, or else a dado blade. These do not interfere with my router wing, and visa versa. Also those two things would not benefit much from a riving knife.

The other Unisaw has the Uniguard which has a nice, easily removable splitter. The splitter works well, however the riving knife is MUCH better.

I may move some parts from my Unisaws to the SawStop and sell one of the Unisaws. Keeping two short fences and adding a track saw is probably what I am going to do.

So.....
Is it worth the change? (somewhat hesitant to call it a upgrade, but I suppose it is) Not sure. I have had a couple of "uncomfortable" situations over the years with my setup. A riving knife would have solved those situations. My dad was a cabinet maker / home builder and I grew up helping him. I knew lots of people in the trades. Dad lost 2 fingers to a table saw in his later years. Had an uncle who lost 2 fingers to a RAS. Knew of other accidents too.

IMHO The 2 saws are the same in most respects (at least close enough) except for safety where the SawStop is clearly superior.

Have you had any "unconformable" situations with your Unisaw? Are your work processes and safety habits good? Does anyone else use your equipment?

The SawStop is every bit as good as a Unisaw and superior in safety.

[Jeremy s]

I probably wont switch because i have a 5x8 outfeed table and custom cabinet under my right extention wing and if i switched, i would need to rework and rebuild the whole thing. Frankly i just dont want to.

[Philip1231]

Just switched from a UNI to a SS a few weeks ago. No regrets: SS seems to be as good or better in every respect. Safety was the only reason to switch.

[shoottmx]

I went from a Uni to a SS for safety. Chris Becksvoort has a SS and it saved one of his fingers a couple years ago, that convinced me to buy a SS.

One limitation is that you can't use blades other than 10" or 8". At times I like to use a 7 1/4" circ saw blade with a 1/16" kerf for ripping to save material. No can do on the SS.

g

[Guest]

I switched my Unisaw for a Sawstop ICS a couple of years ago and have not regretted the change or the expense. I was very happy with my Unisaw. I have always been very careful with power tools and I had never had an accident. That is, until I had a bad kickback ripping a 30" 2 X 4 on the Uni. I saw the back of the board raising up and, before I could push it down with my push stick, the saw threw it into my gut with tremendous force. Had a massive, heavy bruise that took several months to heal.

Thst incident convinced me that serious machine accidents can happen to all of us, even when we are conscientious about safety. Most people who get cut badly or lose fingers and such on table saws seldom just run their hand into the spinning blade. More often than not, there is an unexpected, violent accident, like my kickback, that jerks their hand into the blade with very bad results. I figured it was only a matter of time before I had another incident with my saw, and I might not be lucky enough to get away with only a bruise. I got rid of the Uni and bought a SawStop. I couldn't be happier.

The SawStop's safety features sold me. The flesh-sensing technology is, of course, the big selling point, but there are a number of others: the riving knife is excellent and beats the after-market riving knife on my Uni by a mile. I also like the electronic lockouts that prevent accidental start-ups while you're working on the saw. I have never used the blade guard/DC fixture that came with the saw; I use my Excalibur instead. But the SawStop guard looked pretty interesting with the built-in dust collection capability. Others might comment on how well it works.

Apart from the safety features, the saw is very well built. The engineering is superb, better than the Uni; and it's solid, built of heavy materials. The fit and finish are excellent. The SawStop fence is a Biesmeyer style fence. I liked my UniFence a lot better, but the Sawstop fence is solid, easy to adjust and works very well. As others have said, the SawStop is equal to or surpasses the Unisaw in almost every respect. This, combined with the saw's safety features made the swap a no-brainer for me. I have absolutely no regrets.

Hank

[Tapper]

Replaced my Unisaw with a SawStop PCS over 5 years ago strickly because of safety concerns. Had a friend lost two fingers on his Unisaw due to a lapse of attention. He now has a SS ICS, albeit unfortunately too late in this case.

I liken the SS safety brake to a reserve parachute - never used until you need it.

Doug

[McApple]

I replaced my General 350 with a SS, solely for safety reasons. I am well into retirement and there are some days when I am just not as sharp anymore, I like having an additional level of safety.

[meackerman]

a friend of mine upgraded to a SS and the first week he triggered the brake....because he didn't reset an aluminum jig he was using from his right tilt Delta to the left tilt SS.

Expensive oops.