[Paul928]

Hey, does anyone have any experience with the sliding table attachment for Grizzly or Shop Fox?

 

[Kitchenator]

I've been looking into a sliding table attachment for a while now. I haven't used the grizzly myself but I think the position of the unit would make using the rip fence awkward especially for smaller cuts. It just sits too far forward. There's a video on YouTube of the craftex version of that tool which is identical to the grizzly or so I'm told. The only time they show the guy making a cut they cut the video right in the middle. And you can tell he's not in a good position to finish the cut. Everyone says the miter gague is sloppy and its hard to get the fence square once you take it off. It is possible to make a jig to help with that though. Despite its flaws some people like it a lot. The length of cut using the slider is over 4' so that's good. There's a lot of good information available online for this attachment if you google grizzly sliding table attachment.
There's one called a jessem that everyone likes a lot. It mounts basically flush with the front of the saw so it won't affect normal operation.
It will only cut 3' though. But apparently it's higher quality than the grizz. There have been some concerns about support apparently it's a good idea to have a side support table. The fence is only 2' long
There's a unit made by robland that I hear good things about but it's hard to find and I can't find good info on it either. There's a company in kent wa called olive machinery who is a dealer for robland. They say they can get me the unit for 630 including shipping. I'm waiting to get some more info about the machine to make sure it will fit on my saw and do what I want it to. Supposedly this will crosscut 4' as well.
If you go with the grizz let me know what you think. Meanwhile I think woodcraft and or rockler stores carry the jessem and its possible they may have one set up on a saw to fiddle with. I'm looking forward to that

 

[Paul928]

Thanks for info. I am going to Indy woodworking show, I'll see what's new. Will be looking for a cabinet saw.

 

[woodnthings]

I don't get the "gain" for a sliding table attachment

A table saw is the best machine to make rip cuts with having the rip fence. Now along comes a hulking sliding table attachment which sits right in the operators standing space when making rips.... I don't see the advantage/gain unless you make far more crosscuts than rips.

http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2014/Main/22


It would seem that a large surround on all sides of the table saw that allows the use of the fence for crosscutting panels OR a sled along with miter slot grooves in the table would work equally well, if not better, IF you have the floor space.

To me the best method for crosscutting 4 X 8 's is a vertical panel saw, and that's why I made my own. I'm still perfecting it, but definitely likin' it. I can set the ply or heavy panel on the horizontal fence, measure over to the line and pull the saw down without any fuss. If I made a lot of case and cabinets I would look into getting one. Since it's pretty vertical, it doesn't use a lot of shop floor space, AND mine has a horizontal rail for ripping rather than pushing the panel which requires about 20 ft of shop run. :smile:

 

[4DThinker]

We put a sliding table attachment on our Powermatic, and In my opinion it spoiled the saw. Cutting down large sheets is still far easier on our vertical panel saw.

 

[Kitchenator]

I agree absolutely with the interference issue of slider attachments like the grizz laguna craftex ect. But the Jessem sits flush with the front of the saw and the crosscut fence is removable of course. The legendary robland is supposed to be the same but I'm having a hard time finding much info on that one.

So do you guys have any recommendations on vertical saws that do cabinet quality cuts? I've used streibigs and they do the job but I can't afford that kind of machine. What do you guys think of the cheaper or homemade versions?

 

[woodnthings]

I looked at the commercial versions...$$$$

I decided to make my own from a radial arm saw and used the carriage and motor attached. It took about 2 months to make the frame, cut the steel angles, make the spacers, counterbalance the weight of the carriage and make a blade shroud to collect the dust. I had no plans, just solved each issue as it came up. I originally was going to have it lay flat, but it took up SO MUCH floor space, that proved unworkable. I tilted it up at a good angle for resting the panels and went on from there.

There are many ways to make sliding mechanisms that have little or no friction, ball bearings like the Holz-Her uses, V groove bearings that ride the edges of angles, and the low friction 80-20 bearings available on EBay.

There is a kit from Saw Trax that has the bearing plate and tubes you can get to make a vertical saw, but it won't travel horizontally unless you add more bearings and a sliding carriage arm.
http://www.sawtrax.com/Panel Saw/panel_saw_kit.html


This is a pretty good workout for the horizontal and vertical travel:

 

[Paul928]

Thanks for feedback. By the picture I thought the Griz attachment looked to be awkward.

 

[Al B Thayer]

Hey, does anyone have any experience with the sliding table attachment for Grizzly or Shop Fox?

It's my understanding. Unless the slider is a well made commercial unit. You will spend more time keeping it aligned than cutting with it. I wanted to put one on my Unisaw but was talked out of it.

Al

Nails only hold themselves.

 

[Al B Thayer]

My version for panel saw.

This one was made with 8020 rails and bearings. Works very well.

Al

Nails only hold themselves.

 

[Kitchenator]

I decided to make my own from a radial arm saw and used the carriage and motor attached. It took about 2 months to make the frame, cut the steel angles, make the spacers, counterbalance the weight of the carriage and make a blade shroud to collect the dust. I had no plans, just solved each issue as it came up. I originally was going to have it lay flat, but it took up SO MUCH floor space, that proved unworkable. I tilted it up at a good angle for resting the panels and went on from there.

There are many ways to make sliding mechanisms that have little or no friction, ball bearings like the Holz-Her uses, V groove bearings that ride the edges of angles, and the low friction 80-20 bearings available on EBay.

There is a kit from Saw Trax that has the bearing plate and tubes you can get to make a vertical saw, but it won't travel horizontally unless you add more bearings and a sliding carriage arm.
http://www.sawtrax.com/Panel Saw/panel_saw_kit.html


This is a pretty good workout for the horizontal and vertical travel:
Vertical panel saw - YouTube

Thanks for all the great info. Seems like the vertical saws are pretty popular. I don't think making a saw like that is beyond me and it sounds like yours is pretty clutch. The one in the video looked like it works like a dream. I'm not really up for an undertaking like that right now but it would be an awesome addition to my shop.