Industrial Style Cabinet Saws:
Industrial cabinet saws are the true workhorses found in many cabinet shops, factory shops, commercial shops, schools, and serious hobby shops across the country. The vast majority retain the same standard table dimensions mentioned eralier, so from the top, they can look a great deal like a contractor saw or a hybrid saw. Most can even accept many of the same standard accessories, but the similarities end there. The underpinnings of an industrial cabinet saw are much heavier duty than those of any other type of table saw mentioned here, making them very accurate, heavy, stable, and durable. The fences are generally precise and robust, often made of heavy welded steel. The mechanisms and adjustments tend to operate as they should, which makes them a pleasure to use. They also have more horsepower, with most falling into the 3hp to 5hp range, and requiring 240v electrical circuits. There are few standard cuts that these saws will struggle with, and they’re less fussy about blade choice and setup because of the larger motors. Most come with a high quality fence, and solid cast iron wings instead of steel. All of the modern designs that I’m aware of feature cabinet mounted trunnions, which are easier to align than table mounted trunnions. Most have the large yoke style trunnions that span from corner to corner of the cabinet. Weighing in excess of 500 lbs makes these saws very stable, but not very portable. However, when placed on a good mobile base, most can be easily wheeled around the shop. The venerable Delta Unisaw was one of the earliest, most popular, and most copied of this type of saw.
There are now excellent examples from Delta, Powermatic, Grizzly, Shop Fox, Jet, Saw Stop, Rikon, Laguna, Woodtek, Baleigh, General, General International, Craftsman, Oliver, and Steel City, among others.
Starting prices tend to be in the $1300 range, topping out over $4000. Some would consider a saw of this caliber overkill for a hobbyist, but they can be fairly affordable considering what you get for $1300.
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