Granite Table saw table

[TB Roye]

Just got an Newletter from Popular woodworking. The say Steel City is coming out with a line of tools using Granit for tables and some fences. Go to www.popularwoodworking.com/awfs#steelcity

Tom

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I was just going to post that! Hmmm. Just like in Rock, Paper, Sissors, something beats rock. In this case a nice hammer dropped on the top would be the winner.

Has a riving knife though.

[mschrank]

I was just going to post that! Hmmm. Just like in Rock, Paper, Sissors, something beats rock. In this case a nice hammer dropped on the top would be the winner.

Has a riving knife though.

I don't know....at 2" thick I think it would take a pretty big heavy hammer to do more than chip it a bit.

[cgallery]

I applaud their ingenuity.

However, how would the miter slots wear compare to cast-iron? Would the granite tend to abrade miter bars?

[Uncle Cracker]

A 2" thick granite slab? Great... Now it'll take four people to unload, uncrate and assemble...

[LarryG]

However, how would the miter slots wear compare to cast-iron? Would the granite tend to abrade miter bars?

Toward the end of the linked article, there's this paragraph:

"There are some minor differences in a granite top. You cannot tap it. So there are special stainless steel insets epoxied into the rock. The wing of the table saw weighs about 50 pounds so there is additional bracing below (and a micro-adjust system). And the T-slot for the miter gauge is more like a dovetailed way – with a slightly different design for the bar that keeps the gauge from tipping (though the bar is still a true 3/4" x 3/8")."

That doesn't exactly answer the specific question you asked, but it does indicate that they've thought about the differences between a CI and granite slot.

[ssmith1627]

I think I'll let someone else be the first to buy one of those ! Interesting to look at but I'd rather see how others fare with it.

Lots of new stuff out....have you seen Powermatic's PM2000 ? They have an option for the extended right side table to be a workbench -- wooden top with vise and dog holes. The rails bolt to that. I thought it was just art in the ad at first but upon reading, it really is an option for that saw.

Steve

[prlundberg]

Sounds like the main problems it solves are in manufacturing.

I'm not convinced it's much better. Pretty neat though.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Lots of new stuff out....have you seen Powermatic's PM2000 ? They have an option for the extended right side table to be a workbench -- wooden top with vise and dog holes. The rails bolt to that. I thought it was just art in the ad at first but upon reading, it really is an option for that saw.

Steve

Any photos of this set up online? What magazine was it in? I'd like to see it as I've heard a couple mentions of it.

Thanks

[LarryG]

Any photos of this set up online? What magazine was it in?

The latest issue of WOOD, for one. Don't know about photos online.

Having recently bought a PM2000, my initial reaction was, "Ah, phooey!" Actually I think I mentally uttered a far stronger word. But then I remembered/realized that the workbench option would probably jack the cost of the saw up by a fair amount more than I paid, and it wouldn't work in my shop layout anyway.

And still later I began to wonder: is this really a good idea? In most shops it's already hard enough to keep the workbench and the table saw both cleared for action, without formally overlapping their functions.

[Thom2]

Lots of new stuff out....have you seen Powermatic's PM2000 ? They have an option for the extended right side table to be a workbench -- wooden top with vise and dog holes. The rails bolt to that. I thought it was just art in the ad at first but upon reading, it really is an option for that saw.

I just saw that in the Wood magazine I got yesterday, that saw is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L-!!!!

[thrytis]

Any photos of this set up online? What magazine was it in? I'd like to see it as I've heard a couple mentions of it.

Thanks

Tom has already started a review of it over at NewWoodworker.com

[ssmith1627]

Here's some info on it:

http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/pm2000bnchrvu.html

I'd rather have my router table built in down there than the vise but it's still interesting to see.

Steve

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Thanks for the links. I agree about potential problems for clutter, especially for someone with my work habits!

[cgallery]

My wife was real insistent on granite counter tops when it came to a new kitchen. So getting this saw would be an easy card to play, if I was so inclined.

Problem is, it is just too heavy.