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Sliding Table Saws

If you’re the kind of woodworking enthusiast who loves to roam the Internet and explore the wonderful world of high tech woodworking equipment, you’ve undoubtedly come across the sliding table saw. Due to their high ticket price – they range from around $6,000 all the way up to $40,000 and more – most of us can only dream of owning one. But dreams sometimes come true and their advantages may actually warrant saving up and investing in one.

In a standard table saw the wood is pushed through the blade either by the rip fence, the miter gauge, or a push stick. With a sliding table saw the wood is secured to a moving table set to the left of the blade and it is the table that moves the wood through the blade as it slides along a rail. Even some professional woodworking shops shy away from sliding table saws due to their cost. But if you believe time is money, the time saving advantages of a sliding table saw might actually pay for itself over a long period of time. Their biggest advantage comes in cutting large sheet goods, like plywood. In the absence of a sliding table saw, additional cutting operations are needed to reduce the size of the piece so it can be fed through the saw. Not so with a sliding table saw. In addition, the operator does not have to continually move around the saw table to position and adjust the rip fence and miter gauge. Sliding table saws can be particularly helpful for the “one man shop”, eliminating the need for a second person to assist with reducing the size of the piece before it is fed through the saw. For the same reason, some serious amateur woodworkers upgrade to sliding table saws, trying to find bargains at the low end of the price spectrum. If you’ve checked the Internet woodworking forums you’ve seen that most experts feel that the best of breed – Altendorf sliding table saws and Martin sliding table saws – are so far ahead of their competition that they recommend searching for a used Altendorf or Martin rather than going with a lower priced model you might find on Amazon. Let’s take a brief look at some of the models offered by these manufacturers.

Martin Sliding Table Saws

Martin is a German company and its founder, Otto Martin, is generally credited with inventing the first true sliding table saw. If you’re a fan of table saw history you should know he is known as a “maschinenbau,” which In German means master designer of machinery. Martin’s signature sliding table saws are the T74 and the T60. Both are fully automated technological marvels, with prices to match. The saw is operator controlled via a touch screen. Words really can’t describe the high tech features of these saws so we suggest taking a ride on the Internet where you can find videos of them in action. Start with the Martin website at Martin-USA.com.

Altendorf Sliding Table Saws

Altendorf was started in Berlin in 1906 and they now make nothing but sliding table saws. The F45 and the F45 Elmo are their “top dogs”, but you can actually have Altendorf build you a custom table to your own specifications. The Elmo also features an operator controlled LCD screen to perform most saw operations and they even have a USB port to download job specifications and other data. Once again, go to the net and take a look at some of the videos that show what these saws can do. Start with directindustry.com/prod/altendorf.

Low End Sliding Table Saws and Aftermarket Sliders

Amazon is a good place to look for lower end sliding saws. You can actually get a decent quality Jet – the 708781K JWSS Supersaw-- for under $2,000! If you’ve watched the videos of the Altendorfs and Martins you realize the need for extremely high precision bearings in the sliding mechanism. This Jet actually gets fairly good marks for that in user reviews.

Finally, you can buy sliding table attachments for select model table saws. DeWalt has one as does Jet and Exaktor. The Exaktor EX60 is a cut above the rest in that it comes with an extension table while the others just attach directly to the saw table. You can inspect the Exaktor at a local Woodcraft outlet.