Cabinet Saw Versus a European Saw

 

The European tablesaws imported to these shores have significant differences when compared to typical American style cabinet saws; this article is an attempt to explain the differences / similarities as well as the benefits and trade-offs of these machines.

The way I've structured the information is to compare a cabinet saw equipped with an aftermarket sliding table to two different Euro saws.  The two saws were selected because they represent two ends of the spectrum in Euro design.  The Rojek is one of the most similar (and price competitive) full Euro machines when compared to a cabinet saw (the Laguna TS would also fit this description somewhat).  The Hammer is representative of higher end Euro machines (it isn't really high-end but it follows the form of them).

If one were considering the purchase of any Euro saw the best way I found to analyze this is to do a feature comparison to understand the benefits and trade offs and then to look at the saw as a complete system.

An example of this would be:
"What do I get in return for giving up the dado capability of the Hammer?"
Specific to the blade issue you get (1) soft start, (2) blade braking, and (3) an easy to change blade. 

Only the buyer can determine if this trade off is acceptable or worthwhile; if it would help, the individual areas below could be scored in an attempt to place a "value to the buyer" upon them.

Antiquated Tablesaw

Modern Tablesaw

Low End Euro Saw


Power

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v
3hp 3.6hp 3.6hp
Comments:
The Euro motors are 3hp, 50hz.  When run on 60Hz power, this would effectively increase the horsepower by some small amount as well as the speed of the motor.  In order to equip the Euro saws with a more powerful motors, a three phase electrical system must be available (which could be cost prohibitive). Some cabinet saws can be equipped with 5hp motors operating on 220v single phase.

Arbor RPM

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v
4000rpm 5700rpm 4450rpm
Comments:
A 10" saw blade spinning at 4000rpm is a very good cutting speed for a 3hp saw.  The 5700rpm of the Hammer is a little too high when blades over 12" are fitted as it can be the sources of blade instability.  This will manifest itself in lower quality cuts.  A blade speed of about 4000rpm would be far better for large blades.

Arbor Size & Type

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v
5/8" left hand ACME threaded shaft 30mm with 9mm pins secured by right hand thread bolt and washer. 5/8" left hand threaded bolt and washer threaded into arbor.
Comments:
The arbor size is integral to the design of the saw and has implications beyond that of blade bore size.  The common 5/8" threaded shaft makes for easy blade changes.  The Hammer 30mm arbor with pins also makes for very easy blade changes, primarily due to the increased access to the arbor.  Hammer's use of the 30mm arbor will also preclude the use of any accumulated 5/8" bore blades unless they are re-machined.  The finely threaded Rojek "arbor" allows it's blade brake to work but required more time to thread when changing blades. 

Depth of Cut

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v

3 1/8" with 10" blade

2 3/4" with 10" blade
3.8" with 12" blade
4" with 12.4" blade

2 3/4" with 10" blade
3.8" with 12" blade

Comments:
The only real intent in listing this feature is to denote that the Euro saws require a larger blade to achieve the same depth of cut that a cabinet saw has with a common 10" blade.  A depth of cut over 2" is hardly ever needed on a saw but it can be handy at times.

Rip Capacity

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v

50" - 52"

49"

52"

Comments:
A ~52" capacity is the commonly desired size for cabinet saws.  The imported Euro machines are commonly equipped with similar sized fences mainly for marketing reasons; a sliding table obviates most true NEEDS for such a large rip capacity.

Rip Fence Performance

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v

Excellent

Poor

Adequate

Comments:
All cabinet saws come with a rip fences superior to those found on these Euro machines.  The rip fences on Cabinet saws are better operating, easier to align, stronger, and more user friendly. 

The "L" type rip fence standard on the Hammer is particularly lame.  To add insult to injury there are no aftermarket fence systems that will fit onto a Hammer without some modification.  While the Rojek is at least useable in its unmodified state it is still inferior to American fence systems.  Unlike the Hammer, many of the American fence systems would fit onto the Rojek with little or no modification.  This is an area where Europe seems to lack generally when compared to rip fences from these shores.


Scoring

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v

Not Really

Optional

Common

Comments:
Although an aftermarket scoring unit can be retrofitted to a cabinet saw, these machines are not designed with them in mind and any installation would effectively be semi-permanent, mainly due to the effort required to install and remove them.  Euro saws are designed with scoring in mind.  On the Hammer scoring is an option that costs the same or a little less than the sub-optimal aftermarket systems.  The Rojek is commonly imported with this option as "standard".

The scoring system used by Euro saws is adjusted via three Allen bolts accessed via the saw top.  The scoring blade can be raised or kept below table as desired.  The scoring blades on these two Euro machines must be removed if a main blade larger than 10" is used.  A scoring blade is especially useful when working with Melamine or veneered plywood that is prone to chip-out.


Dado Capability

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v

Yes

No

Yes

Comments:
A cabinet saw will take a stacked dado up to 13/16" or 15/16" wide or a molding head up to 1" wide.  The Hammer cannot accept a dado or molding head.  The 30mm + 9mm pin type arbor make this type of tooling incompatible.  The Rojek arbor is actually a special bolt and will accept either a dado or molding head.  The Rojek would be a little less convenient than a cabinet saw when it comes to tooling changes but there would be no threads for shims to catch on either.

The common Euro response when it comes to the "dado question" is that they are illegal in Europe and there are other (inference = better) ways of performing the same operation.  In reality this is at best a lame excuse, the dado blade is a very good way of making grooves, if it weren't, they wouldn't be popular.  Although molding heads have lost much of their popularity due to inexpensive router bits, they are still a cost effective method of producing molding.

If one has a saw that cannot accept a dado set like the Hammer, it is a loss in capability that will need to be overcome through some other means.


Sliding Table

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v

Aftermarket Excaliber

Integral Format

Integrated CV2

Comments:
Due to the basic design of the cabinet saw, a sliding table attached to it does not come any closer to the blade than about 10".  A sliding surface closer to the blade will present a better cutting platform and there are more opportunities to use jigs attached to the slider. The Hammer sliding table is about 1/4" away from the blade, the Rojek is about 3" away.

The closer the guide bar and bearings are to the blade the greater the linear accuracy, performance, and alignment / installation will be.  The Excaliber system has its bearing components over 24" away from the blade.  A sliding table like the Excaliber would provide a lot of support for sheet goods but due to its supporting legs it could easily be thrown out of alignment (if hit) and it takes up quite a bit of space statically.

The K3 uses a telescopic sliding table mechanism similar to a full extension drawer glide.  This allows it to be fairly small statically. The 78" table on a K3 occupies a footprint of 10.2 square feet. A 60" stroke Excaliber is about 23 square feet.  The K3 sliding table outrigger can be easily detached and re-attached onto the sliding table wagon. With it removed, the static size of the machine is reduced even further yet there is still 12" or so of sliding table surface available.  The K3 also has a T-slot in the sliding table that can be used to attach jigs or hold-downs for special setups; this effectively converts the entire sliding table into a precision jig base.  Because of it's closeness to the blade, a Format slider can also be use to make rip cuts adding to its versatility.

The Rojek slider is integrated into the design of the machine; unlike an aftermarket accessory it isn't a kludged on afterthought.  The Rojek slider takes up more room than a telescopic type but it is still quite a bit smaller than the Excaliber.  It's guide bearings are close to the blade which should give it good accuracy.  The crosscut fence of the Rojek is less versatile (useful) than the Excaliber.  While the Rojek table does slide close to the blade, because it isn't a Format type it could not be used very effectively as a jig base or for ripping.


Dust Collection

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v

Not Really

Good

Good

Comments:
These two Euro saws are very similar in this regard.  There is a partial shroud in the blade area that provides fairly good collection for a tablesaw.  While still not perfect, (primarily because the shroud is only partial) it is FAR better than a cabinet saw which would be more accurately described as a dust accumulator.

Blade Guard / Splitter

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v

Poor

Good

Mediocre guard, good riving knife

Comments:
The blade guards on the Euro saws are attached to their riving knives which raise and lower along with the blade. The blade guards are easily removed and re-attached.  The riving knives can also be removed fairly easily.  Without minor modification they take more effort to reinstall.  Compared to the cabinet saw splitters, the riving knife design is far more user friendly and consequently much more likely to be used.

The guards on the Euro saws do not offer much protection but do provide effective dust collection ports.  The Hammer guard is smaller and made of clear plastic which makes it preferable over the Rojek.


Noise

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v
Loud Very Loud

Loud

Comments:
Cabinet saws are loud machines.   Depending upon one's noise tolerance (or deafness) the machine operates at a tolerable noise level.  The Hammer saw is significantly louder due to the very high tip speed of the blade.  While the Rojek is also load, it is noticeably less so (to me) than the Hammer.

Documentation

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v
Adequate Poor

Poor

Comments:
The owner’s manual for both Euro machines is measurably deficient in assembly and alignment information when compared to a typical Delta manual.  This is all the more lacking since there are more alignment aspects to the machine.  While it is possible to figure everything out, there are recommended practices for alignments and maintenance; it would be nice not to have to learn everything by trail and error or word-of-mouth.  Not to be misleading, the Delta manuals are not as good as they could be either, it's just that the Euro manuals are pathetically inadequate by comparison.

Footprint

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v

27.3'

23.2'

~24'

Comments:
When the size of a cabinet saw and static requirements of the sliding table are taken into account, the Euro saws take up less space.  On the K3 the sliding table outrigger can be easily removed and replaced onto the sliding table wagon. When removed, the static size of the machine is reduced even further.  The CV2 table of the Rojek can be de-coupled from its outrigger and pivoted down reducing its static footprint as well.  When either the Hammer or Rojek are reconfigured to use their tables, there is no loss of accuracy or alignment.

Availability

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v
Widely available One dealer, few locations

One dealer, one location

Comments:
The lead-time on a Delta saw is usually about a week and there are numerous dealers. Unless a suitable unit is on the show room floor a Hammer will take about 4 months or more to get. A Rojek is typically faster to get but if a special order is made it would probably take as long as a Hammer.

Delivery for a typical cabinet saw is not a problem at all compared to a large machine like the Hammer.  The amount of effort one goes through to get a Euro machine depends greatly upon the service of the local shipping company.


Safety

Cabinet Saw Hammer K3 Rojek PK300v
Not especially Several enhancements

Several enhancements

Comments:
Safety in this instance is comparative, no saw is going to be especially safe and even the best safety system can be defeated by an unsafe operator.

In comparison:

  • Cabinet saws are equipped with nearly universally disliked blade guards which are more often than not discarded because they are deemed by operators to be a danger in and of themselves.
  • The Hammer has an electric soft start, this could give an operator an extra second to get out of the way when needed.  I'm assuming this is not the original purpose of the feature however it is a by product.
  • Both the Hammer and Rojek have blade brakes that stop a fully spooled 12" blade in under three seconds.  The braking feature increases operator safety by stopping the cutter quicker reducing an operators tendency to remove offcuts near the blade while it is spinning.
  • Any sliding table will increase the safety factor of a saw just because it gives the operator more opportunity to place himself out of harms way.  The more versatile the sliding table the more often an operator will be able to perform higher risk operations with greater safety.
  • The Euro riving knife is much less intrusive than a cabinet saw splitter with pawls.  As such it is more likely to be left on the machine where it will prevent stock binding and kickback.