SIP 01332 or iTECH 01332

[DeanN]

Can anyone shed any light on why there is such a price difference between these saws, given they are the same in all but name. S+S have the iTECH on for £1140 Inc VAT, and the SIP is averaging around £1650 Inc VAT. Seems a big difference!

 

[Jameshow]

Different badge.

Bitd sip had a good name for decent stuff it sure that's true anymore??

 

[Lons]

I can't answer that except to say that as far as I know they are the same imported machine just rebadged. I could be wrong as I've never used the Itech but have had the SIP for many years now and with a little bit of fettling it's a decent saw. If I was buying now I would be wondering exactly the same as you as I can't see a £500 difference are you sure the Sip you're looking at doesn't have the optional sliding table which would justify that? Unless things have changed SIP don't make any parts for the saw and there are a number of forum owners of that and it's bigger brother.

 

[DeanN]

I can't answer that except to say that as far as I know they are the same imported machine just rebadged. I could be wrong as I've never used the Itech but have had the SIP for many years now and with a little bit of fettling it's a decent saw. If I was buying now I would be wondering exactly the same as you as I can't see a £500 difference are you sure the Sip you're looking at doesn't have the optional sliding table which would justify that? Unless things have changed SIP don't make any parts for the saw and there are a number of forum owners of that and it's bigger brother.

Nope, just the saw. No mention of the sliding table. The SIP was in my crosshairs until I came across the iTECH and read the reviews. To me, it doesn't make sense spending the extra on the SIP - unless I'm missing something?

 

[TomGW]

There doesn’t seem to be any difference at all, apart from the price. I have had the SIP version for years and can thoroughly recommend it. Unless you have a massive workshop and will never need to move it, I would suggest that you get a wheel kit too. The SIP version has two outrigger wheels at the rear and a slot-in jockey at the front that works a treat.

 

[Lons]

What Tom said. I have the wheel kit fitted and though the saw rarely moves it's a godsend when it need to.
One of the tweaks probably worth doing before the saw is fully assembled is to seal the cabinet as much as possible and if you can fashion up a hopper arrangement under the blade to improve dust and chip collection, I haven't yet got around to the latter to my shame but will one day, I find the dust port over the blade is pretty useless so I taped mine up and also worth fashioning a couple of zero clearance inserts oh and the blade supplied to mine wasn't the best, I use Freud now those there are plenty of others available.
The only other issue I've had is I allowed the worm gear to get gunged up and stripped the threads so had to replace and a bit fiddly to do so lesson learned and proper maintenance ever since.
Plenty of posts on the forum and info on the net re these saws if you look.

As an aside, I have the saw fitted with a table each side of the blade and have added a small fold down outfield table and a separate router table to the side which is fold down as I need the space when not in use, a good arrangement for my needs.

 

[2 Rivers]

Can anyone shed any light on why there is such a price difference between these saws, given they are the same in all but name. S+S have the iTECH on for £1140 Inc VAT, and the SIP is averaging around £1650 Inc VAT. Seems a big difference!



I've got the iTECH the saw is brill. I paid less then your £1140 for it from S+S. But I did buy the iTECH sprial block planer thicknesser at the same time

 

[DeanN]

Thanks for the feedback. Does it take the same wheel kit as the SIP (jockey wheel etc.)?

 

[TomGW]

Thanks for the feedback. Does it take the same wheel kit as the SIP (jockey wheel etc.)?

https://www.tradecounterdirect.com/...M6qS8EzvuJwPzzNcN-_kNzGfTXEeUZehoCFUYQAvD_BwE
https://www.scosarg.com/itech-06920...CIdYYIW1t8jUIIQqcF2zHXXYWiXRNx-RoCdkoQAvD_BwE
This is the wheel kit I have and the same is listed for both iTech and SIP. They look identical.

 

[Phuture]

Thanks for the feedback. Does it take the same wheel kit as the SIP (jockey wheel etc.)?

I've had the iTech 01332 for a few years now and I've got the SIP wheel kit fitted to it. It fits and works perfectly. I've also had cause to buy a few spares for mine over the years and they've all been SIP branded spares and fit exactly on the iTech. As far as I can tell, other than badges and paint colour, they're the exact same saw.

 

[Shavingsnotdust]

I'm also looking at the iTech saw and have seen a number of posts online stating that the SIP and iTech both come out of the same factory, but of course that doesn't necessarily mean they are built to exactly the same spec....
One question which is bugging me is the blade guard/riving knife setup. S&S sell a 'safety table sawguard' which rises and falls with the blade and offers better dust extraction. Has anyone got one of these and do they justify the extra £145 plus VAT? Is the standard one a pain in the proverbial to use?
On a potentially contentious note, I have for years been in the habit of using my current setup (an ELU saw mounted upside-down in a Triton worktable) without riving knife or guard SOLELY for the purpose of cutting shallow grooves for drawer bottoms and such (never through cuts) in sensibly sized pieces of timber, using push sticks and a hold-down arrangement. I went round looking at table saws recently and was told by two people that the manufacturers deliberately made removal and refitting of the riving knife difficult in order to prevent this practice. Have I got into a really bad and dangerous habit over the years??

 

[Reffc]

If the rebates or slots you need to cut are relatively shallow you can remove the riving knife and cut or file it down a little. I've done just this with mine ant it still serves to provide the safety intended but no need to remove it for cutting shallow rebates.

I looked at the SIP and ITech machines when looking for a similar budget cabinet saw and didn't much like the quality. The Charnwood machines I think are better although all saws at this budget will not be in the same league as the next step up such as the Laguna Fusion saws.

In my case, I've been using the Charnwood W650 for 3 years now and once fettled, it's proved to be a real workhorse and more than good enough for my small business needs.