Sliding table saws with scoring units

[templecarpentry]

Hi all,

Still relatively new to the forum. So hope you all dont mind helping out.

I am looking for a larger footprint table/panel/dimension saw. I have 2k budget, and a tiny bit extra if i get carried away by something.

Currently u have a startrite TA 215 with slider but no scoring, which i bought just for clean ripping, and smallish jobs which didnt demand too much calibration or scoring. Now i am getting a lot of interest from the manufactured veneers sector and want to prepare myself properly to move in this direction.

I dont mind getting an entry level pro saw, but i dont want to waste my money either. Back when i first started, we were using a wadkin panelmaster, but they are pretty old now and most have taken a bit of a beating from what i can see.

I am hearing a lot of names thrown about such as casadei, panhans, technomax, scm, interwood, poaloni, Iwood,

The names i know of and respect are Martins, Robland, Altendorf, Felder/hammer, Startrite (new ps315s)

I dont want to go mad because as we all know its easy to go 'yeah ill get a brand new one for 5k ish and deposit what i have and get the rest on finance' but circumstances change all the time and i know from experience that it burdens your life if things do change.

Anyway, i think you get the gist.

i know this is a bit long winded for such a short question but, out of the names i dont know and respect, or havent listed, which should i be steering clear of and which should i be adding to my good list? Anyone currrently using a bigger dimension saw? Is my budget ridiculous (i feel a bit like it is short by around a grand)?

Phil

 

[heimlaga]

I would definitely buy secondhand. With a bit of luck you could get an old but technically sound Altendorf for that budget!

 

[Phil Sewell]

Phil,

I started with a small stratrite but needed to deal with sheet material more efficiently so I bought a secondhand wadkin (cp something or other). It cost £2700 from a dealer, so you might get one within your budget from a private sale. The carriage has a 4ft crosscut limit so it's not huge but it's great to have such an accurate machine that you don't have to constantly check to see whether it's cutting square. For me it was defineately worth investing in.

Phil.