Well, if you wanna spend $35,000, and you’ve got about extra 500 sq feet of space to work with, I must recommend the Altendorf F 45. It’s what we use in our (custom cabinet) shop. We’ve also got a electronic Tiger rip fence on it.
It’s technically a panel saw, but let me tell ya: it’s the greatest saw ever in the history of everything. Well, really, not just the greatest saw, it’s pretty much the greatest thing in the history of everything. It cuts full sheets of melamine and (if you’re careful) tiny pieces of bubinga with equal precision and ease.
After I win the lottery, it’ll be the first thing I add to my personal woodshop. After I buy a house. And put a personal woodshop in it.
I think my top price will be around $1,500 but I am not sure that I can justify spending that much. It partly depends on how I end up setting up the workshop.
There has got to be an interesting story behind this. Feel free to step into the Barbecue Pit and unburden – I’d love to hear this (I’m not a real big fan of HD, but not boycotting, either – yet.)
There are distributors for Ridgid besides HD, but they are few and far between do to the fact they end up charging more for the same tool HD sells.
I good comparable saw to the Ridgid is the General contractor saw.
Considering you are stretching your funds into the $1500 area I wouldn’t recommend a cabinet saw. I would go for a higher end contractor saw and spend the extra money towards things like upgraded fences and mobile bases.
I have been buying used woodworking machinery at auction in the USA and importing it to México. There are some very good deals if you are patient. Last month I bought a Powermatic 66, a 10 inch cabinet saw, 5 hp, left tilt for 700usd. Last year I bought a General T350 (made in Canada) for 900usd.
Sometimes you can get good deals on eBay. Right now there is an older PM 66 located in Indiana on eBay. The catch is the 3 phase motor but if you get it for the right price you can either switch motors or use a phase converter.