So you say, “What makes this better than a Home Center vertical panel saw?”  First, this machine uses real steel bearings and not U bolts with plastics rings, giving it a smoother and more accurate pull stroke.

Unlike Home Center machines that have 13 adjusting points for squareness, this machine is always square because of the single factory set-and-forget Accu-Square alignment system.

The Makita 5007F off the shelf 15 amp. saw uses easy to find 7.25 inch saw blades.  Other machines use obscure and expensive 8″ blades and proprietary saws causing long down times and expensive replacements.

The dust collection uses a Dust Brush to surround the blade so that the saw dust is actually contained until the larger 2.5″ vacuum hose evacuates it. Other machines use a thinner hose and a vinyl tube that has to be adjusted for each thickness of material cut. It is usually cut into and discarded the first week of use.

Besides sawing, the quick change carriage allows fast cutting tool changes such as a floating router, pivoting razor knife, aluminum composite rolling shear and glass cutter.

Inconspicuous features make this machine much easier to use than other panel saws. A  lighted viewing port in the dust bonnet of the saw make it easy to align your saw blade with a mark on your material.  We incorporate a center step that prevents small pieces from falling and bouncing back into the saw blade after a cut.  Other machines take two people to fold their stand, ours is an easy one man folding stand that folds like a ladder.  For stability, our frame wheels are only on the ground when the machine is in use.  For faster cut set ups, we incorporate two rip gauges that allow cutting from either direction and a stop that can be used on either side of the machine (and  optional mid fence) that incorporates a bar for cutting strips.

Basically, the Varsity is a smaller version of the 1000 series vertical panel saw giving you a less expensive and more portable version of a full size panel saw.  It is ideal for customers that need a vertical panel saw to precision cut sheet goods that are up to 1 ¾ inches thick.