# I did it (Charnwood W650)



## Vikash (16 May 2012)

Excited like a school kid. I ordered the Charnwood W650 tablesaw. Should be a slight improvement over the Axi BTS10 that scares the dung outta me everytime I hit the start button.

First project will be a HT subwoofer


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## flounder (16 May 2012)

You are a lucky chap! I wish I had the space for a decent cabinet saw instead of having to have a fold away site saw!


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## turnamere (16 May 2012)

I also wish I had space for a table saw but my garage isn't quite big enough to accomodate one and still fit the car in. 

On the other hand, I do have the luxury of a dedicated home cinema room and that does have plenty of space for a SW like yours, I'm guessing that the performance of this will be on a par with circa £1k off the shelf units. I'll watch this project with interest.


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## monkeybiter (16 May 2012)

I thought it was an upended built in hob from the first back view :roll:


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## Vikash (17 May 2012)

flounder":1p5qcnfc said:


> You are a lucky chap! I wish I had the space for a decent cabinet saw instead of having to have a fold away site saw!





turnamere":1p5qcnfc said:


> I also wish I had space for a table saw but my garage isn't quite big enough to accomodate one and still fit the car in.
> 
> On the other hand, I do have the luxury of a dedicated home cinema room and that does have plenty of space for a SW like yours, I'm guessing that the performance of this will be on a par with circa £1k off the shelf units. I'll watch this project with interest.


I won't be able to get my car into the garage either now, but who cares 

Yep, the sub will be on par for commercial units in that bracket. I'm basically rehousing a previous design. More diy audio stuff here: http://www.vikash.info/audio


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## Vikash (17 May 2012)

Well it arrived today. 

I'm part way through assembling and will upload more pics soon.

Some minor issues which perhaps someone could confirm if it's the same on theirs:
- The extrusion with the measuring scale can't be aligned far enough to zero reference with the blade. And the millimetre markings are about half a millimetre thick so not sure how useful it wil be.
- The rip fence doesn't move freely on the leader pole. In fact it's near impossible to make it move without a series of expletives flying.

Other than that, the sliding carriage moves beautifully and overall the unit is a good compact size, and actually quite light (you have to tip it to get some bits out from the bottom such as the mitre attachment, handles and instructions!). The mobile base is proving to be an excellent idea.

Oh and the bonus is it has T slots milled into the top and mitre attachment is supplied which I don't believe it had in earlier versions.


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## Vikash (21 May 2012)

Finished putting it together this evening. The only issue now is with adjusting the table top mitre slots to the saw blade. I've loosened the four socket head bolts that secure the top but it won't budge. Any ideas?


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## Digit (21 May 2012)

Vikash, I'm not familiar with your saw, but is the blade arbor not bolted to the underside of the top?

Roy.


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## stuartpaul (22 May 2012)

Vikash,

I really hope you have more success than I did with the 650.

Have you checked the top for flatness? Mine was so far out (dished) I had to send it back and the customer service from Charnwood was virtually non existent.

I know at least one other person on here has the 650 and is pleased with it so maybe it was just my lucky day?!

Stuart


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## Vikash (22 May 2012)

Digit":3a5sxxg6 said:


> Vikash, I'm not familiar with your saw, but is the blade arbor not bolted to the underside of the top?
> 
> Roy.


Hi Roy, I spoke to a Charnwood engineer this morning and he said there were two more bolts accessible by removing the blue side plate. Sure enough I've now managed to accurately align the sliding carriage, saw blade, and rip fence to the mitre slots.




stuartpaul":3a5sxxg6 said:


> Vikash,
> 
> I really hope you have more success than I did with the 650.
> 
> ...


Hi Stuart, yes the top is perfectly flat. I just double checked after reading your post :? However, I also had a minor issue with a small dink in the corner edge of the table that protruded about 1mm where it had bruised above the surface. I didn't think it was worth sending back for this as it's easily rectified and my experience with Charnwood and getting compensation for it instead has been reasonable enough.

Now that I've managed to align everything and have a good understanding of how it all works and can be adjusted, I'm as happy as can be with it considering I've yet to make a cut.

Just waiting for a cone reducer to arrive so I can plug it into the vac and get started!

The only things left to do are wax the top and guide rail and perhaps add some gaffa tape to the hose connector inside the unit as it's not sealed as good as it could be.


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## woodshavings (22 May 2012)

Vikash":5dt6h1i9 said:


> - The extrusion with the measuring scale can't be aligned far enough to zero reference with the blade. .


Same problem on mine - fitted perspex cursor - works fine
HTH, John


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## Vikash (22 May 2012)

Hi John, thanks for the idea. I like that it makes the reference closer to the tape.

I peeled mine off to try to realign it but in doing so managed to stretch it I think. Well it's about 1mm out over 30cm anyway, so I've just ordered a Richter self adhesive measure tape from ebay to replace.


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## Vikash (23 May 2012)

Machined a cursor out of some alu today. A bit superfluous perhaps but I want a machine that's accurate compared to my previous saw. 

Coupled with the fine-adjuster on the fence, I'm able to visually position the cursor in ~0.25mm increments now, which should be good enough for anything I need to do.


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## woodshavings (23 May 2012)

I like that.
I assume you offset the replacement tape to suit the cursor offset.
I can see a further advantage is that the curser will slide and maintain its position as you move the fence in or out. I usually have the fence set so the end is in line with apex of the blade to avoid any possible binding.
John


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## woodbloke (23 May 2012)

Glad you've got hold of the W650...you'll find it's a good piece of kit. I suggest you get hold of the relevant copy of F&C for a full in depth review and my alterations and mods to it - Rob


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## Vikash (24 May 2012)

Rookie question: in what scenarios do you use the fence along it's tall edge vs short edge? I'm just wondering whether I need to make another cursor for when the fence is in the other position.


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## Chems (24 May 2012)

Not such a Rookie question, I've often wondered why some saws come with fences like that. My only idea is that if you are working with a small piece, especially small and narrow it can be very hard to get a push stick down between the tall fence and the blade guard. So it that circumstance I can imagine the extra access the low profile fence would give would improve the safety. But thats the only thing I can think of.


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## custard (24 May 2012)

Chems":2ffkiul9 said:


> Not such a Rookie question, I've often wondered why some saws come with fences like that. My only idea is that if you are working with a small piece, especially small and narrow it can be very hard to get a push stick down between the tall fence and the blade guard. So it that circumstance I can imagine the extra access the low profile fence would give would improve the safety. But thats the only thing I can think of.



That's all i use a low fence for, clearance.


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## TheTiddles (24 May 2012)

The low fence can get under the crown guard for narrow cuts

Aidan


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## Vikash (24 May 2012)

Thanks, I think in that case I can live without a cursor for the wider fence position.

No one spotted my boo-boo? The cursor rises above the table top as a stop against the fence , but this means that the work piece can't be fed flat onto the saw table unless the piece is quite short 

Looks like a redesign is needed, perhaps using the T-slot on the underside of the extrusion to affix the cursor.

The new steel backed Richter measure tape arrived today and it's both accurate according to my steel rule, and the line marking thickness is half that of the previous tape. Bonus is it looks good too


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## Vikash (28 May 2012)

woodbloke":1spxa6hi said:


> Glad you've got hold of the W650...you'll find it's a good piece of kit. I suggest you get hold of the relevant copy of F&C for a full in depth review and my alterations and mods to it - Rob


Excellent article, and magazine. It's good to hear all the same minor issues I've stumbled upon have already been identified and fixed for very little.

I can't find the Axminster T bolts you mentioned though. Do you have a link?

V


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## woodbloke (29 May 2012)

Vikash":mzygyl92 said:


> I can't find the Axminster T bolts you mentioned though. Do you have a link?
> V



This is the kit I used. It's a bit spendy but useful for other jig making applications as well. Be advised though, that the threads are Whitworth and not Metric, so the parts aren't interchangeable with other Metric knobs etc - Rob


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## Vikash (30 May 2012)

The T-bolt heads are 12mm wide in the axminster kit, but the slot hole is only 10mm!?

I sheared off a few nuts from the carriage support brackets so ended up changing all the nuts/bolts/washers out to something more decent. The original washers supplied were particularly bad (rusted and too small). Also created a Zero Tolerance Insert from some scrap birch ply.

I don't have a band saw and want to cut some 3" stock down. Is it safe to cut the riving knife so it sits just below the blade height?


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## Bradshaw Joinery (30 May 2012)

Does the riving knife sit higher than the top of the blade? 

My sedgwick riving knife is just below cut height. 

It should be safe with respect to what the riving knife does as the knife will stop the blade being pinched mostly, but beware of anything being thrown up and forward including the workpiece if the crown guard is removed. 

Re question earlier, the narrow edge of fence allows through cuts at angles without a sacrificial fence and still utilising the crown guard. ( sits above the fence.)


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## woodbloke (30 May 2012)

Vikash":1shqisr4 said:


> The T-bolt heads are 12mm wide in the axminster kit, but the slot hole is only 10mm!?


So they are, but 5 minutes with a file will get them to fit nicely. It's also worth getting hold of a decent blade, I got a couple from Wealden which are excellent. I didn't like the crown guard on mine so I've replaced it with:






a completley enclosed one, with a 3mm carbon fibre riving knife. ZTI plate is also worth doing as well - Rob


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## Vikash (6 Jun 2012)

Well the sub is coming together nicely. Going to attempt a veneer finish for the first time...


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