Axminster Trade Series AW10BSB2 Saw Bench - Blade Tilt

[DonJohnson]

Just received this saw, and am very pleased with it. As I have limited space, I had to make a half-size rear table from a piece of kitchen bench top, but can now just about squeeze the saw into my part of the garage.

Apart from the side table drooping a bit - which doesn't seem to matter much as it is under the rip fence when wider cuts are made - I found everything pretty well setup as received. It does seem strange cutting on the 'other' side to how I mainly worked with my old Axminster BTS10PP saw (which is in the For Sale forum) and the opposite tilt direction will take some getting used to. :roll:

The only query I have - which I vaguely recall being mentioned somewhere else - is that the blade seems to tilt slightly as it is raised. Reversing the adjusting handle slightly seems to bring it back to vertical. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon, or has my saw got a fault.

I've not enquired at Axminster yet - I thought I would seek advice or info' here first.

 

[marcros]

I think it is the way that the far end walks up the lead screw. My saw does similar- you can see it but it is spot on if measured at any point.

 

[Zeddedhed]

I have the AW12BSB2 which is the same saw but a bit bigger and mine does exactly the same thing. I'm going to call Axi today as there are a few other niggles.

The blade won't rise to the full stated height - should be 100mm only rises to 95
The table insert doesn't sit flush with the table. I know that everyone makes zero clearance inserts, but surely if paying £1k for a saw this sort of thing should be right?

 

[DonJohnson]

I have the AW12BSB2 which is the same saw but a bit bigger and mine does exactly the same thing. I'm going to call Axi today as there are a few other niggles.

The blade won't rise to the full stated height - should be 100mm only rises to 95
The table insert doesn't sit flush with the table. I know that everyone makes zero clearance inserts, but surely if paying £1k for a saw this sort of thing should be right?

Mine does reach the quoted 75mm, but I can feel a small 'lip' when sliding my finger from the insert to the table top.

I would be grateful if you would post the results of your conversations with Axi here - if you wish, please feel free to mention my original post to add weight to your query.

 

[SPSlick]

I also have the AW12BSB2. there has been a new version released. You can tell by the new version having six screws in the table insert rather than five. The new version insert is faulty so Axminster supplied me with some brass washers to use as shims. The only other problem I have is moving from rise to fall has two rotations of the wheel that does nothing. Is this just mine or is it the same with others.

 

[Chunky Monkey]

I had the same problem with the depth of cut, I initially had a max of 68mm and not the stated 75mm. There's a fairly easy adjustment on one of the worm drive gears just inside the cabinet. I now have mine set to 78mm just short of the maximum that was possible to achieve.

I could point out the part nos when I get home if anyone is interested.

Jon

 

[Zeddedhed]

Just spoken to Axi with my list of woes and received the following answers:

Q: When adjusting the rise and fall of the blade it does not maintain it's bevel setting. i.e. if the blade is fully up and bang on 90 digs as measured with a digital Gemred bevel box referenced from the table itself and I lower it to say 50mm it will then be at a different bevel angle, up to 1 deg out.

A: It's a limitation of the saw. It's not like you're buying an Altendorf for £10k.


Q: I cannot achieve the maximum stated depth of cut of 100mm

A: Do you need to cut 4" stock often then?


Q: The table insert plate is not flush with the table - it's about .5mm low.

A: Most people take them off and make their own inserts. Or you could shim it up.


All answers delivered politely but not really what I wanted to hear. I'm now awaiting a call back from one of their service engineers.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yer man wasn't exactly on the ball, was he?

 

[Zeddedhed]

He was on something that's for sure.

 

[DonJohnson]

Coming back to my original query, I seem to be managing by reversing the raise/lower wheel after adjustment to get the blade 'looking' vertical.

I had intended to make a Zero Clearance Insert, for which the accepted method seems to be - put it in position and raise the blade to cut through it to get an exact width slot. But! If the blade 'leans' as it is raised, if it doesn't jam, then it will cut a slot wider than the actual blade width - which means it won't be Zero!

Any thoughts or experiences on this aspect, please ?

 

[Myfordman]

If it does not perform, and it does sound like it is bad, then send it back for a refund.

 

[jdeacon]

I made a zero-clearance insert for my recently acquired AW10BSB2. Apart from the insanely tall riving knife, the problems I faced were: the shallow shelf - meaning the insert had to be in two pieces, a thin piece to rest on the shelf and a thicker, smaller piece underneath for strength and rigidity; and the blade not dropping far enough for you to drop the insert in prior to raising the spinning blade. [later: What some people do is pop a smaller blade in to start the slot. But I don't have another blade yet. And mightn't a smaller blade also have a smaller kerf?]

The slot that got cut, using the blade supplied, measures about 2.9mm

I'll try to get down to the workshop and measure the wobble on my blade as it's raised.

 

[jdeacon]

No, my AW10BSB2 doesn't seem to move off vertical as it's raised. I tried three or four ups and downs. There might have been a deviation of half a degree on one transit, but it wasn't repeatable.
Here's my extemporized inclinometer:

 

[DonJohnson]

So that we have an actual view of the movement being discussed, I've uploaded a video http://youtu.be/k-_uV3OSHIk of my saw blade being moved up and down.
(Sorry about the church bells )

It seems that if others do NOT have any tilting, then it may be a question of adjustment somewhere - but the earlier posts with the responses from the Axminster rep would seem to indicate that - he at least - is unaware of a procedure, or thinks the movement is acceptable

 

[jdeacon]

... and here's mine: http://youtu.be/h-QvE1ozzY8

It seems to rise without much deviation. Of course - backlash, etc. - it falls in a different plane, but apart from the jobble at the changeover from up to down it still seems to stay perpendicular. As far as I know, I always set the height by raising the blade.

I wondered if leaving the tilt lock unlocked would worsen things. I try that in the second part, but it doesn't seem to make a huge difference.

No bells, but an annoying squeak I should fix. (Although I've been trying for years to stop one wheel of the vertical mill from sounding like the famous cue from the Psycho soundrack and I haven't suceeded.)

[Later] Watching both videos, I'm wondering if yours is doing a more exagerated version of what mine is doing. Not so much changing its angle from rising to falling, but moving to a different plane.

 

[John15]

Mine moves very slightly out of plumb at the very top of the rise. Something I hadn't noticed until reading this post.

John

 

[DonJohnson]

Watching both videos, I'm wondering if yours is doing a more exaggerated version of what mine is doing. Not so much changing its angle from rising to falling, but moving to a different plane.

I agree, and I'd be happy with yours, so perhaps I'll refer both these videos to Axminster for their comments and suggestions.

That is - of course - unless someone out there reading these posts already has the answer :roll:

 

[Shrubby]

To fix your squeaky rise & fall try a cycle lubricant called Progold - it's best on bare metal but a few applications will clean off any old oil and it attracts less dust and chips than other stuff
Matt

 

[Wizard9999]

Watching both videos, I'm wondering if yours is doing a more exaggerated version of what mine is doing. Not so much changing its angle from rising to falling, but moving to a different plane.

I agree, and I'd be happy with yours, so perhaps I'll refer both these videos to Axminster for their comments and suggestions.

That is - of course - unless someone out there reading these posts already has the answer :roll:

Did you take this up with Axi? Did you get a somewhat more sympathetic hearing than Zeddedhed when you raised the issues? What with this thread and the somewhat dodgy planer thicknesser reported elsewhere, as somebody about to equip a workshop with a whole new suite of machines it's not increasing the chances of me going to Axi for any of them.

I do keep an eye on what Axi are pushing out through their Ebay shop and there are a number of returns that get listed, should I keep an eye out for your table saw? :wink:

Terry.

 

[DonJohnson]

Did you take this up with Axi?
I do keep an eye on what Axi are pushing out through their Ebay shop and there are a number of returns that get listed, should I keep an eye out for your table saw? :wink:
Terry.

I've sent a detailed e-mail to Axy today, mentioning this Forum Topic, and will post results as and when. Hopefully you won't see my saw :roll: