Axminster AC216TS saw

[Flat Pat]

I was amazed at the build quality of this saw while assembling it today, like it was built in the 50s. Its heavy and the quality and sheer girth of it is in another league compared to the dewalt dw7485 its replacing (due to a hump in the top plate). And the top is flat, yay!

However the fence quality seems totally out of kilter with the rest of the machine. While the extrusions follow the pattern of heft and solidity the sliding carriage they ride is awful. Its wobbly, doesn’t slide smoothly on its rail, shifts angle when locking, and there seems to be no way to remove the carriage play without modifying it (its shimmed with plastic glides, that don’t). Is this behaviour normal?

What do people do to modify/improve the fence?

I didn’t buy the sliding table, but on seeing the way the fence operates I’m not entirely sure I will.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I don't have a problem with the fence. When moving it, pull it towards you (i.e. add pressure away from the saw, opposite to the direction you will feed the wood). This will pull the fence square to the blade, and your problems should disappear.

Have you put some wax on the table yet? That will help things slide smoothly, and stop the cast iron rusting. I do know from experience that if you don't have any dust extraction the fence channel will fill up with sawdust pdq and then you will have issues with the fence sitting square- hardly the fault of the saw, as dust has to go somewhere. You just need to keep the channel clear, which is easier said than done. Dust extraction makes quite a difference.

 

[Flat Pat]

Thanks for the waxing tip, sounds sensible.

I tried pulling the sled towards me but it still moves when clamping. I just saw another thread where a chap has a similar complaint. On mine the four screws to adjust the 0 offer very little if any extra correction and as he points out no angle compensation.

There is a bent corner on my sled and cracked plastic end cap, but I don’t think that affects anything. I hear QC is poor, so I’ll see if they will replace the fence and I’ll make some better ptfe shims for it.

 

[Bodgers]

I was amazed at the build quality of this saw while assembling it today, like it was built in the 50s. Its heavy and the quality and sheer girth of it is in another league compared to the dewalt dw7485 its replacing (due to a hump in the top plate). And the top is flat, yay!

However the fence quality seems totally out of kilter with the rest of the machine. While the extrusions follow the pattern of heft and solidity the sliding carriage they ride is awful. Its wobbly, doesn’t slide smoothly on its rail, shifts angle when locking, and there seems to be no way to remove the carriage play without modifying it (its shimmed with plastic glides, that don’t). Is this behaviour normal?

What do people do to modify/improve the fence?

I didn’t buy the sliding table, but on seeing the way the fence operates I’m not entirely sure I will.

No, that's not normal.

I have this saw, and what you are describing doesn't match my experience.

For one, you description seems off. What is the sliding 'carriage'?.

This is an extrusion rail and the fence which has its own clamp head that slides on it.

When clamping, mine consistantly clamps down without moving.

Check the rail is attached squarely to the top and then check for squareness against the blade. Nothing should be "wobbling" as you describe...

Ensure the four allen bolts are tight between the fence and its head.

Check that the fence clamp head profile is free from any issues and is smooth without any distortion. In your last post you describe signs of damage, likely something is off there. If it came out of the box like that, you need to arrange with Axminster for a replacement.

 

[Flat Pat]

By carriage I mean the sled with the clamp handle that rides on the rail.



Had a look this morning and I think its solvable. On mine there is no plastic glide on the one edge of the sled (red circle). Was is missed off? Who knows, but thats the cause of both the wobble and the binding when positioning the sled.

I confirmed this by shimming with a few layers if masking tape until it sat flush and did not rock (pink scribbles). That also allowed it slide more freely.

The cause of the deviation when clamping, I think, is the clamp cam position which is off centre - even with shimming there’s enough play to pull it off square. If it’s repositioned to the middle hopefully the the force will not torque the sled askew.

That should be remedied by cutting a new slot for the clamp. Not sure I have the tools for that, maybe possible by hand idk.

 

[Bodgers]

By carriage I mean the sled with the clamp handle that rides on the rail.



Had a look this morning and I think its solvable. On mine there is no plastic glide on the one edge of the sled (red circle). Was is missed off? Who knows, but thats the cause of both the wobble and the binding when positioning the sled.

I confirmed this by shimming with a few layers if masking tape until it sat flush and did not rock (pink scribbles). That also allowed it slide more freely.

The cause of the deviation when clamping, I think, is the clamp cam position which is off centre - even with shimming there’s enough play to pull it off square. If it’s repositioned to the middle hopefully the the force will not torque the sled askew.

That should be remedied by cutting a new slot for the clamp. Not sure I have the tools for that, maybe possible by hand idk.

You shouldn't have to do any of that.

It should have been 100% out of the box.

Let Axminster know - they are excellent at resolving issues.

 

[Inutopia]

There's no chance I'd be doing those sorts of repairs on a brand new £530 tool. Id send it right back to them for a replacement.

 

[Flat Pat]

You shouldn't have to do any of that.


Let Axminster know - they are excellent at resolving issues.

Good to know, will do.
Out of curiosity does your’s have one or two plastic strips on the clamp side of the sled?

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I had a ding on an aluminium extrusion fence for my new Axminister bandsaw. Nothing terminal, and 30 seconds with a file would have sorted it, but I sent an email to Axminster asking what their thoughts were, and rather than answer directly, they sent an email confirming an entire new fence had been shipped. To Greece.

Very, very good company to deal with.

 

[Flat Pat]

Fantastic service! I've got a ticket open with them, hopefully resolved soon.

 

[Steliz]

I have the same saw and here is a picture of my fence carriage. This is how it came and I haven't had any problems with it. I did have a problem with the extensions as the threads were clogged with weld spatter but Ax were happy to send me a thread cutter and I sorted it out quite easily.

 

[Flat Pat]

Looks like the strips are in the same location as mine... I'm wondering if the knock its received was actually enough to bend the sled slightly then. Anyway we'll see what Ax say.

 

[Bodgers]

Looks like the strips are in the same location as mine... I'm wondering if the knock its received was actually enough to bend the sled slightly then. Anyway we'll see what Ax say.

That's what I'm thinking...

 

[HJS]

What do people do to modify/improve the fence?

Same question.

I'm very much on the fence ( <- compliment this non-native speaker please) about buying this saw, the limited standard rip capacity is very off putting to me. It's either this (cast iron table, proper trunion, silent running motor, but low blade height and small rip capacity) or a DWE7492 (light but noisy, one of the better contractor saws, good fence with large rip capacity and higher blade). I'm assuming the DWE7492 would be accurate and stable enough for a proper box joint jig for example.

I'll build a modestly sized workbench around it so not to worried about table size (dedicated to sawing, I already have a seperate work-workbench built). Something with surface area around 70x100 cm that also has to be able to store some stuff, so no, a proper cabinet saw is not an option. Also, money.

How would i go about changing / improving the fence in case I would get the AC216TS? When I google for parallel fence / ripping fence I'm not finding many options.

First post, thank you for reading and any tips much appreciated!

 

[Trainee neophyte]

What do people do to modify/improve the fence?

Same question.

I'm very much on the fence ( <- compliment this non-native speaker please) about buying this saw, the limited standard rip capacity is very off putting to me. It's either this (cast iron table, proper trunion, silent running motor, but low blade height and small rip capacity) or a DWE7492 (light but noisy, one of the better contractor saws, good fence with large rip capacity and higher blade). I'm assuming the DWE7492 would be accurate and stable enough for a proper box joint jig for example.

I'll build a modestly sized workbench around it so not to worried about table size (dedicated to sawing, I already have a seperate work-workbench built). Something with surface area around 70x100 cm that also has to be able to store some stuff, so no, a proper cabinet saw is not an option. Also, money.

How would i go about changing / improving the fence in case I would get the AC216TS? When I google for parallel fence / ripping fence I'm not finding many options.

First post, thank you for reading and any tips much appreciated!

I make accurate cuts, so I don't really understand how you would improve it. Depth of cut is another issue, but if you want to resaw huge thicknesses of wood, perhaps a bandsaw with a good fence might be more useful.

 

[HJS]

Thank you for your reply and sry I wasn't specific enough. I meant, how to improve/extend rip capacity of the fence system on the ac216ts. Any ideas? For >60cm rip capacity.

 

[transatlantic]

Thank you for your reply and sry I wasn't specific enough. I meant, how to improve/extend rip capacity of the fence system on the ac216ts. Any ideas? For >60cm rip capacity.

You'd need to modify the fence, or buy a longer one. But if you're doing that, you may as well just get the 254mm trade saw (£900) assuming funds will allow.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Thank you for your reply and sry I wasn't specific enough. I meant, how to improve/extend rip capacity of the fence system on the ac216ts. Any ideas? For >60cm rip capacity.

Is this for breaking down full sheets of ply? The consensus seems to be a track saw is by far the better option (I don't have one, but use trestles and a skill saw on the rare occasions I use ply). It's also much cheaper than a huge, wide table saw, and you won't keep walking into it when you don't need it.

 

[HJS]

Is this for breaking down full sheets of ply? The consensus seems to be a track saw is by far the better option (I don't have one, but use trestles and a skill saw on the rare occasions I use ply). It's also much cheaper than a huge, wide table saw, and you won't keep walking into it when you don't need it.

Thank you for your concern but I'm well aware of the tracksaw argument. There's a sea of possibilities between ripping full size 1,2 x 2,4m sheet goods and making narrow cuts on a small table saw with a 370mm max rip capacity I'd rather utilize 1 tool for those purposes instead of switching back and forth to my circular saw with an unwieldy 1,5m track.

As mentioned I'll build a modestly sized bench around the saw (max surface size +/- 70x100cm) which would also have to store some stuff. EUR 900 cabinet saw is not an option.

I'll interpret the answers as: there is no decently prized aftermarket fence system or mod for the ac216ts available, if you want ac216ts with larger rip cap you'll have to build your own.

I was just hoping someone would know of an easy to implement mod for the ac216ts, that 's all. Thank you for your replies

 

[Flat Pat]

Finally heard back from Axminster support. They are sending me a new rip fence, no question asked. Top service! =D>