patch":29ipo92d said:
hi roger just wanted to ask what you think bout th mj12-1600 now cuz im thinking of buying one or the record power ts315 bbut nealy twice the price any feed back wud be greatful
Hi Patch,
I got your PM about the saw, but thought it best to post on this thread to help anyone out with the same questions as you. So here goes...
I share Rogers feelings about the saw, mine has been great in the 8months I've had it, I've set it up once and not needed to touch it since. The fence once aligned has stayed mm perfect, the only thing you have to watch is that the back edge of the fence will move in/out a bit when clamped up, so what I do is set it roughly, clamp it down loosely, tweak it a bit and lock it down fully. The fence is rock solid when locked.
Other great points, the 80 tooth 315mm blade included is great, i've used it on loads of MR MDF and it still cuts great, i've even abused it cutting down 75mm softwood and even some Oak when I was being lazy and couldn't be bothered to change the blade for a quick rip cut. The 1500w motor is plenty powerful for this, and hasn't really faultered at anything i've thrown at it. It's also pretty quiet for what is a pretty big beast of a saw.
Now the not-so good points, but I must stress these are annoyances rather than actual problems, and unless you buy a £5k+ I suspect they'll be common for most saws of this type.
1.) Dust extraction, this thing needs some serious suck as the cabinet/blade guard is full of holes, my poor little Numatic NVD750 (300m3/hr) only just removes the worst of the dust, I've tried my little 1000m3/hr chip collector and that was better, but it could still do with a bit more, so a Jet DC1100 with fine filter (1600m3/hr) is on my shopping list.
2.) Switch position as Roger said is a bit naff, however I do find myself working to the left of the saw more than directly infront of it, mainly because its quite a stretch to reach the back of the table. I see axminster have introduced a new version with the switch on the front, the angle wheel on the left (as opposed to the right on mine) and a fence more like the TCE-12 rip saw they sell (not a fence I was all that keen on when I considered that saw).
3.) As Roger has said above, the inset is pretty crap, and ripping anything smaller than about 10mm ends up with it disappearing down between the blade and table, a ZCI needs to be made, but it won't be easy given the size/shape etc. Also the blade guard is a bit crap (mine is pissed) and often gets in the way, for example the tightening clamp for the blade guides means I can't get the fence closer than about 50mm unless I raise the blade beyond 75mm depth of cut or install the sub fence (not a big deal, just irritating).
4.) Having to remove the sliding table to rip wide boards, although the fence goes out wide, most of the time I tend to work within 600mm of the blade, so don't use the full table extension width, however its often necessary to remove the sliding table fence because it gets in the way when rip cutting. This isn't unique to this saw, but it doesn't fold down out the way like some others which would have been a nice touch. The plus side is that once set (and to do it accurately I had to use a DTI running down the saw plate) it has stayed dead true ever since, although I still haven't gotten the hang of the quick reset mentioned in the thread above for squaring the sliding table fence back up, they just don't seem to set my fence back to 90 Deg to the saw, so I tend to use a framing square to do this instead.
5.) The instruction manual is crap, as you might have guessed from #4 above, and as this thread shows, it doesn't tell you what half the bits do. It's easy enough to assemble and comes well packed, the bits are mostly small enough to be wrestled into place single handedly (if you're fairly strong) on your own. Assembly of the sliding table and side extension tables does need a helper. I had mine put together and set up in about 2-3hrs with some help from the Mrs.
In conclusion if you want a good size general saw that can handle panels regularly and a decent depth of cut, this is a fantastic saw and I wouldn't be without mine. It's easily the best value saw at the old price of £1419, but the new one is pushing the upper bounds, even so it's a great saw so still worth that price. I have no regrets about buying it (well maybe except that I could still do with a bigger workshop now) and would buy the same again. If you're anywhere near South Lincolnshire you're more than welcome to come and try mine out.
Regards, Tom.
