Best Table saw for about £1200

[zeberdee]

I'm a volunteer handyman at an RSPB reserve where we are setting up a new workshop which will deal with a variety of tasks from shopfitting for the estate shop to nest boxes of all shapes and sizes, benches, signage, the list goes on.
We have decided to include a table saw with a budget of about £1200 to £1500 and the current favourite is RECORD POWER TS250RS 240V SLIDING BEAM TABLE SAW.
The saw could be used by a number of different people and needs to be sturdy, although we plan to have a training programme to ensure competence and safety.
Any advice gratefully received.

 

[siggy_7]

I have that saw and I'm pleased with it, it's a solid machine. The sliding beam takes some time to set up, but once you have it's a nice saw for bigger cross cut operations as well as ripping. You may have to reassemble the beam to get the max cross cut width, which is just sufficient for a standard sheet across its width. I put up a review of my saw in the buying guide section.

 

[Woodmonkey]

Looks like a decent enough saw for the money, axminster do a similar model think its this one,
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-tr ... ench-25189
There's also a sip model which seems to be a popular saw in that price bracket.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Can't speak for those, but you should also check out the Xcalibur from Woodford. The website is awful, but the saw is excellent. I have the older model, but although I have not seen it in the flesh, the current model seems to be even better (i.e. blade tilts to left, switch on the left).

 

[wallace]

If you have access to 3 phase or are willing to use a converter then you cant get better than wadkin pk. This is my pretty one but you can get them in good condition still in working clothes for a lot less than your £1500

 

[zeberdee]

Thanks for the replies guys - I'll discuss it with the boss and I think we will go for the Record

 

[Krysstel]

+ 0,5 for the Record TS250RS.

I've got one and whilst quite good I'm not 100% satisfied and given my time again I'd probably look more closely at alternatives such as the Xcalibur Steve mentions and the SIP. There's also the Scheppach Precisa 3.0 (and an Axi copy ?) which looks good on paper. And what about the Jet JTS-600 ?

Things I'm not satisfied with the Record include :-
- Rip fence. Screw locking, not cam handle, moves when locking down. Scrapes across the cast iron table. Bar attached to edge of table by weak bolts that are the only way to adjust the fence in relation to the blade.
- Mitre slot in sliding table. Not standard 3/4". Supplied mitre guage inaccurate. No slot in table.
- Dust extraction. Terrible. Especially from under the blade. Collection chute under blade constricts supplied 4" tube. Dust collects on ledges inside cabinet and over time impairs blade height/angle adjustment. I'm using an Axi ADE2200 extractor and with my previous Metabo saw it extracted as good as 100%, so it's not my extractor that's at fault.

The extraction problems can probably be fixed with a little work but there's really nothing you can do about the rip fence nor the mitre guage. I looked at replacing the fence with one of these http://vsctools.com/shop/sliding-table-saw/ but the import costs got silly.
I'm using a Shark-Guard crown guard (4" tube) which I had on the previous Metabo. Way better than the Record supplied item.

The alternatives from Scheppach (Axi), Xcalibur and Jet have (I think) far superior rip fences with cam action locking + standard mitre slots in the table.

Hope this helps.

Mark

 

[Steve Maskery]

I looked at replacing the fence with one of these http://vsctools.com/shop/sliding-table-saw/ but the import costs got silly.

Mark, if you are looking at replacing your fence, have a look at this thread:
table-saw-fences-t88361.html

Both Peter Sefton and I offer solutions

I agree with you about screw-fixed fences being a really lousy design.

Zeberdee
Last summer I went with a mate to see a RP saw that was being offered for sale. It looked good on paper. When we came away, my mate said he was glad he'd seen it, because he had not realised how poorly designed and made it was. Sorry, don't know which model. But it really was not a patch on my Xcalibur, for example. In the end he bought the new Axi 250 and is very pleased with it.

 

[siggy_7]

I personally find the fence reasonably solid, although for other reasons I am planning to replace with a t square fence. The mitre gauge slot fits the supplied gauge fine, and as it's a sliding beam saw the principle is you lock the mitre gauge to the beam then use the sliding action - works well. Agreed the dust extraction is not great though.

 

[Krysstel]

It's a real shame. The RP could be a great saw if Record had just taken a little more time and effort to improve the spec they give their (obviously) Chinese supplier. The main issues are the fence and extraction. Not many saws have particularly good extraction but producing a good fence isn't rocket science. I'm sure had the saw had a good fence it's reputation would be much better, even with lousy extraction, and the price would be negligibly higher.

The non-standard mitre gauge slot becomes an issue as soon as you want to upgrade the stock gauge with something better. I for instance already had an Incra gauge but cannot use it on the RP saw because it is mounted on a standard 3/4" wide mitre bar - as is every other mitre gauge on the market. The only way round this is to specially make a mitre bar that fits in the RP slot - which is also T-shaped to enable the gauge to be locked down on the sliding table - as Siggy correctly points out.

Mark

 

[davo453]

I too am looking for a new saw.

Can't speak for those, but you should also check out the Xcalibur from Woodford. The website is awful, but the saw is excellent. ......

But my the website really is horrible! doesn't seem to work at all and really hard to navigate.

They also seem to have two websites

http://woodfordwm.co.uk/ & http://woodfordtooling.com

Am I right in thinking the first one is out of date?

50" Saw looks very nice but no decent photos either.......

 

[Steve Maskery]

Yes.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

The Axy 10" saw is a really good all rounder with great capacities.

This one ----------------Axminster Trade Series AW10BSB2 Saw Bench

With the side wings and sliding table its about spot on your budget too. I have one and have always liked it. Only regret being the inability to dado but that's not a biggy.

 

[Krysstel]

The Axy 10" saw is a really good all rounder with great capacities.

This one ----------------Axminster Trade Series AW10BSB2 Saw Bench

With the side wings and sliding table its about spot on your budget too. I have one and have always liked it. Only regret being the inability to dado but that's not a biggy.

The Axi clone of the Scheppach Precisa 3.0 I mentioned earlier ?
Must admit, I wish I'd bought one instead of the RP

Mark

 

[Richiet]

If you have access to 3 phase or are willing to use a converter then you cant get better than wadkin pk. This is my pretty one but you can get them in good condition still in working clothes for a lot less than your £1500

Oh my lord that is stunning Wallace.........I have £142.84 in life savings,I don't suppose......................

 

[siggy_7]

The Axi clone of the Scheppach Precisa 3.0 I mentioned earlier ?
Must admit, I wish I'd bought one instead of the RP

Interesting that you say that. The saw I would have gone for instead would have been the Axi MJ12-1600 - can take a 12" blade, more power, has a scoring unit and a longer stroke on the sliding table. Unfortunately at the time I didn't have the space. The Record is more of a minature panel saw than a cabinet saw like the Axi and Scheppach, I prefer the sliding table arrangements you get on panel saws which is why I plumped for the Record. For mainly ripping and a bit of cross-cutting the cabinet saws work better I think, but I use a lot of sheet materials and I don't like the cross cut carriages a long way from the blade. It's also really quick to remove the squaring frame on a panel saw, I don't know about the Axi but most of the cabinet saw sliding tables I've seen are much more permanent.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

you can slide the side table assembly off the Axy without too much trouble. Having said that I never do But then I'm not restricted for space so that is a fairly rare luxury.