charnwood w650 or axi AW10BSB2?

[cjc101]

Hi all,
I had a w650 delivered 2 weeks ago and due to one or two problems it remains unused.
Charnwood have offered a replacement but I'm left feeling less than confident its the saw I want. I'm now looking at the axi AW10BSB2 which looks to have better build quality and a better fence (but what can I tell from the photos?) but is the £500 premium worth it?
Thanks
Chris

 

[Walter Hall]

I have never owned any Charnwood machinery but of the three pieces of kit I have used two have been defective in some way.

A mini-lathe I used to do a pen making demo at Turner's Retreat had a bed that was not flat which made trying to drill straight holes in pen blanks quite entertaining and I had to dismantle and rebuild a (brand new) disc sander I borrowed for a magazine article to stop the disc catching on the casing before I could use it. If I had bought it rather than had it on loan it would have gone straight back for a refund.

I have never had any such problems with Axminster tools.

 

[carlb40]

As you have first hand knowledge of the charnwood. Normally i would suggest a trip out to axi to have a look at their saw. But think the distance may be too far to one of their shops. Also i see the website still has some of the saws in the old livery in a sale. One of those may be an option?

 

[cjc101]

Cheers Carl,
Where did you see the discounted ones? I've had a good look on their site but can't see them. Either I've missed them our I'm going blind (not for the first time).
Thanks for the shout on the stores. I thought they only had one in Devon, but you prompted me to investigate further and there's one only 50 miles from me. I'll line up a visit soon I think!
Cheers
Chris

 

[carlb40]

Hi chris.
My bad i saw the discounted price on one of the saws when logging onto axi. However that is for the next saw up. Not the one you are interested in.

 

[stuartpaul]

Chris,

My exoperience of Charnwood (a W650) wasn't good at all. After much discussion and attempts by them to palm me off with what I felt was an unacceptable defect it went back. Shame really as it was a decent specification.

I've ended up with and Axminster TSCE-12R which although bigger and more expensive is a superb saw (I didn't pay full wack as I bought it when on promotion).

I was considering the AW10BSB2 and in my opinion if you go for that you won't be disappointed.

You do if course also get the Axminster customer service which is generally first class.

Go and have a play, - you really shouldn't buy something like this without having a full hands on fiddle.

 

[cjc101]

thanks StuartPaul,
That TSCE-12R loss like a lovely machine, but probably too good for my hobbie use.
You're right, I should have gone and looked first before buying. I needed the saw for a kitchen install and it was a bit of an impulse purchase that I'm now regretting. I've done the install now using hand tools so there's less urgency. Getting the shop weathertight before filling it with expensive tools is a bigger priority!
I'm going to keep my eye on Ebay until my birthday in August and if nothing has come up put the AW10BSB2 on my birthday list!
Cheers for all the help
Chris