Help- Kity 419 or Record TS200C. Which is best?

[granford]

Hello, looking to buy bench saw. Words of wisdom would be much appreciated.
Reliability
Accuracy
Spare-parts-a-bility
Build quality.

Etc.

the Record TS200C versus kity 419.
thanks

 

[NeilO]

welcome granford to UKW..
cant help directly, as I own/use neither but I`m sure you wont have to wait to long before someone can..

 

[granford]

Thanks for the welcome. I've been waiting years and years to get a decent one & don't want to eff it up.

 

[NeilO]

granford,
unless you have a specific need for a "compact" TS, try widening your search , and check out SIP , Axminster clones both have good heavy cast iron tables and extensions, they may suit you better and are around the same price..

 

[granford]

I have been considering this for a while and I feel that I need the versatility of a compact table. I have considered fetting an old gent of a saw and a meaty Xcalibur-type, but I am being realistic- I won't ever need more capacity thas these saws- and my timber yard & their beautiful industrial saws are literally only a few hundred yards away & they are more than happy to do rip panels & deliver for nowt.

I will try to be firm and stick with this shortlist of mine. Try try try.

 

[Rich]

Granford, I have the Axi ts200, wonderful machine, same as the kity but from axi it's £278.00 and free delivery, need I say more.
regards Rich.

 

[granford]

Rich- I will investigate this- thanks for that. Are you saying that it's of the same quality or basically the same machine with a different badge?

I must say that I appreciate being able to get such informed help so easily. I will let you know how I get on after I have a shufy at the Axminster website.

 

[wizer]

I have to say that I wouldn't go for either. After seeing the record in the flesh I wasn't impressed. Admittedly I haven't seen the Kity. I'd much rather save a bit extra and go for the Scheppach TS2010 with the sliding table.

 

[jpb]

Hi,
I have just taken delivery of a Record TS200C, still in the process of putting it together. It's way better than my previous saw table but I am a little disappointed with the build quality. The dust extraction hood underneath the saw blade is very cheap plastic. On the plus side it is a solid bit of kit and it's fairly compact and easy to move which is a must for my workshop.

jpb

 

[OPJ]

It's also worth noting that the Record saw has a greater depth of cut capacity than the Kity or any of its clones. This may be important to you.

Reviews I've read do suggest both (or all) of these saws represent very good value for money. The Record comes with a five-year warranty, with a sliding table, while Axminster's stuff is only covered for one-year.

I'm also under the impression that any older Kity machine would be better built than any of its clones produced in the Far East today.

 

[Gill]

I've had a 419 for a few years and whilst it isn't my principal tool, I've always found it accurate and reliable. I'm happy enough with the build quality, although I'm not an engineer so probably not qualified to comment.

Spare parts might be a problem. Kity went out of business a few years ago and it was difficult to get any sort of support. The situation might have changed now - I don't know, so check with the supplier.

One problem with the 419 is its poor dust collection. If you search this forum, you'll find plenty of adaptors that people have made to overcome this limitation.

Gill

 

[Rich]

Good evening Granford, if you look on the Rutlands site, the same machine is a lot more expensive, the fact that most units are made in china allows the price to come down, axi hold machines in stock, rutlands only buy them when you order from them, hence the difference in price, take it from me mate, you can't beat axi, and if your not happy, you'll get your money back and no questions asked.
regards,
Rich.

 

[aurrida]

i recollect kity was taken over by Scheppach, but i cant remember.

 

[p111dom]

I heard the same as aurrida, taken over by Scheppach. I had a Kity 419 and there were pros and cons. In general the saw was very good. Smooth, quiet and the sliding table was great and way better than the Scheppach equivelant. The main table was a cast aluminium composite which was grey as opposed to a silver finish however unlike many of the other ali topped saws out there the casting was really thick and heavy so IMO was better than my current cast iron topped saw in that it was just as flat but had no rust problems. The Axminster and Fox copies say it has a cast iron top which is a shame for this reason. The Kity had a poor blade tilt mechanism which was unreliable, inaccurate and tended to eat through the plastic teeth moulded into the front handle. Replacements handles were £40 and I went through 2 in 3 years. Many owners modified their saws to add an extra handle at the side for the tilt and this seems to be a feature the Axminster and Fox saws have copied and made standard. The mitre slots were not the standard 3/4" wide but something like 13mm which meant that aftermarket guides and jigs (such as Norm style tennoning jigs) required modification to fit. I may be wrong but I think the larger SIP and Axminster saws also have an unusual size mitre slot so you would have this issue with these too. I used the Kity as I say for 3 years and thought it was brilliant but that was because I bought it second hand for £100 including the stand and sliding table. The Kity used to retail for something ridiculous like £700. The Axminsters price seems pretty good though especially when you consider that it's half the price of their SIP style saw. The 8" blade was a little limiting not in capacity but in blade choice. There's a much greated range of 10" blades out there for different materials etc but again I didn't find that much of a problem fitting a Trent Craft range combi blade which seemed to stay sharp forever. Personally the kity did everything I wanted at the time and I only really replaced it due to idiotically damaging it. If space or price is an issue I think I would go for the Axminster but I wouldn't be tempted to go for anyhthing cheaper.

 

[kityuser]

419 user here.

Several raised panel doors, countless rips and cross cuts. Never , ever hada single problem, straight, square and true. However I'm considering mods for dust extraction.

Regards

Steve

 

[StevieB]

I have the kity 419, bought second hand off ebay after seeing it at a show. Main advantage is the CI table, nice to have extra width with the extension tables (steel) and the sliding table is good once you set it to be at right angles with the blade. As mentioned dust extraction is crap - depends how much you are going to use it as to whether you want to mod the saw or not yourself. As with any tool replacing the blade with a decent one is helpful. Only thing to note really is the odd sized mitre slot - prevents you using things like an Osbourne mitre gague or some tennoning jigs without first replacing the running bar. The dust buildup on the internals can be a problem if you want to drop the blade below the table, means I have to turn it over and clear out the innards and particularly the preset stops about every 6 months or so - I am not an extensive user so this may be more frequent if you are.

As said, kity went bust a while back, last I heard NMA had taken over importing. Overall a good saw for my needs, heavy with the extension wings means you will probably want it on wheels if you plan to move it about. Fence is solid and doesnt shift in useage. If you are not urgently wanting one keep an eye on ebay, they come up more often than you think, but do not expect to get one for silly money - going to cost around the £400 mark I would think with extension wings and sliding table.

Not a budget saw, but then again you are getting reliable cutting performance and a CI table, so in my opinion worth the price tag.

Cheers,

Steve.