Help Please On Buying Table Saw

[FIC1962]

Hello everyone,
Please can you help. As you will probably know I am new to this forum. We are looking to buy a table saw. My husband is a keen DIY person who was originally a woodwork machinist. We are looking for a good solid, accurate table saw with a mitre guage, a long lockable fence, and possible a sliding table & cast iron table, and if possible a wheel base so it can be moved around his workshop.
The saws we have been looking at are :-
Sip 01332 (but we think that maybe too big and it hasnt a sliding table)
Scheppach TS2500 (but again we think that maybe too big)
Scheppach TS2000
Record TS200C
Kity 419 (seems a lot of money compared to the other saws)
We are hoping to buy a good quality used saw for about £500 to £600
Any ratings, advice or reviews on the above saws or further options would be most appreciated
Thank You

 

[JakeS]

Kity 419 (seems a lot of money compared to the other saws)

You see old French Kity 419s go on eBay every now and again for around £300-350, as it goes. If you're considering this one, though, it's also worth considering the Axminster TS-200:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod833225/

- it's essentially a clone of the 419, as I understand it. (And both Axminster and Rutlands sell a fairly cheap mobile base that fits the Ax leg stand.)


Some users have complained about accuracy, others seem to consider it good for its class, but it's certainly a generally-capable saw. I've had one for about eight months myself, and after spending a couple of evenings setting it up I've not had any significant problems with it at all - accuracy or otherwise. The main drawback I know of to both this and the 419 is that the mitre slot is a non-standard size (19mm IIRC) and thus the vast majority of third-party mitre-slot accessories don't fit it. If you're happy to use magnet-based or home-made featherboards and the like this isn't an issue, of course.

 

[siggy_7]

You can get a sliding table for the SIP 01332, I think the Axminster AW10BSB2's sliding table fits it as well - might want to check that out though.

Bear in mind with the Kity 419, Scheppach TS2000 and Axminster TS200 that these are 8" diameter bladed saws, so your depth of cut will be about 55-60mm maximum at 90 degrees. You may find this quite limiting depending on what sized material you want to work with.

All sliding tables will take up quite a bit of room so if you're concerned about space then consider whether you really need one or whether you can do with a sled instead very carefully. I have the Record TS250-RS (similar to the TS200C but with a 4' sliding beam instead of 2' on the 200C, and in a pressed steel cabinet base). I'm very happy with the saw and it's very compact for what it can do despite its capacity, as the outrigger folds in and the squaring frame comes off in about 2 mins. You will struggle to find one second hand though I'd wager, and whether this is the best buy for you again depends on how much the sliding beam matters - the SIP 01332 and Axminster AW10BSB2 are heavier-built saws. Not that the Record is badly built, but I would classify it more as a keen hobbyist machine - if I'd had more space I would have bought the equivalent Axminster saw instead.

My advice would be to look around a 10" cabinet saw - SIP, Axminster or Charnwood W650 (a chap on here has one which is quite compact for a 10" blade and rates it highly) - think about what you will use it for and then consider the space you have. After all, the footprint of the saw is much less than will be required when working with it, so just consulting the brochure can be misleading.

 

[graduate_owner]

Hi there FIC1962, (lovely name, just rolls so nicely off the tongue),

I have a Sheppach 2500 which I bought second hand for £650. It came with a folding side extension table and a sliding table. It has a 4" dust extraction tube at the base and a smaller - perhaps 1-1/2" on the saw guard. There are micro adjusters on the rip fence (actually that's missing from mine) and on the sliding table. The sliding table fence locks at 90 deg but can be unlocked and turned for mitre cutting. Mine is not the cast iron version, but the earlier aluminium one but is still a heavy beast. I made my own mobile base with locking castors by welding some box section steel.
The fact that the side table folds down is really useful as it takes up a significant amount of space in my large (but currently very cluttered) workshop. The sliding table, as you mentioned, is also a space-eater, but again this can be removed and refitted easily.

It's the only table saw I've ever had so I can't offer any comparisons, but I'm very pleased with it.
I was originally looking for a Startrite or similar but this one came up locally so I was able to go and see it before buying. To give you an idea of price, it was originally on eBay but failed to reach the asking price of about £700 so I guess I paid about the right figure.

I suspect that the ones you get new for £150 or so are likely to be a waste of time for accurate work, but I couldn't justify paying over a grand for a new, quality saw which is why I went down the second hand route.

Hope this helps.

K

 

[mbartlett99]

I'll give a vote for the SIP too having recently just tackled the same issue you seem to be faced with.

As an engineer I appreciate its solid underpinnings - heavily built, smooth operation and shear weight. Without the side extension/sliding table its no bigger a footprint than a site saw. It is however heavy and would need a proper mobile base. its not the most beautifully finished unit and the table is not as flat as I would like but then again it only cost me 500GBP on ebay. The supplied mitre gauge is rubbish but I think most supplied units tend to be. The sliding table, once adjusted (annoying), is great and the telescopic measuring fence is a godsend. The ripfence is very solid and the micro adjuster pretty good too. TBH short of spending over a grand I think it'd be a hard job to beat it.

A friend of mine has the Scheppach 4XXX (big saw) and I didn't rate it cost/benefit wise.

 

[misterfish]

There is a decent Excalibur saw on offer over on the 'for sale' section that may be of interest.

Misterfish