Help with new Table Saw choice

[Welsh Brian]

Hi all, Just joined and hope this is the correct place for this post...

Just moved house and having had a massive workshop on a small holding with large machines I now have a single garage. I sold all my large wood working tools and I am now looking to replace them with something more suitable. I am hoping to become a hobbyist again rather than my woodworking supporting the renovation of a 300 year old cottage!

First machine I need is a new table saw - easy I thought get the best site saw and look after it. The Dewalt 7492 seemed to fit the bill, great reviews 10" blade and a good fence, also considered the Bosch 10xc but not all reviews were great and a fair bit of criticism of the fence. Then I watched Bodgers review of the Axminster AC 216 and heard how quiet it was compared to all the other table saws he has reviewed and was forced the think of my new neighbours (last workshop was over 100m from nearest house).

Have now extended my search to include "Hybrid" and smaller cabinet saws. I came across the Lumberjack TS1800 which would actually would fit all my needs and how I plan to layout and use my workshop. So where am I now....

1. Site saws -The Dewalt 7492 is a fine bit of kit and I could probably happily use it built into a home made, movable table save for the fact that it is the noisiest of all those tested which would significantly limit when I could use it and for how long.

2. The Lumberjack would be ordered today if it had an induction motor and Axminster aftersales support. Noise and the uncertainty on long term support for something I plan to use and keep for a long time places a huge question mark over this saw.

3. Axminster AC 216TS. Would seem to fit all the requirements (slight question over 8" blade rather than 10") It is quiet, quoted as 81dB, the larger AC 254 is 89dB and the Dewalt a whopping 111dB. Only possible down side is the fact that an Axminster on-line help person told me it would not be suitable as it was only a Craft range saw, another told me it should only be used for 2 hrs a week! However, as I will not be using it everyday or as a business making multiple items for sale, I assume it will be more than I will need. I really like the fact that you only buy the bits would want and could add extras later.

Sorry for the somewhat long post but can anyone add to my deliberations and make any other suggestions?

 

[af999]

Hello,

I have the AC 216TS and I have been happy with it for the most part. I had to re-drill the fixing holes for the fence to make it square and change the way the fence on the sliding table is anchored because it tended to drift out. But otherwise, it has been a good choice - and I certainly use mine for more than 2 hours a week.

There are times when I would prefer a bigger blade and I sometimes wish that there was more of the table in front of the blade because it can be awkward to use a mitre fence. But otherwise, a happy thumbs up from a relative novice hobbyist.

-Adam

 

[Welsh Brian]

Thanks AF999, can i ask if the saw is as quiet as reported? It has been suggested that the dust extractor created more noise.

Disappointing that you had to drill to make it true, I would have hoped that there would be built in adjustment.
With the sliding table, on my old scheppach which had very similar sliding table mitre, I tended to remove the table and mitre when not needed and I have seen that this is a quick and simple task. However, on the scheppach the slide rail was vertical and did not take up much room, would it be simple to remove the rail on the Axminster system?

 

[af999]

Yes, it is pretty quiet, although I don't have enormous amounts of experience for comparison. Certainly, it is *much* quieter than the cheapo one I had from Amazon when I first started out. It is also quieter than the low-end Rutlands extractor that I have it hooked up to.

There *is* an adjustment on the fence but I just couldn't see how it could ever work. I think the holes on the bottom of mine were sloppily drilled so that the tapered head of the fixing screws would always force it back out of true as I tightened them up. I just widened the holes and now it works as it should. It could be that I misunderstood what should happen.

I should also say that I had some trouble with the package when it arrived. The riving knife was missing and the fence had clearly been used before - or maybe just dropped. Axminster customer support were fine and they shipped out replacements overnight, but it should not have happened in the first place.

 

[af999]

Sorry - just noticed your question re rail. You can easily remove the table but not the rail on which it rides. To get the full range, you need to have it quite far past the front of the saw, just so you catch yourself on it every time you walk past.

 

[Sideways]

How about another rethink ?
I had a small Kity 419 tablesaw. Predecessor of a lot of the Chinese lookalikes including Axminster's. 1100W with about an 8" blade.
I loved the quiet induction motor and cast alloy table, it was great for working on pieces such as you would cut to make smaller pieces of traditional furniture, jewellery boxes and the like but it's too small for any decent sized sheet work, has limited rip capacity and cross cutting is better done on a good mitre saw.
Depending on your intended use , would a decent tracksaw with an extractor plus a quality mitre saw like the Kapex or the Bosch axial glide one be a more versatile combination. Your saw table then doubles up for other uses like assembly.
If you want a tablesaw for accurate ripping, get a better quality one used (steel and cast iron, not aluminium, for the parts that determine accuracy).

 

[Welsh Brian]

Thanks for the suggestion re the Kity , I see it is now marketed under the Scheppach Precisa 2.0 label for just under £600. I had a large Scheppach with cast table and all the goodies but would have been far to big and unmovable for my new reduced workshop! One of its uses was ripping timber to the size I wanted like taking a length of 2 x 1 to smaller sizes or cutting a length of oak into 2 boards for smaller shelves. I do have a good mitre saw and plan to look at a track saw for sheet material.

 

[PearlyKing]

I have had the AC254TS for about 8 weeks, so not a lot of use yet. So far, so very good.
I came from used Scheppach contractor saw, also with an induction motor, so I have not noticed a huge noise reduction. It is a little quieter - I think.
It appears that I was much luckier than af999. Right out of the box, the blade was square to the table and the fence; even the zero on the fence guide aligned with the blade edge. Like you I watched the Badger Workshop YouTube , and I was fully prepared to make a bunch of adjustments, but unnecessary.
Interestingly, I also had a problem with a damaged fence. It is packed in a separate box, with just a little brown paper wrapped around it. Consequently it could shift around a lot and the plastic handle snapped in half. As expected Axminster replaced it without question.
I didn't buy the sliding carriage, I bought a sturdy mitre gauge from Banggood ( as recommended by the China Tools YouTuber), and I didn't get the cabinet, I purchased the Axminster stand and mounted it on a mobile ply base.

 

[harryc]

Looking at the Lumberjack site it says the table saw has an induction motor.
Interesting the saw will also take a dado stack, quite unique for a small cabinet saw.
Personally I have a Kitty 419, it has its limitations with quite a small motor but set up properly it’s been bang on for my needs, might be worth looking out on fleabay as they do come up from time to time.

 

[bluenose]

I have had a Scheppach ts 2500ci in my single garage for quite some time and it has served me well. I expect that the size of some of your anticipated work will be a determining factor in your final choice.
The Scheppach is a great piece of kit though, might just be worth a thought.

 

[Welsh Brian]

Thanks both, I had a ts2500ci with sliding table and all the extensions and yes it served me well for 15 years and was excellent the day I sold it - but now just to big and heavy for me and my limited space. I have checked and the Lumberjack has an induction motor making it even more tempting - does anyone have contact details for sellers? Anyone been able to get spares etc for it, would Rigid spares work on it? Sorry for all the qustions but a big outlay for me. (It might stop me getting a cheapy 10" of e-bay for £230 and regretting it!)

 

[Sideways]

It may just be me not taking much interest in DIY machines but I'd never heard of Lumberjack until a couple of years ago.
I've seen their stall at the last couple of Harrogate shows. It looks like generic Chinese hobby market build quality so equivalent to a lot of Axminster Hobby-Craft / Record Power / Poolewood / etc / etc but I didn't look any closer than that. I wonder which factory it's coming out of ?
I'd expect it to be competitively priced if the importers are trying to build their brand name.

 

[Sandyn]

Thanks both, I had a ts2500ci with sliding table and all the extensions and yes it served me well for 15 years and was excellent the day I sold it - but now just to big and heavy for me and my limited space. I have checked and the Lumberjack has an induction motor making it even more tempting - does anyone have contact details for sellers? Anyone been able to get spares etc for it, would Rigid spares work on it? Sorry for all the qustions but a big outlay for me. (It might stop me getting a cheapy 10" of e-bay for £230 and regretting it!)

I believe Toolsave are distributors for Lumberjack

 

[Welsh Brian]

Thanks again. Just spent some time on the Toolsave site and eventually found the Table saw and it is out of stock. Site has very few details on the saw but state it is an induction motor. Trust pilot give the company 72% 5 star and 8% 1 star with the other 20% shared between the other star ratings. Reading 2 pages of reviews gives a wide range of comments - some state excellent customer service and responses to faults, others claim the opposite. Plan to try and speak with the company tomorrow and make my own assessment on their staff! Anyone on here had dealings with the company. Still like the look of the saw even at £850 plus postage. The one foot operated wheel system looks great and worth upwards of £100 if you look at heavy duty wheeled bases which are not as easy/quick to operate. For those who want to look at their site it is now Lumberjacktools.co.uk but many of their products ate out of stock.