Hi all,
Seeing as how I had to ask the question recently about Triton gear I thought it was time to share my first impressions of my new kit for others who may be considering it...
I decided to go for the Triton due to space constraints - with having no permanent workshop, it was vital for me that my table saw and router table could be packed away when not in use. That led me to the Triton and I ordered a Triton Workcentre 2000 (with Blade Height Winder) and Router Table.
First things first when it arrived...this thing comes flat packed. And not flat packed in a 'fit the fence and legs yourself' type of way...more a 'Swedish furniture superstore' way...
The workcentre comes in two boxes - one for the long rails and legs - and the other for the flat sheet metal parts and the odds and ends. Unpacking it all and my initial impressions (help...I failed high school metalwork!!) gave way to a feeling that all wasn't so bad...
The Triton doesn't actually need that much assembly. The first stage is fairly quick (around fifteen minutes) and involves fitting the legs (one bolt each and a spring loading pin), fitting the lower rails (four bolts in total) and fitting the upper bearing rails (another four bolts) - so twelve bolts and you have this...
Now, I would say if you had struggled to this point that perhaps making your own furniture is best left to the professionals. :lol:
Surging ahead with renewed confidence and I hit my first major stumbling block - the saw carriage (or more importantly - the blade height winder). For the uninitiated - the Triton as standard only allows blade height changes through your circular saws standard mechanism - that means fiddling under the table and struggling against the weight of the saw to make your adjustments. The Blade Height Winder Kit adds a metal frame that moves the entire carriage (thereby adjusted blade height) through the turning of a removable handle from above the table).
As an add-on, the kit is great, but to build it into a new kit requires reading both sets of instructions carefully, then removing the original parts and fitting the new ones. I took the cowards way out and built the workcentre without first - then went back and fitted it afterwards - just to be sure
. Around an hour later...
I would say that the job would take a lot less time had I been confident and just gone for it in the first place but I wanted to be sure. So, saw in place and height winder fitted - time to get the table top and fence on and start making adjustments. :?
Adjusting the saw is surprisingly easy - two small cams move the front and back to one side or the other, and four plastic locators lock it in place (and keep the correct position for the future). Angle (in relation to the table top) is dealt with by the saws own adjuster - great with the Triton saw - not so good with some others. All told, adjusting only took a few moments - now for the bad news. By the manual, the saw blade should be adjusted until it is at the same vertical angle to the table as the fence (90 degrees). My square shows this as being out by a tiny amount and hence my blade is not 90 degrees square to the table surface - I'm going to test cut and adjust it with my square when I can.
As for the fence being parallel to the blade - this can always be achieved as the fence can be moved independently at each end. Alternatively, you can follow the manual, set both ends to 0mm, and adjust the saw to the same angle - and my test rips have been perfect (and within 1mm of the fence guage reading). Crosscuts were likewise perfectly square using the miter guage.
So the finished unit looks like this...
Then rain stopped play. Due to the outdoor nature of my workshop I had to give in for the day - more testing to follow.
In summary:
Assembly takes about an hour and a half - adjusting took me around fifteen minutes but it could take a lot longer.
The saw seems to be accurate so far (the vertical alignment issue will be easy to resolve). The fence is straight and parallel to the blade - vertically it appears to be out by a few degrees.
The whole unit, although the legs fold for space saving, is still heavy and removing the saw is really a necessity if you want to move it a distance.
Overall, very happy so far - the router table is also built...
but not yet tested. Assembly involves a lot more small parts with very few large pieces - probably took about and hour in total.
More to follow once the rain gives in...
**UPDATE**
So after a week, and jolted into action by posts to this topic, I set myself to test out the saw again.
I had agreed to make some chopping boards for a friend and figured this would be a good test of the Triton - my first task being to make one with standard B&Q pine as a trial run.
First of all, I have to note that my vertical alignment issue above was easily resolved with the use of an engineers square. The blade is now exactly perpendicular to the table surface as are all cuts. The blade does not however line up perfectly with the fence (vertically - it is parallel in terms of ripping) in the manner suggested by Triton (although I have yet to look into a solution to this).
As the saw had been dragged in the back of a van to my new home, then manhandled up a tight spiral staircase and into my new 'workshop' (comprising of a 20ft by 10ft room that was never turned into a proper bedroom due to planning issues) I made a few test cuts to check the alignment. Pleasantly surprised I found the saw to have remained vertically aligned and at an exact 90 degrees to the mitre fence (set at 0).
A few crosscuts (in crosscut mode) then a few rips and the first stage was done, with the boards gluing up straight from the saw with no further preparation required - a good result. After the glue up and subsequent planing, I then took a series of crosscuts across the grain of the assembled sections. This time the finish was not so great, requiring a reasonable bit of work to get each face smooth although the cuts were square.
Overall, I would say the Triton has exceeded my expectations with none of the problems I have read about in other posts/forums. The saw is very accurate and cuts perfectly square (providing the blade alignment is checked with a square/test cuts). Assembly and disassembly (for storage) is straightforward and quick and does not appear to have much of an impact on the saws alignment.
My only concern at the moment is the finish of the cuts. Whether this was down to the timber used, the blade, or my technique, I have yet to uncover although further tests with some maple and sycamore will give a better indication.
For those needing a portable (or space saving) table saw that can be had for around £300-350, I would happily recommend the Triton.
Seeing as how I had to ask the question recently about Triton gear I thought it was time to share my first impressions of my new kit for others who may be considering it...
I decided to go for the Triton due to space constraints - with having no permanent workshop, it was vital for me that my table saw and router table could be packed away when not in use. That led me to the Triton and I ordered a Triton Workcentre 2000 (with Blade Height Winder) and Router Table.
First things first when it arrived...this thing comes flat packed. And not flat packed in a 'fit the fence and legs yourself' type of way...more a 'Swedish furniture superstore' way...
The workcentre comes in two boxes - one for the long rails and legs - and the other for the flat sheet metal parts and the odds and ends. Unpacking it all and my initial impressions (help...I failed high school metalwork!!) gave way to a feeling that all wasn't so bad...
The Triton doesn't actually need that much assembly. The first stage is fairly quick (around fifteen minutes) and involves fitting the legs (one bolt each and a spring loading pin), fitting the lower rails (four bolts in total) and fitting the upper bearing rails (another four bolts) - so twelve bolts and you have this...
Now, I would say if you had struggled to this point that perhaps making your own furniture is best left to the professionals. :lol:
Surging ahead with renewed confidence and I hit my first major stumbling block - the saw carriage (or more importantly - the blade height winder). For the uninitiated - the Triton as standard only allows blade height changes through your circular saws standard mechanism - that means fiddling under the table and struggling against the weight of the saw to make your adjustments. The Blade Height Winder Kit adds a metal frame that moves the entire carriage (thereby adjusted blade height) through the turning of a removable handle from above the table).
As an add-on, the kit is great, but to build it into a new kit requires reading both sets of instructions carefully, then removing the original parts and fitting the new ones. I took the cowards way out and built the workcentre without first - then went back and fitted it afterwards - just to be sure
. Around an hour later...
I would say that the job would take a lot less time had I been confident and just gone for it in the first place but I wanted to be sure. So, saw in place and height winder fitted - time to get the table top and fence on and start making adjustments. :?
Adjusting the saw is surprisingly easy - two small cams move the front and back to one side or the other, and four plastic locators lock it in place (and keep the correct position for the future). Angle (in relation to the table top) is dealt with by the saws own adjuster - great with the Triton saw - not so good with some others. All told, adjusting only took a few moments - now for the bad news. By the manual, the saw blade should be adjusted until it is at the same vertical angle to the table as the fence (90 degrees). My square shows this as being out by a tiny amount and hence my blade is not 90 degrees square to the table surface - I'm going to test cut and adjust it with my square when I can.
As for the fence being parallel to the blade - this can always be achieved as the fence can be moved independently at each end. Alternatively, you can follow the manual, set both ends to 0mm, and adjust the saw to the same angle - and my test rips have been perfect (and within 1mm of the fence guage reading). Crosscuts were likewise perfectly square using the miter guage.
So the finished unit looks like this...
Then rain stopped play.
Due to the outdoor nature of my workshop I had to give in for the day - more testing to follow.In summary:
Assembly takes about an hour and a half - adjusting took me around fifteen minutes but it could take a lot longer.
The saw seems to be accurate so far (the vertical alignment issue will be easy to resolve). The fence is straight and parallel to the blade - vertically it appears to be out by a few degrees.
The whole unit, although the legs fold for space saving, is still heavy and removing the saw is really a necessity if you want to move it a distance.
Overall, very happy so far - the router table is also built...
but not yet tested. Assembly involves a lot more small parts with very few large pieces - probably took about and hour in total.
More to follow once the rain gives in...
**UPDATE**
So after a week, and jolted into action by posts to this topic, I set myself to test out the saw again.
I had agreed to make some chopping boards for a friend and figured this would be a good test of the Triton - my first task being to make one with standard B&Q pine as a trial run.
First of all, I have to note that my vertical alignment issue above was easily resolved with the use of an engineers square. The blade is now exactly perpendicular to the table surface as are all cuts. The blade does not however line up perfectly with the fence (vertically - it is parallel in terms of ripping) in the manner suggested by Triton (although I have yet to look into a solution to this).
As the saw had been dragged in the back of a van to my new home, then manhandled up a tight spiral staircase and into my new 'workshop' (comprising of a 20ft by 10ft room that was never turned into a proper bedroom due to planning issues) I made a few test cuts to check the alignment. Pleasantly surprised I found the saw to have remained vertically aligned and at an exact 90 degrees to the mitre fence (set at 0).
A few crosscuts (in crosscut mode) then a few rips and the first stage was done, with the boards gluing up straight from the saw with no further preparation required - a good result. After the glue up and subsequent planing, I then took a series of crosscuts across the grain of the assembled sections. This time the finish was not so great, requiring a reasonable bit of work to get each face smooth although the cuts were square.
Overall, I would say the Triton has exceeded my expectations with none of the problems I have read about in other posts/forums. The saw is very accurate and cuts perfectly square (providing the blade alignment is checked with a square/test cuts). Assembly and disassembly (for storage) is straightforward and quick and does not appear to have much of an impact on the saws alignment.
My only concern at the moment is the finish of the cuts. Whether this was down to the timber used, the blade, or my technique, I have yet to uncover although further tests with some maple and sycamore will give a better indication.
For those needing a portable (or space saving) table saw that can be had for around £300-350, I would happily recommend the Triton.
