Sedgwick TA 315

[Max Brosi]

Hi all, there don't seem to be any reviews online for a Sedgwick ta315. There seem to be many for sale second hand though. Do people buy these new, discover they don't like them, and sell them on? It's a genuine question, not trying to stir anything up. I'm a long time Hammer c331 combination machine user and I've decided to go with separates. I'm looking for a good table saw for mostly solid wood, both ripping and cross cutting, dad's too if the machine will take a dado head. Please no lengthy discussions on dado heads, there are many threads for that already. The nachines I'm looking at, going from the most solid wood based are the Sedgwick, the record power ts2 (slightly changed and rebadged startrite ts1) and here's the curveball, a Felder f500 with the shortest slider. So mainly solid wood use, but also some plywood for cabinets and shelves. Main thing I'm interested in is has anyone got a Sedgwick TA315 and how they find it for my intended use. The new ones have Mitre slots, so more interesting for sleds and jigs. Thanks

 

[deema]

The Sedgwick TA315 is far better built than most saws out there in this price range. It’s a good saw, a reliable beast that can be used in a professional workshop and stand up to the riggers of use and abuse. There are down sides, like most things, these are my view

1. All table saws dust extraction is pants, and the Sedgwick is at the lower end of the spectrum. It has an angled shelf to guide dust into the outlet. However, the saw dust usually just accumulates on the ramp, with actual air draw around the blade minimal. Would it stop me buying one, no.
2. Servicing the belt / doing any maintenance work required the table top onto which the mechanism is attached to be removed. This is hard work, it’s very heavy and needs ‘threading’ out of the base.
3. the insert plate is screwed down making blade change longer…….not really an issue…..just don’t screw it down.

Positives
Nice fences and main fence adjustment is easy and locks solid.
Good sliding table.
Excellent solid construction
Keep their value.

Have a look at this thread where I put up some piccies of the saws guts.

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/table-saw-needed.127456/#post-1421753

 

[Max Brosi]

Thanks Deema, great to see those pictures and get your feedback. Am I right in saying that the whole trunnion/motor assembly is hanging off a single tilt bracket cast in to the top??? I restored a 1960 Wadkin AGS 12 last winter and it seemed to be quite a bit heavier built in that regard (if I'm seeing it correctly in the images). The only reason I'll be selling on my Wadkin is that it's the early model where the riving knife is fixed, won't rise and fall with the blade, which makes it great as a rip saw but not as an only saw.

I noticed in the thread you linked to that you liked the look of the Laguna fusion f3. Have you gad the chance to examine one yet? It's also on my list of maybes. Also do you know if the inner workings of the Record Power TS2 are sold cast iron or not?

 

[Sideways]

Yes, the TA315 motor and mechanism hang off a single trunnion, but it's dowelled to the top and it's a beast of a thing !

They are not a big saw but they are solid.

My local Howarths have 3 saws for cutting down timber.
A vertical panel saw for sheet material
A big radial for cutting long stuff to length
A TA315 or 415 (I didn't look that carefully) for everything else.

It's a proper trade quality saw.

Without the lifting gear, if you needed to do a spindle bearing replacement or similar, my guess is that it would be easiest to get help, tip the saw onto it's side or back, then right over upside down, then unbolt and lift the base off upwards. As @deema says, it's not a straight lift, a bit of tilt and twist is involved in mating the top and bottom.

Here's the riving knife mount

 

[Max Brosi]

Thanks Sideways, that first picture puts my mind to rest (unless you've got really tiny hands, in which case you'd be a great man to replace the belt on a hammer saw) That really looks solid. Do you have any experience with the Record Power TS2 (formerly startrite TS1) or the Laguna Fusion F3? The record looks to be a great saw on paper, more startrite like, but hard to know without seeing the trunnion.

 

[deema]

Sideways and I haven’t worked on a Record TS2, I’ve looked at them at the shows, and concluded it’s not a saw I would look to restore. IMO they didn’t have the level of robust construction I prefer. I don’t have experience using one, so can’t say how good they are. We equally have not come across a Luguna to play with……yet!
Sideways photos show how massive the parts are, over kill….which we like. If memory serves the plate onto which the motor casting hangs on is at least 10mm but I think is 12mm think.

There is a saw in Marketplace that would need a little investigation to check it’s all there, ie the sliding table fence etc. but this is the saw both @Sideways and I chose to own as our own workhorse. They are the most bomb proof construction I’ve come across. They sell for buttons, and I have no idea why. The sliding table extension and the scribe were extras, so some don’t have them fitted. They are just a tad larger than the Wadkin AGS12, and the sliding table extension easily pops off if you need the space.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/353108190066873/

 

[Max Brosi]

Thanks for the info Deema, that's certainly a beast. I'll take a look.

 

[Sideways]

I think they are very different things. Oranges and Lemons.

I don't know either specifically but TS1/2 looks very much like a Chinese or E European made saw of which there are several pretty similar models.
As a class these are nowhere near as heavily built as the traditional British machines.

If you want a slider that comes up against the blade, the Sedgwick isn't for you.
If you want that massive cast iron top, solid mechanicals, and an everlasting brook-crompton motor then the Sedgwick's a good choice. Those are it's selling points.

If you want a Chinese / E.European machine, then the Laguna and Harvey's that I've seen are better than the typical Axminster badged stuff, but they are at the top end of that DIY / v small shop category which tend to be characterised by thin sheet steel enclosures, lighter weight castings, lots of aluminium chrome and plastic, and unbranded Chinese motors.

I'm pleased to see Record doing well in recent years but they won't be making the TS2 in the UK, it will just be one of the above, badged, and their products are aimed at DIY, not serious trade.

 

[Sideways]

As he said ....

 

[Max Brosi]

I hear you Sideways and thanks for the help, I guess I'm being greedy looking for the best of both worlds, cabinet and small scale panel. That's kind of what I have in my Hammer, only I'm completely over the combination machine inconveniences and also reaching in to the hammer to change a belt etc is a real pain. The trunnion and inner workings are decent solid cast iron and well machined parts though. Maybe a felder with a short stroke slider will be the answer. I like that scm you linked too. It seems to me a short stroke slider capable of taking a dado, and a fritz and Franz jig can do most things a cabinet saw can and more. I'm not against aluminium fences as long as they're beefy and mounted on solid steel bars, they're actually my preferred option, but the fence on my hammer c3 31 is pants, it's too much of a compromise and flexes.

 

[Max Brosi]

I hear you Sideways and thanks for the help, I guess I'm being greedy looking for the best of both worlds, cabinet and small scale panel. That's kind of what I have in my Hammer, only I'm completely over the combination machine inconveniences and also reaching in to the hammer to change a belt etc is a real pain. The trunnion and inner workings are decent solid cast iron and well machined parts though. Maybe a felder with a short stroke slider will be the answer. I like that scm you linked too. It seems to me a short stroke slider capable of taking a dado, and a fritz and Franz jig can do most things a cabinet saw can and more. I'm not against aluminium fences as long as they're beefy and mounted on solid steel bars, they're actually my preferred option, but the fence on my hammer c3 31 is pants, it's too much of a compromise and flexes.

I spoke to a guy at Record Power and he said he can't see them making the TS2 that much longer as it's outside their target market/demographic. It's too much trade focused rather than diy/hobby. I'd love to get under one to check it out for myself and see what it's made of. I'd imagine the slider is probably in the same light duty league as my hammer.

 

[Sideways]

There's one killer question to ask yourself.
Do you need to rip 8x4 boards lengthways on it ?

I don't have space to do that, but as I have a tracksaw, I don't need to do that either.

The 50" stroke of our Si15 sliders is fine for crosscutting a board and the massive top, fence and 16" blade capacity add up to a great solution for ripping thick timber.

Internals of an Si15 - makes just about everything else look like a toy ....
Not bad for £500 and £130 shipping 4 (?) years ago.

 

[deema]

There is nothing light weight on the SCM, it’s all big thick heavy stuff. The slider is solid cast iron, very thick section. All the section is larger, beefier than the AGS12 or the Sedgwick. Mine has a 7.5kw primary motor in it.
They are a jack if all trades, massive slot on the slider, and I do mean massive. It’s a dovetail bottom to it to allow solid clamping if required.
Some photos of mine when I first got it and took it apart

I’m

 

[deema]

The scriber motor which is separate is a 750w, it’s the last photo and again is hung on a solid cast iron system. The paint is ridiculous thick high quality stuff. Sideways thinks it is what they used on mining equipment,

 

[Max Brosi]

Hi @deema and @Sideways , I just stumbled across this video showing the insides of the record power TS2. What do you guys think? also some screenshots from it.

 

[Sideways]

I think I guessed about right in my "oranges and lemons" post

Seriously:
unbranded motor - tick ?
lightweight (compared to the proper trade & industrial gear) - ish
that fabricated parallel rise and fall on two round bars makes me nervous because parallel mechanisms I've encountered have tended to be either sloppy or catchy. It might be great, but it also might not. Are the bars chromed ? Are the cast iron sliders plain or bushed ? They need to be reliable without lubrication.

But it is a slider and does have a scoring blade in case you plan to cut laminated sheet materials.

It's not a machine I would buy, based on the screenshots, but I've never had hands on so my opinion is just my own bias !

I was very interested in a Hammer / Felder equivalent for a while until I discovered I could get an old SCM that was 5x stronger for 1/10th the price. I just had to sacrifice having a slider that runs right up against the blade.
If you really want this type of slider, I think the owners here on UKW might encourage you to save some more and keep looking for a Hammer K3.

If your prime use for it will be ripping, look for a massive steel bar on the front and an equally massive cast iron bracket keeping the rip fence square to it. There's no substitute for that.

On a more objective note, looking at your screenshots brought two lighter weight classic saws to mind.
The Sedgwick LK has some steel plate internals of similar weight to the Record, but it has no tilt and the splitter (if I remember right) doesn't rise and fall with the blade. It's otherwise a good saw.
The Startrite 175 is the lightest of the older saws I've ever played with, a lot lighter than this looks to be, but the 175 has a superb very short slide table that is favored by architectural model makers and would be great for furniture making too. It is very adjustable and can be setup to be very accurate.

Neither of these are any good for your uses but both are good saws for other reasons at the lighter weight end of the market.

And one last point. I have nothing against Chinese motors per se. Deema and I both buy TEC motors made in Shanghai as replacements if we need to swap out a motor for another type or an original motor can't be rescued. They are good value but also far better than the poor things found on the typical Axminster trade machine.

 

[Doug71]

I was after a new saw last year and the Sedgwick TA 315 was top of my list but a used Minimax SC4 came up locally at a good price so I went with that and was glad I did. The Minimax is a panel saw so the table slides next to the blade which I find useful.
I understand that the Minimax range is made by SCM (could be wrong) and it is decent quality stuff, not as heavy duty as the SCM saw that @deema shows above but much better than the usual rebadged Chinese stuff.

The Minimax SC3 always seems to be a popular saw.

@Max Brosi you mention the Sedgwick has mitre slots for sleds, if you have a sliding table you don't need a sled.

 

[Sideways]

I found this from a year odd back here on UKW.
Worth a read.
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/record-power-ts2-sliding-table-saw.132106/
And after watching the video, it seems quite hefty and the parallel sliding mech does look better than it appears from the screen grabs.

 

[deema]

I’m a little more open minded about the saw than @Sideways, it’s difficult to get a sense of scale / how much metal here Is in each of the parts. The main motor is 3KW or 2.5KW, so that’s not weedy and on top of the job for a 97mm or just short of 4” depth of cut. 2.5kw is an unusual motor size, they are usually 2.2KW or 3KW.
The saw weighs is at 354KG, (Sedgwick TA315 is 265KG) which would indicate it is in the same range as good quality table saws. Our SCM is a little heavier at 570KG without the table extension and around 750KG with the scoring unit and table extension, which is an equivalent to this saw, so roughly double. But they don’t make them like this any more.

The parallel bar arrangement is unusual, section 11 of the manual requires weekly greasing. I cannot see how this will not attract saw dust and gum up over time, but I haven’t seen inside the saw to see how well protected it is. The mechanism has two guides in one bar and the other has just one, I suspect this single guide will be a ‘sloppy‘ fit as there does not appear to be anyway to adjust the location of the bars. However, that’s nit necessarily a bad thing, it’s probably there to prevent any real bend on the other bar if it catches.

Id like to take one apart to see how well built it is, there are signs it could be good, rather than the typical lighter design of saw.

 

[Max Brosi]

I was after a new saw last year and the Sedgwick TA 315 was top of my list but a used Minimax SC4 came up locally at a good price so I went with that and was glad I did. The Minimax is a panel saw so the table slides next to the blade which I find useful.
I understand that the Minimax range is made by SCM (could be wrong) and it is decent quality stuff, not as heavy duty as the SCM saw that @deema shows above but much better than the usual rebadged Chinese stuff.

The Minimax SC3 always seems to be a popular saw.

@Max Brosi you mention the Sedgwick has mitre slots for sleds, if you have a sliding table you don't need a sled.

That’s true, but mitre slots are useful for a lot more than sleds.