Startrite TA300 - practical for working with full sheets?

[jeffmakes]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum, and a DIY woodworker of middling skill. I've just moved into a new workshop with a good amount of space. I've always wanted a table saw, and I'm going to be making a load of cabinets and other workshop furniture, so it's the next tool on the shopping list.

I would like to be able to safely handle full 2.4 x 1.2m sheets of 18mm ply. I'm looking at this Startrite TA300 with sliding carriage and extension table. Do you think it will, err, cut it?

Ebay listing: Startrite TA300 Table Saw 415v with Sliding Carriage | eBay

Cheers
Jeff

 

[Ttrees]

Sorry can't answer your sheet goods query, but I have the more basic 275 DS or something like that, with more basic sliding carriage, which could be bought for a third of that kinda dough.
I'd imagine it's a tad overpriced for something that's not a true slider, nor
having a scoring blade for melamine or whatever.

PS Welcome to the forum
Pretty good thread not so long ago I dug up.
Here's an old machine which might be worth consideration, although I presume the scoring blade to be important.?

Wadkin BGS10…The rarest table saw Wadkin made. Full Restoration

Or possibly
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/sedgwick-ta-315.138745/page-2#post-1604394
Perhaps others will advise you to something suitable, as this kinda work is a bit foreign to me.

All the best
Tom

 

[Jameshow]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/14481760...tixoXeJTeO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Hornbeam]

Handling a full 8X4 sheet of 18mm ply is difficult, and the space required is huge as you need at least 10ft in front and behind the blade and best part of 8ft to the left of the blade
I think it is generally safer and easier to use a track saw to cut things to manageable sizes and then work from there unless you have a full size panel saw with all the space that it requires
I still use a medium panel saw for all my general cutting and dimensioning although there are many on here who use a track saw a lot more

 

[jeffmakes]

Handling a full 8X4 sheet of 18mm ply is difficult, and the space required is huge as you need at least 10ft in front and behind the blade and best part of 8ft to the left of the blade
I think it is generally safer and easier to use a track saw to cut things to manageable sizes and then work from there unless you have a full size panel saw with all the space that it requires
I still use a medium panel saw for all my general cutting and dimensioning although there are many on here who use a track

Thanks, that's helpful. I do have that amount of space at present, but that won't be the case forever as I gather more equipment. I havent seen a track saw with a >2m long track. Do they exist? Or does one add extension sections? Please excuse the newbie questions!

 

[Hornbeam]

While yp may have the room, unless your sliding table has 8ft travel then when you cut a narrowish strip off the side of the panel then you have to be able to support almost the full sheet hanging over the left hand side
Most tracks are modular so you join 2 tracks to give you the required length
Festool do make longer tracks, I believe up to 5 m.

 

[deema]

The TA300 will slide and cut a max of 49” so it will cross cut on the slider but not rip the sheets. They have a scoring blade which is good. They are IMO a complete pig to change the blades, very very fiddly. They aren’t too bad to setup.

If you want a full slider I would be looking for a SCM or a Altendorf both of which do come up at very modest prices if you’re patient. When I considered a full slider for myself, I also thought about a wall saw, they can also come with scorers and are much easier to lift things on and off by yourself. Often big workshops close down / retire just before Xmad, so you should get something popping up.

 

[niall Y]

Deema is correct in that you cannot fit a sheet end on, on the sliding carriage, and cut it it's full length. However, you can rip a full sheet against the fence. I use mine without the take up table, fixed at the back of the saw. This gives me a bit more room in my workshop. I also have the sliding carriage folded down unless I'm using it. In which case, I have to move my dust extraction to a different part of the workshop..

Apart from its large footprint, when fully kitted out,, it's a pretty good saw. I don't use the scoring saw facility at all, as I find the use of a triple tooth blade makes this unnecessary.

 

[eribaMotters]

I have the poor mans non sliding table version of a Startrite and have learned to work my way around cutting large sheets of material. This includes a 3050 x 1525 I recently used for a long low unit, along with a 2400 long bookcase and 2200 long hall cupboard.

Firstly I'll say I'm not doing the woodwork for a living, although for many years I did bespoke cabinetwork including a couple of hand made kitchens most years along with cupboards, bookcases etc.
If you are doing such joinery for a living then a sliding carriage dimension saw should be on your list, if not I'd think carefully about buying one.
The last 7 sheets of 18mm ply and mdf I had delivered got cut on the floor or saw horses. I have clamp rails and long lengths of Trespa that I use as straight edges.
The sheet is laid on 3 or 4 long lengths of 3"x3" timbers and dimensioned with a 10.8v Makita circular saw. Break- out on 18mm Birch plywood is near non-existent and each cut true. Sometimes I cut exactly to size, others I cut oversize and then finish on the circular saw as I have manageable sizes I can safely lift by myself.

Colin

 

[gmgmgm]

I have that same Startrite saw.

It's fine for cutting across the sheets, but as I recall (I'm away at the moment) the aluminium slider/pole is not quite long enough cut a full 8ft cut easily, so it can be fiddly. And then you have the slider stick all the way out all the time. I usually use my track saw for 8ft length cuts, which is much easier.

The main problem really is the boards' space and weight. Full 8x4ft sheets are a pain to move around, but that's probably true on any saw.

 

[Doug71]

There is something really satisfying about using a proper panel saw that has the slider right next to the blade, I can't explain it but it just feels right. I used a track saw for years but a panel saw is so much quicker.

Mine has about a 6 foot slide so I still have to do full sheets against the fence but the sliding table does help support the weight.

I still sometimes use my track saw and 3m rail to put a straight edge on long sheet rips before trimming to finished size as they sometimes spring when you first cut them down.

 

[Reffc]

For full sheets I use a plunge/track saw and a 1.4m rail which I simply move down half way through the cut, lined up to pencil marks made prior to cutting. On your own, handling a full sheet of 18mm birch ply is very awkward and something I'd rather do with the tracksaw. My machine can cut quarter sheets and for anything larger than 1.2 x 0.6 I simply use the tracksaw. Takes a little longer but is safer for the back!

 

[steve66]

I have the same saw, if I’m cutting sheets I always cut 30mm over initially ( subject to how much waste there will be ) then when you are cutting to your finished sizes you are generally handling a smaller piece of sheet timber.
If I’m ripping timber I take off scribe blade to allow for larger rip blade.
At the moment I’m in restricted space so always get help when ripping and dimensioning, hopefully moving to larger workshop myself but always handy in having extra pair of hands
When ripping large boards I just slide off fence of sliding carriage, generally leave the sliding carriage up to allow extra support.

 

[Reffc]

That's exactly what I do. I had my doubts when I bought the machine but 18 months in and it's paid for itself, and once everything was squared it's pretty much stayed that way. I've found the sliding carriage alloy rail fixings and fixing method to be a bit sus as it only takes an accidental knock and it can push it off true so when starting a new job I line the rail up so that the edges of the cast iron carriage is exactly parallel to the adjacent mitre slot in the main table and pinch up the adjusting bolts.