table saw review in "good woodworking"

[kityuser]

I see the table saw review in good woodworking produced some interesting results i.e. the kity was claimed to be "best value" the scheppach was " recommended".

so which saw was best-on-test? i know there was very little between them, still a decision would have been nice!


All in all I was a bit disappointed by the group test

any thoughts anybody, I think personally I`d edge towards the scheppach (because of the stuff I`ve heard in here [charley] ) but the kity also looks like a nice bit of kit.

I`m seriously considering saving my pennys that I`ve saved, I was going to buy another "cheap" saw such as the delta I have been previoulsy looking at, but not I`m tempted to wait a while longer and go for something better.....

charley -> can you lover the riving knife so as to cut tennons on the scheppach??

 

[Charley]

Well you might be shocked to hear me say this but..... The Scheppach's is the best - no contest only IMHO ofcourse :wink:

I got my GW mag this morning, I agree with you that they do let them selfs down in the reviews (I won't say much as people might say the same about mine). They could improve the group reviews by saying which is their personal fav and which they would want in their workshop.

Yes on the TS2000 you can lower the riving knife to the same hieght as the blade, with the guard removed - but who would want to do a thing like that :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Steven,

I had the same choice and went for the Kity 619.

I think its a tight run thing. I'm pleased overall with the Kity. The downsides for me are 1. The riving knife doesnt lower beneath the blade so you have to take it off to do grooving etc. To get the knife off its a really fiddly job, dropping nuts into the bowels of the machine etc!
2. The fine adjsutment on the fence is practically unworkable, I move it by banging it with my hand! 3. The extn table is a meccano kit of pressed steel and nuts and bolts which looks like an afterthought. The extn table tops are pressed steel and look awful.

Good points for me are 1. Its quite quiet compared to Sheppach apparently. 2. The rise and fall and tilt are on seperate handles which I prefer. 3. The table surface is cast alloy and totally flat whereas the Sheppach is profiled.and feels flimsy. 4. The fence goes all the way back to the back of the saw table where it fixes. For me I like this but maybe for others this means a tendancy for the wood to pinch as it comes out.

The Sheppach looks nicer whereas the Kity looks a bit understated. When looking at a machine I always go on the defensive if it is brightly coloured and gadgety. ie De Walt. Maybe this swayed me away from the Sheppach. You see loads of Kity in other workshops so tried and tested etc.

If I had to make the choice again now, I very well might go for the Sheppach. Looking closley at it to compare against the Kity's weaknesses, I would be able to make a much more informed decision.

Steven, I agree totally with what you say about Mag. tool reviews.
I'm going to post up about this I think in a busier Forum and see if a Magazine person will come out of the woodwork to tell us why they feel they have to be so impartial!

Regards

PS Don't bother with all this cheapo foreign stuff, go for a Sedgewick, the're not too dear are they?!

 

[johnelliott]

No mention of the sliding tables? I've not seen the reviews referred to above and in any case recently bought an EBPKF255 because I had one before. I use the sliding table a lot and I'm very happy with the whole unit but it's difficult to set up, mine still isn't spot on.
I considered the Kity because I have their 10x8 planer which I find to be excellent but in the end went with the saw I was already familiar with
John

 

[kityuser]

thanks for the reply matstro, I suppose it is a close call for the magazines, on the one hand they want to be honest, on the other they don`t want to slate whats being advertised in thier mag :?

This just goes to show how useful these forums are, people are actually out there putting the hours down on these machines, surely they are the best people to ask!!!!!

sure there is going to be conflicting views/opinions, but theres also an invaluable source of experience available.

prehaps the magazines should be talking to some of you guys..........

 

[johnelliott]

Tricky thing, reviews. For the review to be any good the reveiwer needs to have tried ALL the machines in the category before he can pronounce on just one of them. I recently bought a Metabo cordless drill/driver and I think it's brilliant. If I was to write a review of it I would be very positive. Problem is, I haven't tried any others, and they might be just as good or even better.
I suppose a side by side test would be good, but perhaps impractical with the bigger machines
In the end, we have to go with our best guess. I reckon that with the decent makes, eg Kity, Sheppach, Electra Bekum etc there probably aren't any actually bad machines, just some which suit individuals and their needs better than others. I will still read reviews though, occasionally they produce some really interesting information

John

 

[Anonymous]

Funny thing is, years ago Kity used to be regarded as a relatively DIY machine. If you wanted something decent you bought a Startrite etc.
As with other things standards and quality continue downwards!

 

[woodshavings]

Hi Matstro - I think you are right re quality and standards but in real terms price has come down even further for the same apparent specs.

It seems to me that most manufactures that we think of as European are now sourcing major castings or the complete item from China etc as part of their drive to improve their margins and increase volume by lowering the selling price. The result is a steady lowering of standards.