Table saw shortlist needs trimming down (thanks all)

[stonkin]

Intro: I'm after a TS for home DIY/furniture making (nothing too extravagant). Prefer sliding table. Must have rise and fall. Want to be able create mortise/tenons easily.

I've trawled these fora and the www and initially came up with the following shortlist...

SIP 01321
RYOBI ETS1825
JET JTS315S
EB/METABO TS250
FOX F36524
SIP 01332
KITY 419

I then decided that as I want the sliding table it came down to...

JET JTS315S
FOX F36524
SIP 01332
KITY 419

but the Fox and the Kity only have 1100W motors (according to info I found on the www). I also found info on the Jet that said it had either a 1100W or 1650W motor - does anybody know the definitive answer? Is 1100W really enough? I've no idea what the power of the SIP is.

Can anybody help me choose? Do any of these have a really dodgy fence? What are your experiences? any bargepole material here?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Alf]

I wouldn't know where to start, although Kity owners seem to be voluble in their purring (Kity - purring - gettit? Okay, I'll be going in a moment...) but welcome to the forum, Jon. Somehow your first post seems to have got over-looked and I wouldn't want you thinking we didn't care.

Cheers, Alf

 

[shockingmoment]

Welcome. Its worth keeping an eye on ebay. Search for Wadkin, Startrite, Scheppach etc. You do get the odd bargain. But be careful. Sometimes you can pay too much...

Here's a bit of a bargain (sold tho)- its 3 phase tho - another £75 will get you a 1p to 3p inverter complete with softstart so it'll run off a 13A plug!

Don't forget to add £65 for a pallet collect / deliver.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1

good luck!

 

[Shady]

Without trying to appear funny, see my 'eurekazone' review below: that system will do just about everything you'd want to do on a tablesaw as a DIY/hobbyist user, more cheaply and safely than any TS. It won't do Mortise and tenons - but I'm not a fan of that on the TS anyway - a router and bandsaw will do that for you with all the precision you need, and much less risk.

Just a thought - but I've been where you are, and my TS now sits gathering dust in the corner...

 

[stonkin]

as to what your dusty TS is then?

 

[shockingmoment]

in fact - keep an eye on this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... Track=true

again - 3 phase so you'd need to convert - new motor or inverter

 

[Waka]

Stonkin

Welcome to the forum, quite a few members in your area.

can't help with the selection you have posted, but have you considered the Xcalibar range, there are a lot of satisfied members on the forum.

 

[Shady]

as to what your dusty TS is then?

It's one of these:

Axminster BTS10PP.

My learning curve has been to discover that a saw bench needs to be 'BIG' if it's to safely handle sheet goods, but that as an amateur I cannot justify the cost or space that such a saw requires - it just takes up most of the shop, and doesn't get used often enough.

Conversely, almost everything I can actually do safely on that saw, I can do much more safely, and with less wastage, with my other tools.

I don't know exactly where you are in the great 'tool build up' that we all go through, but my journey has led to a workshop with the following machinery meeting most of my needs:

• A good, big, floor standing bandsaw
  A decent router/table combo
  Hand held circular saw with guide rails for sheet goods etc.
  A relatively big and powerful planer/thicknesser for stock preparation.

Those 4 seem to cover everything I need. Of course a TS would make some jobs easier, but the cost/benefit ain't worth it for me...

 

[woodbloke]

Gooday and welcome - I use the Kity 419 with both xtension tables, build quality and accuracy is very good. As you say, the motor is only 1100W but this is adequate for most purposes - I can easily rip through 50mm oak with a decent blade, though the one supplied with the saw only has 18T - Rob

 

[RogerS]

My learning curve has been to discover that a saw bench needs to be 'BIG' if it's to safely handle sheet goods, but that as an amateur I cannot justify the cost or space that such a saw requires - it just takes up most of the shop, and doesn't get used often enough.

• A good, big, floor standing bandsaw
  A decent router/table combo
  Hand held circular saw with guide rails for sheet goods etc.
  A relatively big and powerful planer/thicknesser for stock preparation.

Yup..been there...got the T-shirt.

Same list as Shady (well, it will be when I get a larger bandsaw...the first one was far too small).

Shady ...what size/model PT have you got?

 

[Shady]

Roger, that was my most expensive purchase, and worth every penny. After realising that certain tools simply have to have the 'grunt' for the job, I agonised for awhile, and ended up with the Axminster AW106PT:

It's pretty heavy (used a winch and a volvo to set it in place off the pallet), but at the price, has a big motor, cast iron tables, and a 3 knife cutter block. I've been very pleased with it. It's also very, very quiet in operation, with a nice sexy induction motor.

In similar vein, my bandsaw is the Perform CCBB:

It's easy to turn one's nose up at Perform products, but this thing is big enough to rip through 6 foot planks, and has done so. Again, I researched for a while, and noticed, faintly bizarrely, that it has a motor just as powerful as their higher spec white brand SBW351B, which has a light trade rating... No frills, and the plastic adjustment handles shattered under load, but I just replaced them with wooden offcut ones, and it's perfect for what I want.

These machines wouldn't find a place in trade shops, I expect, because the guards/adjustment systems are there, but are basic, and need time to set accurately - but that's not a problem for me.

Oh - forgot - my only other key machine is the drill press, for accurately sticking holes in things...