Table saws

[dellpitch]

New to the forum

I have been reading the forum for approx. a week now. Having retired I want to upgrade my tablesaw & have been looking at a Record Power TS200C, also the Axminster TS-200.
I cannot find much comment on the site regading Record Power, is it over priced or is the Axminster brand better value? Ideally I want the saw mobile as the garage will become the workshop & the BOSS still wants to put her car away.
Any comments/help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[Chems]

The Axminster Table saw you mention gets really good reviews. I'm not sure about the record power range, seen a few poor comments on here.

Welcome!

 

[bjm]

Hi Norman

I have the TS200C and the only good thing about it is the fact it is on wheels.

The saw itself is very solidly built, heavy, powerful and quiet. However, I'm convinced this saw went straight from drawing board to production without ever being evaluated by a user. Record have tried to put too many features into too small a unit and the compromise has, in my opinion, crippled a perfectly decent saw unit.

Setting the machine up require the proverbial 'patience of a saint' and some ingenuity. The sliding table is particularly undersized (unless you are only making dolls houses) and there is, as yet, no sign of a side extension table for it. Neither is there a mitre slot in the CI table that would enable you to cross cut from the right of the blade where there is more support.

Dust extraction is a bit of a joke as most of the dust flies into the front well of the tilt mechanism and the only way to clear it is to remove the table. Although that is CI it is small enough to be easily manageable but it means you have to reset the fence again - something I've given up on.

I did look at the Axminster but wanted a 10" saw so opted for the Record. For the price difference I was expecting better. I can get by with it but it hasn't lived up to my expectations (which may have been too high). In my experience this saw has fallen well below the opinions given in all the reviews I've read of it but that's down to the poor design of the unit (which reviewers neglect to mention) rather than the performance of the saw unit, which is excellent for the money. I just wish it was in a properly designed (and evaluated) unit.


Brian

 

[dellpitch]

Hi

Thanks for your speedy replies.

Brian with the benefit of hindsight which table saw would you have spent your hard earned cash on?

I have to agree that the Record saw seems to be everything to all man,
but it does also have the the ability to crosscut 600mm which is one of the items I need for making kitchen cabinets.

Is it a case of back to the drawing board!

Regards

Norman

 

[bjm]

Hi Norman

Recommendations are a tricky thing as I can only comment on my own purchases. I was looking for a small CI saw that wasn't too heavy and like most things in life you get what you pay for? If you can make the space you could look at the 10" Axminster which has a better? sliding table or for more money have a look at the Jet or Excalibur which a few members here have and would no doubt recommend.

I'm not averse to buying from Record but they do need to address some things and I wouldn't rule out their larger 10" saws as you can get a larger sliding table - but the cost goes up.

Whatever you decide on - go see it first if you can and enquire about the setting-up and try to get feedback from users, not reviewers. Have a look through the forum posts but I'm sure other members will be along before too long.

Good luck

Brian

 

[Rich]

Hi Norman, I'm no expert on T/S but I do own an Axi TS200, have a look at the search feature and "type" in TS200, You will find good reviews from OWNERS as opposed to users.

Regards,

Rich.

 

[devonwoody]

I had a Triton workcentre for 5 years and had my monies worth. Pricey now but a good second hand one I could thoroughly recommend.

 

[ByronBlack]

I would avoid the triton personally. I never got on with it, and it seems to take too long to setup and add stuff to it etc.. I also found it extremely limited when cross-cutting with the mitre-gauge, there is a shallow depth between the start of the blade and the beginning of the gauge meaning you couldn't cross-cut anything (i forgot the exact measurement now) larger than approx 5 or 6 inches. Also, the fence was a real pain to set, the dust extraction is also poor, basically, I just hated the thing after my initial enthusiasm wore off.

I recently purchased a TS-200 and I'm very happy with it, you can cross cut 600mm quite easily with this, and if you are not cutting more than 2.5" thick timbers, then the 8" blade isn't an issue.

The only downside I can see, which personally doesn't bother too much is the non-standard mitre slot, meaning you can't use an Incra or similar, but to be fair, the supplied gauge and the sliding table are both excellent. And the extension table is a very cheap pressed steel affair which isn't the greatest, but this is easily replaced.

 

[Gower]

Welcome to the forum Dellpitch. You mention portability, I've had a Bosch GTS10 for 4 years and it has been excellent, if a bit noisy. You can get them with a folding stand but I made a plywood base with casters for moving around the workshop. Several other manufacturers make a similar type of bench saw including the Makita 2704 and Dewalt. Hope this may be of interest.
Regards,
Gower

 

[dellpitch]

Decision made, not where I started at but have today purchased an Axminster AW10BSB2 10" saw bench.
Yes it is heavy but they tell me good quality, heavy duty casters can be fitted to make it mobile!
Reviews here of both the smaller m/c's prompted the change of heart time will tell if it was the right decision.

Thanks for the replies, which planer/thicknesser is the next decision to be made, any advise greatfully received as are comments , good or bad on todays decision.

Regards
norman

 

[devonwoody]

Your thoughts of a P/T will need to include a dust extractor at the same time. :wink:

 

[TrimTheKing]

Thanks for the replies, which planer/thicknesser is the next decision to be made, any advise greatfully received as are comments , good or bad on todays decision.

Regards
norman

Hi Norman

When I was choosing my saw the final decision came between your choice and the Fox F36-530 which from all my research are very similar machines. I opted for the Fox, but that was down to negotiating a great deal on it and getting it for £200 under RRP, but I am sure I would have been equally as happy with the Axminster.

Regarding P/T, as others have said, I can only speak from my own experience but I have the Ax 106PT2 and am extremely happy with it. But as DW states, you will need to get some form of dust extraction too as it spits chippings and dust for miles without any. FYI i have the Ax ADE2200 which more than matches my needs.

HTH

Cheers

Mark

 

[OPJ]

Like Mark, I'm another very satisfied AW106PT user from Axminster. About a month after I bought my machine, they upgraded it to include a cast iron fence! :roll: Not that there's anything wrong with my aluminium one. :wink: I know there are also several other happy users on this site.

I mentioned recently that I was having problems getting straight, true edges on my machine but, I now put this down to my technique as I've noticed the same problem when using the cast iron machines at college - I think I'm just pressing down on the outfeed side too early and not keeping the pressure even/constant when I move my hands... :roll:

I also echo what's been said about the extractors - buy the biggest you can afford! Not only for airflow but, believe me, they do fill up fast!! :wink:

I'd also like to point out (again!) that Axminster were extremely helpful in getting my initial problems with the setting and alignment of this machine sorted, when I first bought it.

 

[dellpitch]

Mark, Olly thanks for your replies AX. AW106PT2 looks good, that or the Record PT260 are on the list with the AX. machine coming out on top at the moment.

Regarding extractors, the Numatic NVD750 is the one I am looking at but will have to check the bag size, the wall mounted one would be nice but the price sticks a little at the moment.

Any comments again would be appreciated.

Regards

 

[OPJ]

I used to own a slightly cheaper 'clone' very similar to the Record Power PT260. Record have made some improvements to the quality (and accuracy) to the fence and beds but, I couldn't honestly recommend a machine like this having owned the AW106PT for over a year now.

One of the most frustrating things was that, as the outfeed table has to be completely removed to access the thicknesser underneath, it would then need checking each time you refit it, as the grub screws would always move.

There was also a major fault with these machines where the drive belt for the feed rollers on the thicknesser would stretch and wear out in no time at all. I guess it was an alignment issue with the pulleys, though I never found the true cause. There are plenty of other members of this site who've had similar experiences. With the AW106PT though, you can easily disengage the feed rollers with a lever so it isn't needlessly in use when your surfacing over the top.