TS2010 table saw problems

[Tyrone Kendall]

Hello everybody. Can any body help. I brought a scheppach ts2010 due to a goodwoodworking report, a year ago but due to work commitments it has stayed in it's box until 3 weeks ago. Any way I have unpacked it and tried to put it together and failed miserably. The instructions aren't worth the paper they are printed on and the goodwoodworking report doesn't touch on the problems I have encountered. I cannot get the hinged side table to marry up properly with the main saw table. There appears to be a screw missing for fixing through the measuring scale. The sliding carriage I have got working but again I can't see how to adjust it parrallel to the main bed. There is no electrical lead with it only a rubber plug that I can't manage to take apart to wire. I have taken good woodworkings advice and brought a Freaud blade but at the moment it is still in bits and would appear to be £650 not well spent

 

[ike]

Previously I have only purchased cheap tools and this is my first real "quality tool" buy. Scheppach do advertise themselves as manufacturing quality German tools. I am wondering if I've done the right thing.

Whatever the badge on it, it's only as good as the weakest link in the supplier chain. German engineered maybe, but not German built as with the higher-end machines. It's called 'progress' apparently. The bean counters at Scheppach Gmbh are not doing themselves any favours IMHO as it reflects back on everything with their logo on it.

cheers,

ike

 

[gidon]

Tyrone
Unfortunately the TS2010 isn't German-made. They reduced the price of the (I believe German-made) TS2000 - the main difference being the production was moved to China or Taiwan.
I have the TS2000 and if it makes you feel any better that's not perfect either (and I paid a lot more than the TS2010)! It needed a little bit of tweaking to get it how I wanted it. But NMA are very helpful on this front - give them a ring.
I have scanned the notesthey sent me on the TS2000 which you may find helpful. Or they may have some 2010 specific notes they can send out.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[andy king]

Hi Tyrone, welcome to the forum.

I looked at the TS2010 in issue 163, over 2 years ago, but have my original review to hand (at least, the one I wrote before it was edited for publication) I said then:

Fitted to the right is the 250mm wide side extension. This increases the ripping capacity to 450mm, but I found the extension didn’t quite align correctly to the main table, leaving a slight step between the two, I needed to do a little bit of jiggling with the bracket screws to get it closer. Without doing this it meant that any cuts with the fence clamped on the side table and the fine adjuster clamped on the main table it had a tendency to kick the fence inwards very slightly.

If I recall, the screws are fiddly to get in, the bracket getting in the way, but the holes are slotted to give some adjustment to pick it up a little.
The plug supplied is standard with Scheppach stuff, you simply need a twin cable (live and neutral) and connect it to the supplied plug at one end, a standard 3 pin at the other.
At the time, consiering what else was on the market it wasn't a bad saw, especially considering the price of the TS2000, but there were niggles that I noted, mostly corner cutting on some components and knobs, much the same as a lot of stuff eminating from China. (At the time, Scheppach were playing their cards close to their chest, the saw I looked at had a 'Germany' sticker on it, but there are loopholes to allow manufacturers to state a 'manufactured in' if they do some assembly or packaging there)
Comparing the Scheppach to other saws available now and it wouldn't come out so well, even though it still has some decent features.
At the time it was far better than the tin box brush motored cheapies that were 2 or 3 times the price they are now, but progress has now meant some decent cast iron tabled saws with good features are here for half the price.
Progress? Maybe, but getting tools as low priced as they are at the moment means that something has to give, so it may be the bits you can't see, longevity of motors etc, or more often than not, aftersales service and availability of spares.
On tools that are simply rebadged to suit the importer, despite long warranties, its unlikely that any spares other than really basic ones will ever be stocked.
In theory, name brand manufacturers such as Scheppach who may be out in China, but building to their own designs or specifications and you should have most if not all of these in place should problems arise.

NMA are pretty good at sorting out problems, so as Gidon says, a call to them should hopefully get you up and running.

Hope this helps.

Andy

 

[the_g_ster]

Hello, if you are still stuck I am more than happy to pop over and give you a hand. Had problems with my TS2010 too but after much time, fiddling, sheet of card, and old AA card too and lots of plywood it is perfect. (well, for a few days)

Look under TS2010 for some useful threads for me.

 

[the_g_ster]

Doh, and forgot to say, the plug......

There is a screw on there you need to take out, its fine threaded so undo all the way then get a fine bladed screw driver and pop it out from the rubber countsink it sits in.

After this hold the lip of the 2 metal parts you can find inside the plug end, as you do this pull the outer casing away from the metal prongs. (if you see it as a cone shape then you are effectively pulling the base of the cone out).

This should reveal some screw connectors so you can lay earth in centre (makes connection with 2 metal lips) and then live and neutral. It DOESNT matter which you use, as the plug goes in either way the same as a radio or amp etc. Just make sure you get the earth right in middle, or you will be having a disco and a instant spikey hair cut.

I use on a 16 amp supply I installed, it works fine on a 13 amp plug BUT the odd time the startup current on the induction motor may peak at more then 13amp, so may blow trips/fuses.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Tyrone

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about your problems with the Scheppach, I hope NMA can help.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Tyrone Kendall]

Dear Gidon, Andy, the-g-ster and newbie-Neil. First of all, thank you so much for replying to my message. I am a total novice at this e mail malarky and can't remember ever being so nervous at doing anything. The main thing this has done is made me realise that I am not alone in this and it has totally lifted my spirits. On Sunday while i was in my workshop I looked at the saw still in bits and felt totally cheesed off but because of the contact made yesterday that feeling has totally gone now. I chose the TS2010 because I have a Scheppach 9" planer/ thickneser which is a lovelly bit of kit( Although the instruction manual was in German) and to be fair all the wood working magazines ( and I get them all) gave it good reviews. I suppose there is always an element of common sense in these things and although I am far from stupid I suppose I was expecting the manual to be idiot proof. I will get in touch with the manufacturers now I knowand the-g-ster, I may well take you up on your kind offer if I'm still struggling. I am also aware of taking up your time as you must all be busy people but again many many thanks for you response. It really did make me feel better.

 

[stevel]

I too had some problems with my TS2010, but after much (yes much) trial and error I am very happy with its performance. Mine does seem to stay in tune for a reasonable time, but I still check the sliding table for square (using Scrits method) everytime I start a new project. Persevere and it should be OK.

good luck and welcome to the forum

Steve

 

[menatnma]

While problems do arise with machines from different manufactures, importers etc, it does surprise us the number of people who do not seem to contact either the retailer from where it was bought, probably because they are just interested in taking the money from the sale and/ or do not have knowledge of how machines are set up or work and also the number of customers who seem not to get in touch with the above mentioned but like to discuss it for the first time with forum members. At NMA we are always happy to sort out problems that customers have with any of the range of machines we sell, Scheppach, Mafell, the old Eumenia saws and even Kity, even though we have no history of the product we will do our best to sort out any queries. Allan and John in our technical department will always try and sort out problems over the phone if possible and can usually back this up with hand written helpsheets of some sort or another to resolve faults. Some times the only time we get to hear of faults on customers machines is after long drawn out messages left on forums before people have asked their dealer/manufacturer/importer. Its also nice to be acknowledged for giving good help and advice rather than being knocked and critisicised sometimes..
As we have stated before we only too willing to help sort out problems on machines and are only a phone call away.
thanks

menatnma

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi menatnma

..... or do not have knowledge of how machines are set up or work ....

IIRC the TS2010 is an entry level machine, in the Scheppach range, and I would have expected that it was the first purchase of a saw for the vast majority of people who buy that model. So we have a situation where someone has purchased their first saw and, due to the poor documentation, resorts to asking a question on a woodworking forum. This results in the quality of your product being called into question.

Might I suggest that you get Scheppach to have a look at the manual with the Leigh jig? IMHO this is how all manuals should be, it is excellent.

If time was spent by the manufacturer on putting together decent documentation, including the common questions that your technical people have to answer, it would result in a lot of time being saved.

This could be achieved very cheaply, by having a manual available in PDF format that can be downloaded from a web site. If this was adopted it would become a win-win situation for everyone.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Jake]

Hi menatnma

..... or do not have knowledge of how machines are set up or work ....

IIRC the TS2010 is an entry level machine, in the Scheppach range, and I would have expected that it was the first purchase of a saw for the vast majority of people who buy that model.

I think those parts of his comments were aimed at the retailers not the customers.

I agree that the Scheppach manuals are terrible though, and the fact that NMA have those set up sheets of their own (for at least some machines), seems to imply that they also think that the manufacturer's manuals aren't, shall I say 'as comprehensive as they could be'.

The odd thing is that even then, they don't slip those into every delivery, instead waiting for people to get frustrated and do perfectly rational things like raise set up issue on internet forums, which is often the first place that the existence of NMA comes to the purchasers' attention, and the existence of the secret hints and tips, and NMA's ability to provide (very expert and helpful in my experience) technical advice is revealed to them.

I find that all a bit of a strangely passive/reactive way to go about things, but there you go.

As for Scheppach, I think the almost total lack of effort put into their manuals is a missed trick. I would have thought that is exactly the kind of area where they should be seeking to differentiate themselves from the chinese clone market.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Jake

I think that part of his comments were aimed at the retailers not the customers.

Yes, I agree.

I was just trying to look at it from the viewpoint of someone who has just bought their first tablesaw and finds that they have a problem.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Woody Alan]

If time was spent by the manufacturer on putting together decent documentation, including the common questions that your technical people have to answer, it would result in a lot of time being saved.

This could be achieved very cheaply, by having a manual available in PDF format that can be downloaded from a web site. If this was adopted it would become a win-win situation for everyone.

Absolutely I have to agree here, it's the poor presentation of the documentation to some extent that puts people off calling for assistance. It doesn't give a good feeling to the purchaser.

it does surprise us the number of people who do not seem to contact either the retailer from where it was bought, probably because they are just interested in taking the money from the sale and/ or do not have knowledge of how machines are set up or work

Well to be honest if you say it surprises you then it is no longer a surprise is it? it's a business communication failure and therefore it's a situation you should have rectified some time ago, especially with the number of comments in the past.
The retailer I buy from does a fair job of helping out, but to be honest I think you miss the point, to set your saws up (and I have done) a fair degree of very practical experience is required working to some quite fine tolerances and although the people working in these premises handle the kit, the number of times they might set one of your saws up could be few and far between, I bet not many use one.

Alan

 

[RogerS]

I never cease to be amazed at the utter banality of much documentation that comes with machinery of Far Eastern origin. It wouldn't take much to pass the documentation by a native English speaker to at least make a stab at making it read sensibly. As for the content, well, I feel that that might be a bridge too far. The poor documentation ensures that the customer has a negative view of the equipment before they even start using it or assembling it.

So if any Chaiwanese manufacturers would like someone to read/correct/help with their documentation then feel free to PM me :wink:

For a negotiated fee, of course. :wink: