Dai_The_Eye
Member
I keep swinging from one to the other. Is the 2 worth the extra money? All advice appreciated!! :roll:
HM1 or 2
- Thread starter Dai_The_Eye
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martinka
Established Member
Difficult question, and one that can really only be answered by yourself, but here's my thoughts for what it's worth.
As I'm sure you already know, the main differences are a 4" bigger throat, front mounted quick tensioner, quick clamp and two spare clamps. While I personally don't think the differences justify an extra £240, if I was buying first time and buying new and had the money, I'd want the extra 4" throat. In 12 months of owning my Hegner, a 14" throat would have defeated me a good number of times whereas the 18" throat of the M2 has only been a problem a couple of times. As for variable speed, I don't have it on my M2 and don't need it, but if I was a first time buyer and I could afford it I would have it, especially if I was a beginner. There's no denying the extras of the M2 are good to have, but the M2 with variable speed is double the price of the basic M1 which is still a very capable saw. I think it's all down to what you can afford, so go for the best you can afford.
You could always go for the Polymax3 and pay an extra £1000 for the privilege of changing speeds manually. :mrgreen:
As I'm sure you already know, the main differences are a 4" bigger throat, front mounted quick tensioner, quick clamp and two spare clamps. While I personally don't think the differences justify an extra £240, if I was buying first time and buying new and had the money, I'd want the extra 4" throat. In 12 months of owning my Hegner, a 14" throat would have defeated me a good number of times whereas the 18" throat of the M2 has only been a problem a couple of times. As for variable speed, I don't have it on my M2 and don't need it, but if I was a first time buyer and I could afford it I would have it, especially if I was a beginner. There's no denying the extras of the M2 are good to have, but the M2 with variable speed is double the price of the basic M1 which is still a very capable saw. I think it's all down to what you can afford, so go for the best you can afford.
You could always go for the Polymax3 and pay an extra £1000 for the privilege of changing speeds manually. :mrgreen:
bodgerbaz
Established Member
The man has said it all really Dai.
I went for the variable speed because I had it with my first saw and felt that then buying a single speed might have been a step backwards. Whilst I don't change speed very often I do find it useful to throttle it back a bit when cutting out delicate stuff . . . . the slower speed also means it doesn't cut into your finger too far before you finally get it out the way :shock:
Barry
I went for the variable speed because I had it with my first saw and felt that then buying a single speed might have been a step backwards. Whilst I don't change speed very often I do find it useful to throttle it back a bit when cutting out delicate stuff . . . . the slower speed also means it doesn't cut into your finger too far before you finally get it out the way :shock:
Barry
Chippygeoff
Established Member
As Bodgerbaz has said, Martin has said it all. I have the variable speed model and I bought this for several reasons. I took into account that when I bought my Hegner I would probably have it for the rest of my life with no need to upgrade and I am happy that for me it was the right choice. For most of the things I make it is always on full speed. Soon after I got my saw there was a problem with the table and it was returned to Hegner and while they had it they increased the speed for me to 1650. I recently bought a pile of 3mm thick wood and 75mm wide. In order to follow the pattern on this wood I reduced the speed to less than half, otherwise I would have struggled to follow the line with any degree of accuracy and it would have been the same with thin ply. At the end of the day the choice is yours, if you can afford the variable speed go for it. I feel if you go for the single spped you may regret it later on when you become more experienced and wish to diversify to other materials.
Dai_The_Eye
Member
Thanks guys, I suppose your just confirming what I already knew. From the outside there just seemed a large price difference for what seems not much gain. Mmmm !
