Charnwood W619 Or Axminster Craft AC216TS Table Saw

[Nick Laguna UK]

Nope, it's a marketing trick; this sort of thing is happens all the time; done so the product, whatever it may be, isn't launched 'cold' without prior knowledge. I expect other companies do this sort of thing as well - Rob

Not all companies do it as a 'marketing trick' so far in advance Rob - Personally I'm waiting for factory confirmation dates before putting anything official about new products on our website.

I don't know their exact circumstances, but I agree with the general consensus that it only causes more frustration when you publicise something that isn't available with no confirmed due date.

Cheers,
Nick

 

[Nick Laguna UK]

I'd be super curious to know how many they're getting in

Ha, When it's in - go to their website and put 500 in your basket - then when you go to check out it will tell you how many are on back order - bingo - you will know how approximately many have been ordered

Top tip from a competitor who monitors other competitors stock 8)

 

[transatlantic]

I'd be super curious to know how many they're getting in

Ha, When it's in - go to their website and put 500 in your basket - then when you go to check out it will tell you how many are on back order - bingo - you will know how approximately many have been ordered

Top tip from a competitor who monitors other competitors stock 8)

 

[M_Chavez]

Well, ordered around midnight, got told it was shipped this morning.
Waiting lists? What waiting lists? 8)
Unfortunately, I expected to have 3 weeks to clear out some space in the workshop and sort out the base!

I would be grateful for any thoughts about steel base vs legs vs homemade cabinet in terms of noise reduction - all mobile on 4 castors. The floor is wooden, so steel cabinet + saw weight might be a wee bit too heavy for it...

Thanks!

PS if it's not accurate enough, it will be sent back/sold, but surely Axi stuff should have a level table and be able to hold the blade square to it? Fence can always be upgraded...

 

[woodbloke66]

Nope, it's a marketing trick; this sort of thing is happens all the time; done so the product, whatever it may be, isn't launched 'cold' without prior knowledge. I expect other companies do this sort of thing as well - Rob

Not all companies do it as a 'marketing trick' so far in advance Rob - Personally I'm waiting for factory confirmation dates before putting anything official about new products on our website.

I don't know their exact circumstances, but I agree with the general consensus that it only causes more frustration when you publicise something that isn't available with no confirmed due date.

Cheers,
Nick

I'd have to agree Nick that it is something they're prone to do which may be quite frustrating for potential customers waiting for a bit of kit - Rob

 

[Bodgers]

Well, ordered around midnight, got told it was shipped this morning.
Waiting lists? What waiting lists? 8)
Unfortunately, I expected to have 3 weeks to clear out some space in the workshop and sort out the base!

I would be grateful for any thoughts about steel base vs legs vs homemade cabinet in terms of noise reduction - all mobile on 4 castors. The floor is wooden, so steel cabinet + saw weight might be a wee bit too heavy for it...

Thanks!

PS if it's not accurate enough, it will be sent back/sold, but surely Axi stuff should have a level table and be able to hold the blade square to it? Fence can always be upgraded...

Let us in know how you get on with it, maybe some pictures?

It will help the rest of us decide if the first batch is worth giving a miss

 

[transatlantic]

I'd be super curious to know how many they're getting in

Ha, When it's in - go to their website and put 500 in your basket - then when you go to check out it will tell you how many are on back order - bingo - you will know how approximately many have been ordered

Top tip from a competitor who monitors other competitors stock 8)

Well - they have at least 1000

 

[Sleepy]

If you check your basket you'll see around 980 (977 when I checked) need to be back ordered. So I guess that means they've got around 20 left.

 

[M_Chavez]

Well, the beastie has arrived, but it will be the weekend before I make any cuts. Only had time to unbox it tonight.

As I've said, I've never had a proper table saw, so hard to assess it.

The saw itself comes across as reasonably well made (although see my note on the table below). Solid cast iron table, accurately machined slots, very fine finish on the table surface (saw body panels could have been a bit more refined, but I didn't buy the saw to look at it). Easy, smooth blade height and tilt adjustment. Stripped of all trimmings, just a few kg heavier than a comfortable one-man lift.

The extension tables, despite being well made, make the whole set-up look and feel cheap. My understanding is that the saw is intended to have the extensions on as a default set-up and I really don't see much point in it - if you want a saw with bigger tables and footprint, buy a bigger saw...

The fence is solid and very well-made, but the fence track length assumes that you have the extension tables attached. I'll need to find a sacrificial track to cut it to the main table's width.
Also, the blade is positioned well to the right, so if you are planning to rip boards wider than a couple inches, you'd either have to move the fence to the left of the blade, or attach the extension. Again, I feel that the saw is not designed for use with only the main table.

Blade/arbour runout at full height is 0.2mm. Not sure how bad that is compared to other saws.

The saw is almost silent when idling. Very quiet motor and just a slight whistle coming from the blade. My bandsaw and pillar drill are louder.

Now the table... The table is dished quite baldy - perhaps 1mm across and 1.5-2mm along the table. Most of the dishing is just on the perimeter of the table, with the central 60% being reasonably flat. I am not sure how this will affect the accuracy of the cuts for small parts, especially if using sleds, but the lack of a level surface is very disappointing. I'm undecided whether to send it back (the whole saw? just the table?) or whether such dishing will be present on any cheapo saw and I'll be just wasting my time. I think the accuracy will be sufficient for my purposes, but remember, I was only looking for a mini saw for cutting small parts.

Overall, the saw does not quite meet the quality of my 20 year old Axi bandsaw (14" Delta clone). Had the table been dead flat, I'd be very satisfied though.

 

[M_Chavez]

Correction: The runout at the base of the blade (i.e. blade extended and measured as close to arbour as the table allows) is about 0.08mm. This translates into 0.2mm at the tip of the blade. Not sure if that's arbour or the blade itself.

The table insert sits about 1mm below the table surface and is not very refined - I guess I'll be making my own inserts.

 

[Bodgers]

Well, the beastie has arrived, but it will be the weekend before I make any cuts. Only had time to unbox it tonight.

As I've said, I've never had a proper table saw, so hard to assess it.

The saw itself comes across as reasonably well made (although see my note on the table below). Solid cast iron table, accurately machined slots, very fine finish on the table surface (saw body panels could have been a bit more refined, but I didn't buy the saw to look at it). Easy, smooth blade height and tilt adjustment. Stripped of all trimmings, just a few kg heavier than a comfortable one-man lift.

The extension tables, despite being well made, make the whole set-up look and feel cheap. My understanding is that the saw is intended to have the extensions on as a default set-up and I really don't see much point in it - if you want a saw with bigger tables and footprint, buy a bigger saw...

The fence is solid and very well-made, but the fence track length assumes that you have the extension tables attached. I'll need to find a sacrificial track to cut it to the main table's width.
Also, the blade is positioned well to the right, so if you are planning to rip boards wider than a couple inches, you'd either have to move the fence to the left of the blade, or attach the extension. Again, I feel that the saw is not designed for use with only the main table.

Blade/arbour runout at full height is 0.2mm. Not sure how bad that is compared to other saws.

The saw is almost silent when idling. Very quiet motor and just a slight whistle coming from the blade. My bandsaw and pillar drill are louder.

Now the table... The table is dished quite baldy - perhaps 1mm across and 1.5-2mm along the table. Most of the dishing is just on the perimeter of the table, with the central 60% being reasonably flat. I am not sure how this will affect the accuracy of the cuts for small parts, especially if using sleds, but the lack of a level surface is very disappointing. I'm undecided whether to send it back (the whole saw? just the table?) or whether such dishing will be present on any cheapo saw and I'll be just wasting my time. I think the accuracy will be sufficient for my purposes, but remember, I was only looking for a mini saw for cutting small parts.

Overall, the saw does not quite meet the quality of my 20 year old Axi bandsaw (14" Delta clone). Had the table been dead flat, I'd be very satisfied though.

Send it back. It is not acceptable for the main table to be dished like that.

I have just ordered mine and I will be doing the same if mine is like that.

They need to know about it rather than customers just accepting stuff like that.

The extension tables are a different matter - I knew from the start they would be bad as they look the same as the old TS200 extension. I expect to remake them on mine.



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[transatlantic]

Interesting feedback. It's not at all acceptable for the cast iron top to be dished, I would certainly send it back. Hopefully they'll do a simple swap on delivery?

I am surprised to hear you would be using it without the extensions. Looks far too small to do anything with in my opinion, unless all you're doing is thin rips.

 

[woodbloke66]

Now the table... The table is dished quite baldy - perhaps 1mm across and 1.5-2mm along the table. Most of the dishing is just on the perimeter of the table, with the central 60% being reasonably flat. I am not sure how this will affect the accuracy of the cuts for small parts, especially if using sleds, but the lack of a level surface is very disappointing. I'm undecided whether to send it back (the whole saw? just the table?) or whether such dishing will be present on any cheapo saw and I'll be just wasting my time. I think the accuracy will be sufficient for my purposes, but remember, I was only looking for a mini saw for cutting small parts.

That is dreadful on such a small surface area. Pick up the 'fone, complain bitterly, send it back and get a complete replacement saw or your money back as it's not fit for purpose. A warped table like that will almost certainly affect the accuracy of any cuts you're liable to make. I'd also put a negative review on the website; Ax will publish it - Rob

 

[Bodgers]

Now the table... The table is dished quite baldy - perhaps 1mm across and 1.5-2mm along the table. Most of the dishing is just on the perimeter of the table, with the central 60% being reasonably flat. I am not sure how this will affect the accuracy of the cuts for small parts, especially if using sleds, but the lack of a level surface is very disappointing. I'm undecided whether to send it back (the whole saw? just the table?) or whether such dishing will be present on any cheapo saw and I'll be just wasting my time. I think the accuracy will be sufficient for my purposes, but remember, I was only looking for a mini saw for cutting small parts.

That is dreadful on such a small surface area. Pick up the 'fone, complain bitterly, send it back and get a complete replacement saw or your money back as it's not fit for purpose. A warped table like that will almost certainly affect the accuracy of any cuts you're liable to make. I'd also put a negative review on the website; Ax will publish it - Rob

I'd maybe not quite be so rapid fire with the review. Give them the chance to replace it first

 

[Bodgers]

Interesting feedback. It's not at all acceptable for the cast iron top to be dished, I would certainly send it back. Hopefully they'll do a simple swap on delivery?

I am surprised to hear you would be using it without the extensions. Looks far too small to do anything with in my opinion, unless all you're doing is thin rips.

Ripping is the primary use-case of a table saw I'd say. If you have a mitre saw or a sled I find I don't use much of right side capacity.

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[transatlantic]

Interesting feedback. It's not at all acceptable for the cast iron top to be dished, I would certainly send it back. Hopefully they'll do a simple swap on delivery?

I am surprised to hear you would be using it without the extensions. Looks far too small to do anything with in my opinion, unless all you're doing is thin rips.

Ripping is the primary use-case of a table saw I'd say. If you have a mitre saw or a sled I find I don't use much of right side capacity.

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Each to their own I guess. I use mine for all sorts

 

[MikeG.]

........ the blade is positioned well to the right, so if you are planning to rip boards wider than a couple inches, you'd either have to move the fence to the left of the blade, or attach the extension. .........

........Ripping is the primary use-case of a table saw I'd say. If you have a mitre saw or a sled I find I don't use much of right side capacity........

Non table saw owner/ user here, so this question will just display my ignorance. Surely when ripping you would tend to have the waste come off the near side, on the side away from the fence, wouldn't you? Assuming that's right, then ripping boards down will involve the bulk of the board being on the fence side of the blade, and thus you'd need at least 8 or 9 inches of usable table to the far side of the blade, plus the width of the fence......wouldn't you?

 

[Bodgers]

Non table saw owner/ user here, so this question will just display my ignorance. Surely when ripping you would tend to have the waste come off the near side, on the side away from the fence, wouldn't you? Assuming that's right, then ripping boards down will involve the bulk of the board being on the fence side of the blade, and thus you'd need at least 8 or 9 inches of usable table to the far side of the blade, plus the width of the fence......wouldn't you?

Not sure how wide 8-9 inches is, but most of the stuff I ripped on a table saw was never any wider than about 200mm, which is doable without any extension tables on say a TS250 or TS200.
If I'm doing wider stuff, that typically means I'm cutting sheet material, which I'd use the tracksaw with, or a crosscut which I'm hand cutting or rough cutting with a mitre saw.
As mentioned, everyone has their own way...

 

[M_Chavez]

Well, cleaned up the straight edge and the table, checked again - one diagonal is dead flat and one diagonal has a gap the size of a grand canyon. Definitely a badly warped table.
The saw will be going back, but I'd be quite keen to get a replacement, assuming that Axminster can find one with a flat table.

It would be interesting to hear what others get - perhaps, I got unlucky (serves me right for ordering from the first batch!).

I'll keep you posted.

 

[Bodgers]

Well, cleaned up the straight edge and the table, checked again - one diagonal is dead flat and one diagonal has a gap the size of a grand canyon. Definitely a badly warped table.
The saw will be going back, but I'd be quite keen to get a replacement, assuming that Axminster can find one with a flat table.

It would be interesting to hear what others get - perhaps, I got unlucky (serves me right for ordering from the first batch!).

I'll keep you posted.

Mine arrives tomorrow and I don't have high hopes.

These tops will have been cast from the same batch with the same processes so it is likely they'll all have similar problems.

If the warp is as bad as you say, and there are others come out like it, this is huge QA failure on Axminster's part.

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