Small induction table saw?

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mrwilby

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Hi all

I have a small (single car) garage "workshop."

I just about have room for the car and then one wall completely full of cabinets/workstation(s).

If I park my car diagonally (doable) then I can probably just about fit a full cabinet saw inside in one corner. To that end, I have been seriously exploring the DEFT saw and am just about ready to bite the bullet....

But, then I wondered if I am going to cause problems for myself trying to squeeze everything in. Unfortunately, winters here in Finland are very cold so I really must be able to get my car inside the garage for at least some of the year!

I have recently purchased the Norm Router plans and was planning to start building a router table during the next week or two, but now I am wondering should I buy a small table saw and then build a combined router & table work station instead?

I am heavily into gadgets, so I'd already decided to go with an Incra fence for the router. I'd also planned to buy an Incra mitre gauge for the table saw - and herein lies the problem.

If I go with a small induction-based saw, e.g. the Kity, APT TS-200, Sheppach 2010 then as far as I can tell, none of them have 'standard' mitre gauge slots. To coin a phrase from our American friends, "what is up with that!?". It seems like I have to compromise on something - either floor space (if I buy the DEFT, which by all accounts looks a superb bit of kit) or then functionality (well, toys, i.e. Incra).

I currently have a pretty extensive festool set-up (TS55, Kapex,++) so I'm pretty much set for panel work and mitring. I figure initially I'll be mainly making smaller household items of furniture, and probably most of that will be panel work, but the depth of cut in a "proper" (albeit small) table saw is quite alluring.

Does anybody have any suggestions for any other induction-based small table saws that will have standard mitre slots?

TIA!
 
Would be nice (and there is room) but it's not a short term project. It'd have to wait until at least another year as I have too many other housey tasks to undertake between now and then :( Definitely would be good in the future though....
 
How about the Metabo TS250 - does anybody happen to know what size mitre slot it has?

It has "soft start" but I'm not sure if it uses brushes or has an induction motor (preferred)

Edit: Looks like the front runner:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... ight=ts250

hmm, but I really cannot tell if this has an induction motor or not. I'm probably going to assume not given nobody seems to mention it explicitly :(
 
Come on now you know cars are not for parking in the Garage :D

Harry
 
:lol:

That may be true, but some how I feel bad forcing my car to start in the morning after it's been outside in -30 all night :(

At least during the winter months, it "ought" to be in the garage. Due to a current project it's been relegated to the drive way though... much to it's disgust!
 
I'm posting all these comments more for my own reference than anybody elses, but perhaps there might be somebody else in a similar quandry as I :)

Hmm, Wizer's post might be useful:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... ght=ts200c

Record TS200C or Xcalbibur TC10RAS

The Xcalibur probably does have an induction motor (need to ask though as I don't think it says) and I'd be surprised if it didn't have a 'standard' mitre slot... looks quite interesting...
 
mrwilby":3gaa2m24 said:
Now I'm properly confused!

A post by chippy in this thread suggests the EB 250 doesn't have a standard mitre gauge slot:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... t&start=15

Then in this thread, Karl suggests that it does:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... ight=ts250

During the switch from EB to Metabo, has the mitre slot changed dimensions?

Hi Mr W

Well I can confirm that the Metabo I am using at the mo does have a standard (3/4" x 3/8") mitre slot, albeit with an inverted T shapre. I am using an Incra mitre gauge.

It doesn't have an Induction motor, nor soft start though.

Cheers

Karl
 
Thanks Karl. 'Specs on the 'net seem to differ a bit to what people are actually using. I reckon they've done a silent refresh or similar....

How do you find the Incra in the Metabo? Does it fit nicely into the slot without plays/slop?

The Metabo is slightly tempting (albeit no induction) simply because IIRC, one of our local sheds is an importer of them (along with Sheppach).

Speaking of the shep, I would've already bought one if it weren't for the non-standard mitre slot. I really am a fussy sod! :)
 
The Incra works fine on the Metabo - it (the Incra) has guide busses which can be tightened up to give a perfect fit in the mitre guide.

One other thing - the Metabo has an aluminium top - not cast iron. Don't know if this is important to you, but some people will only go for CI.

Cheers

Karl
 
Cheers Karl...

For me it's probably a plus as my garage may not always be as warm as I'd like.

I'm almost as indecisive as Wizer ( :wink: ) so here's my current top list in no particular order.

1) Record Power TS200C - assuming standard mitre
2) Metabo TS250 - not induction
3) XCaliber 10" Tilting Arbor TC10RAA - assuming induction and standard mitre
4) Deft T30 - everything is golden, quite literally in the case of the T30G ;-)

Shipping to Finland on 1 & 3 is an unknown for me. I think #2 I can get locally. #4 is expensive for me to ship, but it's in a different class compared with the other entries and I already understand the costs quite well (thanks Richard if you're reading!).

If I went 1/2/3 I would probably also buy the Incra table saw fence system and then add their wonder fence for routing operations. I would then build a combined super station as has been featured on here by the likes of LarryS etc (thanks for sharing BTW!). The use of the Incra probably mitigates some of the flaws of the RP-TS200C?

If I went with the Deft then I wouldn't see the point of the Incra Table Saw fence system, so would just build a separate Norm router table with LS Positioner. Problem is the explosion in footprint with this approach. I reckon i could do the super station such that it could be rolled underneath my bench unit, which would be fab...

The Deft is wonderful, and I'd love to get it were it not for my concerns about footprint. It would also need some serious dust extraction so that means I probably need an extractor too (rather than a strong shop vac for 1/2/3?) which takes even more space.

I think I'm talking myself out of the Deft somehow, but I really don't want to :(

Apologies for the brain dump....
 
Mrwilby,

I have had that saw a few years when it was EB still the same saw but badged Metabo. For a mobile saw its extremely accurate, yes the mitre slots are bigger than the American size slot which most accessories are made for. All the fences are very well made no slack or play in anything.

It is quiet loud but I use a noisy Record extractor with it anyway so the noise doesn't matter.

Karl,

Is it a ts250 you have ?

I will nip up the workshop and double check the size of my slots I was told I couldnt use any incra stuff on it a year or so ago I was going to by the Incra Miter express sled.
 
Its 20.32 mm (0.8 ") wide by 10.16 mm (0.4") deep then at the bottom it has a tee shape this stops the mitre gauge flipping up from the slot.

The standard slots are 3/4" wide = 19 mm I think, so 20.32 isnt far away.
 
Chippy

I didn't measure the slot before quoting Mr W. But yes, it is the Metabo ts250 I have. The Incra works great, although I tend to use it on the RHS of the blade as the LHS doesn't have much table surface, especially to support longer pieces. It only takes 20 seconds to switch it round for use on the LHS of the table though.

I'll get the dial callipers out in the morning and double check against your measurements.

Cheers

Karl
 
Sorry to through a spanner in the works and confuse matters even more, but what about a Dewalt DW745.
A very good saw, at least as good as the Metabo and with a very good fence arrangement with rack and pinion adjustment. Also a smaller footprint than the Metabo although the extendable bed brings it out to almost as large. Optional legs that fold up. Also probably lighter than the Metabo. In Norway they're about the same price so probably the same in Finland.
 
Hi Krysstel,

No worries, all help welcome! I noticed this DW yesterday and took a look at it on the 'net (went to my dewalt dealer today but they don't stock it :( ). It looks good on paper, but I don't think it has an induction motor, which I'd really prefer. I think it's probably a good backup though.

At the moment I'm teetering between the Xcaliber 10" contractor saw (imported, no warranty) or then the Record Power TS200C (with warranty in finland).

At this size level its really difficult to meet all my criteria. At the moment I reckon only the Xcaliber ticks all the boxes (but I may still be wrong about that as there are some unknown areas at this point).

The metabo costs about 730 euros over here IIRC. I expect the DW is a bit more (looks a better build with its R&P fence).

Thanks for the input!
 
mrwilby":173n3xjm said:
Hi Krysstel,
The metabo costs about 730 euros over here IIRC. I expect the DW is a bit more (looks a better build with its R&P fence).
730 euros ?! And I thought Norway was the most expensive place on earth. I played with both the Metabo and the DW side-by-side at Bauhaus a couple of days ago (do you have Bauhaus in Finland ?) and yes, the fence on the DW was better although the fence on the Metabo was by no means bad. The Metabo was NOK 5590 (Eur600), the DW NOK 5990 (Eur640). Have you checked prices in Sweden ? Perhaps you could get one or the other cheaper there, near the border, so you could still get warranty follow-up.
 
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