Howdy Folks! The review, at last....
Well, finally I have been able to spend some "Quality Time" with my new Xcaliber 10 inch table saw. For those of you new to this thread this is a "Delta Unisaw" clone, a typical American style cast iron table saw.
First impressions- It was delivered in a crate, well packed and in good condition. Upon breaking down the crate and cleaning off the anti-rust gloop from the tables I was left with the feeling that I had made a good choice of saw. The cabinet is made of 3mm steel, nicely welded and sprayed light grey. The castings were of a high standard, machined flat with a nice polish to them.
There are two cast iron table extensions which have to be bolted to the main table. Then the fence rails are bolted on, front and rear. These are long enough to allow a 52 inch wide rip- this is pretty wide and takes up a LOT of workshop. I wasn't anticipating such large rails, but can't bring myself to cutting them shorter (an easy job is required).
The fence is a "Biesemeyer" (excuse my spelling!) type, which locks with a single cam lever at the front. The fence moves smoothly and locks securely. There is a scale along the front rail with crosshairs on the fence. The system works really well and I look forward to getting stuck into some projects!
The motor on the saw is single phase, 3 horsepower. This required a separate circuit to be run. In use the saw is very, very quiet. I was surprised at how quiet-late night sawing might now be on the table! (no pun intended.... :lol: ) There is a huge amount of grunt there, and frankly, I'm a little scared. Nothing wrong with a little healthy respect though, right!
The mitre gauge is a nice hefty piece-cast iron head with a steel runner. It has adjustable stops for 45, 90 and -45 degrees-handy. It slides smoothly in the runners, though there is a tiny bit of play. This doesn't affect the cut though, as all pieces I cross cut came out smooth.
Blade rise and tilt is handled (doh!) by two large alloy handles, each of which has a locking screw in the centre. The action is super smooth and rapid too!
Overall, I am impressed with this saw-it is an industrial machine and built to very high standards. Fit and finish is superb, the machine performs as well as could possibly be expected and is built to last a lifetime. Every function has easy adjustability to ensure it performs perfectly. When you see Norm doing his table saw tricks this is the machine he is using-and trying to carry out some of the tasks he does on an inferior table saw is dangerous (and could well be on this one). But the simple solidity of this saw is impressive and inspires and allows you to carry out work to a high standard of accuracy.
Do I recommend it? Without a doubt this is the best tablesaw I have ever seen in the flesh-it is head and shoulders above the ally tabled saws and budget machinery you see for sale in the magazines. Indeed this is a machine from an age past. I wish Woodford would market them more heavily, but from what I hear they are struggling to cope wth the demand for them!
Price £998+vat
The "Dado Section" Please avoid this section if of a delicate disposition.................
Of course, you all want to know about the dado capability, right?
I purchased a Frued stacked dado set from my local Machine mart (a very nice set-mighty large lumps of carbide....). To use a dado head obviously the standard throat insert is of no use. I made a replacement from some scrap hardwood by sticking it to the original and routering around it with a bearing guided cutter. The insert was fitted and held in place with some scrap and a clamp while the saw was slowly raised throuh it to provide a "zero clearance" insert. In use the dado cut a very clean rabbet through some plywood in my test runs. If used safely and correctly I can't see any problems arising from it's use. (in fact I found the dado to be a bit of a let down after the years of "dado-itis" I have encountered in the UK press and internet forums....
This saw has a serious amount of power and in use the dado didn't cause any noticable drop in power-it just motored on through. It was a lot quicker than using a router as you can cut the whole rabbet in one go, as quick as crosscutting.
Obviously, my routers have nothing to fear, but for through dado's and rabbets I will be using my dado head. (guards removed for clarity, of course....)
If I have forgotten anything or anyone has any questions fire away!
best regards
Philly
