Another sore saw question (from a newbie ish)

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Woody Alan

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Hello to you all. I am in a bit of a dilemma, I can't make a decision. My old Wadkin tradseman cabinet saw may have to go in favour of a new saw. I have been researching, and have come to these conclusions. Jet not quite the saw I want. xcalibur certainly could be and so could the scheppach 2500ci also if I could be confident of its quality the Record. I need to narrow this down before I travel miles to look. I think the crux of it is, is the scheppach several hundred pounds better than the xcalibur (ignoring the sliding table for now) as it's at the top of my budget. The xcalibur looks a little heavier. Has anyone compared the two? or is there any other saw I should look at? Quietness? stability?
Or should I just fit linkbelts to my old Wadkin? Phew! a lot of questions.

Alan
 
Welcome to the forum, Alan. Excellent nickname. :lol: :lol: Naturally I'm not the person to answer this one; my instinct will always be for the old 'arn and thus the Wadkin. :oops:

Cheers, Alf
 
Woody Alan":jl4vdvr2 said:
(ignoring the sliding table for now)

It would be a shame to do that. A sliding table is such a useful accessory that I would not consider a table saw that didn't have a good sliding table, and one with a decent traverse as well (mine crosscuts 1400mm)

John
 
Alan
I have the Xcaliber 10 inch cabinet saw-it is an industrial quality table saw. Huge construction, massive components and very powerful. Also extremely accurate, vibration free and built to last a lifetime. There is a sliding table available that just bolts on (holes already tapped and ready to go!)
I love mine-it is worth every penny. It is extremely accurate and all I could ever hope for.
Hope this helps,
Philly :D
 
Hi Alan,

Welcome to the forum. :D

Woody Alan":1c4rpjql said:
My old Wadkin tradseman cabinet saw may have to go in favour of a new saw.
OK then just what is this saw like?
I have upgraded to a Wadkin AGS, bought off ebay, motor changed, over head dust collection added, under table dust collection MkII about to be discarded for MkIII. :roll: The saw is a great bit of kit, old iron, lots of it, solid with standard mitre slots. I have a mitre guide and tennionig jig that fit straight on and work a treat :D
Just don't tell Norm his kit works in a British saw. :-$

Woody Alan":1c4rpjql said:
Or should I just fit linkbelts to my old Wadkin? Phew! a lot of questions.
So does it have a long belt with the motor out the back? Mine has three short belts and the motor under the right side of the table. I understand that link belts make the drive smoother, but I could only find them in A section and mine uses the smaller Z section belts.

If your interested take a look at this thread about my saw.

Well as you can see I offer a total unbiased :^o view of which saw you should be using. :wink: Let us know what you decide. :)
 
Thanks All for replies, lets see if I can answer each one of your individual thrusts. Alf, Hi I may be an old 'un but that's no reason to pick the Wadkin ( actually not that old). John, I'm not really discounting the sliding table in itself, as Phil points out one is available for the xcalibur, I just need to get my head round what is a good starting point ( leaning towards the sheppach as I can get one down the road). Phil, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, do you sleep with your xcalibur? :lol: I've looked at your posts and website and it gives me great pleasure to see a man so happy with a bit of machinery. Do you give seminars, could you explain it to my wife? . Dave I wish my wadkin was of the same class. It is a Brazillian import, the motor hangs out the back two belts and when mitre cutting the tail of the motor raises above the table surface. I have overhauled it and it cuts fine +- 1/1000 but there is a small amount of vibration that niggles. I can supply pictures if anyone is intrigued enough. The table is dead flat and no run out on arbor(engineering mate saw to that) mitre guide no play (tool steel for that) fence rock solid. Damn it why do I want a new one again.

Alan
 
Alan,

I am sorry your saw is not the same as mine, but I think that a link belt set should help with the vibration. 8) As for do we want pictures, what a very silly question. :wink:
 
Ok I'll see what I can do tommorrow for piccies, first I have to run the gauntlett of the drinking class....work.

Alan
 
Few things to check before dropping big notes on a new saw. Check that the existing belts do not have a set in them. Take them off and see what shape they take when lying flat. Nice even circular shape then they's no set although belt quality may be an issue. Oblong shape or worse will cause vibration. Some belts run more evenly and quieter than others.
If the arbor is ok what about the arbor pulleys and the motor pulleys? Clean? Are they cast or milled, aluminium or steel? Steel milled are best. Pulleys all co-planar?
Any vibration with the motor running and belts off? if so motor shaft and/or motors pulleys at fault. Remove the motor pulleys and see how sweet the motor runs.
Lots of questions and points but all important issues.
If you find the belts are a problem switch to link belts and if needed milled pulleys. Hopefully your motor spindle is ok.
Presume you mean bevel cuts rather than mitre cuts when you say the end of the motors rises above the table. If so I suspect the motor may be hanging too high in which case your belts are too short which might be a contributing factor to the vibration.
Rgds

Noel
 
Alan,
My saw is one I made up from two old saws. The motor hangs out at the back and used to rise above the table when cutting a mitre but I managed to switch the motor to the other side of the support bracket.It meant changing the direction of spin on the motor but that is very simple to do.
 
Noel the belts should be OK they were new and supposedly matched from my local bearing supplier, that's not to say they're not causing the problem (someting is). Pulleys are milled alloy if I recall, I cannot get to them just yet. I am not sure what you mean by co planar..concentric? or inline with each other? even with belts longer the motor raising to high would still be a problem. Jaymar cannot do as you suggest it's just not possible. Not all motors are reversable by the way. pictures included.

Alan

sawfront0yp.jpg

sawback9bz.jpg
 
Woody Alan":13pjudrm said:
Not all motors are reversable by the way.

Hi Woody, sorry to disagree with you, but ALL motors are reversible, it is just that some are easier than others
 
Alan, coplanar = pulleys are exactly in line with each other (the one on the motor and the corresponding one on the saw).
Interesting saw. Rockwell / Delta motor (made by Leeson or Marathon?).
Is the motor bracket fixed (looks as if it is)? Or attached to the trunions so that it swings when making bevel cuts? Can see how the start capacitor would rise above the table in that case. Just wasn't sure in your original post when you mentioned this happening with "mitre" cuts.
The points that you haven't covered in my last post are still worth investigating.

Noel
 
Tony

Feel free to disagree it's what discussion is all about. I just picked this up from axminsters range of motors which is what made me question the "ALL" are reversible theory, perhaps they haven't tried hard enough.
quote:- A new range of compact, low weight, aluminium bodied motors suitable for new applications or for the repair and upgrade of existing machines. They are smooth running, have low noise levels and deliver a high starting torque. All the motors are single phase supply and there is a choice of 2 pole running at 2850 rpm or 4 pole running at 1425 rpm. Four sizes of motor are offered in each of the two types. Direction of rotation is clockwise when viewed on the drive shaft and cannot be altered.:-end quote
Noel Will check remaining points when I get a chance. Brackets not fixed and swing when making bevel cuts. Where can I get link belts and is there a modern version or are they still the old designs. I thought they were an emergency belt not really suited to heavy duty. I'll look to see the maker later on.

Alan
 
Alan, from an earlier post:
"don't know if there is a size to suit your application but try Fenner Power Twist link belts. Many advantages over the usual Vee belt - build up to your required size, smoother running and almost no vibration, no memory (the pulleys will not form a curve at each end and contribute to noise and vibration) and longer lasting.
I've been using then for a few years and would never go back to regular belts. Got mine at http://www.wyko.co.uk/ Should be a branch near you. Maybe about £5 per ft, but well worth it. "

Don't know if they've improved the design, no real reason to as they work so well. Although my TS didn't vibrate too much to begin with, I've found the link belt a big asset for the reasons mentioned above. I can stand a 5p peice on end, start the saw, cut wood, switch off and the 5p remains on end.

Noel
 
TX
You lot giggle all you want-it is my dream saw, it performs better than I could imagine and its finally paid for. :roll:
Look out for my forthcoming seminar "My Table Saw Sweetheart", also available on cast iron DVD. :lol:
Cheers
Philly :norm:
 
noel its more like £10+ per foot +vat my woodford still has its original belt ,as £40+ was a bit to steep for a belt .
 
Look out for my forthcoming seminar "My Table Saw Sweetheart", also available on cast iron DVD.

"Shortly to be available at a good discount in a pubs near you, in chinese pirated form."?
 
frank":2iph8oua said:
noel its more like £10+ per foot +vat my woodford still has its original belt ,as £40+ was a bit to steep for a belt .

Frank, works out at £17.47 per metre (for 1/2" size) including Vat. That's from my local branch in Belfast. But, as I think you mentioned before most saws may need slightly over a metre and if there's a jobsworth behind the counter you'll have to buy 2 metres worth. Ask nicely and the guy may be generous in his measuring up.

Noel
 

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