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azk404

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Helllo

I generally don’t get involved with Black Friday ‘deals’ as being my skeptic self I’ve always though it was a bit scammy and have heard that some companies may increase prices throughout the year only to drop it for BF.

Anyway, I have just renovated my garage into a workshop to start woodworking properly and have been wanting a table saw for a while. I was already looking to buy either the Axminster AW216 or AW254 anyway but now they have come down in price for BF it feels a bit more attractive, as I’ve read about a gripes owners have.

So my question is, have people have noticed from pervious years with Axminster if these BF prices actually get even lower in the new year as i would like to get it this year but I could be patient and wait maybe 😅.

—

Also, I’ve heard people complain that the riveting knife is higher than the blade. Could this be safely trimmed down at all?

Cheers
Az
 
What will you be making ?

That's a lot of money for a small saw.
My first thoughts looking at it were :
"I can buy a superb mafell tracksaw and the 2 rail kit for that money".
"A bandsaw might well do everything this can, and more, and quieter".
"Pity Elu aren't still around and making their TGS flipover saw".
"And none of these would take up more space".
 
I got the AC216 last year (since rebadged as AW but it's the same machine) and payed a lot more than the current deal price, honestly I'd be kicking myself but I've got a lot of use out of it in the last year so don't mind. This is the best price I've seen it for, but it's not like I've paid much attention since buying mine!

There's also a discount code for ten percent off at Axminster: SAVETEN which stacks with the black Friday deals (at least it worked for me this morning) so that'll get you another ten percent off.
 
Black Friday, they seem to be more regular than ever and not just on a Friday or just a single day so should be called a black week.

As for the riving knife being higher than the blade it should make no difference because it just sits in the cut made by the blade and you have to cut right through.

As @Sideways has asked, what are you making or going to be cutting mostly because the tracksaw is better for sheet goods and the table saw for more bulky timber and ripping. If you want to cut full sheets on a tablesaw then you need a large workshop and ideally a proper sliding table saw to do it safely.
 
My 2 cents based on my personal experience:

I bought the AC216 (now renamed AW216)

  • The fence (at least in my saw) was only good enough to be thrown away, so I made my own
  • Saw was quiet, yes, but did struggle to get through 40mm thick beech. Oak wasn't an issue on most occasions.
  • For the riving knife, I bought a spare one from them and trimmed it down. Alternated with the untrimmed one when needed.
  • It is a very expensive saw for its size, capacity and "refinement"(most of the time it was too small to do something, so out came the track saw).
  • If you have the space, wait for a large used cabinet saw bargain on here / Gumtree / eBay / Facebook and will have a much better experience overall. Or listen to @Sideways and get a good track saw if working only with sheet goods, if not get a 14" / 16" used bandsaw for that money and save your money, ears, lungs and sanity!
 
I'm surprised by your experience @bp122 , I've had no issue with the fence or power on mine!
Though it goes to show we all have different needs and requirements, I use mine alongside a Makita track saw and a small bandsaw and find everything I need is covered nicely, but we're probably making different things and using different materials. I'd definitely not have space for a large cabinet saw as per your suggestion and until @azk404 gives a bit more information about their requirements it's difficult to offer much advice.
How did you go about ordering a spare riving knife by the way? I can't find it listed on their website, did you go direct to customer support?

Ps. I have no affiliation with Axminster, I just found at the time that the AC216 ticked all the boxes for me and I've been very pleased with it for over a year now. Though I'm not in a position to be comparing against big old lumps of cast iron cabinet saws, for me it was either this or a Makita/Bosch/DeWalt/whatever site style saw.
 
frankendoodle65 said:
I'm surprised by your experience @bp122 , I've had no issue with the fence or power on mine!
Though it goes to show we all have different needs and requirements, I use mine alongside a Makita track saw and a small bandsaw and find everything I need is covered nicely, but we're probably making different things and using different materials. I'd definitely not have space for a large cabinet saw as per your suggestion and until @azk404 gives a bit more information about their requirements it's difficult to offer much advice.
How did you go about ordering a spare riving knife by the way? I can't find it listed on their website, did you go direct to customer support?

Ps. I have no affiliation with Axminster, I just found at the time that the AC216 ticked all the boxes for me and I've been very pleased with it for over a year now. Though I'm not in a position to be comparing against big old lumps of cast iron cabinet saws, for me it was either this or a Makita/Bosch/DeWalt/whatever site style saw.
Click to expand...
I'm glad it is working well for you.

On mine, pretty much all cuts were fine except thick beech. There would be a lot of burn marks and smell from the wood.

Also, my blade wobbled by 0.35mm (measured). When I informed Axminster, they said they would replace the item if the wobble was over 0.5mm, otherwise no. Maybe this wobble contributed to the burning, not sure.

My aluminium throat insert plate (supplied with the saw) was distorted, so had called them up. They issued a free replacement but when I received it, they had sent their aluminium zero insert instead. But during that phone call I learnt that most of their spares isn't listed on their website. You have to call them and tell them which part, they will process the order over the phone for you.

Later on I learnt a better trick for riving knives is to trace the shape on an old table saw blade (the non-toothed part). It is stronger, thickness is perfect and doesn't cost you £25! The supplied riving knife is made of chocolate steel, so bends easily.
 
frankendoodle65 said:
I'm surprised by your experience @bp122 , I've had no issue with the fence or power on mine!
Though it goes to show we all have different needs and requirements, I use mine alongside a Makita track saw and a small bandsaw and find everything I need is covered nicely, but we're probably making different things and using different materials. I'd definitely not have space for a large cabinet saw as per your suggestion and until @azk404 gives a bit more information about their requirements it's difficult to offer much advice.
How did you go about ordering a spare riving knife by the way? I can't find it listed on their website, did you go direct to customer support?

Ps. I have no affiliation with Axminster, I just found at the time that the AC216 ticked all the boxes for me and I've been very pleased with it for over a year now. Though I'm not in a position to be comparing against big old lumps of cast iron cabinet saws, for me it was either this or a Makita/Bosch/DeWalt/whatever site style saw.
Click to expand...
Also, they changed the attachment method between the fence carriage and the fence after I and many others suggested it to Axminster. Maybe since then it has been alright.
 
Thanks bp122, I'll give them a ring and see if I can get a spare riving knife to play with.
Re. The fence, I do remember hearing they'd revised the design now you mention it. Once I'd set mine up square it's stayed perfect so whatever changes they made must have helped, or I just got lucky.
I've not had any issues with blade wobble or burning, but again it's possible I just got lucky. That's always the issue with tool reviews, just because I got a good one doesn't mean the next person will! I've cut plenty of thick softwood, birch plywood and approx. 25mm oak, 30mm iroko and other miscellaneous hardwoods without issue. Admittedly the only beech I've cut with it was approx. 18mm, no problems there but that's nowhere close to the max depth of cut.
 
On the riving knife issue, due to the way the overhead guard is fitted the riving knife has to be taller than the blade, if modifying the knife to lower its height, you will not be able to have an overhead guard without modification, my solution below:

DSC01413.jpeg
 
Thank for the replies....

ahha whoops riving knife I was meant to say :)

So I already own a Makita track saw, router, chopsaw etc and have been using this to build some cabinets around around the house and other little bits, garden furniture etc, but I really want to start working with hardwoods and eventually learn how to break down and process slabs into furniture. So short to long term goal would be to have a side hustle/hobby in furniture making.

I will still work with plywood but after building a load of cabinets with a track saw id much rather cut it down to size with that then finish the job on a table saw, much better for repeat cuts and time.

Honestly, if the economic future wasn't so dismal atm I would probably get the AP254lts pro saw on finance but I feel the AW216/254 is a decent middle ground for the next couple years (I hope) with the price they are now. With the price drop I'd probably go for the 254 for more cutting power when working with hardwoods.

I will also be modifying the left hand extension to work on the right so I have more ripping width if needed. I spoke to a Axminster rep and he basically said this was ok, also that an official right hand extension will be coming out next year at some point for the more patient people.

Im not sure what other new saw would be similar to look at other than contractors saws, if there are any suggestions please let me know? 🙏 Personally I don't want to get a second hand fixer upper yet.

Trimming the riving knife would mainly be to gain some more workshop table surface space, buts it not vital. @bp122 are you saying to basically make your own knife out of stronger materials?

@MikeJhn Cheers Mike that looks good. Does it work well? Got any model plans for it?
Is that the 216 or 254, any opinions on how you've found it?

Oh I also thought about just getting the leg stand (for now) rather than the cabinet stand but if anyone would object to the leg stand being pony please let me know :)

cheers
az
 
azk404 said:
Thank for the replies....

ahha whoops riving knife I was meant to say :)

So I already own a Makita track saw, router, chopsaw etc and have been using this to build some cabinets around around the house and other little bits, garden furniture etc, but I really want to start working with hardwoods and eventually learn how to break down and process slabs into furniture. So short to long term goal would be to have a side hustle/hobby in furniture making.

I will still work with plywood but after building a load of cabinets with a track saw id much rather cut it down to size with that then finish the job on a table saw, much better for repeat cuts and time.

Honestly, if the economic future wasn't so dismal atm I would probably get the AP254lts pro saw on finance but I feel the AW216/254 is a decent middle ground for the next couple years (I hope) with the price they are now. With the price drop I'd probably go for the 254 for more cutting power when working with hardwoods.

I will also be modifying the left hand extension to work on the right so I have more ripping width if needed. I spoke to a Axminster rep and he basically said this was ok, also that an official right hand extension will be coming out next year at some point for the more patient people.

Im not sure what other new saw would be similar to look at other than contractors saws, if there are any suggestions please let me know? 🙏 Personally I don't want to get a second hand fixer upper yet.

Trimming the riving knife would mainly be to gain some more workshop table surface space, buts it not vital. @bp122 are you saying to basically make your own knife out of stronger materials?

@MikeJhn Cheers Mike that looks good. Does it work well? Got any model plans for it?
Is that the 216 or 254, any opinions on how you've found it?

Oh I also thought about just getting the leg stand (for now) rather than the cabinet stand but if anyone would object to the leg stand being pony please let me know :)

cheers
az
Click to expand...
Yes, you can make your own riving knife out of good materials if you are handy with an angle grinder and files.

The extensions that come with the AW216 and AW254 are really substandard and are not straight, the welding is poor. I'd just make new extensions out of ply or MDF with a good support structure underneath.

And I did not mean get a fixer upper. A few months ago I saw an iTech 10" table saw which is the same as a Sip or Axminster trade version (basically a full fledge table saw) with solid fence, cast iron extensions in excellent working condition for around £600-£700 on Facebook, there was another similar spec on here not too long ago.

You might think the smaller saws are good middle ground, on paper they are, but in reality, having used both types of saws, the bigger saws are leaps and bounds better.

Not trying to change your mind necessarily, just saying to go and try / use / see both types in a shop or mate's garage and you will see the difference.

I didn't know how inferior the AC216 was until I tried @Fidget's iTech table saw. Night and day, mate.

Since getting a man sized bandsaw, I have been a huge advocate for it over the table saw if only one can be had. But if you decide to get a table saw, get a proper one would be my strong advice.

In also tried another mate's DeWalt site saw. Even that was a better saw in terms of accuracy and usability at a third of the weight, only gripe would be the noise and a bit of harshness.
 
Last edited:
If you see most of the 3 star reviews on Axminster website, they mention almost the same issues.

Wobbly blade, poor fence and bad quality control in many places.
 
azk404 said:
I guess this isn't such a bad price considering - iTECH 01332 250mm Table Saw Bench

🥲
Click to expand...
That's what I meant. Especially if you can find a 2 to 3 year old used one, you usually get it for the same price as the smaller saws you are looking at plus extras that people include in the sale such as spare blades, wheeled stand /trolley, mitre gauges, even a sliding carriage (if you are lucky) - which will cost you a fair few hundred quid on their own.
 

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