Axminster TS200 - First impressions

[Bodgers]

I can't imagine having to do one as shallow as 1mm or less (even if I did have a modified riving knife that allowed it).

http://woodgears.ca/shop-tricks/tearout.html

(though by using a crosscut sled the blade is obviously much higher than 1mm, so it's maybe moot)

Yeah, I have seen that one before.

Not going to happen with the standard riving knife in place here though.


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[sploo]

Yeah, I have seen that one before.

Not going to happen with the standard riving knife in place here though.

Yep - I've got a set of spare knives and I plan to grind one so that it would be 1-2mm below the top of the blade - such that cuts over the blade (or a very shallow scoring cut as shown in the video) would be possible.

 

[Bodgers]

So I went and sorted out the blade/table alignment and did some more tweaks to the fence/table alignment, and I can fully say that I am totally happy with this machine now.

To be honest, other than put the little wedges in the fence clamp to prevent the sliding judder, I haven't really done anything other than what it suggests in the manual, and I now have the blade running to within 0.2mm accuracy to the mitre slots (table end to end, with a steel 600mm rule across the blade and a digital gauge to the mitre slot).

The fence now pretty much consistently can be clamped down to within 0.2-0.4mm of the mitre slots as long as you put a little bit of pressure on the clamp with you left hand as you tighten it.

The blade alignment I found very straightforward to adjust, as it says in the manual, you have to loosen the four table top Allen bolts and then move the blade assembly to correct it. After a couple of attempts to get it where it needed to be, there was enough play to get it aligned.

The fence alignment was pretty much down to how well the rails are bolted and aligned to the body. There is movement in the fence when you tighten it, but you just need to compensate for that with the rail alignment.

So, basically, if you can live with the fence judder, and the fact that the extension table pressed steel top is junk, you can pretty much take this out of the box, spend a couple of evenings tweaking it according to the manual and you can have something that cuts accurately and quietly for not a lot of money.

By way of proof, I finished up by ripping the tongue off a length of oak flooring. The length that I ripped off is completely dead straight and left a very flush finish on the main board. I have the fine Axcalibur cross cut blade, so I am sure if I fitted that, with cross cuts, even the finish would be very smooth.




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[mahomo59]

Cheers guys.

 

[Willy]

...

- I heard the pressed steel extension table wasn't up to much, but it is really bad. When I first got it out of the box, I thought "how bad could it be?". Pretty bad actually. The aluminium rails that it hangs on, and connects to the saw by, are perfectly fine and true. Problem is the actual pressed steel table - it is a joke. Basically the pressing near the edges push the corners up, resulting in a difference in height of around 10mm between the edges and the middle. There is also a support strip welded half way on the underside, which results in more unevenness. I am going to swap it out for some thick birch ply at some point.

...

I don't quite understand in which direction your extension top is out of square, but 10mm is nuts! Is it possible your extension top is damaged? Might be worth asking Axminster about? After playing about with the levelling screws, my top is pretty good – though obviously not as flat as the cast iron.

One thing I noticed with the fence is that the source of the judder and movement seems to come from the tendency of the fence clamp nylon screw cap (if that makes sense?!) to ride against the fence rail. If you pull the fence clamp block back with your hand while you slide it, the judder seems to go away. This also stops the large lateral movement of the fence when tightening the clamp. So as you've done, packing it out is the right thing to do. I think I'll do the same but with some PTFE tape.

 

[Bodgers]

...

- I heard the pressed steel extension table wasn't up to much, but it is really bad. When I first got it out of the box, I thought "how bad could it be?". Pretty bad actually. The aluminium rails that it hangs on, and connects to the saw by, are perfectly fine and true. Problem is the actual pressed steel table - it is a joke. Basically the pressing near the edges push the corners up, resulting in a difference in height of around 10mm between the edges and the middle. There is also a support strip welded half way on the underside, which results in more unevenness. I am going to swap it out for some thick birch ply at some point.

...

I don't quite understand in which direction your extension top is out of square, but 10mm is nuts! Is it possible your extension top is damaged? Might be worth asking Axminster about? After playing about with the levelling screws, my top is pretty good – though obviously not as flat as the cast iron.

One thing I noticed with the fence is that the source of the judder and movement seems to come from the tendency of the fence clamp nylon screw cap (if that makes sense?!) to ride against the fence rail. If you pull the fence clamp block back with your hand while you slide it, the judder seems to go away. This also stops the large lateral movement of the fence when tightening the clamp. So as you've done, packing it out is the right thing to do. I think I'll do the same but with some PTFE tape.

It isn't damage. It's just how the thing is pressed out of steel. At the edge of the table the steel has been pressed at a right angle. This affects the overall straightness of the top. I will supply a photo if I can be bothered.

Pointless sending it back as the one they replace it with will be identical no doubt.

It is going to the scrap anyway as I am replacing it with a piece of 19mm thick plywood and adding a router table insert to it....



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[Random Orbital Bob]

I had one years ago....Axy replaced the top twice and on the third one I gave up and made one myself out of MFC. That's one of the reasons I hate this saw and always give it bad reviews....there are many other reasons...don't get me started on the fence and the underpowered motor and the Mitre track not being parallel to the blade and the runout as you raise the blade!!

Its a toy, and a horrible one at that. If you're making jewellery boxes 2 inch square it might help you but anything much larger and its a joke. Don't like to be so negative but it really was a steaming pile of excrement.

 

[Mark A]

I had one years ago....Axy replaced the top twice and on the third one I gave up and made one myself out of MFC. That's one of the reasons I hate this saw and always give it bad reviews....there are many other reasons...don't get me started on the fence and the underpowered motor and the Mitre track not being parallel to the blade and the runout as you raise the blade!!

Its a toy, and a horrible one at that. If you're making jewellery boxes 2 inch square it might help you but anything much larger and its a joke. Don't like to be so negative but it really was a steaming pile of excrement.

I agree completely. I once bought one but so much was wrong with the saw I sent it back.

 

[Bigbud78]

I had one years ago....Axy replaced the top twice and on the third one I gave up and made one myself out of MFC. That's one of the reasons I hate this saw and always give it bad reviews....there are many other reasons...don't get me started on the fence and the underpowered motor and the Mitre track not being parallel to the blade and the runout as you raise the blade!!

Its a toy, and a horrible one at that. If you're making jewellery boxes 2 inch square it might help you but anything much larger and its a joke. Don't like to be so negative but it really was a steaming pile of excrement.

What would you suggest for a budget saw ? The Ax is at the top of my list with a budget of £400

 

[Mrwilson]

I'm looking for a decent second hand Kity, Scheppach, Sip or something similar. Bought a cheap table top one to fill in meantime and had a laugh making it work properly. It'll do fine until the right low hours, decent one comes along.

Shug

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I had one years ago....Axy replaced the top twice and on the third one I gave up and made one myself out of MFC. That's one of the reasons I hate this saw and always give it bad reviews....there are many other reasons...don't get me started on the fence and the underpowered motor and the Mitre track not being parallel to the blade and the runout as you raise the blade!!

Its a toy, and a horrible one at that. If you're making jewellery boxes 2 inch square it might help you but anything much larger and its a joke. Don't like to be so negative but it really was a steaming pile of excrement.

What would you suggest for a budget saw ? The Ax is at the top of my list with a budget of £400

That's the perennial question I'm afraid. I personally......spent more and decided that budget saws weren't for me but if I were in that situation again and £400 was the absolute limit I would look at 2 options:

1) forget the table saw altogether and review track saws with a home made MFT/3 style clamping bench. Tracksaws have come a long way in recent years and can deliver accurate, repeatable and portable solutions...way better than regular hand held circular saws.
2) The Dewalt 745 which is of course aimed at contractors for site work. But it does everything a small saw should in that its flat, accurate, fence works, reasonable capacity etc (and portable). I've used one and liked it a lot but it is noisy as another poster said somewhere here.

The bottom line is I don't believe there is a viable cabinet saw available for that budget, its just too little. Second hand is of course the other very viable option. Table saws survive very well second hand and that's a great way to get a better saw for less money...its the new market that is tricky.

 

[Bodgers]

I had one years ago....Axy replaced the top twice and on the third one I gave up and made one myself out of MFC. That's one of the reasons I hate this saw and always give it bad reviews....there are many other reasons...don't get me started on the fence and the underpowered motor and the Mitre track not being parallel to the blade and the runout as you raise the blade!!

Its a toy, and a horrible one at that. If you're making jewellery boxes 2 inch square it might help you but anything much larger and its a joke. Don't like to be so negative but it really was a steaming pile of excrement.

Things may have improved.
The top on mine is actually pretty good. Probably the best part of it.

Not sure what you were ripping, but mine seems to deal with large lengths of solid oak flooring without breaking a sweat.




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[DennisCA]

Honestly after having gotten used to vintage machines I have a hard time seeing how people can buy these machines with all these flaws and shoddy manufacturing and still recommend them, I can't believe I myself once considered it's slightly larger cousin.

I suppose it's a good thing not everyone realizes the deals and better quality you get on the 2nd hand market though, if they did then all the deals would disappear.

 

[Rhossydd]

I suppose it's a good thing not everyone realizes the deals and better quality you get on the 2nd hand market though

What alternatives are there for a small 'vintage' table saw ?

Sure there are some great bargains if you have the space for a full sized table saw, but many of us simply haven't the space for them.

 

[DennisCA]

Granted in such cramped conditions it becomes very difficult, I'd probably seriously consider moving to some less cramped place with cheaper property prices. But I do recall Inca made good quality small table saws.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I honestly think that if conditions are that cramped then a table saw shouldn't be on the wish list. A different solution is needed and if it were me I'd get a track saw. Of course they're not quite as flexible for repeat cuts etc as reference points like fences and stops are a moving feast but some compromise is inevitable if space and/or budget is a limiting factor.

If sheet goods cutting is a strong part of the requirement I'd place them better than even a normal sized cabinet saw unless it had tons of outfeed taking up enormous amounts of space.

 

[Rhossydd]

I honestly think that if conditions are that cramped then a table saw shouldn't be on the wish list. A different solution is needed and if it were me I'd get a track saw.

Really ? Just how good are track saws at cutting tenons on window or door frames ? waving around metre long tracks needs a fair bit of space in itself.

Yes, the TS200 & 250 are cheap and that compromises build quality, but as has been seen here time and time again it can be easily fettled into a good accurate little saw that can be really useful in a compact workshop.

 

[Rhossydd]

I'd probably seriously consider moving to some less cramped place with cheaper property prices.

Ridiculous

 

[DennisCA]

What's ridiculous is living cooped up like a hen in an egg factory. If you can swing it, always live as far away from a city as is plausible.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I honestly think that if conditions are that cramped then a table saw shouldn't be on the wish list. A different solution is needed and if it were me I'd get a track saw.

Really ? Just how good are track saws at cutting tenons on window or door frames ? waving around metre long tracks needs a fair bit of space in itself.

Yes, the TS200 & 250 are cheap and that compromises build quality, but as has been seen here time and time again it can be easily fettled into a good accurate little saw that can be really useful in a compact workshop.

It's inevitable that with limits in space and budget something will have to give...the solution just becomes a competition between compromises. My personal experience with the TS200 is that its a compromise so far that I will never again subject myself to its hideousness.....how other folks view it is of course entirely their prerogative and I sincerely hope they have a better experience than I. To document all the things a tracksaw cant do well is just underlining the compromise we're already discussing. I see little value in "selling" one idea over the other since they both contain compromises. The question is which compromise are you prepared to endure.