Axy AC216TS or Draper 82385 Table Saw.

[Peri]

I'm just an average weekend woodist with a small single garage workshop.

I make small stuff - boxes, models, miniature furniture etc, so accuracy in a TS is one of my main requirements.

I have a cheap site saw that I inherited years ago, and finally decided to spend the cash and buy the Axminster Craft AC216TS Link fpr £529

I've just found this thread discussing the Draper 82385 Full kit that's still available for £288.

I'm tempted buy the Draper, but I feel the Axy would be better quality and more suitable....... Any opinions on what would be the best course to follow?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[bp122]

Hi Steve

I'm very much like you, but probably far behind in experience in terms of projects.

However, about two months ago, I did splash out on the Axminster AC216, when it was for £599

Anyway, the saw is actually really good, despite the hours of "tune up" necessary - but I guess that is true with all machinery, especially ones that don't cost £1000s

The cast top is very good, has two mitre tracks as opposed to one in the previous version of this saw. The fence is good too.
The cast table also has tapped holes on all sides so you can make your own extension tables. I recommend it.
Only gripes I have with this saw are:
1. The riving knife is about 15-17mm higher than the top of the blade - which makes it really difficult for making dadoes or any sort of cut where the work piece is only partially cut to a specific height. But I am solving that issue by getting a new riving knife laser cut from my old company for free

2. The throat plate is awful as it is die cast aluminium that has a hole cut in it - as a result of the residual stresses, it is all warped ( looks like a sine wave) When you screw it down to th cast top, it is slightly better, but making it perfectly flush with the top on all sides is next to impossible. Hence I am making a zero clearance insert for it soon.

However, I do not know about the draper option, but I did consider the Charnwood one for about £650 or something, which also had good reviews, but it is a bit bigger in size despite having the same blade diameter.

I hope this helps.

 

[woodbloke66]

I'm just an average weekend woodist with a small single garage workshop.

I make small stuff - boxes, models, miniature furniture etc, so accuracy in a TS is one of my main requirements.

I have a cheap site saw that I inherited years ago, and finally decided to spend the cash and buy the Axminster Craft AC216TS Link fpr £529

I've just found this thread discussing the Draper 82385 Full kit that's still available for £288.

I'm tempted buy the Draper, but I feel the Axy would be better quality and more suitable....... Any opinions on what would be the best course to follow?

Thanks,

Steve

Depending on how you work, you don't need a table saw at all. Get hold of a much more useful (IMO) bandsaw and use a really great shooting board. Note that all the projects in the sig block below were built without recourse to a table saw - Rob

 

[Peri]

Thanks guys,

I phoned the people with the draper saws for advice during the week, spoke to a very nice guy called Jim, and he said the only one left was one they'd been using for display - so it was decide there and then, so I had it.

As i said, I was a bit dubious about anything 'Draper', but for that price, (and already assembled), with the sliding tables and extensions, I'd have needed a good reason to say no.

It arrived Friday, I set it up yesterday and then spent a few hours truing it up. I'd brought some DTI's and precision squares home from work, and it's now as accurate as it's possible for me to make it.

The blade was slightly out to the mitre slots ( only by about 0.2mm along its length), the sliding table hadn't been calibrated at all in the shop, and the measuring scale for the fence looks like it stretched when it was applied - apart from that I'm really impressed.

The riving knife is also a bit of an issue with the draper, and the mitre slots are a non-standard size which isn't ideal - but if I ever get annoyed enough I can take it to work and mill them out !

Rob, I have a small bandsaw, I love it, and my next wish is a bigger one

 

[Bodgers]

Hi Steve

I'm very much like you, but probably far behind in experience in terms of projects.

However, about two months ago, I did splash out on the Axminster AC216, when it was for £599

Anyway, the saw is actually really good, despite the hours of "tune up" necessary - but I guess that is true with all machinery, especially ones that don't cost £1000s

The cast top is very good, has two mitre tracks as opposed to one in the previous version of this saw. The fence is good too.
The cast table also has tapped holes on all sides so you can make your own extension tables. I recommend it.
Only gripes I have with this saw are:
1. The riving knife is about 15-17mm higher than the top of the blade - which makes it really difficult for making dadoes or any sort of cut where the work piece is only partially cut to a specific height. But I am solving that issue by getting a new riving knife laser cut from my old company for free

2. The throat plate is awful as it is die cast aluminium that has a hole cut in it - as a result of the residual stresses, it is all warped ( looks like a sine wave) When you screw it down to th cast top, it is slightly better, but making it perfectly flush with the top on all sides is next to impossible. Hence I am making a zero clearance insert for it soon.

However, I do not know about the draper option, but I did consider the Charnwood one for about £650 or something, which also had good reviews, but it is a bit bigger in size despite having the same blade diameter.

I hope this helps.

The AC216TS has never been 599 for the saw itself. It was always £499, until recently when it has gone up a bit.

If you think the 216 throat plate isn't up to snuff you should try the old Axy TS200 or the Draper - they only have full support on one side.

The main benefit of the 216 over the Draper and other clones is the fact it is a "proper" cabinet saw with full cast iron trunnions. This means the blade doesn't change its distance to the table when titled. It is also significantly heavier than the others and mass is always a good thing for these static saws.

My setup experience was much better out of the box. I found almost no fiddling was needed compared to my old TS200.


Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk

 

[bp122]

The AC216TS has never been 599 for the saw itself. It was always £499, until recently when it has gone up a bit.

- I can't believe I got this detail wrong . It's because I bought various other bits and bobs with it ( clamps, glue, screws etc) which added the total to be another £100. So in the back of my head I always thought I paid £599. Sorry for my confusion.



[/quote]If you think the 216 throat plate isn't up to snuff you should try the old Axy TS200 or the Draper - they only have full support on one side.[/quote]

- I still stand by this, although I don't know about the other table saws. Mine one, the either side of the throat slot have an overall deviation of 5.5 mm ( 3mm on the slim side and 2.5 on the wide side). This heavily influences the cuts for especially thinner stock which are narrow.

[/quote]The main benefit of the 216 over the Draper and other clones is the fact it is a "proper" cabinet saw with full cast iron trunnions. This means the blade doesn't change its distance to the table when titled. It is also significantly heavier than the others and mass is always a good thing for these static saws. [/quote]
+1 on all points here.

[/quote]
My setup experience was much better out of the box. I found almost no fiddling was needed compared to my old TS200.


Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk[/quote]