choice of 2 table saws!

[RichardWatson]

Hello everyone. Long time reader, first time poster here.
I'd like to quickly say thank you to everyone who posts here, all of your advice has been invaluable to me as I don't have a network of friends also doing woodwork.

Anyway - on to my dilemma.
I have been trying to find a tablesaw for my studio here in Amsterdam for over a year but budget and power supply have been holding me back for a long time. There are so many second hand options on Marktplaats (Dutch gumtree) and sites like BVA auctions, but all of them are 380v and I don't have the option of this, so I'm limited to regular household power.

Currently the HBM 600 A (a clone of the SIP 01332?) is on sale for €999 with sliding table. My other option is the older Excalibur 10" tilting arbour saw (1.5ho) which I saw on here for great reviews and it can be mine for £500 (around €570) plus shipping. Sorry I am unable to post links! Hopefully a quick search will turn them up

I'm currently on the train to see the HBM but I wanted to know, as I'm unable to see the xcalibur in person - does anyone have experience with both of these saws? Considering the price I would lean towards the xcalibur but is the HBM/SIP much more saw for the money?

I make furniture primarily from solid wood, though the table saw will allow me to branch out into plywood construction too. My next project is going to be building speakers and amplifiers so the ability to accurately mitre is crucial. With the table saw I hope to use it also for joinery such as box joints etc.

Anyway - I think I have gone on long enough. I hope that someone on here can help me come to a descision!
And thanks again for all of your help in the past (although you won't have know you have been helping!!

Best,
Richard Watson

 

[slemishwoodcrafts]

I have the sip 01332 and find it to be very accurate once it is set up correctly. At 3 hp it's more than powerful enough to cut through solid timber and can handle plywood and mdf like a knife through butter.
The Excalibur takes a dado which would speed up your box joint making process. I've not used it though but tempted by one every so often


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[RichardWatson]

Hey slemish!
Thanks for the reply! How do you find the fence? There were two machines in store - one without sliding table and one with (+ a lot of rust!!) - with both of them I found the fence was not moving squarely and needed to be checked and nudged to get it square to the mitre slot. (If it's the same fence - it was listed as 'align a rip')
I couldn't see any obvious ways to adjust it, however it is a completely new fence system to me. Is it easily done or have you found a different way of working around the fence?

Best,
Rich

 

[slemishwoodcrafts]

I'll take a couple of photos tomorrow morning of the fence to see if it's the same one. If memory serves me there are adjustment screws at the back. It's been so long since I've adjusted it because it's still square.
I've not got the sliding table on my saw, mostly to lack of room but I would quite like it if I can move to bigger premises!


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