My first table saw - so many options!

[Mike_5]

Hi,

I've done some light reading on table saws, and soon felt myself drifting in the Makita direction (I like their brand and haven't been let down yet).

I saw the Makita 2704 which got quite a good review on a few review articles. I looked at the Makita and saw the MAKITA MLT100 240V TABLE SAW 1500W being the "little sister" of the 2704. Noticeably, about £280 cheaper too!

It is quite unlikely that I will need to cut 4 foot x 8 foot sheets as I'll get this done at a local B&Q if needed. Apart from that, no other features really stands out.

My current main aim of a table saw is the accurate cutting.

I only do woodwork as a hobby and for DIY around the house, so the MTL100 with a £360 price tag really is attractive.

Guidance on anything else I should look at would be great.

Thanks

Mike

 

[MattRoberts]

Dodge is selling the Axminster equivalent to that type of saw in the for sale forum. Might be worth a look?

 

[Bodgers]

Hi,

I've done some light reading on table saws, and soon felt myself drifting in the Makita direction (I like their brand and haven't been let down yet).

I saw the Makita 2704 which got quite a good review on a few review articles. I looked at the Makita and saw the MAKITA MLT100 240V TABLE SAW 1500W being the "little sister" of the 2704. Noticeably, about £280 cheaper too!

It is quite unlikely that I will need to cut 4 foot x 8 foot sheets as I'll get this done at a local B&Q if needed. Apart from that, no other features really stands out.

My current main aim of a table saw is the accurate cutting.

I only do woodwork as a hobby and for DIY around the house, so the MTL100 with a £360 price tag really is attractive.

Guidance on anything else I should look at would be great.

Thanks

Mike

Depends what you are doing.

When I was doing research on these 'site saw' style tablesaws the Bosch GTS 10 seemed to always come out on top, and the Makita was often bottom of the pile (behind the Dewalts).

If you are using it in a workshop rather than being on-site, your money is probably better invested in a unit with a quieter induction motor and a cast iron top...Axminster TS250 mk2 maybe


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[Mike_5]

I never looked at the Axminster series as they didn't populate in any Google review searches.

Are they other table saw reviews you can refer me to? Most of mine seem to be US reviews.

I'm new to this site too, so if there are internal articles, let me know.

Thanks

 

[Bodgers]

There is a turner type person on YouTube...Mike? He's done a review of the Bosch. It is fairly in depth. There is plenty of stuff on YouTube for the site saws.

Search this form for anything on the TS200 or TS250. There is a larger SIP tablesaw that comes in under the pricier Makita you mentioned as well.



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[Sheptonphil]

There is a turner type person on YouTube...Mike? He's done a review of the Bosch. It is fairly in depth. There is plenty of stuff on YouTube for the site saws.

Search this form for anything on the TS200 or TS250. There is a larger SIP tablesaw that comes in under the pricier Makita you mentioned as well.



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Yes, Mike Walt for the Bosch review. I can't justify, but would really like the Axminter AW10BSB2 http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-trade-series-aw10bsb2-saw-bench-ax884465 for a little more than the Bosch. So I'm holding out till either I can justify it or just say sod it I'm a long time dead and just go for it anyways.

So AW10BSB2 for me.

Phil

 

[giantbeat]

I had an MTL100, it was awful & so noisy, its started with a very unnerving loud bang each time, i had nothing but trouble with it, everything is flimsy on them & it could not handle cutting 2" oak, one day it decided to spontaneously combust after very little use & was under no load at the time... Makita replaced it, but i was done & had no confidence in it, i nervously finished the job i started & then sold it, i could never recommend one to anyone.

bought a Bosch GTS 10 XC instead, that was the saw i ruled out for being too much £££, i put the extra cash i needed on the plastic & paid it of over time, i have not regretted it for a minute, in fact i cure the fact i went for the cheaper option to start with. its super quiet, was 100% setup straight out of the box, its accurate, sturdy & still compact enough to be moved about or put out the way. i like the fact that all accessories & spare blades attaches to the saw & are kept neat. worth every penny.

 

[MattRoberts]

There is a turner type person on YouTube...Mike? He's done a review of the Bosch. It is fairly in depth. There is plenty of stuff on YouTube for the site saws.

Search this form for anything on the TS200 or TS250. There is a larger SIP tablesaw that comes in under the pricier Makita you mentioned as well.



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Yes, Mike Walt for the Bosch review. I can't justify, but would really like the Axminter AW10BSB2 http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-trade-series-aw10bsb2-saw-bench-ax884465 for a little more than the Bosch. So I'm holding out till either I can justify it or just say sod it I'm a long time dead and just go for it anyways.

So AW10BSB2 for me.

Phil

Good call. I have it (with the extended fence) and it's a great saw

 

[Mike_5]

I've read some more user reviews on the Makita, and it doesn't seem like the best saw if I want to include dado cuts, purely because Makita doesn't support dados! It is pretty much buy conversion pieces to get it to work, and only has a 30mm hole.

Anyway, I'm heading to Axminster tomorrow, the AW10BSB2 is all out of stock at the moment. It is quite a price jump for the extension table, so I will probably just go for the standard, or have a look at the Bosch. The AW10BSB2 is rather attractive, but I work in a single garage and not too sure how much space I will be left with!

 

[memzey]

None of the Axminster saws will support a dado either (I think). Felder do but then you are looking at a whole different price bracket. If you want to use a dado set your best bet is a used Wadkin AGS 10 IMHO.

 

[Sheptonphil]

I've read some more user reviews on the Makita, and it doesn't seem like the best saw if I want to include dado cuts, purely because Makita doesn't support dados! It is pretty much buy conversion pieces to get it to work, and only has a 30mm hole.

Anyway, I'm heading to Axminster tomorrow, the AW10BSB2 is all out of stock at the moment. It is quite a price jump for the extension table, so I will probably just go for the standard, or have a look at the Bosch. The AW10BSB2 is rather attractive, but I work in a single garage and not too sure how much space I will be left with!

Unfortunately there is the store display model in Axminster and Cardiff which I could take home as I did the Jet bandsaw. So looks like it could be an expensive fun trip to Devon tomorrow. (Axminster will draw the stock back from a store to deliver to you if you ask nicely and can wait a couple more days for the machine to be collected from store on one of the restocking trips)

Got to see f I need to rearrange the workshop first though.

Phil

 

[skeetstar]

Fellas I bought the AWS10B2S2 from axi the other week.

So far so good. It is quiet when running. The delivered blade doesn't inspire, but is fine till I get something better.
I don't have many fine tolerance measuring tools, but I do know that when set at 90 deg to the table the blade
angle is bang on. In terms of parallelness of the blade to the mitre slot, it is very very close, (it may even be dead on, I just don't have the tools to measure it). Table casting was flat as far as I can measure it.

The on/off switch could be better positioned. The micro adjuster on the fence is pretty agricultural and definitely not micro.
The measuring scale for the fence seems to set wrong - no major drama since I wouldn't use it anyway.
I run mine off a standard 13 amp socket.

The supplied mitre cutting thingy has some slop in it, but I got a square cut by pushing it to the edge of the slot as I pushed the timber across the blade, if that makes sense.
The only thing I don't like is the fence micro adjuster, al the rest is good, or good enough. but it has not had a great deal of use yet.

 

[MikeJhn]

Page 28 of the manual shows how to set the fence to the blade, basically you set the rip fence to zero, loosen the rail bolts and slide the rail along the table until the rip fence is against the blade, but first set the rip fence at right angle to the mitre slot with the bolts on the rip fence fixing bracket.

Mike

 

[skeetstar]

Ah, thanks for that, must've missed that bit in the manual. Did seem odd that it wouldn't be fixable though.

Thanks again

 

[david123]

It's quite common for new table saws to need a fair bit of fettling. Have fun.

 

[Mike_5]

I went to Axminster, first time at the shop, I felt like a fat kid in a candy store.

I have decided to go for the Bosch instead of the Axminster table saw. The latter just looks look big for a single garage and the Bosch looks top quality and great finish. The option to have the telescopic poles is great, because it will save space when not in use.

Are there any accessories I should get at the same time? Might look to get a fine tooth blade, but I think that would be about it.

 

[tomasgursky]

None of the Axminster saws will support a dado either (I think). Felder do but then you are looking at a whole different price bracket. If you want to use a dado set your best bet is a used Wadkin AGS 10 IMHO.

I don't think Dado is allowed from Health and safaty point here in UK. I spoke with guy in Axminster and he said that neither on of their saw will ever support that. It's American thing. You can always use a router to do that anyway.

 

[MikeJhn]

Not so, the Health and Safety Executive have a section on their web site to debunk this, it is certain Dado blades they consider are not safe, they have never banned any Dado blade.

Mike

 

[Mike_5]

I believe the situation is that it is discouraged to be used in the EU, and the EU has restrictions on the manufacture to provide a dado ready arbour, hence why they are not dado ready off the shelf. You can buy adapter flange kits to try use dados. I got the idea and "wow" from some American youtube channels, before knowing what I know now.

I don't have a route table, only a route. I just loved how "easy" a dado set made the job look.

 

[MikeJhn]

They are discouraged, because they are not the correct tool to put a grove in a piece of wood, but they have never been banned, its an excuse used by lots of people "Don't blame me its Elf and Safety" the HSE have no power to ban anything, they only advise.

There are illegal Dado blades as shown here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/crosscut.htm half way down the page, but also legal to use Dado Blades with chip limiters.

Quote from the HSE site: "A riving knife must be fitted if the saw is used for ripping. Circular saws can also be used for cutting a slot with a dado head - this is a set of two saw blades with chippers in between or cutting irons (trenching – across grain, ploughing with grain)."



Mike