Site Saw or Table Saw?

[entwistle]

I have a large number of 2m lengths of oak and other hardwoods that I need to cut. Dimensions are around 50mm x 20mm and I need to cut them so they are around 23mm x 20mm i.e. from one original length I want to get two pieces. 100% accuracy is not that important so long as the pieces are within 2/3mm. I have looked through the site and there are a lot of threads regarding table/bench saws but not much info. on site saws. In table saws the Axminster 200TS gets a load of positives and I have looked at that. I've also seen these two saws:

METABO TKHS 315C

and:

METABO TKHS 315M

Does anybody have any experience of either of them?

Does anybody have any thoughts on what the best bit of kit might be for the job?

My max. budget is £350

 

[mailee]

I started life with a site saw it was the Metabo one. It was ok but not very accurate it had a pressed steel top and no mitre slot. It had a couple of rods on the outside edges of the table that the rip and mitre fence ran on which were not very good. The rip fence did flex a bit and the mitre guide wasn't very accurate. I eventually built a MDF top for it with mitre slots in and it did improve it a little. Of course it really depends on what you want to do with the saw? Accurate cutting needs an accurate saw and for this work I would recommend a cast iron table saw or cabinet saw but I doubt you will get one of these for £350. I now have a 12" SIP cast iron table saw and it is great but it did cost me £500 from e bay. I would suggest looking around for a second hand machine or saving your money and buying a better one later. HTH.

 

[marcros]

I have a large number of 2m lengths of oak and other hardwoods that I need to cut. Dimensions are around 50mm x 20mm and I need to cut them so they are around 23mm x 20mm i.e. from one original length I want to get two pieces. 100% accuracy is not that important so long as the pieces are within 2/3mm. I have looked through the site and there are a lot of threads regarding table/bench saws but not much info. on site saws. In table saws the Axminster 200TS gets a load of positives and I have looked at that. I've also seen these two saws:

METABO TKHS 315C

and:

METABO TKHS 315M

Does anybody have any experience of either of them?

Does anybody have any thoughts on what the best bit of kit might be for the job?

My max. budget is £350

Is it a regular task, or a one off?

 

[entwistle]

Its a regular task. I make Yurts, (Mongolian tents). I've previously used coppiced wood in the round but this is becoming harder and more expensive to get hold of. I've just got a supplier of hardwood offcuts, all that I need, just not in the dimensions I can use, hence the need to cut it down to a useable size.

 

[Anonymous]

would a band saw not be sufficient?

 

[entwistle]

Hadn't thought of a bandsaw, I've never used one. What does anyone else think, would it do the job? Any pros or cons?

 

[misterfish]

I think it depends on the definition of a 'large number'. To rip lots on a bandsaw would be relatively slow whereas the table saw would be much quicker. You don't say where you are based as there may be somebody near you that has tools you could actually see in action. I would expect my table saw to rip a 2m lenght of oak in a fraction of the time it would take to cut on a band saw.

Misterfish

 

[entwistle]

I'm in East Yorkshire, (Driffield). I'd be cutting around 250 pieces a month. I can stretch my budget a little but my wallet currently isn't a bottomless pit, unfortunately.

 

[misterfish]

Doing that many on a regular basis on a band saw would be fairly time consuming. It's going to take a few hours with a table saw, especially if you are working alone. One of the disadvantages of the small portable saws is the noise they make due to having brush motors - saws with induction motors are much quieter. Another consideration is dust extraction/collection; a table saw can produce and spread a lot of sawdust without a suitable extractor.

A way to possibly save money is to go for used equipment - I've got a lot of my machinery from Ebay and got good quality at bargain prices - you need to watch if single or three phase (unless you have a three phase supply or a suitable converter).

Unfortunately you are miles from me otherwise you could have visited and tried for yourself.

Misterfish

 

[tomatwark]

I have the metabo machine, it is not the most accurate in the world I use it on site and in my timber store for cutting up the odd bits.

I would go for a good second hand ripsaw bench, you may have to pay a bit more money than you were thinking but it will be worth it in the long run.

Try JMJ woodworking machinery and see if they have any second hand machines in that will fit the bill, they are only down the road from you so I would give them a ring.


http://jmjwood.co.uk/


Tom

 

[barkwindjammer]

I know these dwellings by their Mongol name 'ger', what part of the yurt are you using oak for ? the door ?

 

[entwistle]

I'm using the oak for the lattice walls. Might seem a bit like overkill but my first yurt built just over 9 years ago had oak walls and they still look like new despite being used in a variety of wet/cold/snowy/hot conditions. I've had to patch the canvas roof and will probably have to sew a new one next year.

 

[barkwindjammer]

Ah, yep that would last a while, a friend of mine makes them also, he has an endless supply of coppiced elm for the lattice work-I think a bandsaw would suit your needs, as the pieces dont need to be 100% uniform, a bandsaw would also be great for forming the roof wheel and other rustic parts, and its blissfully quiet in operation :wink:

 

[Eric The Viking]

On the bandsaw thing:

Ian at Tuffsaws sells some good blades at around 1/2". He's the bandsaw blade expert, and occasionally posts here, but I've found that one of his skip-tooth blades of that size cuts pretty quickly (though you did say 'oak').

The floor footprint of a bandsaw is quite a bit less than a table saw too. It will have significantly thinner kerf and create far less dust too. You might find you can set it up and leave it set between times.

Cheers,

E.

 

[entwistle]

Hmmm

Decisions, decisions, whatever I decide, bandsaw or tablesaw I'm going to go second hand. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts/comments. I'm sure I'll be posting again soon for advice on the set-up.

 

[theblindwoodturner]

If you're ripping a fair bit of timber. one machine I'd suggest would be a scheppach TKU 400 series or similar. the construction's decent and great for handling hard woods.

the other option is the bandsaw route as long as you have support tables to keep the piece at the same height. it can get tiring with regards running lengths through a bandsaw.

bandsaw blade wise. ripper 37 flex back blades with 1-1/3tpi rip blade are ideal I swear by them.

lew

 

[Dibs-h]

The band saw will be slower than a table saw. Suggest you look on the Bay for a used SIP\Kity saw with a cast iron table.

HIH

Dibs

 

[theblindwoodturner]

If a ripper 37 blade is used on first speed, you can feed the piece in very quickly. I've compared this against a table saw and ripping with a bandsaw with a ripper 37 blade really does ramp up the batch cutting.

if you're ripping and need high productivity, a coarse tooth blade is particularly useful as it just chews through.

 

[Benchwayze]

I wonder if the 'Tuffsaw' man looks into UKW?
I need to know the Metric equivalent of a 102" blade for my Startrite 351, because Tuffsaw blades look to be the business.
On the site I can find only Metric blades. (If I buy a mitre saw I think I might also need a replacement sawblade before I use it seriously!)


Cheers

John

 

[Anonymous]

funnily enough i have literally just put a tuffsaw blade on a crappy clarke thing i was given 2 years ago and i am very impressed with the transformation!