I did quite a bit of research in order to find an upgrade saw for my Charnwood W690. As I regularly visit Axminster Tools in Basingstoke I started looking there.
I would have dearly loved to have been in a position to buy the Axi Ind TSCE 12R, however, my pockets aren’t quite that deep and is 12 inches too much. At the other end of the scale I looked at the Axi AW10BSB2 much more in my price bracket. However, I just felt there was something lacking at this end of the scale and that the AW10BSB2 was not enough of a step forward from the Charnwood. Looking further afield Hammer, Sedgewick, SIP, eBay, Record, and of course Scheppach, once again the models I like were either too expensive or just didn’t meet the criteria for me. I am not sure what led me to Woodford Tooling, but it may well have been one of the threads I came across when searching this forum. I am now looking (or was then) at the Harvey HW110GLE-30 made in China.. looks so much like the Excalibur and the Grizzley or the Deft of USA origins (although most likely made in China or Taiwan or wherever), all of which seem to have generated favourable reviews in the States and on the Tube. I spoke with Roy at Woodford Tooling who was very helpful and remained so even after I had taken delivery… Thanks Roy. After more procrastination and more visits to Axi and more web searching than I dare admit to… I ordered my Harvey HW110LGE-30 from Woodford Tooling.
They were expecting a delivery towards the end of January from Shanghai and I was given the cargo vessels details and I tracked it in my IPad across the world.. brilliant fun (very geeky though). Then disaster struck.. the ship was diverted due to weather and ended up across the North Sea in Rotterdam, the next available birth at Felixstowe was a week later. Never mind, can’t affect the weather (I am an aviator so know about such things). Once in Felixstowe my saw passed my front door on the way to Manchester and then Roy did his thing and it arrived with me a few days later. Hats off to Roy and also to Anglia Freight for getting it to my garage door.
Buyer beware: This is an import and is made in China and looks like a number of other well-known brands and don’t quite look the same saw I thought I was buying from Woodford. This is down to an incorrect picture on their website. The weather can severely affect your delivery date so don’t be too impatient. NB if you order the mobile base from Woodford, the suggested max loading is less than the weight of the saw, I did not order the base. There was also a significant delivery charge £75. avery misleading Christmas offer on the Woodford website indicating that a 10% discount was avail be tuned out to be a little more complicated and only applied to certain accessories and not the saws.
Differences: The rip fence is not plastic lined as per the Woodford website. Roy says this is because of EU regulations (I have to take that as fact, as I do not know how the EU Regs affect table saws). The Blade guard is very basic not at all like the very neat version in the picture which includes anti kick back pawls and a rise and fall guard which would allow thinner stock to pass safely under the guard.
Packaging: Just brilliant didn’t know that cardboard could be so tough. Delivered on a palate with lots of cling film to keep stuff in place, and easy enough to remove with relevant tools. Held onto the pallet with 4 bolts.
Commissioning: I had to remove the cast iron top so that I could get the saw onto my mobile base (hat is capable of holding that weight). The top was easy to remove (the usual 4 bolts) and a doddle to set back up again once in place. There was a brace holding the innards in place for transit, I took the opportunity to remove this while the top was off. The remaining assembly was straight forward enough although the instruction manual as you might expect is lacking in many places. I had an 16 amp radial circuit installed in my garage, although the saw arrived with a short extension lead consisting of commando plug connected to a 13 amp plug…… NOT A CHANCE!!!!!!. The saw I believe draws more than 20 amps during start, which I will check with a clamp meter later, and is rated at 12.5 amps.
Setting Up: The table top appears to be dead flat although I don’t possess a perfect straight edge. A minor adjustment on the table top to make the mitre slot parallel to the blade. Although I will replace the blade I was surprised how true the provided blade was running less than 4 thou inch runout (old fashioned DTI). No adjustment required for 90 deg to table for the blade. The riving knife did not require adjusting. So all in all a easy setup.
Conclusion: Although I have not fully tested the saw as yet I will do so over the coming weeks and will complete this review. The saw is solid, all metal i.e. no plastic adjustment wheels.
The blade rise and fall is positive without backlash as is the blade tilt.. There is a large access door on the left to get to the motor and to service the mechanisms. The 100mm dust port is also fitted into a smaller panel.
I can see that sawdust will collect at the base of the machine but unlike the AW10BSB2 will remain inside and should be easy enough to remove. So, was this the right decision, the total cost was around £1825.00 and the value remains to be seen. The product looks and feels right for my requirements. I will let you know more after I have used it for a few weeks.
I would have dearly loved to have been in a position to buy the Axi Ind TSCE 12R, however, my pockets aren’t quite that deep and is 12 inches too much. At the other end of the scale I looked at the Axi AW10BSB2 much more in my price bracket. However, I just felt there was something lacking at this end of the scale and that the AW10BSB2 was not enough of a step forward from the Charnwood. Looking further afield Hammer, Sedgewick, SIP, eBay, Record, and of course Scheppach, once again the models I like were either too expensive or just didn’t meet the criteria for me. I am not sure what led me to Woodford Tooling, but it may well have been one of the threads I came across when searching this forum. I am now looking (or was then) at the Harvey HW110GLE-30 made in China.. looks so much like the Excalibur and the Grizzley or the Deft of USA origins (although most likely made in China or Taiwan or wherever), all of which seem to have generated favourable reviews in the States and on the Tube. I spoke with Roy at Woodford Tooling who was very helpful and remained so even after I had taken delivery… Thanks Roy. After more procrastination and more visits to Axi and more web searching than I dare admit to… I ordered my Harvey HW110LGE-30 from Woodford Tooling.
They were expecting a delivery towards the end of January from Shanghai and I was given the cargo vessels details and I tracked it in my IPad across the world.. brilliant fun (very geeky though). Then disaster struck.. the ship was diverted due to weather and ended up across the North Sea in Rotterdam, the next available birth at Felixstowe was a week later. Never mind, can’t affect the weather (I am an aviator so know about such things). Once in Felixstowe my saw passed my front door on the way to Manchester and then Roy did his thing and it arrived with me a few days later. Hats off to Roy and also to Anglia Freight for getting it to my garage door.
Buyer beware: This is an import and is made in China and looks like a number of other well-known brands and don’t quite look the same saw I thought I was buying from Woodford. This is down to an incorrect picture on their website. The weather can severely affect your delivery date so don’t be too impatient. NB if you order the mobile base from Woodford, the suggested max loading is less than the weight of the saw, I did not order the base. There was also a significant delivery charge £75. avery misleading Christmas offer on the Woodford website indicating that a 10% discount was avail be tuned out to be a little more complicated and only applied to certain accessories and not the saws.
Differences: The rip fence is not plastic lined as per the Woodford website. Roy says this is because of EU regulations (I have to take that as fact, as I do not know how the EU Regs affect table saws). The Blade guard is very basic not at all like the very neat version in the picture which includes anti kick back pawls and a rise and fall guard which would allow thinner stock to pass safely under the guard.
Packaging: Just brilliant didn’t know that cardboard could be so tough. Delivered on a palate with lots of cling film to keep stuff in place, and easy enough to remove with relevant tools. Held onto the pallet with 4 bolts.
Commissioning: I had to remove the cast iron top so that I could get the saw onto my mobile base (hat is capable of holding that weight). The top was easy to remove (the usual 4 bolts) and a doddle to set back up again once in place. There was a brace holding the innards in place for transit, I took the opportunity to remove this while the top was off. The remaining assembly was straight forward enough although the instruction manual as you might expect is lacking in many places. I had an 16 amp radial circuit installed in my garage, although the saw arrived with a short extension lead consisting of commando plug connected to a 13 amp plug…… NOT A CHANCE!!!!!!. The saw I believe draws more than 20 amps during start, which I will check with a clamp meter later, and is rated at 12.5 amps.
Setting Up: The table top appears to be dead flat although I don’t possess a perfect straight edge. A minor adjustment on the table top to make the mitre slot parallel to the blade. Although I will replace the blade I was surprised how true the provided blade was running less than 4 thou inch runout (old fashioned DTI). No adjustment required for 90 deg to table for the blade. The riving knife did not require adjusting. So all in all a easy setup.
Conclusion: Although I have not fully tested the saw as yet I will do so over the coming weeks and will complete this review. The saw is solid, all metal i.e. no plastic adjustment wheels.
