Which saw??

[drewdt3]

I have been agonising over this question for weeksI have been checking ebay and Gumtree every 10 minutes. I built a table saw last year and a few little projects with it and got the bug for woodworking. The table and fence were pretty good if I say so myself, however the saw it's self, an ex army wolf thing is pretty poor. lots of wobble in the shaft. It's also not the most accurate table. So I've decided I need to buy one. My first thought was to get a cheap clarke style saw then if I didn't fully take to wood working I wouldn't have lost a lot, but then reading various old posts on this forum buying a cheap saw is a waste of time. If I was getting inaccurate results that would also do my head in. So then I have been looking at the Axminster machines, mainly the TS200 but with the niggling thought in my head that it's only a 200mm machine and would it be big enough? Then looking at the TS250 it gets poor reviews regarding the dust extraction? I am trying to keep the price down (and size). The Charnwood machines also look pretty good, but have a bigger foot print.
Any thoughts or suggestions on my dilema or up to date views on the TS250 would be most welcome.

Cheers

Drew

 

[MikeJhn]

It all accords on the standard you expect, the TS200 also has lousy dust extraction, just not mentioned in the Axminster reviews, do a search on the Forum and you will find the extreme lengths one of its users went to just to improve this very point. One other point is you must use a decent extractor on these machines and don't try to get away with a vacuum cleaner, this point was brought home to me when I changed my Numatic 2400watt vacuum for a 2000m cu/hr chip extractor the difference was outstanding on my planer thicknesser.

I will shortly be selling my complete Triton work centre, and changing to the TS250 so keep an eye on the for sale section if you are interested.

Mike

 

[biskit]

Drew I got my TS250 earlier in the year after waiting a month or so for the new stock. After setting it up on a savvas type mobile stand and small side table for a router, I've had to go to town with sealing gaps for my shop vac with cyclone to do a decent job. I used foam pipe insulation, magnetic card and masking tape all to good effect.

 

[drewdt3]

Thanks guys for the replies. I think I'm going to go for the TS250 and have a go at the dust extraction myself to see what can be done. A shop vac will be my next purchase as I suffer from asthma and could do with not making my lungs any worse lol. Any recommendations on a basic vacuum I'm also planning to either make a cyclone collector or buy one, as these appear to be a big help.

Cheers

Drew

 

[drewdt3]

Drew I got my TS250 earlier in the year after waiting a month or so for the new stock. After setting it up on a savvas type mobile stand and small side table for a router, I've had to go to town with sealing gaps for my shop vac with cyclone to do a decent job. I used foam pipe insulation, magnetic card and masking tape all to good effect.

Have you blocked the rear extraction port like Savas and just gone for the bottom collection?

Drew