JCB table saw

[Arthur]

I have an option to buy a JCBD-TS table saw that looks hardly used for £90. I want to use it for cross cutting cross-halving joints in mahogany door frame timbers.

This a good low budget choice for this work?

Thanks for any advice.

Arthur ================================================ SPEC. Model number JCBD-TS

Rated voltage 230VAC - 50hz

Input power 1800 watts

No load speed 4500 RPM

Depth of cut - at 900 75 mm

- at 450 53 mm

Bevel cutting 0 - 450

Mitre cutting 0 - 600

Table dimensions 640 mm x 486 mm

Riving knife thickness 2 mm

Blade dimensions 254 mm diameter

tungsten carbide tipped

36 teeth

30 mm bore

2.8 mm blade width

Noise emission data

A - weighted sound pressure level Lp 92.7 dB (A)

A - weighted sound power level Lw 108 dB (A)

FEATURES

Parallel fence guide Adjustable mitre gauge

Dust extraction facility Safety overload cut out

[Rick Hughes]

I have a JCB table saw .... been using it for a couple of years - great value tool .... buy good blades and it will last for years.

[John Rumm]

Something that has (or can be upgraded to) a real cross cut sledge will make all the difference for accurate cross cut work. For rip cuts then the fence has a big part to play, so make sure that is good, and has a way of ensuring that it remains parallel to the blade. Axminster do a fence upgrade that will fit many budget saws and make them miles better (with a decent blade).

[dom]

AIUI the OP wants to cut the shoulders on the housings into the heads and sills of door frames (a few or lots?) for horned door frames. So a cross-cutting, deep cut (i.e. the blade doesn't come right through).

Two problems, the crown guard and riving knife must be removed (which is a bit of a safety issue, not permitted in the workplace under H&S law - but do what you want at home) and second - I'm guessing you would be cross-cutting a heavy-ish peice of timber about a metre long, close to one end - as John says, that will be hard to keep parallel without a dedicated sliding table.

Best way to do it would be a sliding mitre saw with depth stop facility - quick and repeatable - but those tools are expensive. Cheaper methods would be a router and make a suitable jig (slow but neat results), handheld circular saw and suitable jig (fast and reasonable results) or handsawing (as good as your skills).

Were you planning to make lots of kerf cuts and then hand chisel out?

[John Rumm]

I just had a top of the range 12" Makita SCMS off eBay for £190 ;-)

[dom]

I just paid rather more than for the 12" Bosch. Though they did chuck in a couple of quality spare blades and an absolutely useless stand (so I hustled at the builders merchants and got a few quid off the ex- display bosch stand).

I was umming between the Dewalt DW718, Bosch GCM12SD and the Mak - what's your impression of the plusses and minuses of it?

Bosch - heavy and awkward to move around, slide not quite as rigid as my old DW700, blade guard is a contraption, blade change awkward (because of the guard) - but all adjustments brilliantly solid and easy to use, everything well thought out (apart from the guard) and it produces first class cuts, nice material stop, nice material clamp, easy to set back support clearances when blade angles are weird (problem on my old DW), blade halts very quickly, huge capacity.