What portable table saw?

[Elling]

I'm looking for a good portable table saw to replace my Rexon BTS-10A. Which one should I get? I need:

- Reasonable good precision and a good fence (better than the Rexon)

- Portability (need to stash it when it's not in use)

- 254 mm (10") blade (I think)

I have been looking at:

- Bosch GTS-10

- DeWalt DW744XP

- Elektra Beckum TS 250

Any other suggestions? (We don't have all the UK and US brands here in Norway). What is the thing about the T-slot? The DeWalt has a 19 mm (3/4") slot, while the Bosch has a narrower version. Is this a US / Europe issue? There seems to be a lot of third party 3/4" table saw accessories available from the US.

Thanks from Oslo, Norway!

- Elling

[Andy Hall]

should I get? I need:

is the thing about the T-slot? The DeWalt has a 19 mm (3/4")

seems to be a lot of third party 3/4" table saw accessories available

Hei Elling

I have a DW744 that I imported from the U.S. while I was there on a business trip. The XP is a slightly newer version. There is a difference in US and European models in that regulations in the form of the EU Machinery Directive mean that machinery like table saws has to be able to stop in under 10 seconds. You may have seen the Americans using stacked dado blades and unfortunately on this class of saw, the weight means that the stopping time can't be achieved, so the manufacturers supply them with a short arbor to prevent fitting of a dado set.

If you are not bothered about this, the European version is fine. Otherwise it is legal to import for personal use (Norway probably doesn't have this restriction anyway). The slot will take the US 3/4" x 3/8" and there are a lot of accessories for that (mostly from the U.S. though). As far as I know, there is not an equivalent European slot size standard between manufacturers.

The DW is a respectably accurate saw in its class and the fence is decent in that it moves with rack and pinion at front and back so holds its accuracy. There are pullout supports at side and back, but if you are cutting large pieces you will need additional support in the form of stands or building the saw into a bench etc. It's certainly a good step up from the very basic Rexon type product and has a cast aluminium table. It isn't in the league of the saws with cast iron table etc. but in a compromise on space, I think is a reasonable solution.

I have seen but not used the Elektra Beckum. Again, this didn't look bad.

I hope that this helps a bit

Med venlig hilsen

[Grumps]

Which one should I get? I need:

Norway). What is the thing about the T-slot? The DeWalt has a 19 mm (3/4")

issue? There seems to be a lot of third party 3/4" table saw accessories available

It's probably been talked about already, and is no doubt expensive, but...

[Andy Dingley]

Read rec.woodworking

There's a problem with this safety approach, in that it only addresses the second-most dangerous class of saw accidents. A class which is equally well addressed by a decent guard.

It does nothing to improve the hazard of kickback accidents, which are potentially the more serious ones.

The company themselves are guilty of taking a very "strong arm" approach and attempting to have their proprietary technology made mandatory by regulation. This is not a policy that encourages me to ever buy one of their products.

I also don't beleive this saw is CE marked for import to Europe, meets PUWER 98, or is capable of meeting PUWER 98 without expensive modification and fitting a brake system.

Not _that _ expensive. And it does look like a decent quality modern US-style saw.

[David Lang]

Hi Andy

On that note, any opinions on the Axminster Rip Fence Upgrade

'm thinking of getting one to upgrade my saw.

Dave

[Andy Hall]

Well..... I haven't seen or touched one in the flesh, but from the picture it appears to be a reasonable alloy extrusion arrangement.

The question mark in my mind would be how solid the fence is when clamped down.

Some while ago I had one of the entry level table saws and a big limitation was the fence. It needed to be clamped at the front, squared and clamped at the back as well to be rigid enough for half decent cuts.

The DeWalt arrangement has a rack and pinion at front and back and is therefore pretty rigid in use and automatically square.

I think that the Axminster accessory could be OK as long as it is rigid when clamped - that will be the acid test and I suspect it will depend on the rigidity of the clamp for the most part.

The principle is similar to that used on larger table saws that have rip fences. They have a rigid bar or similar arrangement on the table, a hefty clamp and a rigid fence.

I think that if I had a saw in the £200 class and didn't want to go up to the next level of £500+ for a saw, I might be tempted to try this. I suspect that it would be better than the fence that comes with the saw, but won't make it a £500 saw. In other words, the price is reasonable if you get an improvement.

I would be inclined to order one and if it doesn't improve things, send it back.

[Andy Dingley]

I've got an old BTS10PP sitting around. It's still a pretty good saw (for a low cost brush motor), but the fence has always been the weakest part. This might be a good upgrade.

It doesn't look useful for a bandsaw though - you need better drift adjustment, especially on low-end bandsaws.

On the whole, I'd be wary. Axminster have been known to use "parts bin engineering" to buy up some add-on from Taiwan and sell it as an upgrade to their existing products - not always successfully. The bandsaw bearing guide set linked on the same page is probably a fine thing on its own, but it's unusable with their 350 saw, despite their claims.

I might well use one of these new fences - but I'd want to see it in my hand before I parted with money for it.

[David Lang]

Hi Andy

That's exactly the position I'm in. I have a Charnwood with induction motor & although they replaced the original fence I'm still not 100% happy with it.

What a good idea. I'm only 35 mins from their Bobbing branch anyway so it wouldn't be any aggro. Might pop in tomorrow & take a look.

Dave

[David Lang]

Hi Andy

Hmmmm. I've always been 100% happy with anything bought from them, maybe just luck.

I'll try & pop in to the Bobbing branch tomorrow & have a look. Watch this space.......

Dave

[Andy Hall]

I think you should be able to get an idea of how good it will be by locking the clamp and seeing how rigid the end of the fence is if you attempt to move it horizontally.

Don't forget to take the dimension of the saw from front to back. The fence needs to go most, if not all of the way.

[David Lang]

Hi All

Went to Axminster today to look at the Axminster Rip Fence Upgrade. None in stock!

Apparently 700 on order, 150 of which they have sold already!

BTW Tommy Walsh was there having some photo's taken - something to do with sending unused tools to Africa.

Dave

[Hugo Nebula]

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 16:11:35 GMT, a particular chimpanzee named "David Lang" randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

When is he leaving?

[Andy Dingley]

Who he ?

[Andy Hall]

He pretends to do DIY on TV.

[Andy Dingley]

Ah. TV. I saw one of those once.

[David Lang]

And gets paid huge sums of money for doing so.............

Dave