I posted here a week or so back asking what woodworking machines people recommended for a workshop that would initially be used for a house renovation project.
Well I've got a fairly limited budget so I've been looking at the Axminster own brand tools as follows
Axminster compound mitre saw 300mm - Axminster part MS12C Axminster saw bench - Aminster part BTS10P Perform planer thicknesser - Aminster part CCNPT
I'm also going to upgrade my current fixed speed Bosch router to a 1/2" Axminster model AW127R
What sort of experiences have people had with these machines? Any problems? Any comments on this machinery setup?
I can't imagine what sort of use that a planer thicknesser is going to be to you. For a lot less money you could take what few items you might have to a workshop or timberyardand pay for a real machine to do it.
I don't know how close this might be to your needs or preference, but I often remember a potential bargain when I see one, even if it's not something I could make use of myself.
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may make your day, with any luck, here's hoping anyway!
Good for carving a large roast penguin come xmas day too I 'd guess. ;O)
I have some judiciously selected Ferm stuff, and while is not always the latest thing, trying to provide fair quality at a fair price seem to be something they are familiar with, not as common as it used to be. Of course if it has to look the part too, then it quite probably won't do! ;O)
Thanks for that. I had a look at the Screwfix site the other day, and they seem to have some good stuff at reasonable prices. This one looks good but the capacity is less than the Axminster one
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I think one of the local tool shops has a Screwfix agency but they don't stock any machinery, probably would get it for me as a special though.
I tend to shy away from anything billed as a site saw/planner whatever as that generally means the manufacturers have put it together with stuff left over from other projects, like 1 1/8" bearings on 1" spindles so you end up with a wobble saw etc.
I am also trying to stick with one supplier as it makes shipping, insurance etc., easier. And I know people who have used Axminster before with good service.
Don't need to carve a penguin if it's cooked right ;-)
Never thought of that, you may well have a point now I have thought about it! ;O)
Yep, I just tried them for the first time this week, and while it seemed to be a bit more chaotic that a Screwfix encounter, the goods arrived at a similar rate of knots. The presentation quality was a bit of a let down, but the goods did work as advertised, so it's at least functional as expected.
I'll bow to your clearly superior local knowledge - we can't all have access to penguins you know!
To answer your first point, this is uk d-i-y and running to a local timber yard every time one wants a piece to size might turn out to be a pita. O/K if one is working on one particular project but otherwise.....
On your second point you are assuming his usage is going to be similar to your own which is not necesasarily so.
At one extreme if he was into making modesl I imagine a DIY (whatever that is) plane thicknesser would do fine.
At another extreme if he wanted to build an oak framed barn then I imgine whatever you have in your back shed is going to look laughable.
My first 'table' saw was a saw attachment on a b&d drill which I mounted in a piece of chipboard and clamped to the side of a bench I made from timber discarded on a building site. It served me o/k ,(I can remember using it to help me make two beds out of parana pine), until I was ready to progress to better things (Just married, 3 kids, mortgage. Severe financial handicap)
Never really seen the point in these. They're not big enough to do most workshop jobs. Until the day you're building a new roof / doing internal studwork, then you buy two of them just to keep your chippies working faster. For general use though, the cut width isn't enough. Personally I'd go for a really good handheld circular saw, like a Hitachi C7U / C9U
Now a _sliding_ chopsaw, now you're talking. 500 notes though, until I get my hands on the Axminster one and see if their 150 quid one-bar design is any good.
The cheapie page on the web also lists this: DELTA 36255 240v COMPOUND MITRE SAW 12" £144.63
I had two years out of this before I replaced it with a big cast iron Wadkin. Excellent bit of kit.
I'd probably sell it, except that it's cheaper now than when I bought it, and it's worth hanging onto for on-site work.
Worst part is the fence (which is why I finally swapped it) It's not rigid enough unless you use the far-end clamp. This is slow, and you have to check the alignment carefully.
Great guarding, and it comes off easily for rebating. Incredibly powerful for a plastic bucket with a piece of windowframe on top. I ran lots of 3" rips through oak and it didn't even burn them.
The noise is incredible. Sounds like it blew a gasket whenever you turn it on.
Damn cheap, as they seem to be offering bargain deals on it (check the cheapie list) Make sure you get the stand and the extension tables.
B&Q are selling a £200 version of this with the same table, but what appears to be a better fence.
So long as you get the job done before it falls apart, then you're OK. Tinny as hell though - as bad as Kity or DeWalt.
Personally I'd say to put the same money into their CT330 thicknesser and use that instead. You can do almost everything except edge jointing with a good thicknesser, and this is a seriously good machine. In the future you can get a dedicated jointer, for a total cost about the same as a decent 10" combination machine.
Don't get the (clearance bargain priced) CT344 though, as it isn't a patch on it. Short tables, no head lock, and snipey as hell.
The CT machines also take double-edged disposable cutters, which are a piece of cake to replace. A sharpenable cutter (like the CCNPT) also means an adjustable cutter, which is a PITA to adjust correctly.
Get a Freud instead. The Axminster white range portable tools are failing to impress me at all, and this router certainly doesn't. Not bad as a first router, but I wouldn't rate it as an "upgrade" router.
Most sliding chop saws don't seem to offer very much advantage over the straight chop ones.
Anyway I going to bin the chop saw from my shopping list for the time being. I have plenty of hand saws that will do the job. If I need to do a repetitive job I can borrow one.
Seems like it has some good points. Everyone is spoilt by induction motors these days. I can handle a bit of noise.
I was looking at the Elektra PK200 in Axminster which comes with a nice package of table extensions and a sliding table for £500, but it's just a bit too small for me, I want to be able to cut 3" on occasion (even if slowly and carefully ) and all the tables and sliding table would take up a fair bit of room.
That could be good advice, and I can probably afford a small jointer for the price of a chop saw, there is a perform on in Axminster for 160 quid. I can joint by hand though.
20 odd years ago I did an apprenticeship as a joiner, but then went off and followed my interest in electronics. So I'm not afraid of the hand work, just want some machines to help me work faster and keep the missus off my back ;-)
Adjusting them isn't a problem for, I was an apprentice once, and setting up the machines was part of the JD :-)
I wondered about that, hence the questions here. You mean like the Freud FT2000E in Screwfix for £164.99? Looks OK to me, but twice the price of the Axminster, but if its twice the quality then I don't mind paying.
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