Does anyone have any experiences on this new addition to their range for for light use:
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would like to use it for some long rips in shaping window ledges etc, but also I like the idea of the sliding carriage for square and angled cross cutting. With the carriage I think I might be able to get away without a mitre saw. The rip fence looks quite poor in that it only clamps at one end, but since it is only for light work I can always add my G-clamps in appropriate places.
That's not a sliding carriage, it's an ugly mitre gauge. Looks horrible and is far too far to the left of the blde to be much use. It's too small to reach the blade for small work, it's not big enough to carry plywood.
Unfortunately this type and level of saw is very limited in application. I have taken a look at this particular model but in general, this class of saw is a disappointment.
You could get reasonable rip cuts on relatively small pieces provided that you are willing to check squareness and straightness for every new cut setting and clamp the far end as you suggest.
The saw does not have a sliding carriage in the generally accepted use of the term.
That would be something like the slider on this machine
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the Ryobi one, really this is nothing more than something to be able to claim a feature. The extension tables on this type of machine are on quite thin rods which are not properly supported and there is no means to automatically square the extension table to the blade. The slider feature is then a rather small mitre gauge allowed to slide back and forth. It isn't large enough or substantial enough to give accurate and repeatable mitre cuts - the whole thing is too flimsy.
If you want to have something mainly to cut mitres, a compound mitre saw or sliding compound mitre saw is a better choice.
If you want to have a portable table saw of this sort of size then something like the DeWalt 744, Makita 2704 or Bosch GTS10 have much better rip fences. However, you are at around a £500 price point with these. Unless portability is an issue, for similar money or not a lot more you can have an entry level but much more substantial workshop tablesaw.
For 60 or 70 quid if you have a need for it, it is OK. With anther 60 or 70 quid you can get a chop saw of similar quality.
A DeWalt Flip Saw is a lot more expensive. Probably because of import taxes. It would be worth going to the USA or Canada to buy one and various other goodies. But it is a very nice piece of equiptment.
You could use an hand held electric saw for occasional use. The difference with them is that yo use a baton screwed to a sheet rather than a fence. Which is OK for one offs but not for cutting a pallet full of boards to the same size.
A big plus for the hand held is that you can put it away in moments and it takes no space.
The back edge looks square enough, unlike the TGS flip saws which are really not very good in sawbench mode (unless they've changed significantly in the last 5 years)
>>> >>>> Very pleased with mine - transformed the saw.
It's about the ease, speed and accuracy with which the fence can be moved. My current fence is a two-handed trial-and-error struggle and I watch Norm on the TV with envy as he effortlessly moves his fence with one-hand.
Dead right. There are a lot of sub £200 table saws about, but they all seem to have dodgy fences. Then a gap in the market appears until you get to the £500 saws.
I paid about £180 for my Charnwood (induction motor, removeable throat plate) and added the Axminster upgrade, so it topped up to around £225 for a good accurate easy to use saw.
I'd rather have a Bosch £500 jobby, but can't afford/justify it, but I'm much better off than if I had bought a £120 B&Q effort.
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