Thanks all.
Much as I'd like an all-American saw for a hundred bucks or so, getting it over here would cost about another 600 or so, therefore unlikely to happen. All the Wadkins (yummie) I've seen at sensible prices have been 3 phase, weighed around half a ton and always "buyer collect" from places so obscure that the GPS just bursts out laughing instead of giving directions..
Anyway, I ventured a snipey punt on the Elektra and got it at the reserve price - eighty quid.
I picked it up this afternoon and assembled it in the backyard. The rain actually held off for a few hours, so though it was a bit icy, it was bright and sunny and fun to play outside.
Seller had obviously bought the saw used, didn't understand it and had never used it. Full of prehistoric spiders and sawdust of the carboniferous era. All brushed off revealing shininess.
so here's the run down: The rear extension table is missing, but easily replaced with a sheet of ply.
12" blade. Scary.
Table - weird galvanized thing - seems flat, smooth and very sturdy. Looks like all other metalwork is galvanized and then powder coated, so apart from a couple of tiny chips, all of what looked like rust is just dirt and sawdust. Ideal for backyard work in the two or three days a month when it doesn't rain. Manual warns not to use IN the rain, but calls it "splashproof" which is encouraging. Should be quite happy under the tarp.
Mitre device is even weirder. No slot but an outrigger rail. A bit basic and not exactly micrometer driven but It seems pretty good, actually. No play or backlash and gives plenty of support.
Blade height adjustment seemed locked - seized - solid, then I spotted the slide/adjustment bolts had all been tightened to the "transit" position. 30 seconds with a spanner and it's smooth as silk. Maybe I'll give it a lube job tomorrow.
Fence - massive thing on outrigger rails. Seems to be continuously adjustable
- right side only - up to about 4 feet. Yikes!!!
A proper, removable and replaceable kerf plate. That is a VERY rare thing over this side of the pond. Nearly all saws sold here are braked short arbour benchtop devices with 'orrible thin aluniuminuminum (!) plates that CANNOT be replaced with zero-clearance inserts. looks like 15mm scrapwood should do the job very nicely here.
Splitter is intact and is the only component that is rusty. Will clean up no problem. Blade guard is intact but has no dust port. Nothing that can't be fixed with a hole saw and a bit of drainpipe.
AS far as I can make out the current Metabo site saw range is an evolution of this very model with mainly the bolt-ons updated (brighter colours, dust ports etc.) Looks like the right-hand extension rails will provide a nice big space to drop in my home-made router table with an extra support leg and mounting threads for the Incra LS.
Fired it up. Surprised at how quiet it was after being used to the benchtop tin box. Switched it off. Took about a minute to stop.. visions of old spy films.. "No Meester Bond, I expect you to DIE!!"
I think I'll leave the guard on this one. At least for routine stuff.
Tomorrow I need to replace two or three bolts in the legs - all standard over-the-counter sizes. I'll give it a good scrub and waxing, maybe put the new 10" blade on out of my spares box and if the weather holds, maybe even cut some sticks. I think I got a bargain. Maybe not the sort of bargain I could have got if I lived in the land of the free and home of the brave, but considering what is realistically available around here, I think I dun gud.
I'm delighted.
Any tips on tarting up the galvanized top?
Metabo seem fairly confident about stability
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is someone selling the Plattenschneidvorrichtung fence extension thing on ebay. (I can't find this anywhere on the Metabo site's archive of EB instruction sheets. Maybe it's a Germany-only accessory.)
http://66.102.9.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=de&u=
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to post this before falling asleep. Uploading...