Upgrading my table saw.

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Not your average framer
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Upgrading my table saw.

Post by Not your average framer »

I already have an Einhell table saw with a 10 inch diameter blade. It has a brush driven motor, which starts with a loud jerk and is un-necessarily noisey, it is also bigger that I really need, if I am to use it in the back of my workshop. I am therefore looking for a smaller, more compact, hopefully not too expensive table saw, with an induction type motor and therefore quieter, plus I also need a reasonably decent flat top, with accurate mitre gauge slot in the table top. A reasonably decent rip fence would be nice as well.

I've been looking about a bit and so far, I have not so far found anything which appears suitable. I want to produce an accurate sliding mitre sled to use on this saw for producing quick and easy small batches of smaller frames. My band saw is less than ideal for use, with a mitre sled as the size of the thoat and the table size is a little limited. Also circular saw blades are better suited to cutting mitres using a mitre sled. Reasonable dust extraction facilities, would also be helpful.

I am not looking for one of those basic model makers saws which both lacks a sensible degree of power, or does not use normally available blades. Any recommentations please?
Thanks,
Mark.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Abacus
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Re: Upgrading my table saw.

Post by Abacus »

I have a 1962 Wafkins bursgreen 10” saw (I think it’s an AGS10), single phase with cast iron top.

It’s fab.

They can be found second hand for around £500 and will last forever. They are basically a free tool, if you keep it 5 (for 20!) years you’ll get your money back.
Not your average framer
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Re: Upgrading my table saw.

Post by Not your average framer »

Thanks Abacus,

That sounds like great advice, but I need some think really compact and easy to put away and then bring out and lift it into position when I need it, having had a stroke and not walking well or having great balance anymore. I have been looking around for something, which I can more easily carry around without risking loosing my balance. Also rather than waiting for a particular make to turn up secondhand, I've been looking for something really good which I can buy off the shelf straight away. I wanted an table saw with an 8 inch diameter blade, but I've had trouble finding one that's got a really good specification and really accurate self aligning rip fence that is always parallel to the blade.

This afternoon I found the details of the Bosch J 10. This is also around about £500, but it is extremely accurate. However instead of having an 8 inch blade, the J10 has a 10 inch blade instead and as it happens Machine Mart have got them in stock and my nearest Machne Mart is only about 20 minutes travel by car, so maybe this it the one! I want to make a mitre sled which will run in the table saw's mitre guide slots to cut mitres for small batch of small fames. It will be vry helpful to me for to be able to quickly cut bits and pieces which will for together accurate and exactly right every time.

When I am back in my shop on a regular basis, I am planning on buying a Hoffman router and a Festool Domino machine as well. am looking to be making various items which will fit together each and every time, extremely quickly and easily. I also plan to get a small drill press to push the Hoffman dovetail wedges into place. It might not sound like it, but I am planning to down size to a smaller and more compact, but also more efficient and more versatile workshop and a lot of my bulkier equipment will be disposed of in due course. I am not seriously expecting business to be as easy as it once was, so I need a more efficient and more productive set up to be able to compete in a more difficult market place.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Fruitini
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Re: Upgrading my table saw.

Post by Fruitini »

I upgraded my table saw a couple of years ago after struggling with dust extraction and fence accuracy and ended up going for the DeWalt DW745. This is a great compact portable table saw in my opinion and I’ve been more than happy with my purchase.

I inherited my business from my dad and the power tools he originally bought tended to be cheaper end of the market and performance and longevity usually suffered. Following his lead my initial purchases/replacements followed suit and often found myself disappointed. I have since adopted the mantra to ‘buy once, buy well’ and usually seek out Makita or DeWalt brands and have all these tools (drill, sanders, multi tools, jigsaw) performing as hoped or better.

The DW745 has an excellent, very accurate, rack and pinion fence which can be extended out to allow rips of up to 61cm and also be rotated to be much lower in height enabling finer control of smaller more fiddly pieces of wood. The riving knife (which also supports the overhead dust extraction) is super easy to remove where cuts aren’t required to penetrate all the way through the piece.

The motor and body of the machine are protected by roll-cage type bars which also allow it to be picked up easily and thrown into the back of a van and it’s not excessively heavy. It’s easy to boot down to a workmate or table top when you require extra stability. I do a fair bit of carpentry and DIY at home and have no worries moving this between workshop and home.

I think I paid about £450 for this and it’s been money very well spent. I use it most days. Upgraded the blade to a decent Freud one and found this improved cuts and reduced dust. It seems this model may have been discontinued, second hand ones on eBay for circa £200. The DWE7485 is suggested as it’s replacement. Hope this helps.
Not your average framer
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Re: Upgrading my table saw.

Post by Not your average framer »

Hi Fruitini,

I have seen reviews of the Dewalt table saw, you have mentioned and was very impressed, But it is about £ 100 more expensive than the Bosch. Both the Dewalt and the Bosch are fully profesional machines and I have to admit that I really like the rack and pinion rip fence and the fold down material support on the rip fence, but I'm not too sure that those extra features justify the extra £100. I have not fully decided which I am likely to buy yet, as I need to be wise how I stretch my money to buy the other things which I am planning to get.

I am also planning to get the manual Hoffman router, which I think is going to be very helpful to me. This will not only be used for framing, but for other items as well. In addition to this I am planning of getting a Festool Domino. With all three of these and my existing band saw, I think that there is very little that I won't be able to make. I will still be keeping my morso and my underpinner, as using only Hoffman wedges will increase my costs for producing frames.

This is all a very big decision for me and I may not see a return on the cost of buying these for a long time, but this is what I am hoping will secure my future. My plan is to still be a picture framer, but also to diversify into other things, including some easel stands which screw onto the rear of picture frames and to also specialise in producing Deep box frames and display boxes which I already do, but I am looking for faster and much better production methods. I am looking at spending quite a large amount, so I want to do it right. So as you can imagine that's the basic plan!
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Justintime
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Re: Upgrading my table saw.

Post by Justintime »

Justin George GCF(APF)
Insta: georgetheframer
Not your average framer
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Re: Upgrading my table saw.

Post by Not your average framer »

Thanks Justin,

That looks like the same saw which I was looking at, with a different model number and the same specification, but at a better price.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
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