Axminster TS-200 Table Saw £170

[jg]

Axminster have their TS-200 table saw on offer/clearance for £170



A quick google reveals that this saw has been around for a few years, it isn't perfect, but for the price I think it's hard to beat.

Great as a first proper table saw, or a small garage workshop saw.

[ultimatehandyman]

Looks ok for the money

I have the Evolution Fury 5 in my workshop but have not used it yet, Hopefully I'll get chance next year

[Job and Knock]

Ahhhhh, cute! If they made a 110 volt version it'd be good for site work and very portable, too

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks for posting this jg. At the price it does indeed look like a decent bit of kit with its cast iron table and dust extraction hook up. It will be fine for light hobby use but the motor will quickly bog down if a serious cut is taken and I wonder how it would cope with solid hardwood. With a little over 2" full cut depth at 90 degrees and just over 1 1/2" at 45 degrees it would be limited for any decent sized job. Usually the cut can be doubled at 90 degrees by removing the crown guard but this is not an operation I would recommend for a novice to perform because of the real dangers involved; this assuming the tip of the riving knife falls below the rim diameter of the blade; the riving knife must never ever be removed if the saw is being used.

1.1Kw sounds a lot but its only actually 1.5hp. This sawbench is obviously better than nothing and in spite of my negative comments it has a lot going for it. It is brand new so will be covered by a years warranty; the dust extraction is a very useful feature but only if you have dust extraction available; I do like cast iron tables and it would score highly here for me; it is single phase so can be plugged in anywhere and it is reasonably portable; it can be mounted on a bench without fuss and just as quickly removed when not in use; a proper stand would be better but adds to the cost? Its got a rip fence and a mitre guide slot; the mitre guide is very useful for accurate cross cutting and of course mitring at any angle. I wouldn't take too much notice of the reviews which state the saw is inaccurate as bought; most saws can be "tweaked" to give a good degree of accuracy with a bit of patience and running a few test cuts.

The blade supplied will be adequate for most cutting operations but other blades can be bought for difficult materials. My tipped blades seem to last forever as long as they don't encounter foreign bodies like nails. I wonder how it will stand up to a bit of continuous running; will it overload and trip?

Buying a tablesaw is such a personal choice depending on circumstances such as work it is to be put to; funds available and space constraints. Without doubt a sawbench is the machine to use for fast accurate ripping and even this small saw will give good results once set up and fully adjusted. It should handle MDF and plywood with ease and for projects such as kitchen units where large section timber isn't used it could prove ideal? Just a word of caution though; if the first sawbench please be careful not to lose fingers which is so easy to do.

I'm used to big machinery and as such would say if space is available and the sawbench can be set up without the need to have it portable I would go for a second hand 3hp sawbench with a greater capacity; my Startrite saw handles material up to 3" thick but with the crown guard removed doubles this and is plenty for all my needs. My sawbench is one of the functions of my Startrite combination machine and I mounted this machine on castors so it can be pulled out as required.

It would indeed make a nice first saw table and open up a whole new world to the user; next on the list then is a planer/thicknesser after all we want nice smooth surfaces don't we? Then comes the mitre saw; bandsaw; jigsaw; biscuit jointer; multitool and Skilsaw etc; I'm a tool junkie without hope of a cure.

Good luck if you buy one of these saws.

Kind regards, Col.

[Job and Knock]

It will be fine for light hobby use but the motor will quickly bog down if a serious cut is taken and I wonder how it would cope with solid hardwood. With a little over 2" full cut depth at 90 degrees and just over 1 1/2" at 45 degrees it would be limited for any decent sized job. Usually the cut can be doubled at 90 degrees by removing the crown guard

Try working out on site, Col. We have to do fairly big cuts with minimal kit, so anything over 2HP (1500watts) on a universal motor is a plus - providing the power supply will support it. Often it can't......... Tha Acx at least has an induction motor which should give it a lot more torque than a universal motor (as you'd have in a portable hand rip saw, or even a portable table saw such as my Makita MLT100) and with careful selection of blades (e.g. thin kerf and SHARP - low tooth count for ripping, etc) it will probably be able to do most or all that a hobbyist would ask of it. Maybe limiting the blade saize to 8in isn't such a bad idea as there will be less of a temptation to overload the saw. When you think about it it's not so many years since Startrite sold their TA.SP175 10in table saw which had only 1.5HP on tap - and that was a fairly common choice of machine in cabinetmaking shops (although not in joinery works). Whilst I agree that the saw hasn't got the capacity to cope with full-blown large scale joinery jobs in hardwood, I do see it as capable of undertaking lighter cabinetmaking and joinery tasks such as making-up softwood door casings, cutting lippings, making smaller cabinets, etc. The biggest limiting factor might well be the size of the table - if ever a machine need to be sat in the middle of a larger table, or have a good sized run-off table made for the back, then this is it. What I wouldn't do, though, is try to use it for primary breakling dowm of 8 x 4ft sheets of sheet material - primary breaking down is better done with a portable rip saw and a home-made saw guide, as we both know.....

I wouldn't take too much notice of the reviews which state the saw is inaccurate as bought; most saws can be "tweaked" to give a good degree of accuracy with a bit of patience and running a few test cuts.

I do so agree. Especially if you consider that this is primarily a rip saw - a saw from which the material will often be going elsewhere to be planed and/or thicknessed. I doubt that as a crosscut saw it would be any better than a £150 mitre saw and I'd rather have the versatility and tunability of the mitre saw for crosscutting

On the safety side I'd recommend anyone using a table saw to read, print-out and hang on the wall a copy of the HSE publicatiom WIS16: Circular saw benches - Safe working practises which explains the sort of practises that wood machinists are taught to adhere to. If you follow the guiide lines then you'll have much lower risk of an injury accident. Oh, and don't believe any Yank who tells you that safety is all in the mind and is "common sense", whatever that is - safety is primarily in understanding and following safe working practise first and foremost. A bit like safe driving

[Mooncat]

The reference to the Safety Notice is very helpful, I shall print it and study it thoroughly.

[jg]

It's now down to £165. Also, it doesn't actually say, but mine came with the free right hand talbe extension. So even more of a bargain.
I'd confirm with them that this is included though as it doesn't actually say it on the site.

As for portability, i'm not so sure. It's 55Kg, so not something I'd want to be lugging around. I only just managed to get it out of the box and onto the workbench.
Once i've got it assembled i'm going to build some kind of cabinet for it, possibly on castors to allow me to move it around a bit. And make sure that the height matches one of the surfaces in my garage to provide outfeed support.

[Retired]

Hi,

I fully agree with your comments J&K and what a lovely piece of kit this would be for such jobs as you mention. You also mention using a hand circular saw for breaking down sheet materials; I have my Startrite sawbench but cannot break down full size sheet material on it because it would be far too dangerous also it's amazing just how much space is required if trying to use a saw-bench for this kind of work. I use my Skilsaw for breaking down the full sized sheets which it does with ease; It really comes down to what the saw is actually bought to do and only the buyer will know this. We all put our kit to uses it was never designed for; to buy the correct kit for every job would need a furniture van to transport it all around in.

We all look at things from our own point of view taking into account our knowledge and experience. I was brought up on huge machinery and am comfortable using such machines but a raw novice could very easily end up in A&E even by using a sharp hand tool for the first time? Small tinny machines which shriek and rattle around really frighten me but a huge cast iron machine emitting a forceful buzz is a delight for me. It truly scares me when I think of all the kit such as this innocent looking table saw being sold over the counter to raw novices who take it home and plug it in without even reading the instructions supplied with it. I always work on the principle if it feels unsafe don't do it but even then I can get a nip occasionally when least expected; the sharp edge of MDF for instance; not felt but where are the red smudges coming from?

We can even read lots into "great as a proper first table saw"? A simple enough statement but who is buying it as a first table saw? It could be a raw novice wanting to play around in a home workshop or it could be someone who has 50 years experience in the woodworking industry and has decided such a saw would be useful to use at home having retired?

I did look at the specifications and as jg rightly points out this saw at 55 Kg bare isn't a lightweight. jg has obviously bought this saw to suit the work he intends to use it for; adding a robust stand/cabinet is to be recommended and castors either locking or retractable makes it highly portable; A cabinet would be of more use than an open stand because spare blades could be stored safely. I installed heavy duty castors onto my Startrite combination woodworker and it's very easy to move this large heavy machine around as required. I use a Record Power roller stand which is very easy to adjust for height for outboard support; this was cheap when I bought it many years ago but very useful and doesn't occupy much storage space as it folds flat.The picture shows a similar outfeed stand to the one I have.

Good luck jg and please be safe.

Kind regards, Col.

Outfeed stand.JPG (65.27 KiB) Viewed 11475 times

[Job and Knock]

As for portability, i'm not so sure. It's 55Kg, so not something I'd want to be lugging around. I only just managed to get it out of the box and onto the workbench.

Wimp! MDF sheets weigh almost that! Good luck with your saw - £165 seems to be a bargain price

[Rorschach]

If I had the space to set it up then one would be on the way to me right now!

[jg]

Well, I finally got out into the garage, and put the fence together etc. I've only done a couple of test cuts so far, but it seems to be a very nice machine. Although I'm no table saw expert :)


It now does say on the website that the table extension is included for free, and the price has now dropped to £153, looks like it's dropping every day until they clear the stock.

[alanfromsydney]

Can't find this table saw for less than £349. Can anyone help please?

[wine~o]

Can't find this table saw for less than £349. Can anyone help please?

This was a price for a discontinued model back in December..

you are looking at the replacement which will naturally be full retail or thereabouts...