Thread: Carbatec TCS-10HB pros and cons

If you click on Search on the above menu bar, type in TSC10HB, you will get heaps of threads discussing the pros and cons of the TSC10HB.

Happy reading

Here is my two bobs worth, Dengue, but only from reading about it and then making a decision to buy one.

Might save you some time ploughing through the various threads, some of which tend to digress in robust debate

Pros:
1. It is a cabinet saw, and much easier to align, simply by moving the table top in relation to the cabinet. No messing about with trunnions.
2. Good solid cast iron extension wings, and could find no complaints about aligning them to main table
3. Generally has universal acceptance on this forum
4. Can bolt the Triton sliding extension table to it, with a little extra work
5. Will do dado up to 15mm width
6. Been around a long time, well established design
7. Very good manual available from Grizzly website ( Model G1023S)
8. Could find no complaints about the quality of build, despite it being built in Taiwan.

Cons:
1. No riving knife behind blade, just a fixed splitter at the rear of the table. First job is to make a zero clearance insert with an inbuilt splitter as close to the blade as possible ( see Sturdee's jigs on this Forum here)
2. Needs a 15 amp outlet
3. Fence has some criticism, esp about moving 5mm on clamping.
4. No magnification lens on fence
5. No dust extraction over blade
6. Main 4" dust extraction may need some mods with internal panels to ensure optimum flow, esp with #4 above.
7. Does not appear to have any locking bar arrangement for the sawblade - looks like you have to clamp it against a block of wood to undo the arbor bolt and remove the blade
8. Weighs over 200kg ( this of course might be a "Pro" w.r.t machine vibration and stability)
9. No paddle over OFF button on main switch, to permit quick switch-off with knee
10. Manufacturer's manual, as supplied, is hopeless


I hope this helps. I am sure some experienced owners will be able to add more, or will correct me where I am wrong. My saw is still in transit.

regards,
Jill

I have a TSC-10HB.

A riving knife would probably be better but the splitter is curved and is as close to the blade as you would want it to be when at full height. The only disadvantage of a splitter is that it does not rise and fall with the blade and so must be removed if you are doing non-through cuts (such as dados and grooves).

I have done 19mm dados on it.

The fence does not move when clamped. It may flex a bit at the back end of the table if you push against it, because it only locks at the front. This would be a con for any saw with this type of fence. It is not an issue in reality.

It has a magnifier on the fence position indicator.

When I bought mine, it was good value for the money. Quite a few forum members have one. It was the cabinet saw of choice for a period of time. There may be better saws on the market for the price, it is getting a bit old. However, it's a well established design, being based on the Unisaw which has been around for many years.

Originally Posted by JillB

7. Does not appear to have any locking bar arrangement for the sawblade - looks like you have to clamp it against a block of wood to undo the arbor bolt and remove the blade

9. No paddle over OFF button on main switch, to permit quick switch-off with knee

regards,
Jill

Silent C has already corrected some things that Jill said regarding the fence etc.

But in regards to number 7 you can use a very large thin spanner on the arbor to stop it moving whilst you remove the blade as there are two parrellel sides macjined into it. I modified an old large spanner to make it fit and it works a treat.

In regards to number 9 I find that I can turn it of without any problems by leaning my thighs against it as it doesn't take much prsssure to switch of.

The only drawback is the ruler tape supplied hasn't got indicators showing the in between 5 mm marks only the centimetre marks.

Also the price is getting a bit high, when I bought it, it was much cheaper.


Peter.

Originally Posted by silentC

The fence does not move when clamped. It may flex a bit at the back end of the table if you push against it, because it only locks at the front

Correction: your fence doesn't move when clamped.

I'll point out that this problem can occur during the act of clamping and it's only a mm or two. It's not the fence moving afterwards... although it can creep over under heavy loads, such as large panels. It may simply be that the clamping mechanism of the one I'm thinking of needs a bit of minor tweaking, but it isn't my saw and the owner is happy with it as is.

It's only a minor irritation at worst, provided you're aware that it can be a factor in the first place. (And don't have Silent's fence. )

Sounds like an issue with that particular fence to me. I wouldn't be happy with it, that's for certain.

As for adjustment, there isn't any as far as I can see. It's a cam on a lever. The harder you push the lever down, the tighter it locks. If it's sliding to one side or the other as you push down, it's probably a faulty clamp.

Be interested to hear if any other owners have had the same issue, because I haven't heard of it. It is a third party fence, so they may have changed providers or something. Mine is Align-A-Rip.

Originally Posted by JillB

Cons:
1. No riving knife behind blade, just a fixed splitter at the rear of the table. First job is to make a zero clearance insert with an inbuilt splitter as close to the blade as possible ( see Sturdee's jigs on this Forum here)
2. Needs a 15 amp outlet
3. Fence has some criticism, esp about moving 5mm on clamping.
4. No magnification lens on fence
5. No dust extraction over blade
6. Main 4" dust extraction may need some mods with internal panels to ensure optimum flow, esp with #4 above.
7. Does not appear to have any locking bar arrangement for the sawblade - looks like you have to clamp it against a block of wood to undo the arbor bolt and remove the blade
8. Weighs over 200kg ( this of course might be a "Pro" w.r.t machine vibration and stability)
9. No paddle over OFF button on main switch, to permit quick switch-off with knee
10. Manufacturer's manual, as supplied, is hopeless

1. I use a zero clearance insert and a MJ removeable splitter
2. Mine is 10 amp
3. The fence doesn't move on clamping
4. Mine has magnification
5. I don't find it an issue
6. Mine works fine unmodified
7. Not an issue, just sit a block of wood in front of the blade and the teeth will bite into it as you undo the arbour nut, don't over tighten it in the first place
8. It's heavy, which is good
9. Easy to modify but I haven't and it's not an issue. Check out the Wood Whisperer's saw for an easy modification
10. Correct, but it is a pretty basic saw.

The fence will only move when you clamp it if it is not perpendicular to the table.
When you move the fence sometimes it will twist slightly where the clamping mechanism slides on the fence rails.
If you hold the clamping lever and pull the fence towards you as you adjust it or clamp it there will be no movement.

Thinking about it, you're probably right. It's probably nothing wrong with the fence at all, it's the nut behind the wheel.

When I adjust mine, I slide it so that the red line is over the dimension I want, and then I push the lever down, but not all the way. I'm watching the red line, and if it moves a bit (because the fence wasn't parallel), I tap the lever right or left to line it up then lock it off. I do this without even thinking about it I guess because I had to actually go out and try it to see what happened. If I have to make a minor adjustment, I loosen the lever off a touch so that the fence will move and I tap it left or right and then lock it.

This is definitely not a problem with the fence - it would be typical of all Beisemeyer style fences, and probably other T square fences as well.

Originally Posted by Jack E

7. Not an issue, just sit a block of wood in front of the blade and the teeth will bite into it as you undo the arbour nut, don't over tighten it in the first place

Initially that's what I used to do but it became an issue when using dado blades, so I modified an old spanner for it.

Peter.

Originally Posted by silentC

It is a third party fence, so they may have changed providers or something. Mine is Align-A-Rip.

So is mine but it came standard with the TS, hence I don't have any problems either.


Peter.

Mine's the same brand fence as Silent and Sturdee.

I use a piece of wood to lock my dado blades for removal.

Originally Posted by silentC

Thinking about it, you're probably right. It's probably nothing wrong with the fence at all, it's the nut behind the wheel.

That's probably a fair description of it. After all it's just extruded ally sliding over extruded ally. I've used fences which had rollers fore & aft on the carriage which made the whole thing a non-issue, maintaining perpendicularity at all times.

Guess I was spoiled.

Ally!!

Mine's made from steel. It's got a plastic shoe on the clamp and the rest is steel mate. I've seen those extruded aluminium fences and I wouldn't have one. Unless it was an Incra

Many thanks for all this valuable information. Looks like the fence may / may not be a problem. Pity it does not have a riving knife.

regards.
Pete