Thread: Opinions/Advice on first Table Saw purchase.

Hi Shane,

Thank you for the additional information. That's good to know, and gives me another thing to mark down what to look for in my search.

Cheers,

Ashley

Looks like bigger boys toys australia bbta has reduced the price of the harvey hw110lge30 to $2199- after having it up at $2999- for a while. My understanding is that bbta import directly from harvey vs the Australian distributor Major Woodworking. No experience directly with bbta but if price is the primary driver for you it may be worth a look.

G'day DomAu,

Thanks for the heads-up. So very very tempted tonight but still doing the research and the sums. $2341.23 delivered to Brisbane. Major Woodworking is $2495 before delivery (estimate $2637.23 delivered if using same transport as BBTA). As pointed out in another posting, Table is almost same as Laguna Platinum at $800 less. Suspect I may make a purchase within the next week, whether the 30 from BTTA or 50 from Major Woodworking.

As an extra question, does the hw110lge-30 meet all of your requirements cutting/ripping. I want to buy right the first time and wondering whether to lash out for the hw110lge-50 (in case wider is needed, I don't know really whether it's overkill or not). However, I'm sure I read on another forum posting that somebody offset the rails by one screw hole to get that little bit extra they needed (not much, but enough for their needs). There is only extra $95 between hw110lge-30 and hw110lge-50 at Major Woodworking but if had to buy the 50 railing separately, cost is $475 (plus delivery). At a guess the 50 from Major Woodworking would be $2732.23 delivered as opposed to buying the 30 from BTTA and the 50 rail from Major Woodworking for combined $2831.

Thank you again for all of your advice and experience,

Ashley

Hi Ashley,

I have the Harvey and love it.

But I thought it is easier to cut and paste and older post than retype so here goes....

Have you actually contacted BBT regarding the Harvey? I am assuming you have just seen the price online? The reason I ask is that I also saw that price and contacted Major Woodworking to see if they could do any better. As soon as I mentioned the price from "another supplier" he knew I was talking about BBT and said his price was the price and that for some reason BBT were undercutting everyone to get rid of what they had. Even though he was still helpful and apologetic about not being able to do better he agreed $1999.00 was a bargain.
BBT is not a dedicated woodworking store and I was a bit worried about technical support and after-sales service but I called them anyway. None in stock and no intention to bring in anymore.
This was back in June 2016 and I ended up paying $2590 for my Harvey. I did call BBT about 2 weeks ago about the Harvey slider but again, none in stock and no more coming in. I think it would be disappointing for one to place an order online with BBT and then find out after the fact that they haven't updated their website and that they don't actually carry Harvey anymore.

Even if you pay "full" price for the Harvey (which is just a rebadged Grizzly/Craftex etc.) you won't be disappointed and I found the quality and finish for a Chinese saw to be exceptional. I love it for my first TS and have already forgotten about the initial outlay. But this was an upgrade from my trusty Triton WC2000 and I was craving real, consistent accuracy.

BTW, it never stops once you get hooked. I have since added an Incra 1000HD mitre guage, the Incra Mitre sled and the Jessem Stock Guides.

Go with your gut and your budget but always allow a bit of money to buy decent blades.

Cheers,

Trav

Hi Ashley
you asked about the 30 vs the 50

I have the 30

And all the time I have had the store there has only been one occasion when I would want to rip greater than the 30s capacity ... and then I did the cat with a plung saw

Not sure how big your workshop is that the table saw does take a large portion

regards

Rob

Hi Ashley, sorry I missed your post. Good advice by Trav. I'm not sure about bbta stock status etc. I know they had them for 1999 then 2999 and now 2199 so who knows.

I got the 30" fence and have on occasion needed closer to 800mm. But for me I prefer to have the extra workshop space. If space wasn't an issue then why not the 50". I use a festool track saw to cross cut big sheets if needed.

Yes, the saw does everything I need and have asked of it. Although I am still a relative beginner myself so don't rely on my advice too much. I do not lust after a better saw and wouldn't pay the difference in price to upgrade to anything else, which is a good indication, as I am someone who typically ends up wanting the most expensive model in a range of products eventually. Not so with the table saw. I don't see any advantage to an industrial Sawstop etc for me.

I did also upgrade the mitre gauge to an incra 1000hd and would recommend this. I also made my own Jessem stock guide clones which are great for sheet goods.

I have ripped a heap of 60mm hard rock maple, lots of thick Blackbutt etc with no issues, but I did invest in a Freud 24t rip blade and a FLAI ultimate combination blade for general duties and cross cutting which were an improvement over the stock blade.

Also, DMT make a dado stack for 30mm Arbor saws. I have one and it works very well.

Cheers, Dom.

Hi Ashley. I live down the tweed and you are welcome to come play with my Laguna fusion if you like.

I like the fusion. But would be just as happy with my old Carbatec TSC10HB from a few years back.


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Hi Trav,

Thanks for the advice regarding btta. Will give btta a call tomorrow to check but must admit it's one of those things where do you take a risk (if they have one) to save $496 or pay a bit more from an established business with a shop-front. If they don't have one, no harm no foul.

G'day Tahlee, I have a shed which is 6m x 6m (1/2 this space is taken up with with a pool table, of which I plan to make a a supported ply cover to act as large work area, and behind the pool table I have a separate work bench with router and vice). This leaves me with 3m x 6m extra to play with. Mind you, as per DomAu's post, once I add a good dust extractor, and get a couple of extra items in good time (bandsaw, etc), room might fill up quite quickly.

Hi DomAu, thanks again for reply. Co-incidentally, I bought a magazine since my last question to you (Woodsmith Ultimate Table Saw Handbook) and had such a scenario as I was enquiring about. In Wordsmiths scenario, they clamped a cleat/straight-edge (which ever is correct terminology, maybe both, for Australia) underneath the oversize sheet and used that as a guide along to outside table edge (ensuring that the sheet was supported throughout). This has led me to the hw100lge-30 being more that adequate. I do like the Festool but that is for another day.

G'day Dazzler, that is very kind of you. You're not down Hastings way are you? A bloke was trying to sell one on Gumtree down your way a few weeks ago. Spotted it one day, sold the next. I really have to look at Gumtree a bit more regularly. (Not hitting you up for a sale or anything, just saying). I come down that way often for a surf (unfortunately not for last four months as getting over broken foot). Would be good to catch up, check out your fusion, and discuss wood-work. Cheers.

Regarding Gumtree I've found the only way to get my hands on decent gear was to create an account and then set up email alerts for various searches.

Otherwise I found myself constantly getting beat to the punch, good second hand woodworking machines are in short supply in Perth so there's always way more people looking than there are selling. Table saws are especially difficult to come by, I've only seen one Harvey (sold same day) and probably four Jets in the last 6 months. They all sold within a day or two.

G'day Bueller,

Haven't had too much experience with gumtree. Good tip setting up an account. Wife is more on the ball with it and has an account so maybe get her to set up for me. Out of interest, do they smash you on prices over your way being a bit of a captive/isolated (per-se) audience? Is it cheaper to have certain items transported from the east coast or is it still comparable?

Dazzler, I feel a bit thick, of course I could't check our your fusion if you sold it. Concentrating more on the cricket tonight that the posting. Apologies forth-with. Cheers.

Originally Posted by Asharper

G'day Bueller,

Haven't had too much experience with gumtree. Good tip setting up an account. Wife is more on the ball with it and has an account so maybe get her to set up for me. Out of interest, do they smash you on prices over your way being a bit of a captive/isolated (per-se) audience? Is it cheaper to have certain items transported from the east coast or is it still comparable?

Dazzler, I feel a bit thick, of course I could't check our your fusion if you sold it. Concentrating more on the cricket tonight that the posting. Apologies forth-with. Cheers.

Prices are similar over here but the selection is pretty terrible. Pretty much limited to Carbatec, Timbecon and Machinery House so the Laguna and Harvey machines are all off the table unless I ship them over. There is one Laguna stockist in Perth but they only stock the bandsaws and jointers. And there are some other machinery retailers here but they seem to cater to cabinet makers with huge panel saws and the like.

From what I hear shipping used to be comparable both ways but since the boom ended it's a more expensive going East-West. Shame I didn't get into this five years ago hey! Luckily I don't have a workshop right now so I can afford to play the waiting game on second hand stuff. Pretty confident I can find an old Woodfast thicknesser here and restore it so then I just need to lay my hands on a table saw, if I can't find one second hand I'll probably save for a Harvey.

Originally Posted by Asharper

G'day Dazzler, that is very kind of you. You're not down Hastings way are you? A bloke was trying to sell one on Gumtree down your way a few weeks ago. Spotted it one day, sold the next. I really have to look at Gumtree a bit more regularly. (Not hitting you up for a sale or anything, just saying). I come down that way often for a surf (unfortunately not for last four months as getting over broken foot). Would be good to catch up, check out your fusion, and discuss wood-work. Cheers.

Howdy.

Not me I am happy to say.

I am a bit further south at Koala Beach.

Your welcome anytime.



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Originally Posted by Asharper

Haven't had too much experience with gumtree. Good tip setting up an account.

You might want to check out machines4u as well, which is specifically for machinery unlike gumtree. It also has search notifications so you get emails when new items that match your search criteria are added.

G'day Bueller, thanks for update. I wish you all the very best on your search.

Dazzler, that's a nice area you live in. Surfed that area a bit in my youth, not so much now in my mid-years. Bushland hiding the coast from the road and the odd noah keeps the crowd down a bit.

Richmond68, thanks for the tip. Shall keep an eye on machines4u.

Trav and DomAu, I contacted BTTA today. Was advised that they have no HW110LGE-30's in stock at the moment but expecting shipment in by 31 January 2017.

Cheers all.