The TS250RS Woodfast or the ST250 Hafco?

While i've gotten good use from my Triton mk3 over many years, i've decided to upgrade to something a little better. The TS250RS Woodfast and the ST250 Hafco are both available from Hare and Forbes at roughly the same price (and fit my budget). Both have sliding tables standard although they look quite different. I've checked out the specs on the internet and can't decide. Unfortunately I live a looong way from H&F , or any other machinery supplier, so I can't go look. I'm hoping to get some comment or advice from owners of these sawbenches or any other sawbench anyone might care to suggest as alternatives. Anyone, please?:?
mike

I was in the same boat looking at these 2 a few months ago now. I rang hare and forbes and got told that the hafco was on special to clear them out as they weren't overly impressed with the general quality of the unit and they recomended the woodfast over it. I was inclined to believe them as they were effectively pushing the cheaper option to me.

The only issue with this is (I have a post asking about the TS250RS somewhere) is that a few members on here were rather unhappy with its performance. The basic jist of it was that the sliding table had issues being perfectly aligned and that the outrigger wasn't strong enough to support full panels above 18mm thick without flexing somewhat.

Even after reading these replies, I was still reasonably keen on it as I use a lot of panels. The deal breaker was that being in Adelaide, there is no H&F here, only a dealer. As such they didn't keep the woodfast in stock and as such they wouldn't order one in without full payment so without a trip to Melbourne there was really no way of actually seeing it myself so that I could make my own decision :/

I'm in Pt Augusta so viewing any type of sawbench is even more of a problem, and if i can't see before i buy good advice from owners is invaluable.
I added the sliding table to my Triton as soon as it was available and think its the best thing about Triton along with the Triton portability and have found it great to use. I really do like having the slider and think i'd miss it a lot.
H&F presently have the Woodfast ts250rs at $1749 and the Hafco ST250 at $1419, apparently a turnaround from 2 months ago so maybe now they're really trying to clear out the Hafco?.A bad sign??
I just noticed in the forums that some members have retrofitted their old Triton slide to a new better sawbench, so maybe i should look at a fixed table and do that too. I have been to the Carbatech shop on Magill road, but the quality of the only sliding benchsaw in my price range did not impress me. Maybe i should go back again to look at fixed tables.
Did you end up getting a sawbench or are you still looking? I think I'm getting more confused...:oo:

Socratous, how about you ring the blokes from Woodfast . . .

For 8 years or so I owned a D Tool ts-250 basically the same as the woodfast but an older model. In Short They are CRAP. Buy an older second hand machine or keep saving.

This is much better buying

Used HAFCO 12" Table Saw, Tilt for sale: $1,250 AUD - A Class Woodworking Machinery -Table Saws

its 3 phase so unless you have it avail you would need to rip out the 3hp 3ph motor and raplace it with a 3hp single phase one and have it rewired as such $3-400 should cover that. With the bisemeyer fence and 12 inch blade you would never need to upgrade

You wont regret it

Andrew

What problems have you experienced with it kiwioutdoors? I found some other posts including from Socratous expressing doubts re the ts250rs so maybe i'll stay clear, don't have enough spare cash to take chances.:no:
I confess to still being tempted by the look of the ST250 Hafco with the slider, but I'd really like to see one up close...If anyone owns one and cares to comment i'd be very appreciative. Including what, if any, dado capability does it have?
I looked at the link you sent, thanks. I see that i could get a new St12D 300mm saw from H&F for not much more than the expected cost of the 2nd hand one with the mods without the pain of getting mods done (don't have 3 phase sadly) , but appreciate the pointer. Maybe a bit more spent on a fixed table with 300mm blade would be a more future-proof option for me. The Hafco St12D does also have an optional arbor extension for dado blade for additional cost, but the site does not state what dado width capability will be. Might have to email H&F to find out - you'd think they'd specify such things without needing prompting :rolleyes:
And then there's GPW's 10/12" table saw looking interesting too, again with dado but again unspecified width capability, still a 12" table saw for $1375 sounds good if the saw quality is OK.?

Bear in mind things may have changed but here are my list of issues with them

-to access the motor you have to remove the cast iron table tops or tip the machine on it side
-No ability to take dado
-made in China so generally poor quality ie aluminium parts such as the fences lack the accuracy of steel. The bolts to adjust the fence latterally striped out on the aluminium on mine and I had to re tap and install bigger bolt as a fix
-Blade wobble the motor and blade on mine were mounded to rails fixed to the cabinet on 1 inch metal slides ( it had a feature where you could unlock the motor and pull the saw toward you to gut if you wished) Cant see that on the current model. On Quality saw the motors are normally mounted on the trunnion which attached to the cast tops for rigidity. I could move my motor and blade 2-3 mm with my fingers not condusive to accuracy

Of the two you were discussing go with this

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Pr...tockCode=W450#

if you save a little extra go with this

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Pr...stockCode=W454

Mike, I ended up getting the carbatec 10HB (TSC-10HB Heavy Duty Cabinet Saw : CARBA-TEC), it seems to be the running favourite around here. 2 months ago they had it out of a pretty good special so that made the decision a lot easier. My only gripe is that the fence rails aren't long enough for what I want to do, but that is an easy mod.

I agree that the the cheaper carbatec model with the sliding table was mediocre at best, it didn't take much force at all to deflect the table down at all.

If you already have the triton slider assembly, I'd be inclined to lean towards getting the 10HB and looking at the threads on here as to how to attach the triton table to it.

Thanks Socratous and Kiwioutdoors for your helpful comments. I'm now leaning heavily towards the carbatec 10hb or the hafco st12d. While i've found my 230mm blade in my triton ok for many years i'm thinking i ought to seriously consider the 300mm of the hafco st12d. And also, while i've never used a dado blade it seems prudent to not preclude the possibility, which rules out the otherwise interesting hafco st250 as it has no dado capability at all. I believe the carbatech has 15mm dado capability and have yet to hear from Hare and Frobes what the optional arbor extension adds to the st12d. Btw, have you seen the GPW10/12 saw, Gary Pye Woodturning :: Gary Pye Woodturning - GPW 10/12" Table Saw, - it has 20mm dado, 10 or 12 inch blade and left tilt (which i have read is good??) ? It's 2 hp rather than the 3 hp these other 2 have but that might not be an issue...Freight seems to be quite a killer at over $300 ! A pain living out in the wilds sometimes. I guess I've got a bit more considering to do.:(

I have the GPW saw equivalent ,branded TJTS ( Townsville Jet Tool Shop).
Absolutely love it , very solid and comes with a very nice Biesemeyer fence .
fence has tracks on the faces for fitting accessories ./
It has adjustable stops for blade tilt etc.
The 2hp motor is plenty of hp .
It's very quiet and vibration free.
Ive added an Incra 1000SE mitre gauge and made some zero clearance throat plates from 12mm ply .I'm ordering a Wixey gauge for the fence this week.Not that the scale that comes with the fence is rubbish , I just like the ability to zero with out doing maths in the head where I can make mistakes.I use a Wixey angle gauge to set the blade angles as well.
Freight for me Inc insurance was $350 from Townsville to Katherine NT.
One other forum member in Tennant Creek has just taken delivery of the GPW branded one , I haven't heard from him how he's going with it but I'm sure he would have been on the blower to me if there was something wrong.
Kev.

Thanks Kev,
I knew I'd seen the GPW saw elsewhere and yes, it was a Jet. Maybe same rebranded? Good (20mm) dado capability and 12 inch blade. Hmmmmmm.....

Mike, I was looking for a table saw with a $1000 budget.
I went to the Adelaide Wood show and looked at the Carbatec, Woodfast, Jet etc and was not impressed with them at all.
All the ones I looked at were too rough And the ones with sliding tables were too flimsy.
After reading Woodlee experience's in the table saw section of this forum, I contacted him and had a chat,
I have recently bought a CS1012 table saw for $ 1375.00, when it arrived I was impressed by the better quality than the others.
I blew my budget but it was worth it.
I cant believe how quiet it is.
Freight from Currumbin to Tennant Creek was $379.30 plus GST.

Kev, I have a major problem with the saw at the moment, I haven't got time to use it, got to many pens to make.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wm460

I have recently bought a CS1012 table saw for $ 1375.00, when it arrived I was i

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Was it one of these?
Jet Tool Shop

Thats a great buy and you can gradually upgrade to the sliding table etc as funds allow

The Gary Pye version is even better at the price:
Gary Pye Woodturning :: Gary Pye Woodturning - GPW 10/12" Table Saw
Exactly the same photo ..... even the dust on the floor to the left! Just a photoshop of the GPW logo!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sir Stinkalot

The Gary Pye version is even better at the price:
Gary Pye Woodturning :: Gary Pye Woodturning - GPW 10/12" Table Saw
Exactly the same photo ..... even the dust on the floor to the left! Just a photoshop of the GPW logo!

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Yes this is the one I got. :2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

Hi WM60,
the CS1012 looks like the same saw as the GPW10/12 i mentioned in an earlier post. I've emailed GPW yesterday to see if I can get it delivered to someplace in Adelaide rather than Pt Augusta and maybe save some freight - a trip to Adelaide with a trailer is not too big a deal and gets me a couple of days in Adelaide (spend the savings on some other bits and pieces, maybe that Dado blade I've talked about :wink:) so I'm waiting for a response now. All the saws recommended by others were tempting and this has been a hard decision for me. Eventually have to bite on it though!! Thanks to all those offering helpful comments and saving me from making decisions i'd regret - very much appreciate your time and consideration :U
mike

Mike ,
I mucked around for over two years trying to decide on which saw to get .I did have my sights set on the Woodfast with the sliding table .I spoke to the guys at Woodfast , and asked questions regarding the sliding table ,after getting some advice from an other forum member regarding his.
The Woodfast response was not convincing .
I noticed that Jet have a model almost identical to the Woodfast and got in touch with JTST ,I spoke to alan Goodbun and he advised me that that Model jet is not as solid as the other models.
He tested it at a wood show and was not impressed.

I bought the CS10/12 from Townsville .Im very happy with the saw ,Its very solid , quiet and well made .The fence is a Biesemeyer type and is very good .The storage cabinet under the saw is a good thing as well.

I reckon this saw is very good value and I don't think you'll be disappointed with it.

The CS10/12 is the same saw as the GPW , as advised by Townsville Jet Tool Shop.

Kev.

The freight company I used was,

Lynne Simpson
National Transport Group

Phone:02 9894 2872
Fax: 02 9680 7942
Email:[email protected]

Lynne was extremely helpful. :2tsup::2tsup:

GPW freight was about $600 by memory,
Some of the Quotes I got cost more that the saw, another Company said to bring the saw in so they can give me a quote. :((:((

Well, took delivery of the GPW10/12 (aka 12M10a) and I'm a happy chappy. :U Should have upgraded years ago, no more on the knees trying adjust blade height from under the table, a good fence and the ability to change blade angle which was nigh impossible with the Triton. Waaay quieter and a 12" blade (cmt 72 tooth).:2tsup:
A few tweaks needed now though; a mod needed to the mitre guide to remove some of the side-play - maybe drill a hole in the side and put a grubscrew in (nylon screw perhaps?). Fitting of the Triton slide table. A small adjustment to the blade to correct a 1/4 to 1/2 mm off-parallel to the mitre slot, a tweak of the mitre guide stops for 45 and 90 and its all done!!
Thanks again to those who took the time to help me with this decision, very much appreciated. :U