New Toy! TSC 12HK Table saw

[Kiwibrucee]

Hi All,
Just picked up a new table saw on saturday morning and spent the weekend asembiling it and playing.
Saw is from the leda agent here in melbourne- who happens to be just down the road from me :). I ended up buying from him after waiting 2 months!:( for a answer from that other melbourne store as to when they would have some more Tsc 10hb's(which seem to be made by the same company as the leda model anyway).
Saw was fairly accurate straight out of the box with only a couple of minor tweaks needed and I'm very happy with fit and quality of build, however a couple of things could have been designed better:

1. It seems to spray dust out the slot for the handwheel in the front.- even with 2hp dust collector connected.

2.Standard blade insert dosnt seem to sit very stable, even after adjusting grub screws.- not a biggie as I plan to make a zero clearance anyway.

3.Blade guard/splitter assembly not very user friendly,looks like the same system on most of the tiwanese saws.Have done a search on this and couldn't find any definitive answers on this.

Anyone have any suggestions for these issues?
What are overhead guards like?

Thanks in advance Bruce T.

[AlexS]

If it's anything like mine, the grubscrews on the insert need Loctite on them, otherwise they go out of adjustment very quickly.

For your inserts, buy a cutting board made out of softish plastic of the appropriate thickness. I made tracks for 2 crosscut sleds and three inserts from a $10 cutting board.

[Iain]

And if you're too tight to buy loctite pinch SWMBO's nail varnish, works just as well :D

[ryanarcher]

Looks a treat Bruce! Allthough It looks as if your face would be precisely in the kickback zone when turning off the switch? Are you going to rig up some sort of knee kill switch?

[Groggy]

Hi All,
Just picked up a new table saw on saturday morning and spent the weekend asembiling it and playing.
Saw is from the leda agent here in melbourne- who happens to be just down the road from me :). I ended up buying from him after waiting 2 months!:( for a answer from that other melbourne store as to when they would have some more Tsc 10hb's(which seem to be made by the same company as the leda model anyway).
Saw was fairly accurate straight out of the box with only a couple of minor tweaks needed and I'm very happy with fit and quality of build, however a couple of things could have been designed better:

1. It seems to spray dust out the slot for the handwheel in the front.- even with 2hp dust collector connected.

2.Standard blade insert dosnt seem to sit very stable, even after adjusting grub screws.- not a biggie as I plan to make a zero clearance anyway.

3.Blade guard/splitter assembly not very user friendly,looks like the same system on most of the tiwanese saws.Have done a search on this and couldn't find any definitive answers on this.

Anyone have any suggestions for these issues?
What are overhead guards like?

Thanks in advance Bruce T.Bruce,

I have the TC-12 from Get Woodworking (I assume that's where yours came from). If you'd like I could show you my setup (Hoppers), that may answer your questions better than text can.

[Robert WA]

Quote - "1. It seems to spray dust out the slot for the handwheel in the front.- even with 2hp dust collector connected."

One day when you are inside the cabinet for some reason, glue a piece of stiff cloth across the slot. Slit the cloth to follow the arc of the centre of the handwheel shaft.

The slit opens enough to allow the shaft to move through its arc, but closes the rest of the slot to prevent dust coming through. The secondary benefit is that closing the slot concentrates the effect of your dust collector and makes it more effective.

Rob.

[PaulS]

Hi All,
1. It seems to spray dust out the slot for the handwheel in the front.- even with 2hp dust collector connected.
or another way is to stick some fridge magnets across the front. And just move them as needed.

As for the switch location, i was in at Timbecon the other day and the model that they have there has the switch box connected off the bottom of the front fence rail on the left hand side. I think this is a much better place. Mine is in the same place as yours and is a pain.


Paul

[Robert WA]

or another way is to stick some fridge magnets across the front. And just move them as needed.

Paul

Brilliant Paul.
Now I have a use for all those stupid fridge magnets people keep giving me. I have a couple from local politicians, or would be politicians, a putting them close to a saw blade is just perfect.
Rob.

[Groggy]

...The slit opens enough to allow the shaft to move through its arc, but closes the rest of the slot to prevent dust coming through. The secondary benefit is that closing the slot concentrates the effect of your dust collector and makes it more effective.

Rob.I'd add that you need to be careful in blocking air entry points. Excessive blocking of air flow can cause the saw motor to run hotter than it is designed for, shortening it's life.

cheers.

[Kiwibrucee]

Thanks for the replys guys, hadn't thought much about the switch position yet,have seen a design somewhere for a knee switch but like the idea of moving it a bit higher if theres enough cable to do it without rewiring the whole thing.

Thanks for the offer Groggy am always interested to see others setup as you never know what you'll learn.if you PM me your details we'll try to organise a time for a visit, and yes I did buy it from Get Woodworking.

I think I will try to rig up some kind of deflector for the sawdust inside the cabinet which will look tidier but fridge magnets will do the trick in the short term Thanks:)

[DPB]

Hi All,

1. It seems to spray dust out the slot for the handwheel in the front.- even with 2hp dust collector connected.

2.Standard blade insert dosnt seem to sit very stable, even after adjusting grub screws.- not a biggie as I plan to make a zero clearance anyway.

3.Blade guard/splitter assembly not very user friendly,looks like the same system on most of the tiwanese saws.Have done a search on this and couldn't find any definitive answers on this.
I have a Leda 12" model. I purchased it with the overhead blade guard. This comes with the splitter attached to the trunnion which raises and lowers with the blade. The overhead guard is designed with dust extraction which is next to useless.

I found that the under saw dust extraction is improved by blocking off most of the air inlets in the cabinet. I blocked off the louvered vents in the motor housing extension with duct tape. This concentrates most of the air in-flow through the blade slot thus improving the dust extraction. I have read that there is a risk of the motor not cooling properly if too many of the inlets are blocked. As I don't run the saw continuously, I don't think the motor will heat up too much.

I have made zero clearance blade inserts for my dado blades, but find the factory supplied insert is fairly close to the blade anyway so don't see much advantage in making one with a tighter fit.

[markharrison]

I found that the under saw dust extraction is improved by blocking off most of the air inlets in the cabinet. I blocked off the louvered vents in the motor housing extension with duct tape. This concentrates most of the air in-flow through the blade slot thus improving the dust extraction. I have read that there is a risk of the motor not cooling properly if too many of the inlets are blocked. As I don't run the saw continuously, I don't think the motor will heat up too much.

I have made zero clearance blade inserts for my dado blades, but find the factory supplied insert is fairly close to the blade anyway so don't see much advantage in making one with a tighter fit. [/font]
Zero clearance inserts will improve dust collection but they also serve two very other useful purposes. I made a whole batch of them (just plywood) and I have different ones for different blades. I also have different ones for different dado widths.

1. Crosscut quality on the downward face will improve dramatically. Particularly on plywood.

2. They improve safety. Little offcuts will not get jammed between the blade and insert and flung back at you.

As for the cooling thing? I don't think that this is a major issue. Particularly if you collect dust under the table. A lot of air gets moved, even if dust collection is only so-so!

I've had mine set up to block extraneous dust escaping but it is only effective to a certain point. These saws really need a shroud like the euro saws. That's a project for later!

[Kiwibrucee]

[QUOTE=DPB]
I have a Leda 12" model. I purchased it with the overhead blade guard. This comes with the splitter attached to the trunnion which raises and lowers with the blade. The overhead guard is designed with dust extraction which is next to useless.

DPB I think you have the next model up (about $2500 from memory) as my saw dosn't have the facility to attach a splitter to the trunion.The salesman mentioned to me that if I wanted to spend some more then this was available on another model.
Thanks for the info on the leda overhead guard- I'll have to look elsewhere.

Thanks Kiwibrucee