Ryobi HBT255L Table Saw

[`Felix`]

G'day All,

A week ago I purchased a Ryobi Table Saw from my local Bunnings store and after putting it all together found that the Rip Fence is of a very poor design. After speaking to Ryobi directly and their local service manager saying well no-one else has complained about it (and the rudeness of the guy) I am returning it for a refund.

After some investigation I have found that the GMC unit has a far better designed Rip Fence and for less money - so I am going down that path...

Yes I did think about just putting a better 3rd party fence on the Ryobi, however when I looked at the costs of doing this - I would be better buying a more expensive table saw. Being a humble home woodworker I just want to stay in the budget range of products.

Your comments and feedback is most welcome. But for my phone cards worth - I will be thinking twice before I buy Ryobi again.

[nic]

From my point of view the only useable fence is a beismeyer type, where it locks at one end only and is easily adjustable.
Anything else will give you a hard time.
You can get a good table saw with proper fence for $1K, a "bit" more than a GMC but the pleasure of setting it once and not having to double checking each time you do a cut is more than worth it for me.

Good luck with the GMC

Cheers

Nic

[Geno]

Whilst I haven't seen the Ryobi you bought, I am surprised to hear that in your opinion the GMC has a better fence than the Ryobi.
I recently sussed out the GMC Table saw at Bunnies and could not bring myself to purchase something with such a crap fence. Sure it is cheap as chips but I can't see how it would be usable with the standard fence. The fence felt like it had been pressed out of recycled coke cans and wobbled all over the place.
The Ryobi must be quite ordinary!

[`Felix`]

Originally posted by Geno
I recently sussed out the GMC Table saw at Bunnies and could not bring myself to purchase something with such a crap fence. Sure it is cheap as chips but I can't see how it would be usable with the standard fence. The fence felt like it had been pressed out of recycled coke cans and wobbled all over the place.
The Ryobi must be quite ordinary!

Well the GMC TS I looked at last week has a lock down Fence and box aluminium, however before I pay for it I will be giving it a real good inspection now I know what to look for!

Other than that I would be interested in hearing what you guy's think of the Sherwood TS - they have one for around $380 Anyone got one? What is the Fence like?

At the end of the day given I am buying a budget priced TC I may simply have to invest in a after market Rip Fence - Timbecon have one for $149 - but this would be a last option...

[Wayne Davy]

Felix,

I have the Timbecon Saw and, while the Saw is good (Induction Motor, big table, etc.) the fence is crap. Unfortunately, thats what you get in this price range. I have heard that that Timbecon fence you mention is also not real good (search the forum).

Cheers,

[`Felix`]

Originally posted by Wayne Davy
I have heard that that Timbecon fence you mention is also not real good (search the forum).

G'day Wayne,

I just returned from Timbecon and had a look at their saws and have grabed a 3rd party rip fence. I had a good look at it and it is 100% better than the one on the Ryobi. So I am going to hang onto the TS and fit the new fence and see what happens - will let you all know... My only real issue with the Ryobi TS is the fence and the customer service from the Ryobi service manager.

Having said this i would not recormend to anyone to buy one of the budget priced TS (Basically anything under around $900) unless you are prepared to add a 3rd party fence.

BTW had a quick search of the forum, but didn't find anything specifically bad about the Timbercon fence. The one I have just purchased is a made by Sherwood even know the website says Torquata on the website (see here (http://www.timbecon.com.au/productsdetail.asp?sectid=12653&parentid=12471&prodid=28769) ) - all I can say is they have better have given me the right one or someones head is going to be rolling! - I just want to be able to use my bloody saw!

[`Felix`]

G'day,

I have some bad news - the new fence is not able to be fitted to the Ryobi. Simply there is nowhere on the front to mount it and the table is not wide enough for the back of the fence rail to be attached either...

So I have returned it and am back to square one...

But I did buy some more tools - 80 tooth blade and some other bits, oh and a handy little biscuit cutter attachment for my angle grinder... :D and lay-byed a stand from my SCMS.

Now the wife is saying "when is it going to end" and I replied "it's not for me to say dear...":D

[riffi1]

I posted a similar message on these forums a couple of weeks ago and got one reply which didn't bring me much joy. Basically the rear of the Ryobi fence drifts away from the blade by a couple of mils once the front locking screw is tightened. I also bought from Bunnings on the advice of the sales guy in the tools section who said he had one (no longer works there now does he!!). I ended up going back to my original plan and buying a Triton 2000 work centre. Despite the time involved in setting it up I am very pleased with it even though it's not a REAL tablesaw to the purists :D

Too much time has passed for me to return the Ryobi for a refund and I do have several other of their tools which I am very happy with. I haven't given up on the ryobi table saw as yet and am now thinking of adding on an mdf auxiliary fence with either a screw adjustment to make the rear parallel to the blade or looking at some packing shims similar to those used on the Triton router table fence. Not sure quite how to go about it - has anyone had similar experiences?

ROD :confused:

[tonyhart]

Darren/Rod

I purchased the same saw from Bunnings some time ago - seemed a cheaper option than the Triton I was considering and with a limited budget and skills it appeared to be the "right" thing to do. Wrong!

I have the same problem with the fence which I now refuse to use. The quality was very poor, the metal was not straight and it refused to clamp in alignment. I've resorted to using a home-made fence that I clamp in place. Additionally I've had the following problems..

1. The riving knife is impossible to adjust into alignment. The bracket flexes all over the place and is extremely weak. While it is mounted on the same carriage, there is no way you can adjust the skew of the knife as the whole assembly tends to twist quite easily.

2. My saw came with the blade approximately 1/8th of an inch out of alignment with the table. This required me to dis-assemble the whole thing, loosen the 4 mounting bolts and spend three hours trying to get everything straight.

3. The table to saw assembly mounting is 6 small phillips head screws and a nasty pivot pin. Enough said.

4. The yellow, opaque saw guard catches, and I can't see through it, let alone keep it out of the way to preview a starting cut.

I blame my own inexperience on the poor decision to buy the saw and I've perservered with it but ... I will be replacing it with a Triton MK3 or 2000 as soon as I can find one within my budget. I have a Triton Router table and I'm extremely happy with that, and given my limited abilities the cost of a "proper" table saw just isn't justified.

Regards,
Tony

[nic]

Originally posted by tonyhart
Darren/Rod
and given my limited abilities the cost of a "proper" table saw just isn't justified.

Regards,
Tony

Hi Tony
I completlty disagree with that satement for a couple reasons:

1-When you won't be able to do a straight cut, you'll wonder if it was you or the saw.

2-When the wood kicks back or your cuts are all burnt, you'll wonder if it's the saw that is out of alignment, or you did something wrong

I was like you not long ago, I invested in a "proper saw" (not saying you can't do a good job with a triton) and now when something goes wrong I can only blame myself. And also I have never had a single kick back since (touch wood)

Cheers

Nic

[Robert WA]

Ryobi make two table saws.
The cheap one sold at Bunnings etc really is just that, cheap. You get what you pay for.
The other one is great but, as far as I am aware, not available in Australia at the moment.
Here it is on the US site. People who have it, and its predecessor model, swear by it.
http://www.ryobitools.com/product/product.asp?prodid=243&prodcat=4&toolcat=4
DeWalt make a portable 10" table saw that looks sturdy and has an interesting fence setup. Don't know the price but, being DeWalt, it won't be cheap.