Thread: Beginner's guide to Triton?!

Hi Wort

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Do a search on e-bay for savings on purchase but look closely at what your getting value for $$.

Do a search in the forurm

Thanks wheelinround, a very interesting link there, with some good support for Triton. I had searched the forum for info but sadly it seemed to be adding to my confusion (it isn't hard to do, it must be said)!

I actually got the opportunity to pop into a different Bunnings this afternoon while the topic was fresh in my mind, and after a bit of the usual unhelpful guesswork from the wrong staff member we finally found the right guy, who owns some Triton gear himself and was a huge help. They also had prices displayed and a slightly more organised display than my local store too, so I think I've got a firmer grasp now - maybe someone can confirm or contradict this?!

The heart of all the Triton stuff seems to be the Workcentre, which costs $500 and needs a (preferably decent) circular saw to go in it. This is basically the latest incarnation of the same system used by tradies and DIYers since the 70s. Once you have that you can rip, crosscut and mitre cut to a respectable accuracy. It comes with a decent, reliable fence and with the right extras you can easily chop up full sheets of material. It can be expanded into doing all kinds of other operations with accessories like additional support tables, router tops, planers etc etc. It's not cheap to get yourself set up but it is almost certainly a fair bit cheaper than buying separate machines of high enough quality to match or beat the results you'll get with the Triton. Plus, even if you go down the path of dedicated machines in the future, the Triton stuff seems like it will always come in useful.

The Powered Saw Table (PTA001) is a comparatively recent addition to the range and the Bunnings chap suspects it was a bit of a response to the cheapo GMC and Ryobi table saws. It costs under $200, and INCLUDES a removable baby (7.25") circular saw (actually just a rebadged chinese Ozito type thing). It is smaller than the workcentre, and no doubt less versatile, but there are still a few goodies available for it and for the money it is probably a much better buy than the cheapo table saws. At the very least you can cut straight with it, which isn't necessarily true of the GMC/Ryobi options.

Still not totally sure whether the Workcentre is worth the big difference in price - for $200 the Powered Table Saw looks pretty capable and it can be expanded to do other jobs. The Workcentre is its bigger brother, it has a bigger range of accessories available, but at $500 (not including saw) it tips the scales at something like 3 times the price.

Anyone care to argue the case for the Workcentre over the PTA001?

Originally Posted by WortGames

FWIW, at this stage I'm mostly looking for a reliable table saw that will rip sheet material and do it straight. !

The triton is good for ripping sheet material particularly if you have the maxi extension table, otherwise you will need triton multi stands to support the sheets when you rip them.

If its only for ripping sheet stuff then i would look at a good quality circular saw and build a jig to cut the sheets square.

Here is a cheap one;



IMO with sheet goods you want to move the machine not the sheet due to the size.

Triton is good, great with all the gear, but then the cost is up there with TS anyway.

i would also advise a circular saw and a jig for cutting seet material as it is a real bastrd moving around big sheet on a table saw.

Triton uses a circular saw so you have the option of removing it to cut panels if you so desire.

Bought a circular saw 2 yrs ago, have no idea where it is now.

Originally Posted by Cruzi

Triton uses a circular saw so you have the option of removing it to cut panels if you so desire.

Bought a circular saw 2 yrs ago, have no idea where it is now.

Your triton ate it

Thanks guys. It is certainly not just for cutting sheet material, it is for everything I choose to build in the future - so in that respect the more versatile it is the more use it will get. I currently use a $50 GMC CS for cutting just about everything, and I find it a bit of a PITA. It's fine for the early cuts while the sheet is big but all that measuring and clamping and my lack of patience (or a decent bench) mean that when I get down towards finished sizes it is all getting a bit ugly and losing its square. I'd be much happier with a fence and some confident parallel or perpendicular cuts!

So I've already decided I'm in the market for some sort of table saw (and come to think of it a mitre/snip off saw) so I'd already be looking at about $400 to do it just with GMC stuff, and still probably not be able to cut square. Or for $500 I could bung the GMC CS in the Workcentre and hopefully at least start cutting straight (and quick). Then in time I could get a better saw for it, the sliding table attachment, then the router table and so on. I reckon if and when I get to the stage where I say to myself 'you know what, this Triton really isn't up to my standards, what I need is a $1000-plus dedicated table saw' then I won't regret having the Triton as a portable spare or a dedicated router table.

Or I'll sell it on eBay

I think I've just about sold myself on the Workcentre - what do you reckon?

I would go along to the trition owners meeting and get them to give you a rundown first, it may fit the bill

The workcentre is very versatile and when you outgrow it, they are easy to sell or handy to keep for their portability.

A Triton owners meeting as suggested or one of those Demo Days at your local hardware store.
Then there's the Working With Wood Show where you will get plenty of demos and you can ask all the questions you like.

Carry Pine

I've sent you a PM, WortGames.

Ray.

Hi WortGames, Given you are in Melbourne, come along to our next club meeting - Holmesglen Tafe, details and map can be found here: www.tritonwoodworkers.org.au

There is also a course run at Holmesglen (by me) on Triton - the next one is in April.

There are 3 machines you'll typically see in Bunnings (as I'm sure you are working out). The Triton Workcentre 2000, the Powered SawTable, and the Router Table.

A great initial workshop setup is the 2000 and the RTA300 with stand (the router table). It is a pain to keep changing the workcentre from tablesaw to router table and back - the extra stand is definitely worth it. In the long run, they have a very good resale value, so although there is a cost outlay, a lot is recoverable, and that is something that doesn't seem to come into a lot of the arguments for and against Triton.

A GMC CS is quite possibly not going to meet your expectations / requirements for table mounting. You need a decent saw for the job, and again, money worth spending (and not necessarily a Triton, but it is a beast ) If you try the GMC, and don't ever seem to be able to cut square, start asking the question "what is saw slump?"

BTW, although the powered saw table as a product is new, it is the now discontinued product - the compact saw table - with a small CS saw included.

Thanks again for helping me out everyone!

The Triton meetings (and courses) look good but will sadly have to wait, my weekends are spoken for at least for a little while, and my budget will already be stretched by the 2000 (I think it will take some doing to talk me out of it now!)

My initial confusion was due to being totally unfamiliar with the Triton system, and basically looking at a stack of similar-looking and unpriced boxes in Bunnings with very confusing photos and not really knowing what was what. I didn't know whether I was Arthur or Martha - whether I needed a Powered Saw Table (with optional router kit etc etc etc) or a Workcentre (also with optional accessories), which model was better at doing what, which came with what accessories and so on. The website is a bit more helpful, but again, without prices it is really hard to work out the positioning of each model, and the real value of all the options. Is the Powered Saw Table a more expensive and more accurate table saw than a 2000, for example? The website told me how brilliant everything was, but not why I should choose one model over the other.

I realise now that it isn't actually all that confusing at all, and that if you take the Powered Saw Table out of the mix it is actually pretty straightforward.


Regarding the cheapo GMC CS, I have no doubt that it will prove to be woefully inadequate - however, it is sitting here, and it means that I can get started. The way I see it, if I buy the $250 Ryobi TS (or even the PTA001), then I simply have 2 crappy saws, with no scope for improvement. On the other hand, I can spend $500 (or a bit less, if I can get my friend to use his Bunnings discount) for the 2000, put the GMC CS in it and have something which I'm sure will pee all over the Ryobi immediately, and leave it for dead in a few weeks when I buy a real CS to go in it. Plus, I will then have a beast of a CS which I can pull out if I have a CS job where the GMC just won't cut it (pun intended).

So I'm feeling pretty good about the decision to go with the Triton, but I do have a question regarding the router table. It seems a little odd to buy the router table by itself, and to mess around with the 2000, removing the saw etc, to essentially turn the 2000 into nothing more than a $500 set of legs. Am I missing something here? Does the 2000 actually offer anything special to the router table, or would the router table be just as effective mounted in a milk crate?! (I'm exaggerating for effect here, I'm not really that bogan).

Then, if the router table is going to go on the dedicated base, is it really worth the best part of $400 all up, or are there other 'all-in-one' router tables that would represent better value for money?

if you are after a router table then dont waste your money on a tryton the top (on mine) is noware near flat and the fence system aint that good. (i think niel "dai sensei" had the smae problem with his)

i bought a unbranded router table off ebay a wile back and it is realy gret little tool all i need now is to buy a better router than the gmcrap i have now. i can take a pic and see if i can find the guys name if you like only cost me $70 ic delivery.