Thread: 300mm table saw & blades feedback please

Zed [the young fella]

Mate, can't comment much on the tablesaws, but would believe if the unit is made in Taiwan the quality would be not too bad. A personal observation is that with Chinese machinery, unless you really know what you are looking at you could end up with somthing that looks good, but in reality is crap. In my own business [not woodworking] a lot of Chinese machinery has come onto the market in recent years, and those who have bought them have regretted it. Nuff said on that.

Re sawblades. A lot of press has been given to thin kerf blades. Less sawdust, better cutting efficiency etc etc. Bought one - and not a cheapie - don't use it anymore. On a tablesaw, unless you are quite precise in moving the timber past the blade, I believe you can get blade flex on thin kerf blades, particularly on a deep cut in bigger pieces of timber. For my money stick to a 3 or 3.2 mm blade. I also keep particular blades for ripping and cross cutting. Either of the blades you mention I think would be OK. I personally use Stehle - german made - available from Peacock saws in Brisbane and they are really good.

You will quite often find when purchasing a tablesaw, it like so many other things will have a price point, and to keep to that price point, they throw in a cheap blade.

Change the blade and the change can be dramatic.

Good luck with the new toy

Colin Howkins
Graceville Qld.

And you should not have to replace your existing saw blades - with a 5/8 arbor you can use the standard saw blade fit washers to downsize any standard blades - even those off your old Triton - and still use them in the new saw - you might only need 1 12"/305mm blade for the deep cuts. Dadoes are much the same thing - a fairly standard 8" set will work OK - your only possible problem will be the insert around the blades.

Hi Zed, I can't comment on the particular model your'e looking at , but 1 thing I regret with my T/s ( a 12 inch version of the TSC10HB that everyone seems to have ) is the lack of a proper riving knife. I have Freud blades and both CMT and Freud router bits and I don't think the Freud are any better ,given the higher price. One thing I will say about freud tho is they seem to be very well balanced- my 8 inch Dado set just hums away quietly even with a full stack of blades and I have a large panel raising router bit which spins like a 1/2 inch bit.
Left vs right tilt isin't much of an issue for me as You can put the fence on either side of the blade on my saw- although you don't have as much capacity on the left side.

Bruce T.

Can you buy Forrest blades in Australia? I've just ordered their thin kerf (.100 thou) 40 tooth Woodworker2 and the dampener plate. I'm waiting for it to arrive. In all the reviews I have read it seems to beat the Freud blades.

Originally Posted by sundancewfs

Can you buy Forrest blades in Australia? I've just ordered their thin kerf (.100 thou) 40 tooth Woodworker2 and the dampener plate. I'm waiting for it to arrive. In all the reviews I have read it seems to beat the Freud blades.

I read, somewhere, that you need a special Forrest machine to sharpen Forrest blades - something to do with non-standard angles. It might have referred specifically to the dado head... Anyway, seems your average saw doctor won't have this machine so it might get re-ground to something different. Also, this'all might be total BS........

ok sounds like the freud is the go, thanks!. with a 20% discount the price is a good one too...

One more question - forgive my ignorace, does the MBS300 have A spillter or a riving knife ? Ie is it the type that goes up and down with the blade ???? or is at the same height all the time witha manual adjustment ?

if u want to cut a trench with the blade do you have to remove the riving knife ?

Originally Posted by Zed

.........if u want to cut a trench with the blade do you have to remove the riving knife ?

Zed, if it is a riving knife, it'll be about the same height as the 12" blade - which will put it above the dado head - so it'll have to come off. It is is a splitter, it'll be back further and you'll probably be able to cut dados in narrow boards without removing it. You might find the saw is sold in the US with a Grizzly or Delta badge.... and so you might be able to get decent specs and a manual online.

Originally Posted by Zed

One more question - forgive my ignorace, does the MBS300 have A spillter or a riving knife ? Ie is it the type that goes up and down with the blade ???? or is at the same height all the time witha manual adjustment ?

if u want to cut a trench with the blade do you have to remove the riving knife ?

Zed,
on my machine it goes up and down with the blade, also tilts with the blade. Using a 12" blade there is no need to remove it for cutting trenches.

I think it will need to be removed to run your dado blade set, not sure how much trouble to remove it, I've never looked.

If this is the same as your MBS300, it has a splitter.... http://www.grizzly.com/products/G9957

Fine looking saw

thanks guys, gregories tells me it sa riving knife and it goes up and down... thank mother earrh, almost thought I'd have to scrap buying one if it only had a splitter!

Zed,

I have a TS222 Woodman saw which is an original version of the MBS300. It's a great saw & very reliable (had mine for 10 years). If I were you I'd ditch the 5/8" arbour & get a 30mm arbour. You can stick with the 5/8" if you are a TAB (tightArzBastard) but you will be somewhat limited if you want high-end blades. Also, you usually find 5/8" arbours on smaller motors.
I'm not sure if the MBS300 has Biesemeyer style fence but if it hasn't, get one. I've got something different & wish I had a 52" (1320mm) Biesemyer style.
If you've got a mate with a laser level get him to lend it to you when you set up the swinging arm & all will be sweet!

This is my saw...

Why don't you buy a truly top quality saw Zed?

The Rolls Royce of saws is Altendorf

Altendorf will leave all the hobby tools you're looking at for dead.

and use a 350mm blade with a 30mm arbor.

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for a table saw to cut lumber of 3 inches by 8 inches maximum. The saw should have a guard that does not hurdle the cutting the lumber of the above size.
<O
Please suggest the type or place where I can try to get this.<O

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Best regards to all<O
<O
Hashim<O

Major,

the MBS300 comes with the 30mm arbour as standard now, the 5/8 is a retrofit attachement when u use a dado, or so the salesperspon tells me.

I'm not getting the slider as I dont have the room (My shed is a 2.5 car in line garage.. so width is an issue, If I was to get a slider I'd probably get a Hammer K3 Winner (damn the expense!! )

Echidna, see the comment above I direct to Major re the shed space.. besides an altendorf would cost a packet yeah ?

Siridius, SOunds like the MBS300 is the go. Or the equivalent available in Canada.