Thought I'd give all a bit of a review from a newbie Table Saw owner.

Yesterday I went into Carba-Tec and decided to buy a Table Saw. Given the wife has put me on a strict budget and i'm a newbie still, figured I'd either buy the Triton Workcentre 2000 or one of Carba-Tec branded ones.

The Carba-Tec folks were really helpful in terms of the selection process and I agreed by the time I bought the circular saw, bench, accessories etc i'd be pretty much in the $800 bracket - so why double up (since i have a compound / circula saw) and get the Carba-Tec 8" Contractors Saw w/ Sliding Table.

It firstly fitted in my car, so that was a plus. I got it home and unpacked and began the installation process.

Heres my notes thus far:

  • Installation Manual was either old or missing pages? I instead found the actual manual for the saw via AxMinster.co.uk website and finally was able to figure out what the hell the original one was talking about. Better quality pictures and extra 20+ pages compared to the one i got in the box.
  • I found the extension arms bolt holes for the table confusing in terms of "making sure it was level with the table". In that there is 4 per arm (16mm and 30mm). The 16mm is used for the T track tray to slide onto? and the 30mm is to adjust hight of the t-track. Only the table was level? so the 30mm bolts were redundant? and also they had hex bolts attached to them? so were these for? (you know that feeling when parts are left over in an installation and you think? ok..where did i screw up?... i still have that feeling).

    So kudos to AxMinster for getting it right upfront but -negative points for screwing with our minds!
  • The extension table isn't level with the actual table itself and despite the bolts to adjust the height, it seems to not be actually pan out in terms of level? so this left me a little deflated and while its "good enough" i just wonder how AxMinster can engineer this table to the point where this is the part that kinda fails? the one area where i'd think flat / level surface was important?
  • The Mitre Fence guide on its track was freaking me out. In that I followed the instructions to the letter, you tighten its degrees to 0 or whatever and then slide it onto the table via its track basically doesn't move? I suspected it was a simple case of missing washer, so i looked around and couldn't find one from the said parts (i was very careful in keeping my parts contained in an area where it wouldn't be missed). I ended up using a washer from my toolbox and soon as I did that, sure enough friction was removed and as per design functionality kicked in.
  • The Angle fence assembly was ass backwards from out of the box. In that in the pictures of the Table Saw you see the wood stop on the right with its bracket facing you. You then see a Top Track and Front Facing track as well. On the end of it there is a cap to the track (stopper?) which closes off the third track (ie you can't slide in and out the Work Clamp/Connecting Blocks). I ended up having to change the woodstop/bracket with the end plastic stopper to get the darn thing to the specifications. Once I did that adding the Work Clamp/Connecting Blocks etc was now in the right way.
  • The Work Clamp/Connecting Blocks needed extra washers, as when you move the Angle fence left/right etc it feels very clumsy, ie it feels like it snags etc.. I put washers in between the track and the block and thus got a better glide (still a bit sluggish but keeps the bolt a little more square inside the track).
  • The wheels on the sliding table (cast iron piece) where very stiff... ie if i left it as-is, I'd probably have a limb lost by now given i'd mostly likely slip and do some damage. Instead I simply loosened up the hex bolts on top and it then free'd up the wheel movement... kinda feels dodge but it works?
  • The Ruler on Extention Table Support Arms is a bit weird. In that its 0 point is well beyond the saw itself (maybe i'm a newbie, but i would of thought the 0 should be in a better spot? dunno.. not sure how its supposed to work but i figure I'd ignore it for now and get the incra pro fence system later and let that rule the way
  • The blade wasn't on tight. Now I figure you buy something that rotates fast and has the potential to do some harm.. YOU check to make sure that sucker is on tight regardless... well luckily I did, as yeah, the blade wasn't on tight.


Its my first table saw, I'm not sure what the hell I am doing but so far the installation has been a frustrating exercise to say the least. I don't blame Carba-Tec at all, I think the fault lies with AxMinster and having a look online etc, I can see in the UK certain forums aren't impressed with their attention to detail in around the accessories etc. Once you get past that though people do state the said saw is great for their various price ranges etc, so I think I'll put this down to possibly a case of "accessories engineer(s) were the sloppy ones" and the actual saw engineer(s) were the bright ones?

Carba-Tec also gave me a discount on the saw and I am so far having constant positive experience with this company - even though they are a bit of a drive to buy from hehe.

I do have a little pang of regret not buying the triton workcentre ... if for only that it probably would of been simpler to setup!

I'm yet to cut anything with the saw to test its actual squareness and precession I a hopeful that it despite the setup this will be my money shot! if not... I may have to test my relationship with Carba-Tec with a ye olde Trade Practices Act and cite "merchantable quality" / "fit for initial purpose" and go the triton instead? I hope i dont have to do that as that would be frustrating experience on both our sides.