Thread: Looking to buy my 1st cabinet saw

I'm pretty sure the Carbatec TS-C250P-30TG is a rebadged Harvey, and the Harvey is around $2200 inc GST. The differences being mostly in the fence.

seems there is a lot of rebadging going on...

i am tempted to go for the carbatec then - extra 100 bucks = better fence system....

what level of dust collection can i get away with?

Both saws look well specked, left tilt arbour, dado capable and T-glide fences. Far above my old Carbatec that had none of those features when I purchased 10 years ago.

But maybe someone here can give you some advice re dust management on the saw itself. My Carbatec cabinet saw (10yo as mentioned) has a shroud partially around the blade but honestly most of the dust just falls straight to the ground. Some more modern saws have a fully enclosed cabinet - MUCH better idea. But I don't know if that's the case with these 2.

As for dust collection, I cheaped out with the 1hp - DON'T!!! I repeat, for the $160 saving DON'T! The 2hp is only $160 more and you will never regret it.

I have the Carbatec one and I'm very much pleased with it. Some others who have had this saw say they had to fart around a fair bit to get the wings leveled etc, but mine went together like a dream, accurately and easily. The dust collection from the blade guard isn't stellar but it's OK. The cabinet itself clears well with my DC, a standard 2hp Carbatec one. The fence is excellent.

All in all a very good and economical first table saw IMHO. I would suggest you can buy one with confidence, I've had mine for a little over a year and have no regrets.

Edit....My one suggestion would be to buy the after market zero clearance insert for it as the original item could be better. This is the item in question-----> Zero Clearance Insert to suit Carbatec TS-C250P | Carbatec

Biggus, is the cabinet enclosed on yours? Mine is enclosed on the sides but open to the floor on the bottom. Just curious as I'm considering my options too, to upgrade the 10yo one

As for dust collection above the blade, I tried an after market one (the mfr one is crap) and gave up on that as well. I reckon I could make up something better myself in the end.

Originally Posted by Bendigo Bob

Biggus, is the cabinet enclosed on yours? Mine is enclosed on the sides but open to the floor on the bottom. Just curious as I'm considering my options too, to upgrade the 10yo one

The cabinet itself isn't enclosed at the bottom but there's a hose that runs from the shroud beneath the blade to the main dust extraction port in the cabinet so it may as well be. As I said above it scavenges perfectly well from beneath the blade but the collection from the blade guard itself is only average. Generally after cutting I tend to remove the hose from the guard while the DC is still running and clear up what's left, just a small amount of sawdust that's on the top. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say it collects 75-80% from the blade guard and pretty well everything that falls down into the shroud beneath the blade.

Thanks Biggus, sounds like an improvement on mine, but I still don't understand why the cabinet can't actually be fully enclosed??

Cheers

Originally Posted by Bendigo Bob

As for dust collection above the blade, I tried an after market one (the mfr one is crap) and gave up on that as well. I reckon I could make up something better myself in the end.

I have yet to hear of a blade guard that scavenges perfectly. Maybe a more powerful DC would help but I do just fine with my basic one. It really isn't a big hassle, at least not enough for me to want to do anything about it.

Originally Posted by Bendigo Bob

Thanks Biggus, sounds like an improvement on mine, but I still don't understand why the cabinet can't actually be fully enclosed??

Cheers

I think we all know it comes down to money mate. It's a good saw at a reasonable price I reckon, mine was on special for $1999 when I bought it and it craps all over the contractor job I had before that.

i went to carbatec today with money to burn.

every intention of walking out having paid for a 2.3k table saw
a mobile base for it to sit on
a 2hp dust extractor and hoses
and a mesh filter to reduce the dust size - hate having to wear a mask etc.


the sales guy just wasnt interested in selling me one - he pushed a sawstop - very hard.

including the whole guilt trip about cutting my kids fingers off.

he just wouldnt listen that it would be lovely, but wasnt in my price range.

anyway - i walked out with a quote that i basically forced him to write for me - for 3.5k worth of stuff - and money in my pocket.

are there any other alternatives out there in this price range and quality? i was pretty annoyed with the service i got in carbatec.

Maybe try Leda. I was interested in the small slider at $2343, (A slider having arguably different safety features to the Sawstop) but I just don't have the floor space.
MJ-2325F 1300 SLIDING TABLE PANEL SAW - Leda Machinery

Originally Posted by Hangfire

i went to carbatec today with money to burn.

every intention of walking out having paid for a 2.3k table saw
a mobile base for it to sit on
a 2hp dust extractor and hoses
and a mesh filter to reduce the dust size - hate having to wear a mask etc.


the sales guy just wasnt interested in selling me one - he pushed a sawstop - very hard.

including the whole guilt trip about cutting my kids fingers off.

he just wouldnt listen that it would be lovely, but wasnt in my price range.

anyway - i walked out with a quote that i basically forced him to write for me - for 3.5k worth of stuff - and money in my pocket.

are there any other alternatives out there in this price range and quality? i was pretty annoyed with the service i got in carbatec.

What can you say??? Next they'll be whingeing that business is tough. What a bunch of knuckleheads.

either the sales guy gets a bigger whack for a sawstop sale, or their margins are bigger....

but he essentially told me that their saw was cheap chinese crap and not to buy one.