Thread: Opinions/Advice on first Table Saw purchase.

Gday Ashley,

I would like to say I'm here to help, but I may just confuse things more.

I originally had the Hafco saw you are looking at. Was it accurate? Not at the start, but after a bit of fiddling around it was as accurate as I needed. The biggest issue was the table wasn't very flat, they happily swapped it for me but the new one was no better. My solution was to use a sled. I bought it in 2009 and it seen a fair amount of action and never missed a beat. Last year I sold it on though as I wanted something with dado capabilities.
I bought a secondhand GPW machine. Its only 1 1/2 hp and has enough power for what i need it for. If cutting anything really thick or hard I just slow down a little. Re-sawed 180mm camphor no worries.
Now in about a year I have used a dado blade once. I certainly could have used it more but too lazy to change blades.

Now if I had the means I would probably go for a laguna or a Harvey Tablesaws - Major Woodworking Equipment

But know no more about them than what you have probably already read.

If the is any chance, try and use one first, very hard I know. I'm sure there are plenty of woodies in Brisbane happy to show off the tools.

Good luck with the hunting.

Shane

Hi Shane,

Thanks for the reply. It's good to hear from a person with first hand experience with the Hafco. I asked the local tool centre for any feedback they have but was told that was the first time they had one for sale in the store so couldn't give any feedback received from customers.

I vaguely recall I read the same thing somewhere in the forums about some tables not being flat but there is a service to professionally grind to flat. I believe I read $400+ was the cost. Sounds like a sled is the go if it can correct any anomalies.

Also, that is something I need to consider is how many times will I need/use the dado. I like the option to be available but if it only get's a once a year run, maybe using my router would be a better option.

Also good to know I don't have to go too hard or too expensive on an over-powered machine.

Cheers again,

Ashley

I had the use of an earlier model of the Hafco unit. Two things stood out on that unit.
One, it had a sliding table, probably the greatest accessory on many a table saw.
Two, it had a set of wheels via an aftermarket wheel kit, something similar to this.
W931 | MBW-4 Mobile Base - Heavy Duty | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au

Out of the two units you have mentioned, only one of them has dust extraction from the blade guard, the Hafco; I count that as a plus.

You may wish to avail yourself of a few things that not only make life a lot easier, but safer as well. A Magswitch type feather board is a great thing to use, that said, you can build your own feather boards, but this would be ready from the get go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbCLNyMAoFI

Anything is a trade off from what you get as standard, and what you can add on as extras. Once you add up everything you need to purchase, that one machine does not have, over another; to, in effect, make them equal, can make for a surprising finding.

If you haven’t ever used a table saw, see if you can at least get to use one, or, at least watch up close and personal to someone using one.
My personal observation obtained from table saw usage, is that with induction motors, more power is quite desirable for ripping stuff. For cross cutting, power needed is less as the blade will cross cut the timber fibres easily. When ripping you ideally should be using a ripping blade, or at least one that is part rip and part cross-cut. Having a 2.2kW motor would be on my desirable list.

Essentially though, one just slows down quite considerably when ripping, and, as long as you don’t overload the motor, things should be hunky dory. Our Saw Stop table saw, has a 1.5kW motor (I think) and it does struggle when you are ripping timber that is around 30mm or thicker. To be fair though, we do not change blades, we just have the one blade for cross cuts and ripping cuts.

As for Dado blade usage, they are nice, but within reason, unless you will be making a fair amount of wide trenches, say for book shelving, you almost certainly could do without them. Great accessory, but they do come at a great price.

We had one job at our Men’s Shed where we had about 150 19mm x 350mm trench cuts for some book shelves we were making. Prior to this job, we used a router and a couple of passes. Worked well, but was a bit fiddly. With the dado blades in and set to the required width (fiddly to get correct) and depth, we were off. Had the job done in an extremely short time.

In your position, I think I would be looking at a second hand table saw, this would allow you too, cheaply (relatively) get into the market. By using whatever you get, you would soon realise its good points, as well as its shortcomings, as well as your own good points and shortcomings. Then, armed with that knowledge, and a couple of years of fiddling with that table saw, you could look in earnest at what you know you would like and need.

Mick.

Hi Mick,

Thanks for the response. I agree, that Magswitch featherboard (or similar) looks to be a purchase at the same time as the tablesaw. Safety is number one priority.

I must admit, I didn't even notice the saw-blade dust collection so that is a nice selling point to keep an eye on.

Thanks for your advice on the motor power. Most of the jobs the wife has set me will be ply based (she has a craft room but can never get enough storage/shelves (neither does my shed come to think of it) so thinking this is where a dado set-up would be most handy, being repeatable trenches once set up. Also, will be doing some replacement work on an old QLD'er (entry way, lattice work, etc) so a bit of wood work involved in that.

I think it would be a good idea to head down to become acquainted with my local Men's Shed, as you mentioned, and see what sort of machinery they have and learn a bit from there. Maybe some different Men's Sheds as they might use different equipment.

Thanks again for your feedback. Very much appreciated.

Cheers,

Ashley

Invest in good blades, even a $50k panel saw won't cut cleanly with a cheap blade.

Hi Ashley,
I was faced with the same choice a little while back.

Just somethings to keep in mind ...

Power supply .... 3 phase is expensive ... 15 amp is required for some and can mean new lines from the switchboard
Arbor size ... some 10 inch and above are 30mm ... generally not a problem for general blades ... but you will most likely need to get the centres bored out with dado sets
Dust collection ... dont skimp on getting a good DC and a shop vac to clean up sprayed chips
Jigs ... jigs and jigs ... I spent months making and improving sleds, spline jigs, bevel jigs, sacrificial fences, push sticks, sliding sacrificial fences for bevel cuts, dial indicator jigs, etc ..... quite the most fun I had for a while and a pleasure to get them down off the wall to use every so often ... if accurately made they make repeatable jobs so pleasant to do
Dial indicator .... mandatory to set and refine the fence angle and also the blade angle
Vernier ... absolutely essential when measuring wood widths and setting the saw tape measure accurately ( and for getting some jigs accurate)
Lithium grease ... use to lubricate after cleaning down internal worm gears with compressed air
Good wax for the table .. I use Mother's canubra wax after cleaning with a scouring pad and WD40 (SPRAY ON DETERGENT AND CLEAN DOWN AFTER wd40 AND BEFORE WAXING)
Output table .... a must have .... should be your first build ... mine is 1200mm x 1500mmm and I use it as an assembly table too ..
Safety equip .... ears, eyes AND DUST ... NUF SAID
Blades ... fine cut off, rip, dado, general purpose, particle board (and get some blade cleaner too)

BTW I have a Harvey ... and I am very happy with its performance

Regards

Rob

Hi Elan,

I will definitely putting money into best I can get (and afford) and for purpose. Ripping blade, fine cut blade, etc. That's also one of the search parameters I am after is something with easy blade change.

Cheers.

Rob, that is a lot of great information there. No point spending the money if not going to look after the saw. I have made a couple of basic jigs in the past but again, without an accurate saw to start with, the jigs were good but not great. As for power, 3 phase might be overdoing it a little. My nephew is an electrician and is happy to do any electrical work for me which is a bonus. I do plan on getting the best dust collection unit I can afford. Medically I have pretty ordinary lungs anyway so always careful with the lungs. I never turn on a power tool without hearing protection anyway and always follow Norm from New Yankee Workshop and 'wear these safety glasses'. That's a good tip on the bore of the blade.

Thank you,

Ashley

Hi Ashley,

My friend has the Laguna Fusion and I have the Harvey HW110LGE-30. My friend would trade up to the Harvey in an instant if he could and he bought his Laguna when it was around $1700-. Both he and I believe the Harvey is a much better saw for the money (a few hundred more than the Laguna); it's cast iron table and extension wings are heavier duty and flatter. His saw can get bogged down with bigger cuts whilst the Harvey 3HP Leeson motor is yet to show any signs of stress. His Laguna is noisier on startup and the dust collection is poor in comparison to the harvey (though both should be fitted with overhead collection to really work well - as per any table saw IMO). The fence on the Fusion is also nowhere near as nice as the Harvey fence IMO (he removed his and bought an Incra setup for around $1000-).

Although biased, I would recommend the Harvey HW110-LGE30. At the very least over the Laguna Fusion.

Also, weight in a table saw is a good thing in my opinion. It generally improves stability, is an indication of a thicker, stronger trunion assembly and thicker/stronger cast iron tables.

The Laguna fusion is a nice little saw, but for the money I'd look to the Harvey (Same saw as the Laguna Platinum which is made by Harvey).

Hi DomAu,

Your post is very helpful in having a side by side comparison of the Harvey and the Laguna. Co-incidentally I had just been looking at the Harvey models as per Rob's post (and just nipped back to this post to check for updates). I am very open to a Harvey purchase. Your positive posting (and others I have read in the other forums) confirms people are more than happy with the Harvey models. I have been looking for stockists up here in QLD but looks like I would have to order interstate and have shipped.

Thank you for your posting.

Ashley

Which supplier would you guys recommend for shipping Harvey stuff?

After looking at all the options in Perth I think I'm going to be best served off getting one shipped over. It would probably be about a grand more than I was looking to spend but the Hafco/Carbatec/Sherwood saws available here have seemed very flimsy when I've inspected them. I'd rather spend the money knowing I'm getting something that I'll stick with for a long time.

Hi
I have had my Laguna Fusion for about 6 weeks and could not be happier. Straight out of the box the blade was perfectly 90deg to the table and square to the fence and mitre slots. A bonus for me was that the Fusion runs on 10amp plug. Have done full thickness cuts of tas oak both dry and semi dry and no sign of the motor straining. The cut from the supplied blade is extremely smooth. I find the fence to be very sturdy and easy to adjust - that said I am going to get one of those Wixey gadgets as soon as I can afford it. I do not have a dado set yet so cannot comment on that.

Cheers
Mike

I agree with DomAU. I have the Laguna Platinum and it is a really good saw. If your budget can cover it I would go for this or the Harvey because I am pretty sure it would be the last saw you would have buy.

Gotta agree with the above. I have had experience with both the Fusion and the Harvey

I had the Laguna Fusion delivered but I eventually found that it was damaged in transit ... I used it for a while and then ... WWWarehouse took it back and refunded me. It was a nice saw.

I then ordered a Harvey ... very very similar to the Laguna Platinum (3hp Leeson, tripple belts, cabinet type trundle, etc,)

The Harvey is a much more robust machine than the Fusion.. but 15 amp though. I had only one issue that had arisen and that was the failure of a $3 copper washer (happens to others too .. but easy fix).

I did prefer the fence on the Platinum that I saw ... but the Harvey is just fine. It's sold in the USA as a Grizley ..and has good write ups.

Regards

Rob

Hi Safari, Mike, Bueller, Rob,

As Safari has alluded to, I hope it's the last saw I ever buy. That's why I want to buy right the first time.

Thanks for all the feedback.

Ashley.