Thread: Another table saw review

Hello everyone,

This is my first post. I have been lurking for a few months and see so much great info on here, so would be good to be a little more involved.

I thought what better way to start contributing value than a review so here it goes.

I am a beginner into this hobby and the bug has bitten somewhat hard. I see myself building toward making furniture, for our home mostly, along with renovation projects for our newly acquired home. If i can reach a point where my wife is happier with something i have made rather than shop bought, then that would validate this whole hobby for me.

My first significant purchase has been a table saw. I am an engineer by profession and my purchasing decisions are what some have described as "long drawn and rigorous" to say the least. I spent quite some time researching (on this forum and others) prior to deciding on my purchase. I will describe why i bought what i bought, and how i feel about the unit some months down the track.

I did not have a budget in mind, but value was key. So if i needed to spend $3-4K to get what i needed, then so be it. But if those needs can be met with much less "investment", then anything more becomes an exercise in ego-stroking. Accuracy or at least the ability to tune in accuracy is important, but probably more than that is precision. I dont need to rip long boards with 1 thou squareness, but what i do have i would like to be repeatable and consistent.
I decided a cabinet style was a must (ruling out contractor style saws), with a cabinet mounted mechanism, a decent size table flat table (30 inch capacity being sufficient for 90% of the time), easy enough to tune (level, square, parallel etc), decent dust control and a well regarded fence system. Did i miss anything?

Safety is of course hugely important, but i see the user (attitude, practices, habits) as being more critical to this than particular unit features. A moving riving knife is a given, but ultimately no machine can account for one's stupidity, complacency or laziness.

I looked at all the known suppliers and brands, and quickly ruled out Sawstop, Laguna and some of the smaller resellers. Living in Melbourne made it easy to inspect the offerings from Timbecon, Hare and Forbes and Carbatec. Leda does not seem too interested in this product range (the unit on display at their showroom was covered in dust and quite beat up). The Harvey 110LGE-30 reviews very well (including the Grizzly equivalent overseas) but not being able to see one in person was an issue. Big Boyz toyz had a ripper price going at the time but i was unsure of future support so decided to decline on this one. I also looked at used offerings, but what was available at the time and the asking prices did not seem congruent with the compromises needed to be made.

At the end of the day i went with the Carbatec TS250P. The Timbecon equivalent was interesting (and their 5 year warranty) but being out of stock at the time made this inconvenient. The units themselves did not seem to differ greatly for my needs, along with the TS254 which maybe is 1/2 a step down?, but local support did come into it. The carbatec staff came across to me as more knowledgeable. I should also mention that the salesperson i spoke to at timbecon made some very obviously incorrect comments during a chat that sort of turned me off them at that stage. I should say that since then ive found timbecon to be really good.

Here are my thoughts 3 or so months after purchasing:
- Generally i am very happy with the unit with no major issues.
- Initial set-up was relatively straightforward, but certainly some time is needed for alignment and calibration. Getting the iron wings level is a pita, but getting the fence parallel wasnt too bad. the saw was parallel with the mitre slots from the box, so im not sure what this process is like. I feel that access to a calibrated straight edge and a square is a must. I did also use a dial indicator bolted into the mitre gauge (with adjustable width guide) as a nice way to quantify. Got this down to 0.08mm over the length of the fence which for me is more than acceptable. Lets see if this varies over time.
- I did not buy any sort of portable base initially, but did end up building a dolly on castor wheels for it. The ability to move the unit around my workshop is more important than i thought it would be.
- Dust extraction is still tba as i havent yet finalised my system.
- Power is more than acceptable, and have not had any issues so far in cutting 18mm stock as well as some softer hardwoods.
- Noise level is also pretty good, it seems that the belt drive induction motor makes a big difference compared to contractor style units.
- The one annoyance so far is with the included insert which does not sit flush with the table as i believe it may be bent slightly. I will verify this and may go back to carbatec.

Overall, the table saw has met my expectations and the experience of using it is a good one. My thinking is that if you are looking to buy a table saw and see your hobby as more than just a passing fad, and of course have the funds available, then the $2k mark represents a sweet spot for most people.