I bought an aldi workzone table saw (newbie decision)

I just bought the Aldi "work zone" Table saw (I think a re-branded tarus)
ALDI - special buys from sat 15 sep - hurry, limited stocks in store*

Im not intending on doing anything more than a bit of side hobby so I didn't feel the need to get much more than something basic but with standard requirements.
Overall pretty good for the price at $180, but 3 things are bugging me that are a potential deal breaker.

Theres no Riving Knife (that will accommodate blind cuts)
The splitter does go up and down with the blade... but to do blind cuts/dado cuts, id have to either take it off (which is hell dangerous / kickbacks) or make one/buy a custom one to be in line with the top of the blade.

There's no obvious way to put in a zero tolerance throat plate insert.
(could potentially make one as it has one screw at either end... bit fiddly)

Lastly and probably the one I cant get around.
No way to add a Dado set! (or possibly multiple blades in a 3-4 stack)
The arbor length looks like its only long enough for 1 blade.
(Yet to take off and see, MIGHT be able to stack 2 blades but that could even be pushing it.)

Other than that, its pretty good for the price.
But some of the above.. particularly the arbor length is a deal breaker for me.

Anyone able to suggest a way to replace the arbor if possible with a longer one??
(id expect id have to dismantle part of the internals, perhaps even pull apart the motor)
or where to get an arbor extender? http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/1214NewArbor.ashx
or failing that... Another table saw under $350 with what I want to have included?

I know this is probably a typical newbie mistake and I made it.. but On the upside with aldi I have a 60 day return policy to fall back on.

Please be gentle with me lol.

Moofactory,

I would not modify the saw, take it back and get a refund / store credit, what ever they give,, then go to Hare & Forbes or Carba-Tec, and have a look at what is available.

It is not worth the expense and hassle to try and adapt the ALDI machine to what you want as , it was never designed to do what you are wanting to do.

You are far better off , buying a purpose designed & built machine, I do not think that for the money you are quoting , you will get a machine that will satisfy your needs (sorry), .

I have a Carba-Tec saw , it's a few years old second hand, and the riving Knife is fixed alsoand to remove it I have to disassemble the saw.

You will have to shop around to get the most for the money you have.

Jeff
vk4

:whs:
but based on what moofactory posted I think I'd keep the Aldi and use a table mounted router to cut dados.

I'm bewildered as to why you would even consider trying to fit a $220 dado blade to a $180 saw

Cheap table saws like these are limitted in their capabilities due to their cheapness; even if you could get a dado blade in their the motor wouldn't have enough grunt for the cuts and I wouldn't expect the bearings to last. My first table saw was fairly similar (I still have it hiding in a cupboard under the bench!), just find out what it's limitations are and stick within them until you can afford to upgrade to a better machine.

I've never used a dado blade anyway; I always use a router for all my grooves, trenches and rebates. Rarely I'll use the saw to cut rebates but usually only if the workpiece is too long and narrow.

If you desperately need a zero clearance insert you can cover the whole table with a piece of thin MDF and then raise the saw blade through it to cut the slot. The MDF MUST be fixed to the table in such a way that it cannot move. You would have to work out yourself how to re-fit the blade guard and splitter assy though. If the fence can't be adjusted just replace it with a batten clamped onto the table.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ian

:whs:
but based on what moofactory posted I think I'd keep the Aldi and use a table mounted router to cut dados.

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I think after listening to you guys I think I will just work within its limitations
and keep the wood joins for a router I have access to.

I think I got a bit of tunnel vision at all the potential cuts that can be done with a table saw,
I wasn't considering alternative ways to do so.

I dont think Id find much better for the price so I think ill keep it for basic needs.

Thanks for the kick in the pants guys :D

We would all like tools for low prices that will do the same work a a very expensive trade machine , sometimes you can luck out and find a cheap secopnd hand machine in good nick, but they are rare and don't last long.

And we all need a kick in the pants now and then , ask my SWMBO.

Cheers,

jeff
vk4

I have had the Taurus version of this (as far as I can see it is identical) for about 5 years now and it's still going strong. I threaten to upgrade but to get anything that is *significantly* better than this brings you up to near a grand - the worse part is even then you don't really know how good they are - there is a small selection available in Oz and they all seem to be rebranded so you can't find any reviews on them. I have had some bad experiences lately with carbatec regarding quality and would be highly nervous buying a $1000 item from them unless it is a known brand. It seems we have to be content with paying from 2-4 times the price our friends in the US or Europe might.

Anyway all the limitations you mention are there and are difficult to circumvent - one thing you should check is the blade alignment with regard to the mitre slots - mine wasn't even close - these saws aren't made to be "tuned" but it can be done with degree of difficulty. BTW their service department are no help in this matter, neither is the manual.

All the suggestions already mentioned are worthwhile but one thing you should do straight away is build a crosscut sled as the mitre gauge is, well, serviceable at best. Even building a crosscut sled for this saw has it's issues because of the narrow t-slots that serve as mitre slots, but it can be done - it took me a couple of years to wake up to building a sled but it has proven to be very very useful.

Make the sled as big as you can - made well it can even allow you to do some ripping of shorter length material - and there is your zero tolerance insert.

Get rid of the pressed metal extensions and replace with something like melamine as soon as possible. You will need to do this at least with the out feed extension if you build a sled (and again you *should*) as the pressed metal one doesn't continue the mitre slots on.

The fence is not too bad but the vibration in this machine (mainly because of the light weight extruded aluminium construction) is enormous and has from time to time loosened the fence on me (I probably hadn't locked it down well enough which on this machine is not difficult to do). The other issue with the fence is that it is a bit too short, oh and of course it's side to side range is way too limited.

I am about to attempt to replace the fence with a home built Biesemeyer style one - wish me luck! ;-)

Also the 2 blades that come with this don't stay sharp very long - anyone know a good source of cheap(-ish) table saw blades? ;-)

Other than those few? things it does the job and the price is reasonable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by garym

All the suggestions already mentioned are worthwhile but one thing you should do straight away is build a crosscut sled as the mitre gauge is, well, serviceable at best. Even building a crosscut sled for this saw has it's issues because of the narrow t-slots that serve as mitre slots, but it can be done - it took me a couple of years to wake up to building a sled but it has proven to be very very useful.

Make the sled as big as you can - made well it can even allow you to do some ripping of shorter length material - and there is your zero tolerance insert.

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:iagree:

Building a crosscut sled for my aldi tablesaw was one of the best things I did for it. I had the same issue with my fence vibrating loose, but now I just clamp it in place. :cool:

Wow thanks for the tips guys.

First thing I did was re align the sled for the fence.. it was out by 2 ml.
The second thing I did was get my uncle to make me a riving knife so I could do dado's.
(using a 3mm blade that came with it, multiple passes/ finish off with chisel)

ill be double checking the blade angle against the t slots very soon, just to be sure its aligned with the base it sits in.
(I aligned the fence sled with the grooves of the base so the fence is in line)

Next thing will be to either grind down the surface of the base the blade comes out of (it has high points where it joins)
Or completely replace them with hardwood or sheet metal.

For now though, just replacing the screwed panel with a timber template including the saw opening to make a zero tolerance insert.

Next project for it will be a sled.

Ive not looked at new blades yet... but does anyone know if these are quite standard sizes
or will it be a big problem walking into bunnings to get more? particularly the hole size.

Yes they are standard.

Aldi is great for groceries.

But my personal (read 'cheapskate') experience with any sort of tool has been very disappointing.

:C

This saw says it has 6500 rpm. However I cannot find any 250/254mm saw blades that allows for the high rpm, they all are rated at 6000. I've never encountered this problem; is it safe to use a replacement saw blade that is rated at 6000 rpm on a 6500 rpm machine? Please help.

Mine finally gave up a week ago. I had previously replaced the motor bearings as they were noisy from the start and eventually one of them ate its ball retaining ring (after the warranty expired of course). Inspection showed no sign there was ever any lubricant inside the pulley-side bearing... Anyway, got the bearings replaced and a few months later was using it to cut some box-joints through four layers of 30mm thick pine boards. Apparently I pushed it a bit too hard and now the motor is burned out... Smells strongly of burned plastic and hums very loudly when turned on. :2tsup:
I now have the blessing of my SO to buy something better :D
So have ordered a 10" contractor saw from Timbecon.

5 years from a $180 table saw isnt too shabby!