Aldi titanium table saw ($149) Feb 2009
I am trying to find any reviews and comments on this model but a search on the site does not find anything. The machine has pros and cons and a few problems that could have been resolved by the manufacturer to make a safer and more versatile product.
1) They provide two saw blades but BOTH are for cross cut work when they could have provided a five to seven tooth ripping blade.:no:
2) I have done very little work with it so far but already have a thin end cut from a piece of 1 cm by 5cm piece of waste trapped in the enclosed channel beneath the blade. It will not pass along the tube where the saw dust exits and such material could eventually build up and cause a fire.:o Very difficult to remove. Had I not removed the insert to adjust the riving knife I would not have been aware of this potential fire hazard. Provision of a second insert with very close blade clearance would have been a wise addition, also WITH WARNING ADVICE IN THE WORKING MANUAL about this problem.
3) Although it appears possible to remove the riving knife for slot and dado work the chances of the 10mm nut and support plate falling into the closed channel described above make it a risky exercise as well as a tedious task. The manufacturer could have designed it to be lowered below the top of the saw blade so dado and groove cuts could be made. In the case of the Triton for example the riving knife is easily removed in seconds so that rips of planks over the depth of the blade can be undertaken. NO ADVICE WHATEVER IS PROVIDED IN THE MANUAL CONCERNING THIS. Also the assembly instructions should be regarded as a guide only as changes to the unit are not matched in the Manual assembly instructions.
4) I intended to make a simple cross-cut slide with timber sliding along the sides of the table but they have used nuts standing 2-3mm proud preventing a smooth slide. Trying to get around this with a groove allowing clearance over these nuts is how I discovered the riving knife problem prevented such cuts. My next stop at Bunning will be to find some counter sunk replacements to resolve this problem although the gauge of the table material will leave little material to achieve a counter sink so the bolt is flush allowing a smooth action for the cross-cut slide. It could weaken the attachment to the struts holding the table. Alternatively I could glue and clamp some hardwood to the table sides with holes to allow the existing bolts to remain while not fouling the crosscut table supports. A work in progress.:roll:
5) The saw is a fixed unit so cannot be removed and used as a circular saw as is the case for units like the Triton but we are talking about a $149 unit as opposed to a Triton being in the $500 mark with the Triton circular saw costing a further $400 approx.
Unlike some of the Google reviews I have seen on the Aldi table saw models my unit is square and cuts accurately but the left hand groove where the mitre/crosscut tool slides was slightly compressed causing it the stick as the tool was pushed forward with timber. Some persuasion and lubrication has minimised this issue. It was a manufacturing fault but after spending a hot afternoon assembling the whole unit I was not going to take the thing to pieces and return it - asking for another unit. My luck would be that a second unit would have the same fault or another one. A Chinese Monday morning job in the factory is my guess. The riving knife was very poorly set also and needed some work in assembly so he/she must have had a tired start to the week. Frankly using the mitre tool as a cross cut device is a very poor choice and a crosscut slide needs to be made to get a good result.
All in all. For $149 it is a very worthwhile bargain but could be dangerous if care is not taken to understand its limitation.
