New Tablesaw?

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
I have a DeWalt benchtop Tablesaw, the DW744, for a benchtop saw, it has been really good, but, I really want to replace it.

I've been looking around the net, and this is what I've found so far here in Japan.........

Spoke Shave MH110R-30 189,000 yen $1750
Spoke Shave MH110R-50 199,000 yen $1850

Delta Contractor 36-980 124,000 yen $1140
Delta Contractor 36-981 174,000 yen $1600
Delta Contractor 36-982 169,000 yen $1550

Steel City MW35600 119,000 yen $1100
To me the Steel City saw is looking fairly good at this point, but honestly, I'd sure like the Delta :D

Price is not such a big concern, as we have been informed by our accountant that we have a little problem with my business, you see, I have my own small business, and I've been doing work for the liquor shop and charging for it, stuff like fixing things, or building stuff. The accountant informs us that this is not really OK with the Japanese government, a family member who works for one company, also working for another doing work for the first company, as I'm on salary with the liquor shop........ :dunno:

So, what he has suggested is that I buy tools to cover my labour, and just add the cost of the tool to what ever work I'm doing, this will fly. I'm going to be renovating one of the apartments in one of our older buildings, new floors and walls in the kitchen area, and new kitchen cabinets, plus some wiring, a fairly big job, but right now, due to the walls being damaged from the roof leaking the place is unrentable, so it need fixing, as we are losing about $750 a month on rent (the roof got fixed). I figure the work I'm going to do will be worth the price of a good new tablesaw :thumb:

I'd love to have th 50" rails, but honestly, they would not fit in my shop, so they are not really an option, the 30" rails will be enough to walk around.

If any of you have one of these saws, I'd like to hear about it.

spokeshave_mh110r_30.jpg
I'm thinking the "Spoke Shave MH110R-30" at $1750 would be a good choice.........? but I've never heard of this maker?

It is on the Delta Japan homepage, but I don't know anything about.... :huh:
 
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Haven't used any of the saws mentioned, but based on what I've seen, I'd take the Steel City hybrid before I'd take the Delta contractor any day of the week.

The SpokeShave is likely another "spec-made" Chinese saw, but if the construction tolerance specs are good, the machine specs make it look like the best of the ones you've listed. Any idea how their warranty and customer service rate?
 
One thing I see in comparison between the Steel City and the Spoke Shave is the actual weight of the two units;

Steel City is 173 Kg (380.6 lbs)
Spoke Shave 208 Kg (457.6 lbs)

The difference of 35 Kg (77 lbs) can mean a lot, or mean not very much at all :dunno:

Some more pics of the Spoke Shave saw......

table_top.jpg trunnion.jpg t-square1.jpg t-square2.jpg

The saws are sold by various companies here, but the importer looks like the same guys who import Delta and Steel City:dunno:
 
Does the Steel City have a cabinet saw-style trunnion (as I assume the SpokeShave has)? If the Steel City has the typical hybrid-style trunnion, then it's essentially a contractor-style saw with an enclosed cabinet. It's my understanding that the cabinet saw style is more robust.
 
Stu,
Judging from the appearance of the blade adjustment wheels, and the faces of the Biesemeyer clone fence, the SpokeShave saw looks like another version of the Grizzley 1023/Shop Fox 1677.

Both are very good saws. I have the Shop Fox version, and can't really say enough good things about it.

But, if you've got your heart set on a Delta...
 
Thanks for the info Jim!

I'd love a Delta cabinet saw, but they are close to $4000 here :eek: and the only time I'll be spending that kind of money on a tool it will be white, made in Canada and have stainless steel ways :thumb:

Vaughn, the Steel city they are selling is indeed the "Hybrid", so I'd most likely go for the Spoke Shave, even though it has a dumb name :rolleyes:

Cheers!
 
Stu,

Where in the heck are you going to put a saw like that? Wouldn't you have to redo the whole shop? And if you do that, where will you put the oneway? ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
Well, I'd ditch the DeWalt, and I'd put it where the DeWalt was. I would have to cut down the rails on the new saw, but it would be so very nice to have an accurate tablesaw, the DeWalt is great for a benchtop, but it leaves much to be desired.

here is a comparo pic between the Shop*Fox Spoke Shave*Grizzly

comparison.jpg

Don't worry guys, if a Oneway was coming, I'd find room :D
 
Sorry Frank, I very much doubt it, shipping would be a killer :doh:

From what I can see the left table is 254mm the main table is 508mm and the right table is 254 mm for a total of 1016mm or 40".

My work table in the center of the shop is exactly 910 cm (36") wide, so the saw (without the rails) would be just 2" wider on each side than the work table.

The big sticking out thing that I'd be bumping into all the time would be the rails on the right side of the saw. They say the 30" rails are 1580mm long or about 62". In the picture they look like the stick out a whole lot to the right side of the saw, I fully understand this would be in the way, and I'd have to cut the rail down, but that is OK, as I very, VERY seldom rip anything very wide, if I have to it is usually easier to use the Festool TS55 to do that, as I don't have to move around a wide piece in a small shop, but move the tool over the wood.

Anyone with a similar sized saw that can confirm those measurements on the rails and such?

Cheers!
 
Stu,

No idea about the measurements. It seems like it has plenty of power. I prefer a different style of fence, but people who have that kind seem to love them. One problem: no riving knife? Maybe you could rig up the equivalent of a shark guard? What about dust collection options?

I tried to look up reviews, but all I got was pages full of ?????????? ;)

My foreign language skills need work... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
...From what I can see the left table is 254mm the main table is 508mm and the right table is 254 mm for a total of 1016mm or 40"...They say the 30" rails are 1580mm long or about 62"...

Anyone with a similar sized saw that can confirm those measurements on the rails and such?

Cheers!

Stu,
My Shop Fox, which is similar, has a 54" (1372mm) front rail. The supporting angle iron for it is 46" (1168mm).

The angle iron sticks out 10¼" (260mm to the right of the saw's right wing,

The saw itself is 40" (1016mm) wide, with extensions, making the total width with fence rails 50¼ (1276mm).

Front to rear, including the fence rails, the saw is 33" (838mm). The locking lever for the fence sticks out another 2" (50mm) or so.

Shop Fox claims their fence to be 26", instead of the 30 you mention, so you might have to add 4" (102mm) to the width measurements. (I've moved my fence 10" to the right to get 36" right/0" left of the blade.)

Shipping weight is 474 pounds (215 Kilos).

Hope this helps.
 
With Jim's numbers I did a quick mock-up :D

OK, here is the saw I have now.........


..... a side and front view, the work table, behind the saw, is 91 cm wide, or about 3'.

Now here is the mock up of the new saw table top, the depth of the saw, front to back, included the rails........


As you can see the saw takes up a lot more room, but it would sure be nice to have that extra space o the saw's table top, not to mention at "Flat" table..... :thumb:

Here is a picture I took with a 30" rail.........

The rail is centered on the table top, but I was talking to another buddy on a different forum, and he made a great suggestion, he said I should go for the longer rail, but then cut it off and rig up a connection between the cut off piece and the piece on the saw, some sort of slide in, secure in place with a bolt, or something, this way, if I ever do need to use the large cut size it would be only a matter of minutes to get that extra capacity, going to have to noodle that one!

Now, my DeWalt has about a 65cm max distance between the blade and the fence on the right side of the blade, even with a shortened rail the new saw should exceed that.

Certainly be interesting if I decide to buy this saw:rolleyes::wave:
 
Stu,
Your pic
th_spok_shave_saw_mock_up1.jpg

shows the rail sticking out on both sides of the saw. Mine only sticks out to the right. It's indented a couple inches on the left side.
 
How wide is your shop Stu. I have my Unisaw set to the right side of my shop. It has the large Shopfox fence 50" slid to the left because it is a right tilt & I have about 25" to the left.

If you cut the longer rail & add it back on how are you going to be sure it is accurate when you do?
 
Stu - The Spoke Shave looks fairly similar to the Harbor Freight Central Machinery saw and the Steel City industrial cabinets saw...more so than the Griz or SF to me. You can always buy a name plate from one of the other brands and add it as as accessory! :rofl:

Steel City's 35600 is a hybrid similar to the Craftsman 22124 with cabinet mounted trunnions. My 22124 was a really nice hybrid that'll have many advantages over a conventional contractor saw, but if you've got the 220v, the full cabinet saws are the way to go IMHO.
 

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I have a Delta hybrid saw, and for my use, it's a great tool. I would personally only go for a true cabinet if 1) it was for my day job, or 2) I was minted. From my experience, everyone I have known who went for a contractor saw ended up upgrading to a hybrid or cabinet.

Regarding the fence: mine is the shorter 32" version. I rarely need longer, and if I do, I simply use a cross-cut sled. Not much hassle IMHO to get the extra space, and having visited your shop, it's a premium for you.
 
... so I'd most likely go for the Spoke Shave, even though it has a dumb name :rolleyes:

Cheers!

You ain't kiddin. Maybe you could buy a couple of "Table Saw" brand Chisels to go with it?:D
It looks like a pretty solidly made TS from the pic but I'm less crazy about the right tilt than the dumb name. With all the saws built in Taiwan (PM2000 and IIRC Jet) , you'd think there would be more options available in Japan.
 
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