I'm English and short of good tables saws to buy!

Try General in Canada. They make some fine machines. They have 2 lines; one is made in Canada and the other line is called General International and is made in China and Taiwan. One problem you may have is with the voltage difference. Yours is 220V/ 50Hz I believe. Ours is 220V / 60Hz which means the motor would run 20% slower or faster, not sure which.

Actually, General has shutdown the General line made in Canada.

European machine development is on something of a different track, overall probably more advanced machines now, but far less accessible to the hobbyist. Probably the closest to the home cabinet saw would be some of the units sold as ‘panel saws’, which means a different thing in North America.

Check www.axminster.co.uk

If you can find a company in America that will ship to the UK, it will cost you plenty.

Try this one for size:

http://rjwoodworking.zutmed1a.myzen.co.uk/current-stock-list/269-used-sedgwick-model-ta315-rip-dimension-saw.html

-- Do or do not, there is no try

I think that it is strange. I personally would prefer the kinds you have there like this:

http://www.charnwood.net/shop/product/10-cast-iron-table-saw?cid=79

than what they sell here :)

I guess the grass is always greener….

-- Woodworking shouldn't cost a fortune: http://lowbudgetwoodworker.blogspot.com/

Unless you find a saw that is sold in England, the freight to ship it will kill you. And then there’s the issue of the motor – over here in North American it’s 60 cycle, 110V or 220V. Isn’t it 50 cycle over your way ?

-- Dwight - "Free legal advice available - contact Dewey, Cheetam & Howe""

I didn’t know that General had shut down. They made some nice machines. Looks like Europe might be your best bet.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com

-- If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau

hi everyone, thanks for all your posts, i think im going to go for an axminster, the one im considering is this one
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-trade-series-aw12bsb2-saw-bench-prod884473/
it looks like a good saw, but i cannot find any reviews on the website, i was wondering if anyone had any idea on the quality of the saw? thanks!
Matthew.

-- ''if you don't know what it does... don't f*** about with it'' - Ivan Hill, my grand farther

Matthew, look at the reviews for the 10 inch version at http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-aw10bsb2-saw-bench-prod832683/#bottomsection

I see that both these saws are on special offer at the moment, saving £95 and £115 – see http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-aw12bsb2-saw-bench-prod832685/

But as the Axminster site is peculiar when searching for particular items, its not surprising that the special offer 12” listing is shown in stock, but the normal listing is ‘temporarily out of stock’ ????

Get in quick?

-- Don, Somerset UK, http://www.donjohnson24.co.uk

Except for the flesh-detecting brand, the US is 70
years behind Europe in table saw development.
American style cabinet saws are pretty close to the
same design since the 1930s. In postwar Europe,
the sliding table dimension saw was continuously
developed and improved up to the present days
by makers like Martin, Altendorf, SCMI, Robland,
and many other makers.

I’ve owned several French/Swiss Inca saws and they are
very nicely made. You can find used ones in the UK. Kity
made some decent equipment too – not quite as nice
is INCA but pretty good.

Scheppach makes machines for the UK market. You can
find some bargains on ebay.uk

lovely job fellas cheers! :)
Matthew.

-- ''if you don't know what it does... don't f*** about with it'' - Ivan Hill, my grand farther

If you do decide on a US built saw, the 60 hz vs 50 hz really doesn’t matter except the speed as Ron mentioned. I doubt you will ever know the difference. We sold equipment there all the time and it didn’t shorten the life of the motor or any of those things. I think Europe took a different path to build saws. Or maybe it was America that took a different path. At least they were not the same path. The thing is, we have dozens of cheaper saws around and maybe Europeans have to make saws that are not as safe. This is an impression I have gotten. Maybe portable saws are installed under tables etc. I am guessing on that and basing it on a couple of things I have read. I am sure there is plenty of good equipment there but aimed more at the industrial line of work. I think Europe has been quicker to protect people from themselves but we are following quickly.

Saws designed and built in the USA may not have evolved in the same direction as the European saws, but they are still great saws. No need to redesign an already well proven design. In Europe, the trend goes toward machines of less power as households don’t have the large power sources we have here. I doubt if many home shops in Europe would be able to run 3 hp saws. They have some great machines, Altendorf, Robland, Hammer to name a few, but these are industrial machines, not intended for the hobbyist woodworker.

well i originally wanted a grizzly, a relatively simple, yet well built saw, but to get that shipped to the uk was going to cost me several hundred pounds, and i only have a certain budget, and i cant afford the hefty shipping price, i was also pretty shocked that britain had nothing that looked even vaguely similar, i know that the table saw market is very variable but i was rather disappointed but the saws that we have here in england, i know everyone says that europe is much further ahead in table saw production, but given the chance, i would rather have an american style of saw!
Matthew.

-- ''if you don't know what it does... don't f*** about with it'' - Ivan Hill, my grand farther

I know some of the Axminster brand saws are rebadged Robland machines. Not sure about that particular one, but I don’t imagine Axminster would put their name on a machine unless it met their quality standards.
Good luck and mind the fingers.

-- Do or do not, there is no try