About 9 months ago I bought the cheap (£40) Screwfix Ferm 8"
tablesaw (19146). I don't like buying cheap tools, but I'd never
owned a table saw before, and wasn't sure whether it would be a
tool I use a lot.

For those of you not familiar with it, it has a 720W induction
motor. Has a stated cutting capacity of 43mm.

I've used it maybe a dozen times so far - not a dozen cuts, many
cuts per time, cutting nothing thicker than 1", and mostly soft
pine.

Today the motor pretty much died - it still runs, but delivers
very little torque. Not really of any use. So I call Screwfix,
thinking there's a chance I could get it replaced under the (3
year) warranty.

They didn't even ask me what was wrong. All they asked was when
I'd like it collected, and whether I want a refund or
replacement. I was most impressed.

Needless to say I went for the refund. I'm now going to buy a
big tablesaw, because I've discovered that I like them lots.

So, anyone have any experience of the Ferm 2000W 12" saw
(92632)? Certainly looks the bizz. Any other recommendations for
a similar product under £250?

--
Grunff

On Wed, 03 Sep 2003 20:09:40 +0100, Grunff wrote:

So, anyone have any experience of the Ferm 2000W 12" saw
(92632)? Certainly looks the bizz.

I've no direct experience of it (or the type), but I've seen a fair
number of kindly comments about that beast (their word not mine) It
appears really good value

However given what I have been learning of late I'd also look over at
Axminster first just in case they offer something which makes good
sense before ordering one, but that aside, I'd certainly see it as a
credible choice.

Take Care,
Gnube
{too thick for linux}

Grunff wrote in message ...
About 9 months ago I bought the cheap (£40) Screwfix Ferm 8"
tablesaw (19146). I don't like buying cheap tools, but I'd never
owned a table saw before, and wasn't sure whether it would be a
tool I use a lot.

For those of you not familiar with it, it has a 720W induction
motor. Has a stated cutting capacity of 43mm.

I've used it maybe a dozen times so far - not a dozen cuts, many
cuts per time, cutting nothing thicker than 1", and mostly soft
pine.

Today the motor pretty much died - it still runs, but delivers
very little torque.

Sounds like the belt is knackered or too loose.

stuart noble wrote:

Sounds like the belt is knackered or too loose.

Direct drive. The motor is knackered.

--
Grunff

On Wed, 03 Sep 2003 20:09:40 +0100, Grunff wrote:

About 9 months ago I bought the cheap (£40) Screwfix Ferm 8"
tablesaw (19146). I don't like buying cheap tools, but I'd never
owned a table saw before, and wasn't sure whether it would be a
tool I use a lot.

For those of you not familiar with it, it has a 720W induction
motor. Has a stated cutting capacity of 43mm.

I've used it maybe a dozen times so far - not a dozen cuts, many
cuts per time, cutting nothing thicker than 1", and mostly soft
pine.

Today the motor pretty much died - it still runs, but delivers
very little torque. Not really of any use. So I call Screwfix,
thinking there's a chance I could get it replaced under the (3
year) warranty.

They didn't even ask me what was wrong. All they asked was when
I'd like it collected, and whether I want a refund or
replacement. I was most impressed.

Needless to say I went for the refund. I'm now going to buy a
big tablesaw, because I've discovered that I like them lots.

So, anyone have any experience of the Ferm 2000W 12" saw
(92632)? Certainly looks the bizz. Any other recommendations for
a similar product under £250?

The 8" Ferm is for light-duty use - and I mean _light_ duty. If
you're cutting to the full blade depth, then it had better be balsa
wood! More of a (useful) workshop gadget than a table saw - it
doesn't even have a blade depth adjustment. Do remember that a
halfway decent 8" blade is going to cost you about £15, so you can't
expect too much at £40 for the whole kit.

I have one and it's been very handy, but it's not a table saw in any
real sense of the phrase. I use it for cutting small 1" sq sections
prior to turning pens. Bought because it's cheap enough to devote
just to that and small enough to be kept right next to the lathe. The
blade that came with it wasn't as bad as I expected, but the saw
certainly performs better with a (smaller) good quality blade.

For a decent home workshop table saw, you're looking at £400+ -
anything below that and you must expect to compromise in some way.
Even if that's beyond your pocket see if you can get a demo of
something like an Elektra or Kity - then at least you'll know what
you're missing.

Not much help I know if you can't afford the real McCoy - and I can't
either. I have a Clarke 10" table saw bought for about £150 a couple
of years ago. Falls under the heading of 'good enough - just about'.
Wouldn't dream of cutting to the full blade depth, especially with the
very poor blade that came with it. But with a new blade (about £25)
it's not half bad, as long as I remember what I paid for it. The
Axminster catalogue shows a couple of similar saws in the £120-£220
range.

All just IMOHO, of course.

Geordie2

Geordie2 wrote:

For a decent home workshop table saw, you're looking at £400+ -
anything below that and you must expect to compromise in some way.
Even if that's beyond your pocket see if you can get a demo of
something like an Elektra or Kity - then at least you'll know what
you're missing.

Thanks for the good advice Geordie.

--
Grunff