Saw Review

Hi all,
In my last post I told you about how I made a 75 mile trip to purchase a table top circular saw. Well it is now time to find out if the trip it was worth it.

The saw in question is the Proxxon KS230 and my first thoughts were that it was much small than expected. However, they say that great things come in little packages so I decided to reserve my judgement until I'd cut some wood with it.

The first thing I did was to put the fence into position and the fit the mitre cutting aid. Both of these items seem to be well made and fitted to the saw in such a way that it felt like an accurate cut could be achieved. After all, that is was the main objective of lashing out 100 quid on the saw was in the first place. Cutting 6mm thick wood by hand isn't exactly hard work but doing it accurately and with a high degree of repeatability is.

The next thing I did was to fit the rubber outlet for the dust extraction and fitted the end of my hoover into it. The fit was slightly loose but I reckon that it will suck up most of the dust the saw produces without any problems.

Okay, it was now time for the moment when I would find out if it could cut 6mm walnut without problems. I had two strips of walnut that I'd cut for the side of the box that I was working on; I had cut them by hand and they were a bit off because one of them was a bit wider than the other. I decided to set up the fence and slide them through the saw to level them up. The cutting was great and the blade went through like a knife through butter, however, there was a problem. My workshop smelt worse than a kipper's jock strap. The odour absolutely filled the room and seeped into the kitchen where I found my wife sniffing the air like like a big bear within striking distance of a bee's nest.

At this point my my dinner was declared ready for the table, so I opened all the windows in the workshop and decided to leave the saw alone untill the following day. I was of course concerned that I had wasted 100 quid and I didn't fancy driving all the way back to the shop to return it.

The following morning the smell had almost gone, so I decided to cut some more wood. You will be pleased to know that the saw worked brilliantly without any smell being produced at all and I was very pleased with the results. This little saw is well made and I'm sure it will help by box making.

Regarding the horrendous smell, the only thing I can put it down to was the fact that I was taking such a thin sliver off the two pieces of wood that I cut, that the blade was spinning so fast that it slightly burnt the edge of the wood. This would have been exacerbated by me pushing the work piece to slowly through the saw. If you have done any pyrography you will probably know that each wood has its own odour when it is being burnt and more than one smells like an over cooked kipper.

Anyway, the problem is solved and I can now get on with some box making. I show you my progress on the card box in my next post.