Harvey Table Saw Review: A table saw is an essential piece of equipment that is necessary for all woodworking workshops, and there is a wide range of options available on the Market in Australia. This article compares and contrasts the characteristics and advantages of the Harvey table saws with those of other table saws that are available in the Australian market.
No one in Australia is more familiar with table saws than the team at Gregory Machinery, who formerly distributed several well-known brands and is currently the only distributor of Harvey products in Australia. The Harvey Ambassador C200-30 table saw features a more powerful 2.2 horsepower engine compared to the Laguna Fusion F2’s 1.75 horsepower motor, but it still just needs a conventional 10 amp power outlet to operate. The difference in structure and build quality between these two versions is best shown by the fact that they weigh significantly different amounts.
In comparison to the Laguna Fusion F2, which weighs just 125kg, the Harvey Ambassador, weighing 175kg, delivers superior stability, although weighing almost half as much (50kg) as the Laguna Fusion F2. Even having a smaller rip capacity of 30″ as compared to 36″, the Harvey Ambassador is a heavier-duty and more powerful saw that has a more handy and compact footprint than the competition.
On all Harvey Table Saws, the dado table insert is included as standard equipment, rather than as an optional extra. Between the Harvey C200 table saw and the Laguna Fusion F1 table saw, there is no comparison – the Harvey saw is significantly better and far heavier duty. For the additional $360, it weighs 100kg more than the F1, which is effectively a light-duty contractor’s saw, and most woodworkers would rather spend the extra money on the finest in order to enjoy years of stress-free woodworking.
Harvey C200-30 table saw is $550
The cherry on top is that the Harvey C200-30 table saw is $550 less expensive than the Laguna Fusion F2 table saw, giving it an amazing value for money. The Harvey Ambassador C200-30 table saw comes a long way toward becoming a genuine cabinet saw, thanks to its more powerful engine, thicker gauge steel cabinet, and cast iron trunnion system, among other features. When compared to the Laguna F2 Fusion’s lighter hybrid design and aluminum trunnion system, the Laguna F2 Fusion is much more expensive.
In a similar vein, the Harvey Ambassador is equipped with a higher-duty T-square and a high-low fence in the European manner. With its one-piece, solid steel, box-section front rail, this fence has been engineered to slide gently while also locking positively referencing around all three sides of the front rail. This is in sharp contrast to the Laguna Fusion F2’s lighter-duty fence and two-piece aluminum front rail, which are made of lighter-weight aluminum.
The popularity of the Laguna Fusion table saws has increased significantly in recent years, owing to increased customer knowledge and brand familiarity. Harvey’s new collection of table saws was officially released in the Australian market in 2020, and they are designed to compete with the functionality, features, and capacity of the other table saws already on the market. Allow us to explain in further detail.
Tablesaws in the middle of the Price Range: One of these in-between machines may be ideal for your shop, as it has more muscle and stability than a benchtop type and does not require 220-volt power.
How did we select the topic?
Each table saw in our test group has to meet the following requirements in order to be considered:
- To stand on its own, or in a cabinet, it was designed
- 110 volts pre-wired in (some models can be rewired for 220-volt service)
- Iron table with a glass top (cast-iron extensions are a bonus)
- As many as thirty-six “of ripping power.
A table saw’s worth is determined by six factors
Chopping influence. Each saw passed our tests and was found to be capable of ripping 134 “Stall, overload, or trip the circuit breaker while ripping thick red oak with a new rip blade. This saw is more efficient than benchtop or job-site saws, but you’ll have to feed the stock more slowly.
It’s an excellent rip barrier. The best fences are smooth and secure as they move along their rails. This fence locks solely at the operator’s end of the saw and can deflect slightly during a rip cut when you apply sideways force to the saw. While these barriers were tested, none of them deflected more than.011 of an inch “It’s impossible to tell if it’s there at all.
Miter gauge accuracy is critical. There are few elaborate miter gauges that come with these saws, and most have merely 90° and 45° angle stops (although not all are adjustable). There are nine adjustable stops available on the Delta, the Grizzly G0771Z, and the Shop Fox W1837. There is a flip-stop fence included with the Powermatic PM1000 miter gauge, but we found that the 90° and 45° stops had too much motion to be confident in their accuracy.
An easy-to-use blade guard. Modern blade guards are far easier to remove and replace than the old guards on your dad’s table saw, which had to be scrapped because they were too cumbersome to use. For non-through cuts or narrow rips, you can also use a second riving knife that comes with the splitter.
Make the most of your money by purchasing reliable Models
The SawStop PCS175-TGP236 shone out from this bunch of table saws after comprehensive testing, which is perhaps not a huge surprise. The flesh-detecting safety feature of this saw puts it at the top of the heap. It’s the best tool we’ve ever used. The Delta 36-725T2 is likewise a Top Value in our book. It’s a solid table saw, and it’s the cheapest in the test at $600, making it an excellent entry-level option.
Tip!
Using an elbow permanently attached to a saw’s bottom port eliminates the need to remove your dust collection hose from the saw on a regular basis. then attach and detach the hose from the elbow as necessary. It is important to have an efficient dust collection system. The lower part of the blade is encased in a dust helmet on all saws to catch the debris that falls from the blade (when attached to a vacuum or dust collector). Additionally, dust ports built into the enclosed cabinets of the vast majority of the examined saws aid in the removal of blade shroud-generated dust.
In addition, the Harvey and Laguna saws have blade-guard-mounted dust apertures that efficiently collect dust from above the blade. Throat inserts are quite versatile. Only the Grizzly, Harvey, and Shop Fox saws come with a wide-opening insert for use with a dado set, which tightens the gap around the blade. SawStop plates contain a lever lock and a 316 thread, which makes them our preferred choice “-wide blade slot acts as a zero-clearance plate in practice.
When you use SawStop, your hands are kept Protected
For the safety of the operator, all SawStop table saws are equipped with a patented flesh-detection technology. It works like this: As soon as the blade touches a conductive object, such as an object made of metal or wet pressure-treated hardwood, an aluminum brake pawl thrusts into it to bring it to a halt and bring it to a safe resting place below the surface of the table. There is no way to tell what it is, but if you press your finger on it, you’ll likely only receive a minor nick. The brake cartridge ($80 for a 10″) and the blade ($100 for an 8″ dado unit) must be replaced after an activation.
