When cutting long lengths or sheet material, make sure it is supported at the rear and side of the machine with extended tables or support rollers. The Metabo TS254’s blade is set in the down position for transportation. Adjusting it so that you can make a cut is very easy to do. Again, look for the colour red; the blade adjuster sits at the front of the saw with a red knob. Wind the red knob until you’ve got the blade set to the desired height. All in all, I’m quite pleased with the Metabo TS 254 M. It has many strong points, and improves on some of the weaknesses of other entry-level table saws.

Mitre cut – keeping the blade at 90 degrees to the saw bed and adjusting the mitre guide to the required angle, makes table saws an excellent tool for mitre cutting. Regular users of table saws often build a fixed angled sled, which slides inside both channels of the table when wanting to make repeat mitre cuts. Our reviewer, Neil Bradbury of Avalon Builders, admitted that he’d glanced at the pictures in the instruction manual before attempting to get the saw up and ready to use. And he was pleasantly surprised at how intuitive and easy the process was:Part of the CAS Cordless Alliance S ystem – allows users of this shared battery platform to work with other brands such as Mafell, Rothenberger, Trumpf and soon to be announced – Lamello. Changing the height of the saw blade is simple and works really smoothly. Simply turn a plastic handle to adjust the height. It moves slightly easier downwards than upwards, but that is normal (gravity!). There is no indication of height, but I personally have not really had the need for that, and you can always just measure the height of the blade. To retract the blade all the way under the table, you do need to remove the blade guard (but not the riving knife). Lowering the Saw Blade Bevel cut ranges from –3 degrees to 48 degrees – widest range of bevel cut angles meet all joint requirements. Rip cut – this is a cut made in line with the grain of the wood using a blade with fewer teeth. Providing there is enough space around the machine, and the material being cut is supported, the length of cut on a table saw is almost limitless. This makes table saws ideal for cutting long lengths of timber and trimming sheet material to size. The table top feels solid and was perfectly straight. The coating does seem a little weak though, and I’ve already made quite a few scratches simply by moving the miter gauge and fence. This is purely cosmetic, and it’s hard to expect too much from a machine of this price, but still a pity.

What I found quite clever is the system for cutting -1.5 and 46.5 degree angles. Instead of having to change the positive stops for 45 and 90 degrees, you can pull out a bolt that hits the stops, allowing it to move just a little further and make those -1.5 and 46.5 cuts. That way you can make both cuts without having to constantly adjust the stops. The full ‘set’ includes side, rear and travelling table as standard – maximising versatility and cutting capacity when cutting sheet material

The transparent plastic blade guard attaches to the riving knife. You snap it in place and secure it with a small lever. The blade guard has a small ‘leaf’ on the left side for some extra protection. It unfortunately does not have any dust extraction. So far it has been doing a good job, but I do feel it is quite fragile so I’m not sure how long it will last. Removing the blade guard (maybe I should be more careful…) Dust collection The Metabo TS 254 M is a relatively small table saw, but it has a large 254 mm blade. This allows it to cut up to 80 mm high, which is more than most competitors. In terms of rip capacity, it is slightly smaller than other saws with a maximum of 520 mm wide rip cuts. It also features the ability to extend in or out as needed. A cross-cutting fence is also supplied, and like before, is built right into the body of the saw. Look for it on the left-handside

Integrated stand made from stable die-cast aluminium (patent filed); Unfolded in a matter of seconds, with secure positioning One clever thing Metabo has done is that they added a small rubber plate around the saw blade. When you first start the saw you actually have to cut through this plate, so some rubber bits may come flying out. What this rubber plate does is that it prevents any sawdust being pulled up again from below to above the table. Because the blade cuts through this plate, the gap is really minimal. I can’t really test how much sawdust would come out without this plate (it’s not removable), but I think it makes quite a difference. Portability After comparing it with a few other saws, I decided to take a bit of a gamble and go for the TS 254 M. There wasn’t much information available about it yet, but it looked better than the competition so I went for it. Never perform freehand cuts and always use the guide fence or mitre guide. Never use both together. As Neil states, “it’s a very good, stable fence. You can push against it, no movement, and it’s not trying to wiggle around on the bed.”E-control electronic variable speed – select the perfect speed for multiple materials including wood, laminates, plastics and aluminium. Step 2: From the other side of the saw, you reach underneath, releasing the clips holding each of the legs, pulling them down into positions Bevel cut – performed by tilting the saw blade within the bed to the required angle. Perfect for applying a bevelled edge to sheet material or long lengths of timber. Below is a list of some of the best cordless powered table saws in the UK. Milwaukee M18 FTS 18V Table Saw