Tickling a new old tool

[woodenwookie]

A few years ago when I started getting into woodworking my dad perpetually loaned me his Triton 2000 series Workcentre. This is a great unit and I made immense use of it although I never realised the reason my cuts were skewed on it were because the old Makita he had installed on it had a wobble.

In 2016 I moved in to mum and dad's place with my heavily pregnant wife due to a loss of job at my previous employer. This move motivated dad to start working on the house (the story of his house can be read here: The Story of the Unfinished House ). A new opportunity arose with my current job to move back to New Plymouth which I took unfortunately dad was now on a renewed sense of getting the house done so I had to leave the Workcentre behind.

But in November 2019 (man it's so hard not to say November of this year anymore) mum and dad decided to move to Napier into a two bedroom apartment with no shed. This worked in my favour because not only did I score his Ego gear (amazing yard equipment) I got to have old faithful return to me.

The first thing I did was remove the old Makita and install my Ozito circular saw. I didn't realise this at the time but I lost a significant amount of cutting capability because I went from 210mm to 185mm. It's not an issue really though because I don't often have the need to cut down 4x2 with the tablesaw as I have a mitre saw for that. This was the trickiest part actually because I had to workout how much movement I needed of the bracket to get the saw positioned correctly on the 0 mark. I got it right first time which was nice.

The other thing I wanted to do was add wheels to the unit. I have an idea that I can't get the wheel units for this model anymore so I was going to go to Mitre10 (unfortunately Bunnings New Plymouth kind of sucks because it's much smaller than the other areas including Hawera which is a much smaller town) to get some wheels. It was doing something else that I saw the training wheels for Little Wookie's bike. They were just the right size and given that the bike shop owner took one look at Little Wookie on his bike and said he already has great balance and training wheels would only hinder him I decided to use these.

It required a redrilling of the hole to 8mm but the wheels are now altogether making the table much more manoeuvrable which is needed because I have a small shop and have to fit my postie motorcycle in the shed as well.

Workcentre with the MakitaMakita has a wobble in the blade and needs replacingOzito to the rescueBenchtop installed in tablesaw configurationOzito installed and in tablesaw modeOzito installed and in cross cut modeAll the accessoriesFair bit of kitWheels attachedWheels attached

Now that everything is up and running again I need to get rid of some tools I bought as a means of replacing the functionality of the Workcentre. That means I need to get rid of the router table. It's a great unit with some great features I like but all replaced by the Workcentre and a plunge router. I'm in two minds about the bandsaw now though because I can mount a jigsaw to the Workcentre and have a good pattern cutter. It'll mean losing the ability to cut 100mm but truthfully I've not had that need. Smaller precise cuts can be done with my scrollsaw which I use most anyway.

Anyone else have one of these Triton Workcentres or even lucky enough to have the newer models? What do you think of it? Has it replaced a number of other tools for you?

[MitchellM]

@woodenwookie great way to give an old bench new life. Always wanted a triton triton table but was out of price range. I might see if I can score one second hand on gumtree.

Thanks for posting!

[woodenwookie]

I well recommend them. Try a deal that gives you everything like dad’s setup. This gives you a lot of flexibility.

I’ve seen them here in NZ on TradeMe for around $200(NZ) which is a bargain.

My ultimate would be to have the latest version because it’s even easier to swap over the units.

[SalBay]

Wow good score with all those triton bits. I picked up a triton 2000 + Triton saw for ~ $400 from a Bunnings back in 2000, and used the 10% off if you find a cheaper one to get a good price.  I did really extensive house renovations using primarily the Triton and still have it and use it now, I also cut a 2" hole in the top deck, and fitted a router there, so use it as a cheapie router table.  Just yesterday I finally made a sled for it (to cut up small pieces for boxes etc.
One thing to watch is that as the saw gets older (and especially with cheaper saws) the saw will rock on it's pivot, so the blade rocks about the 90degree position, leaving scallops and uneven surfaces. When new, my Triton would leave an edge looking like it had been planed. I've since found a Triton stabilising kit (at a recycle shop! for $5) and that has stopped the rocking.