Charnwood Machinery Ltd Avis 

Whilst the base machine is adequate for my DIY use I find the quality of the blades provided very poor. Most of my work is with thin plywood, 3.6 -5mm and pieces of 12mm Quadrant or similar but I’m lucky to get 15hrs of use from a blade. It makes the use of this machine becoming expensive. I thought it might be the thinner 6mm blades that were at fault so I purchased the 13mm blades and they are no better.

I bought the Charnwood W715 bandsaw via a retailer and it was sent out promptly direct from Charnwood.
It arrived inadequately packaged for such a heavy piece of equipment (33kg) using pre-formed polystyrene foam. The heavy cast iron table had broken out of the foam and smashed the plastic blade alignment knob. Not a disaster, easily replaceable.
There was a tiny blob of weld (or metal fragment) on the side of the table that needed filing off before the rip-fence guide could sit squarely against the table. Also not really an important issue.
Spent about an hour setting up to find that there was over 2 mm of lateral discrepancy between the highest and lowest positions of the blade guide structure so there had to be 2mm lateral play of the blade.
I phoned and spoke with Dave at Charnwood who thought that it must be due to the loose table damaging the alignment of the whole structure (doubtful to my mind) and said they would arrange collection and replacement.
The second W715 saw arrived a week later in exactly the same condition as the first, table broken out of polystyrene and smashed knob. Rip fence and mitre guide loose in the box along with all other small bits.
In setting up this one I found that to approach alignment of the blade, the top wheel started rubbing on a welded reinforcement plate on the frame so I had to dismantle it and grind away some of the plate. I then found it also rubbing on part of the aluminium blade guide structure before the blade could be aligned so I had to dismantle it again for some filing before the wheels could rotate freely at the correct alignment. This saw has a 1mm lateral discrepancy between the highest and lowest position of the blade guide. Not great but I decided I could live with that rather than send it back again.
Other issues so far:
The rip-fence is riveted significantly out of square meaning that some accurate shimming needs to be done to make it usable.
There was a spare bolt in the packet with no reference in the sparse set-up instructions. Another phone call with Dave told me where to put it (under the table as a stop at 90 degrees).
Now it is set up ok I hope it will be adequate for the basic tasks I need it for.
This product is at the lower end of their range so I don't know if their more expensive tools have a better build quality. These saws are Chinese made and containered in 50 at a time (according to Dave) so the quality will never be great (according to me).
I found their service to be very friendly and professional. Dave phoned a few days later to ask if I had received the 2nd saw and if it was OK, which was very much appreciated, and has agreed to send me a box of stuff (spare blade, spare guide bearings, motor belt etc) to make up for my inconvenience (hence 3 stars)
However, great service is nice but will never make up for such a poorly made product with no quality control or checking and fettling in the UK before being dispatched to the customer. I won't be buying my other workshop equipment from Charnwood.

I have ordered a lot of products from charnwood, I find the service to be second to none and they have good quality supplies and a showroom with many different products including exotic wood blanks, this is all followed up by amazing customer service and aftercare. I would recommend charnwood to anyone from hobby to professional users.