Machinery

The silver Draper is a neat little machine. It has an all-steel body with a one-piece metal access door. The blade runs on cast alloy wheels and the blade tensioning system is straightforward to use.

The steel and alloy upper blade guard houses a set of bearings similar to those used on the Titan, with small steel rods giving side support and a roller thrust bearing.

The table is ribbed alloy with a polished surface, and it also has a useful rip scale etched into it. The rip fence is a simple alloy design and clamps securely to the table at both ends with a cam lever. The mitre fence is a fairly basic plastic design, but works well enough in use.

The table can be tilted to 45° for bevel cuts, and there’s an easy-to-use locking handle to hold it in position.

This is an easy machine to set up, with good blade access. There are no safety interlocks fi tted on the door, so it’s possible (but not recommended) to run the machine with the door open.

In use, the Draper is an eager performer, with a quiet and remarkably smoothrunning motor and pretty accurate cutting performance. Unlike most of the machines on test, it was supplied with a reasonable-quality blade; however, you’ll get much better performance from the machine if you replace it with a betterquality blade.

Verdict Overall the BS190 is sturdy, well fi nished and easy to set up, and it runs surprisingly quietly. It deserves to be supplied with a better blade though.

Contact: Draper
02380 266355
www.draper.co.uk

Performance 4/5
Value for money 3/5