Having spent £1,500 just keeping their old bridge saw working last year, London’s Building Crafts College decided to bite the bullet and invest in a new stone saw. And the one they have chosen is the Gisbert CP50 from Essex suppliers D Zambelis, not just because they liked the machine but also because the Spanish manufacturers were prepared to adapt the dimensions to fit the confined space available at the college.

The table had to be slimmed down to get it through the doors and the height had to be lowered while still accommodating a 1.2m blade to saw blocks. Zambelis gave the college a profiling package worth £2,000, which meant the saw also had to be able to accept an 800mm blade for profiling.

Zambelis quoted the £65,000 installed price 14 months ago, but did not pass on a price increase there had been by the time the College had raised the money, with the help of grants from the Learning & Skills Council and the Carpenters’ Livery Company. They placed the order just in time to benefit from the temporarily lower VAT that, being a charity rather than a firm, they have to pay. The saw was installed while the college’s 100 masonry students, including 20 on the foundation degree in conservation, were on half term holiday last month (February).