Table saw workstation from old table top

[Bill_In_Asheville]

Over the decades, I have had a number of tablesaws from jury-rigged to Delta Unis. Right now I am limited for space to a porch, and so went with a cheap Porter Cable one.

For what I paid, it is okay, but I want 24" to the right of the blade and more space in front of the blade.

So, I eyeballed this old table which had been collecting dust, retro fitted some legs with wheels on one end, and am now trying to figure out best way to mount saw with cabinets to each side, and expanded table space to left, right and front. (outfeed I will deal with later it is the height of my workbench, so that should work)

Also, this will help with sound, as it will be encased in mdf, and I will make a new fence which will be better than the one that came with it.


Huh. I was not standing on my head, anyone know how to rotate it correctly?

 

[Bill_In_Asheville]

Okay, the photo opens the right way up on my computer.

What is this, some kind of trick on the new-guy thing?

 

[Fishbucket]

.
What is this, some kind of trick on the new-guy thing?

you have to know the secret handshake first...

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

Bill,

If your picture was taken with an i-devise, you may want to open it in another program and save it with a different extension. It is my understanding that i-devises imbed orientation information in the file. By saving it as a different extension, it eliminates this orientation information and your picture should appear correctly.

Steve

 

[ehpoole]

Actually most cameras these days save all photos in the natural orientation of the image sensor, so if the camera is rotated then that is how the image will be saved to memory. They also add some extra optional headers (EXIF extension) which include information about rotation, mirroring, etc., which some photo editors and viewers will use to automatically rotate the view without user intervention when displaying the photo locally. However, web browsers do not ordinarily honor the EXIF extensions and thus do not correct for rotation as they need to quickly allocate room for a photo based upon image dimensions and this typically occurs well before the optional EXIF information is even seen by the browser and waiting for that info would hold up rendering the screen since so much formatting and layout depends upon the photo dimensions and preserving room for such in the layout, so you will typically see the image in its naturally saved orientation when viewing such in a web browser.

There are two solutions to such, either always take photos with your camera in its natural orientation (that is, what the image sensor considers "upright"), which is the simplest solution, or use a photo editor, either PC or app based, that will allow you to correct the saved rotation prior to uploading the image (for PCs you can use the freeware IrfanView, but there are many other choices out there, both free and pay).

 

[Bill_In_Asheville]

Huh. Well phones are smarter than I am. Just changed it to .jpg instead of .jpeg. Never seen that happen before.
To get back to topic, you can see my thrown together workbench with my poverty vice on the face back there.

The saw table will go between the 4x4s you see behind it, as I extend that portion of the porch just to hold it, so it will roll in and out as needed. That dimension is the limiter on making infeed/outfeed tables. As it is, I should have clearance to handle full sheets and 8ft boards.

Just trying to figure out the best way to make the cabinets now.

 

[Gotcha6]

Whatever you do, be sure to allow for dust collection, I. E. cut a hole in the table top under the saw, maybe even make a hopper with a dust port.....

 

[Bill_In_Asheville]

Christmas Eve progress, ready to make the top. Going with 1/2 MDF under 3/4 baltic birch.

 

[Gotcha6]

Check and see if you feel comfortable leaning over the top to see the blade with a piece of stock in front of it. You will often need to do this and you don't want to feel awkward in that stance. Also, do you have plans for an auxiliary power switch? In the event you need to turn off the saw quickly you don't want to be fumbling up in a tunnel to find the switch. I assume you are making provisions in the MDF top to accommodate a miter fence.

 

[Bill_In_Asheville]

yes, I just tested cutting with it, very comfortable for me.

someone up thread reminded me about dust collection, I have a 3" hole below the saw ready to connect

as soon as I finish this break I am making the power switch thing, basically a plywood extension to the existing one, pull on, push off

and yes, I will route grooves on the infeed table top as well as the outfeed part... waiting until last minute to disable the existing fence by removing the steel tube before making the new fence which will run on hardwood front and back with T-track

 

[Gotcha6]

When making your fence be sure to have some adjustment in the guides so you can keep it parallel to the blade.

 

[Bill_In_Asheville]

The underside got some beefing up today, you can see the hole for dust here.
In a serendipity moment, I had to go to the ER on Christmas Morning. Kidney stones, it was not. Bulging disc says the cat scan.
Anyway, while not working I was playing, and have decided to make a big sliding table to the left of the blade.

 

[ehpoole]

yes, I just tested cutting with it, very comfortable for me.

someone up thread reminded me about dust collection, I have a 3" hole below the saw ready to connect

as soon as I finish this break I am making the power switch thing, basically a plywood extension to the existing one, pull on, push off

and yes, I will route grooves on the infeed table top as well as the outfeed part... waiting until last minute to disable the existing fence by removing the steel tube before making the new fence which will run on hardwood front and back with T-track

A single hole for dust collection will generally not work well with a tablesaw unless the saw already has very good integrated dust collection and a blade shroud. Sawdust, like any loose material has a natural angle of repose (slope) that will form around the collection hole, piling up much higher around the sides and gently sloping towards that hole. That slope may be enough to interfere with proper operation of the trunnion assembly and/or motor cooling if not addressed. Fortunately you can buy or build an inexpensive sloped funnel that may be mounted under your tablesaw to facilitate dust collection and allows some added depth to reduce the risk of sawdust interfering with the mechanics and/or clogging the motor. But that simple change should help dust collection considerably.

 

[Bill_In_Asheville]

Some progress after my health issues and the weather. I finally found the gizmo I wanted to make the sliding table from Peachtree Woodworking, here is what I got.

It is exactly the height of the plywood which will be between the two tracks, so I should not have to rout any grooves in the upper sliding piece. Here is more of an overview.

The fence is together, but the front t-track is not yet installed. I am looking forward to having a nice big sliding table again. I had one once on a Unisaw, that was sweet. Also, I have extended the porch outward behind the saw so it does not take up the whole floor space. That is helping me get organized again. It has been a long month.