Unisaw mobile base and table improvement w/many *PICS*

[Alan in Little Washington]

Alan, it looks very good, actually excellent, but I am interested in your attachment method and leveling method to the saw top. What did you do and how did you do it? I know you are not going to have pics for this, but I am curious as to how you went about it, what you liked, what you didn't, and what you would do different.

Case in point, I have a PM 66 and on the backside I have a piece of angle iron that I want to do something similar to, but want to make sure my height is correct and not over.

Travis, as you know it is not necessary for it all to be level (plumb) which I can do, but all the tables should be in the same plane and should mate evenly. So, here's what I did-

Starting with the right extension table- It sits (mainly floats except where it attaches to the CI) in the area formed by the front/rear/end pieces of angle. I made the table slightly thinner than the distance from the lower angle flange to the top of the CI table. I drilled and tapped a few bolt holes through the bottom flange of the angle and added some bolts to level the table. After tapping I took a center punch and intentionally buggered the threads slightly so the bolts wouldn't turn with saw vibration. Finally, the left table apron is bolted to the end of the CI table through existing holes in the CI. I drilled oversized holes in the extension table apron so I would have a little adjustment freedom. Tightening the bolts draws the extension table apron tight to the CI and holds it well - while tightening I check to see that the surfaces match and tap up or down on the extension table to get them even before final tightening. I used nylon insert locking nuts, to ensure they won't losen.

The outfeed table attaches the same way- through 4 bolt holes I drilled and tapped in the rear angle iron. You may have to do it a little differently if your rear angle has the horizontal flange turned away from the saw. Again I drilled oversized holes in the outfeed table apron to give me room for fine height adjustment. The outfeed table legs have elevator bolts and threaded inserts in the bottom to adjust leg height.

So far, all seems to be working great and I wouldn't change a thing. I'm even happy (for a change )with my decision to paint the oak aprons and legs black. Though not as easy now with the outfeed table, I can still move the saw (and tables) if I need to. FYI, I still haven't permanently attached the outfeed table legs. I'm trying to decide between bolts or screws- and strength vs appearance.

Let me know if you have any questions or want closeup pics of any of the details.

 

[D L Ames]

Alan, the addition of the drop-down out-feed table is a great idea. That will come in handy whenever you have to rip any long stock. I like the way you have your power and DC plumbed through the floor also. How do you go about opening and closing the blast gate for the TS? It looks like it would be a pain to get to.

D L

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Alan, the addition of the drop-down out-feed table is a great idea. That will come in handy whenever you have to rip any long stock. I like the way you have your power and DC plumbed through the floor also. How do you go about opening and closing the blast gate for the tablesaw? It looks like it would be a pain to get to.

D L

I haven't solved that problem yet- a pull cable or pull rods maybe. Actually I can just leave the saw blast gate open since my 3 hp DC blower will suck from two or more machines quite well.

 

[McRabbet]

Alan -- very professional job with the outfeed extension and both the nifty trap door units for your dust collection and power feeds. I'm fortunate to have a shop over a high headroom and relatively dry crawl space (4 to 9' of clearance), so I installed my dust collector and primary ductwork below the shop. My tablesaw power outlet is also floor mounted and that keeps the full space around my saw free for any material maneuvering. But I need to go along way to have as neat a shop as you have -- I don't have a permanent floor in mine (it just has typical unfinished OSB sub-floor) -- what is your floor made of? I also want to add a lever system for the blast gate at my saw -- mine exits the left side and I'd like to add an elbow and a short section of PVC so the blast gate is exposed just behind the saw -- then I can configure a lever on the right side to open and close it with a simple "L" shaped escapement and a few pieces of all-thread. It looks to me like you could do exactly the same by flipping your blast gate 180º and configuring the lever on the left side of the saw.

Rob


Rob

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Alan -- very professional job with the outfeed extension and both the nifty trap door units for your dust collection and power feeds. I'm fortunate to have a shop over a high headroom and relatively dry crawl space (4 to 9' of clearance), so I installed my dust collector and primary ductwork below the shop. My tablesaw power outlet is also floor mounted and that keeps the full space around my saw free for any material maneuvering. But I need to go along way to have as neat a shop as you have -- I don't have a permanent floor in mine (it just has typical unfinished OSB sub-floor) -- what is your floor made of? I also want to add a lever system for the blast gate at my saw -- mine exits the left side and I'd like to add an elbow and a short section of PVC so the blast gate is exposed just behind the saw -- then I can configure a lever on the right side to open and close it with a simple "L" shaped escapement and a few pieces of all-thread. It looks to me like you could do exactly the same by flipping your blast gate 180º and configuring the lever on the left side of the saw.

Rob


Rob

The floor is just "Advantech" painted with 2 coats of enamel deck paint. Advantech is like OSB, just a little tougher and denser. I may try a choke cable/lever arrangement to open the blast gate. My blast gates slide effortlessly, except when the blower is running, so I should be able to use any type of linkage and actuator. I've even considered tool activated blast gates but ruled that out because I often leave the gate open and blower running while turning the saw on and off.

 

[jeff...]

I'd like to say it's just the wide angle lens, but I have a decent sized shop (could always be bigger- like can't have enough clamps) - a tad over 21' X 38' . When we built our house I wanted a good shop for a change (old one was 10' X 12') but didn't want a separate building in the back
yard, so decided enlarge the garage to 3 bays and go up, puting my shop above.

Sorry, forgot to down-size pic.

When I bring some of my biker buddies over for a shop tour, should we park in front of the house, by the white and red sign? So we don't block the driveway or tie up traffic, in case someone has to leave in a hurry?

Just jerking your chain Alan, nice shop! You should be proud :icon_thum

 

[Jon]

Glad you updated this thread, Looks really good.