Re: Tools I don't Want To Do Without - Attn: Bill

Well, timing is everything, I guess.

My camera died, but I think I have a pic or two stashed on the hard drive that I could post to ABPW.

You'll find the basic design in issue 57 of Shop Notes on page ten.

I changed some of the materials to match what I had on hand, substituting somewhat thicker hardboard for the top and a sheet of plastic laminate over plywood for the fence. I routed the grooves in the fence for the hold-down bolts prior to ripping lengthwise so as to be absolutely certain that the grooves would line up. They did. I didn't need to make the alignment keys in the SN how-to.

I used a spare piece of 1/4" baltic birch for the table inserts, cutting about a dozen to use up the piece of scrap I had. These reside on the shelf beneath the table, which never did get fitted for the drawer.

I added a piece of corrugated plastic cardboard (dunnage from work) to the dust plenum to hasten the exit of dust and to eliminate two of the corners. I made a sandwich of 3/4" plywood at the point where the vacuum hose enters the base to reduce the wear on the hole.

The hardboard and inserts each got several coats of shellac, although that was entirely optional. I just wanted it to look good and be easy to clean.

The vacuum plenum has an unexpected second use ... by using an insert with a hole in it, it serves as a vacuum hold-down for any workpiece large enough to cover the hole. With a 2" hole, it holds well enough that I need to switch the shop vac off to move the work to the next hole.

Coming attractions?

A table for my band saw A bench built around my contractors saw / router table Casters under the belt sander and jointer A real workbench so I can free up my table saw to just be a table saw!

Cheers, Bill