Table Saw mobility

[david lang]

Hi All

I have a fairly light duty table saw

which is fine for what I do, but due to the small size of my workshop I've mounted on castors so I can slide it out of the way when not in use.

The castors are rubber tyres and the front two are locking type - problem is on a dusty floor they seem to slide along when you feed timber into the machine.

It's OK cutting thin stuff where you don't need to push much, but on 18mm ply for example you have to push a little more and it slides.

I'm thinking of building a base unit for it & doing away with the legs, I could use the extra storage. Any suggestions on a base that is mobile but won't slide?

Dave

[Andy Hall]

If you had all four wheels locking it would help a bit.

Otherwise, there are mobility bases which have smaller wheels and work quite well.

e.g. Axminster part 708118

I have one of these under my bandsaw and another under my drill press to allow them to be moved around, but the bandsaw weighs 150kg and the drill press about 100kg so they don't tend to slide much anyway.

Even so, I reckon that you could make an improvement.

The alternative would be to use some screw-down feet although that becomes inconvenient.

If you are cutting large sheets it might not be a bad idea to add some weight to the whole thing by making a box type base from ply - footprint of the saw and say 100mm high. Put that base on a mobility base and bolt the saw to it firmly. Then fill the box with dry sand.

This would have the benefits of making the whole thing more stable and less likely to slip around or tip over.

You are using something to support the material behind the saw after cutting, aren't you? e.g. a roller or ball stand or similar.

[Rob Morley]

Replace the front castors with metal spikes (bits of steel studding ground to a point and fixed with a couple of nuts)? Then you can still wheel it into a corner using the rear castors. Or you could retain all the castors but fit a spike next to each one that you can screw down as needed.

[Cicero]

================== Make the base unit / cupboard from solid wood. When you've finished add two sloping pieces of wood with wheels at one end and handles at the other end so that you can use it like a wheelbarrow. The wheels will only be in contact with the floor when you lift the handles. I've got a metal-cutting bandsaw done like this (made from steel) and it's rock solid in use and fairly easy to move.

If necessary make the handles detachable for storage.

Cic.

[AlexW]

As a quicky you could pile some bricks/heavy blocks (in a card box to protect that lovely paint) on the plinth half way up the legs ... this might help a bit in the short term.

Alex.

[Elessar]

I just bolted casters to the side of two legs so they just clear the floor. When you lift the opposite side of the table it "wheelbarrows" easily. (I got the idea from uk.d-i-y about a year ago when this last came up).

-- LSR

[Stuart Noble]

Those adjustable castors for cookers are quite good but the thing will still slide if it's too light. A bag of sand on the base would help but it doesn't look as though there's room for that. Looks pretty good for the price. How do you like it? Is the fence easy to set and accurate back and front? If so there's not much else to worry about.

[david lang]

Very happy with the saw, but the fence wasn't good. To their credit Charnwood replaced it FOC but still not perfect.

I replaced it with an Axminster fence upgrade

whole thing is now excellent, plenty of wellie from the induction motor, good flat table, good height/tilt adjustment.

One reason I went for it is that its quick & easy to remove the splitter & guard so I can cut rebates, tenons etc. Can't use a dado head unforetunately.

Dave

[Steven Briggs]

In message , david lang writes

Old Norm (of New Yankee Workshop) did a neat little arrangement on some large work tables he did. A bit tricky to explain, but the castors were on hinged planks at each end of the table. Normally the frame of the table (sawbench in your case) sits on the floor, with this plank hinged up slightly. Lift one end of the table up, and the plank drop to the horizontal and another couple of hinged pieces drop into place and lock said plank, which now supports the table on the casters. Repeat at the other end and its all free to wheel around. Pulling a piece of rope attached to the latch piece releases them and the castors fold away dropping the table solidly back onto the floor.

[Stuart Noble]

Yes, I put mine in a cupboard somewhere about 20 years ago....

You can always use a wobble washer for shallow, not *too* wide grooves. I used to pack the blade with layers of masking tape to get a precise width. I wonder if a book called Woodworking Aids and Devices is still about. Jig heaven!

[Andy Hall]

You *can* do this, but arbors on most saws limit even that. The insert plate has to be removed or replaced as well.

A push block is important to reduce risk of shredded fingers if something bad happens.

There are a number of them originating from the US, and not all assume saws with long arbors and stacked dado sets.

[Stuart Noble]

Handy for getting an extra 3-4 mm kerf though. You don't need much packing at the centre of the blade to get a hell of a wobble on the periphery. I used to use it to make slots for ply tongues.

Looks like it's still in print and my local library had it until recently