Hi all,
I'm new here, so please forgive if this has been answered before. I'm looking to save some money, and some friends have told me that they converted their hand-held circular saw into a table saw. I'm wondering if anyone knows of either (a) plans for doing so efficiently and safely, or (b) a company that makes an inexpensive pre-fab unit where you just plug in the circular saw. I'm using a 10 inch Black and Decker circular saw.
Thanks, WM
Is Triton avaliable where you are?
Mekon
Mekon
>
Resist the temptation. You'll wind up with a half-assed semi-table saw that will be far more frustrating and dangerous than it's worth. Save up for a real one.
-- Ernie
I used a system like this for several years. It worked to the extent that the doors and drawers I made fit. The problem is that such set-ups are a pain to use. You spend a lot of time getting the settings right. If time is worth money to you, get a real table saw. You'll come out ahead in the long run.
One other point is that it depends on the work you're doing. For example, a Triton system is good a cutting plywood because if the enormous table. It is very poor at cutting smaller pieces percisely. It will not miter an edge at all.
Depending on your need, there are some inexpensive tablesaws that work well. For example a Bosch.
Good luck.
Peter
Thanks to all who have chimed in on this. I'm still on the fence about it, because I can see the safety issues. But I was at a friend's house last night, a professional carpenter, and that's all he has for a table saw. And he makes some really nice work, and has for years.
One of my main concerns is shop size - I'm working, basically, in a shed, and just don't have the space for a full-time table saw (well, I do, but it would have virtually no outfeed area). So the idea of fastening the hand saw to a board-like structure, which I can then lean against the wall when I'm done, is appealing. I've looked at a very nice foldaway Ridgid table saw ... but it's about $500. Which is outta my league right now, since this is just a hobby.
Anyway, thanks again for all the advice ... for the time being, I think I'm going to stick to projects that don't necessarily require a table saw (plenty of those).
Cheers, WM
Taunton press, Fine homebuilding issue # 1 page 22 had an article on this exact subject. It is out of print but perhaps you can find it in a library somewhere. Regards Bob
One more thought on this issue - rather than literally trying to mimic a table saw, what about mounting the hand saw *right side up*, over a table? i.e. a bracket that acts as a pair of hands, holding the saw perfectly in place, while running boards past it? This seems much saver, and perhaps even more useful (in terms of portability, etc.)
I don't think theres any danger running boards "past" such a contraption, as long as none of them come in contact with the blade. :-)
I am thinking of taking up woodworking as a hobby, and have been following this ng for some time now. I wanted to do something similar to start off also.
One question that I have is that will the circular saws take in dado blades?
Thanks, irax.
WhiteMoth wrote:
You should start a new thread if you have a new question. Anyway, no, I've never seen a circular saw that could take a dado blade. It sounds like it would be rather dangerous even if you did.
GTO(John)
Sure, it will take a dado blade, as long as the stack doesn't go over about
I remember seeing the IronHorse at Lowes a few years back. Searched for them online but can find no info on the company. Probably out of business.
If there are any clues on the table itself (ie, company address, parent company name, etc), please post it here.
Thanks.
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