Craftsman 10" T-Saw.... Back on line --- Slightly improved

[bremen68]

Hello,

Had to part with my Delta 10" tablesaw... When I got it to babysit I was really hoping it would be for the long haul, but alas it wasn't meant to be... Oh well... we make do.

When I realized I was faced with reassembling my Craftsman 10", I thought...may as well make some improvements. The tune up suggestions on the Woodbutcher's Site were a great place to start!!!

These are the improvements I've done (some from the Woodbutcher's site some my own) and some that I'm planning on doing in the very near future...

-- Added 12 bolts (had to bore holes for these) to secure the body housing sheet metal to the leg assembly to stiffen up the frame (8

1/4"x1/2" bolts to secure the side panels to the legs and added one 3/8" x 1/2" bolt to each corner)

-- Added a plate with a dust collection port to the bottom of the saw, this plate also helped stiffen the frame (attached a toilet flange as my outlet on the bottom -- It was on hand and it works)

-- Added 1/2" (they're 7" wide and span the legs) plywood panels around the top of the leg assembly this was to prevent them from splaying out and wobbling

-- Added 4 2" x 1/8" steel bands around the bottom of the legs to stiffen them up and prevent them from turning

-- One of the biggest additions - I ditched the old fence and have installed a new Align-a-rip 24/24 fence. WOW, I realize it's not an Incra, but compared to the original fence it's wonderful. I was going to align it to be 12/36 but didn't have the room so it's still 24/24

Yet to be dones ----

-- Installing a link belt

-- I'll be adding an overhead blade guard - I have parts cut out of

3/8" Lexan they just need to be assembled for the guard, then I'll need to do the armature for the overhead assembly. (this one should be done inside a week or so)

-- I also want to close in the back of the saw to improve dust collection -- (I'm looking for suggestion on what the best way to close it in btw.)

I've posted some pics of the saw here:

someone please tell me how to get an actual hyper link to show up? You'll have to take that address and copy it into your browser...

I'll add new photo's as I make changes...

And trust me I understand that Craftsman ain't Delta, Jet, or Saw-Stop (had to add that last one)... I've spent maybe $50 total on all the changes and I fully intend on upgrading to a better saw eventually, right now this is the one I have and it's doing pretty well....

Just thought I'd share... Have a great Holiday!!!

[Puckdropper]

"bremen68" wrote in news:1164042100.657067.50810 @k70g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

*snip*

My newsreader (and likely Google Groups) recognizes URLs and makes them "actionable" (or "clickable") automagically. If it doesn't work, the nice seperated link like that makes it easy to find what the person wants to copy and paste. ;-)

Puckropper

[bremen68]

Figures the thing recognizes this one... :-) Every other time I've included a link it comes up as regular text... Oh well.... Thanks.

[George Max]

That's a lot of work with the leg system. I'd never heard of it, nor did I ever think the legs were a problem on mine while I had it.

Yep - single biggest improvement to my Craftsman saw was the addition of a Biesemeyer fence. A good fence makes the saw accurate and usable.

Good idea. I did that, but I'm not sure the improvement was all that significant. It's the steel pulleys I did at the same time that was more useful. The cast pulleys were obviously well worn on mine by the time I did it.

Like a Shark Guard? You're obviously going for dust collection. I never felt it was worthwhile on this saw.

Have you added (or plan to) a zero clearance insert or PALS system? The zero clearance was nice, but my saw held it's alignment pretty good, I never felt I needed the PALS.

My saw is gone now, but with upgrades like the ones you're doing, it becomes pretty fair.

Ultimately, I sold mine and got a saw with more power and didn't require extraordinary effort to adapt for dust collection.

[bremen68]

I'm actually skipping the dust collection on the guard... The collector on the bottom should be enough... With this one I liked the almost bullet proofness of the design and the visibility, plus I liked how easy it was to move out of the way with the overhead design. I'll get some pics of it up after I assemble it.

When I had the saw up originally it had a fair amount of wobble/twist to it. It wasn't to the point of collapse, just more than I liked. Seemed that they should have used just a little heavier steel when doing the legs. With the bracing it's solid now.

The saw also sits on a heavy rubber mat now too... (not sure how clear that is in the pics), my shop floor is a nightmare of angles, when it was poured the folks who did it sloped everything to the drain in the middle of the floor and when I say sloped, I mean SLOPED. The entire floor is almost like a funnel. Thus the wood under the rear legs. I'm going to make something more permanent in short order.

I was going to do the PALS but wanted to see how it held before I installed them. I'd seen a few folks say pretty much what you did and figured it wasn't a must do.

The zero insert is on the plans, forgot to include that...

The machined pully set is coming too...

[Wilson]

[Mike Marlow]

Congratulations on the fence. I have the same fence on my Model 100 and I've loved it since I put it on. Trust the calibrations. I've never had the scale lie to me once and though it took a while to develop a complete trust in it, I now don't even consider putting a tape to the blade. IMHO, this fence is one of the best buys in the tool world market.

Depending on what model your saw is - if it's an old Model 100, there is nothing wrong with that saw. It's every bit as good as anything in its class. Don't sell that saw short.

[George Max]

If you want owner feedback on a Sawstop saw, go over to

There's people there that own them.

[No Spam]

I used to have the same saw...I installed a used Delta Jet-Lock fence on mine. It was an awesome improvement, and definitely the weakest part of the Craftsman table saw design.