Newbie Table Saw Safety Question

[Morris Dovey]

The angles "confine" the router's base plate. I try hard not to let any metal (other than the collet) touch spinning router bits!

Other than for a couple of test cuts, I haven't used the jig much

- nearly all of my joinery is done by the robot while I'm off doing something else. I've had the jig down more often for show 'n' tell than for use.

The spindle on my PC690 is concentric with its base plate; and the base plate is round. I think I may have lucked out because if either of those conditions weren't met, the angle approach wouldn't work very well - while your bushing approach will always work...

I've given some thought to making the position of the angles adjustable for different bit sizes - but that would require milling some fairly accurate slots in the aluminum and would probably only be practical for two bit diameters (although a step-shaped slot might work for 3/4", 1/2", 1/4", and 1/8".) I think it'd be easier to make single-size jigs with differently-positioned angles. If I break down and add a small mill to the shop I may have to experiment.

Smaller bits? I've routed thin mahogany veneer using a 1/32" bit on the 'bot; but just haven't even been tempted to try that freehand. I doubt I can advance the router smoothly enough by hand to avoid breaking 'em - it wouldn't take much.

[Leon]

I think I see here. I have never trusted the router base much more than the guide bushings. I do not particularly like to keep the router clocked in the same position to insure that the bit travels the same path.

Ah, that's cool.

Exactly. My 1617evs permits centering the base to the collet but I know that it could easily be knocked out of whack. I prefer the top bearing bit as it is always accurate. Using a sample board to set the slot width seems to work fine for me. I only use one size bit for all the width cuts 1/2" and larger.

On another note, Am I correct in assuming that you build solar panels? If you do, what kind?

[Morris Dovey]

Really good ones! (-:

Sorry, I couldn't resist a bit of crass self-promotion. I build passive (unpowered) vertical panels that draw cool air from a structure at floor level, heat it up, and deliver it back into the structure six feet higher and (mid-winter, mid-day) 100ºF -

140ºF warmer.

I build two "lines" of panels: one that installs /in/ a vertical wall like a factory-built window unit; and another for (primarily) agricultural and warehouse use that mounts /on/ the outside wall. There're photos of both types scattered around my web site. Both lines operate in exactly the same way and use the same absorber/exchanger design.

There's a passive solar water heater in the works. The initial design is complete; but there are a couple of other projects in the queue ahead of it - I'm hoping to have a manufacturing prototype working by the end of September.

Right now, I'm trying to wind up a re-design of the in-wall version to sell in kit form (at the urging of some people in the UK.) It's been a challenge to anticipate all the ways the darned thing could be mis-assembled and to find simple ways to /force/ correct assembly. Why do you suppose it is that people are at their very most creative when they're screwing up? d-:

Essentially the panels are just wooden boxes with folded internal baffles, a shop built aluminum combination absorber and heat exchanger, and a really good polycarbonate solar glazing which is secured by (you've probably already guessed :-) aluminum angle. The in-wall type are built with 1" select pine and the on-wall with 2" fir.

[Leon]

I recall back in the early 80's those passive solar heaters were the in thing for helping the water heater in the Houston area. They came and went. Most of them were mounted on the roofs of houses and slowly disappeared. I cannot wait to see a more user friendly power solar panel. I have read that

150 square feet can generate enough power to almost supply my needs. There are a couple of companies near where I live that are building these power solar generators but are strictly commercial right now.

[Morris Dovey]

Solar water heating can provide a substantial savings in many areas. It can be difficult to find someone to repair/maintain them. I've tried to avoid solar water heating for exactly that reason.

I haven't tried to track the photovoltaic panel developments very closely. As of the last time I took a serious look they were still fairly pricey, weren't anywhere near as efficient as they needed to become, and (if my understanding was correct) they produced less and less power as they age.

Here in Iowa, most farm homes are heated with either #2 heating oil or propane. As the price of #2 goes up so does the price of propane - and the level of stress and hardship seems to expand almost exponentially for people already struggling to keep the family farm operating. The panels I'm producing aren't suitable replacements for the more conventional heating systems; but a good installation can significantly reduce (by 1/3 to 2/3) the amount of fuel burned by #2 and propane heating systems.

And unlike solar water heaters and PV systems, the passive air heaters only need the same maintenance as windows - keep any exposed wood painted and wash the glazing when it gets dirty. Stuff that almost all homeowners can do for themselves.

I'm neither an energy expert nor a "mother-earther"; but I've been tinkering and experimenting with low-cost passive panels for more than thirty years now (and have enjoyed working with wood since I was a small fry). When my digital systems development consulting market imploded, I decided to switch my focus to solving the cost-of-heating problem for as many people as I could. I'm enjoying it.

[Leon]

That seems to be the problem with systems such as this. I got pricing somewhere and a system to handle my needs would pay for it self in about 10 years. With deminishing effeciency that could equate to never. On another note, I watched my house being built back in 1981 and have lived here since. I replaced the original electric water heater last September. I bought a top of the line Whirlpool. Comparing the energy usage of it and my old unit indicated to me if my old unit was operating at peek effecency the new water heater would pay for itself in 3 years. I watch my electricity usage like a hawk and have done so for the last 12 year or so. Anyway since the month that I installed the new water heater every month except 1 has resulted in less electrity usage. In the last 9 month I have used 11% less electricity compared to the same 9 months of the previous year and up until that point my usage was increasing at about 2 or 3% per year for the last 4 years. Now I figure the new water heater will pay for itself in another 9 to 12 months.

[George]

You kept all the scale off that old water heater's elements? If not, your figures are skewed. Old was at its worst, new now at best. We just replaced ours, and it was amazing what the old elements looked like. As cheap as they are, I think it might be worth replacing the lower every two or so years.

Best energy saver I've found are drapes. Up here the coldest days are the clearest, so the drapes open to collect heat. Closed now against the same. Wonder what effect the new low transmission glass would have, though.

[Leon]

Scale nothing, in 2 years time the water heater would fill with lime and calcuim to the point that the element could be pulled out after unscrewing it. My was a single element that was long and curved. I suspect this kept the water from circulating properly and it effectively worked like a 10 or

15 gallon unit with a 50 gallon heating element. In the end It was tripping its internal breaker monthly. I kinda had suspitions that theis was part of the problem but never realized that it was costing me an additional $13 to $18 per month.

I live in Houston TX, so cold is not a real on going problem. I do have storm windows and realized a 10% reduction in my electric bill right away after they were installed 10 years ago. But, this was a $5,000 investment vs. the $300 water heater investment. I doubt that I wall see a savings fron the windows considering theri cost. We appreciat the storm windows more for having a quieter house, no dust on the window sills, and no drafts near the windows anymore. I recently built a storage building in my back yard and used radient barrier decking for the roof. It is amazing that the closed up room does not get any hotter than the outside of the building. That cost me an additional $24 over the regular cost of plain plywood decking. Additionally I did not use tar paper behind the siding, I used Tyvec which is a woven plastic water barrier that permits air travel one way. This does not get hot like the black tar paper will and has no odor like tar paper does. That cost about $50 more than regular tar paper.

[George]

Texas? Limestone country. Sounds like you should be a twice-a-year flush versus annual.

[Leon]

Well all that my water is on a softener now and the build up is 99 % better.