Small Table Saws for Plastic

[KenS]

The table top is a beautifully machined slab of aluminum, solid, flat, and with guides for the miter, plus the screw-down zero-clearance insert.  I don't think I'll be replacing it, although I may add some kind of support off the back so I can rip longer sheets without problems.

 

The rip fence actually works for 0.020" sheet, it's the thinner stuff (I was using 0.015") that gets hung up.  Aside from the limited motion, it's also very well done and quite useful for a number of applications.  It's just this particular pair (wide and thin sheet ripping) that cause it problems. And it locks micrometer straight so when it can be used as a guide, it works very well.

[cteno4]

Ken

 

That's great the fence is so good.

 

Maybe a U shaped table you can tuck the saw into would give you lots of support, but if the fence does not come off easily then I guess the right side would not be needed.

 

So I guess the fence limits the cross cuts th 95mm as well. Kind of surprising the fence does not come off easily.

 

Jeff

[KenS]

Well, to be fair the saw was designed for wooden ship-building, and the usual problem there is making thin "planks" of wood by shaving small amounts off a large chunk of wood. I'm sure the guy who designed it didn't see a need for more than 10-20mm of movement, and thought 95 was plenty.

 

And the reason it doesn't come off easily is the same reason it's so precise.  It has a shaft running through each end that's attached to the underside of the table (the rip fence is basically C-shaped and wraps down over each side).  The way the shaft is fitted, there's essentially zero movement except to slide along the shaft, which keeps the fence parallel to the blade (and there are two locking screws that clamp it in place and force it to be perfectly parallel). To remove it you need to remove the two shafts.  There are probably only eight or sixteen screws holding it in (I haven't checked) and you might only need to remove half of them to pull it off the shaft. But that's really more than I want to be doing just to change the setup for the next cut.

 

I've found myself working on either side of the blade depending on what I'm cutting (and the fence can move to either side), so a U-shapped top does make some sense.  I'd probably make some kind of box structure with a base that holds the saw in one position, and supports the table extension around it at a precise height above the base.  That would be pretty easy to do, and with good supports I could use masonite for the top, which would be nice and smooth for low friction.  Definitely something to think about.

[inobu]

KenS,

 

I did not read all of the post until now and think you just need a sled. With that you will be able to extend the Y travel and/or make attachments to the sled that will address your fence issue.

 

 

You could make clamps to keep the styrene flat along the blade.

 

This would open new doors in using that saw. Also there is a video of a guy cutting circles with a table saw.

 

I would look into it. I know you are quite capable.

 

Inobu.

Be safe with anything new. Thats my biggest fear

[KenS]

Hmm, that's an interesting idea.  The blade doesn't come up very far (it's a 3" blade), but it might come up far enough that a sled could ride over the rip fence (which is just a few mm high with the extension removed). Definitely worth looking into.

[cteno4]

Sleds are great for larger crosscuts but can't do long strips. You also really need good hold downs for them. I built a great big sled for the big table saw using melamine to reduce warpage but it expanded a bit since I made it (probably due humidity) and now the slides are like 0.5mm too far apart. The slides are the Nast parts to get attached just right and are hard to make adjustable w/o them getting easily knocked off adjustment.

 

Jeff

[inobu]

The image I put up kinda throws things off.

 

The sled should have an aluminum base only a few mm think. What KenS aluded to actually opens a broader concept.

 

If he lifts the table plane above the rip fence that will take him to another plane (pun). From that point he can drill screw holes in to the aluminum base and attach any kind of fixture he wants including another fence.

 

Using aluminum will eliminate any expansion issues. I think it may cost a little to do but the yields are probally worth it.

 

Inobu