Table Saw Outfeed Extension

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Chase

I already had an outfeed extension for my table saw. I only built it two years ago. Why make a new one? Well I love it and use it all the time, but often wish it was bigger. Wide sheet goods don’t get enough support on the side, and longer things still fall off the back of it. I have more space in my new house, and I saw a great idea from Wood Work Web. Colin over at that site used these clever folding brackets to hold the extension and in a followup added a really easy release bar. First, let’s say goodbye to the old extension.

How did I manage to get nice laminate faced plywood in these times? As it turns out if you order enough sheets of plywood from the cabinet store, they will deliver it all for a pretty reasonable fee. I got enough supplies to last me for months, supported a local business, and did it in a socially distanced manor!

The folding brackets are a cheap amazon versions of what was used in the video. They feel sturdy enough, but aren’t actually square. A deeper read of the comments would have highlighted that fact. They slope the table away from the saw. That is ok by me, but in a lot of other applications, that could be a deal breaker. After removing the old top, I was able to re-use the bolted on pine board that served as the anchor point for my previous extension. I spaced the extension far enough away to clear my fence and its hardware. There is a bolt head (circled in red) that sits well below the height of the table. I have to avoid it or risk limiting the fence’s movement. Once installed the extension folds very compactly.

Rounded Corners

I really wanted to cut some corners on this build. I know I will be lazy and leave the extension up most of the time, and I work a lot around the table saw at my router and back into the saw and extension often. Rounding these edges would make them less painful. I started with a 2.5″ radius template and used it to mark and jig saw the corner off. Next I stuck it down with double sticky tape and used a template tracing bit to smooth out the remainder.

Once both corners were done I applied a white edge banding to all the edges. This should help protect the laminate top from getting chipped or damaged. I trimmed all the excess with a sharp knife.

Miter Slots

My last extension didn’t have any miter slots. If I used any kind of sled or miter gauge they would bonk against the table. I took the time to install them in this top. I clamped plywood to the top just outside of where the miter bar would pass. I then used a short tracing bit route down enough to allow clearance for the bar. I then picked up the plywood, lined it up with the other side of the bar and routed again. It wasn’t as exact as a purpose built slot template, but was quick and worked well. With the two slots routed, I soaked the edges in thin CA glue to help reinforce them and prevent the top from chipping off.

Things were starting to look really nice and functional. I did notice that my last top had a slight warp to it. I may have stored too many things on it. To prevent warpage in this top, I took it off and screwed on a set of supports underneath. These should help keep it flat.

Release Bar

This was kind of above and beyond, but why not go all out? I wanted to add a release bar like Colin did. Between the supports I added, and the way it was anchored to the saw, there wasn’t room to do what he did. Instead I 3D printed a little funky zigzag bracket. It is threaded to accept a #10 screw. I drilled a hole in the bracket release tab so the screw would go into that hole and prevent the bracket from sliding off.

That printed part gave me a long arm to attach a wide piece of plywood. This would be the thing I press up against to release and lower the extension. I clamped it in place to make sure it was all working correctly, then screwed the release bar down.

The finished product is great! It holds a lot of weight, gives me plenty of support for wide and long cuts coming off the saw, and folds up really flat. I figured the ease and speed of pack and deploy had to be shown, so I made a short gif.

Table Saw Zero Clearance Insert

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Chase

Not that long ago I went to great lengths to make zero clearance inserts for my table saw. I had fancy (expensive) phenolic resin plywood, set screws with brass threaded inserts, and anything else you could want. While working on my baby bookcase, I noticed the old store bought insert was getting wallowed out and needed replacing. “No worries” I thought, I made my own inserts. After messing around with the level of it, I realized there was a problem. It wasn’t flat.

It had a pretty strong cup in the center. I don’t know if it started like this or gradually shifted since I first made them, but I can’t use it with that much of a gap (red arrow shows flashlight shining through). I needed something, so I nailed down a flat piece of 3/4″ plywood to the back where the motor wouldn’t hit it. That reduced the cup, but it still wasn’t perfect.

That was a band-aide let me get past the worst part of the problem and on to other projects. I needed a better solution though. The plywood inserts I made weren’t flat, and they wore out quickly. They plywood is just not going to stand up to any blade wobble. Gaps create tear out. I thought about buying more of the professional inserts. They are very well made (100% phenolic), but also kind of expensive.

Instead I thought about taking some of the 1/4″ material I bought for making miter saw inserts, and adapting that. After trying fancy plywood, 3d prints and pure phenolic, the phenolic wins hands down. My miter saw insert is still going strong 6 months later after lots of use. The printed ones were shot after a month or two.

Speaking of 3D printing, I printed a template to go onto the professional insert and guide my router to make a pocket just deep enough for the 1/4″ sheets. It sticks on and lets me use a router bit and bushing to make an exact cutout.

With a recess pocket milled out, (I forgot the picture) I was able to use another printed template to cut out the insert. It uses a template cutting bit that follows the printed part with a bearing and cuts away the extra phenolic below.

The holes in the brown printed plastic let me use a transfer punch to set the spacing for a few countersunk holes for 4-40 screws to bolt my insert to the store bought plate.

I again used a transfer punch to transfer the holes from the white insert into the larger store bought throat plate. Transferring holes like that means it will always fit and line up.

The only thing left to do was try it out. I sat the plate on top with everything adjusted in, moved the fence over to keep it from skipping out, and slowly raised the blade. I just so happened to buy a brand new blade at this time, so witness the birth of a new blade! A 20 dollar sheet of the white phenolic material can make a few dozen inserts, so I should be set for life with this system assuming the larger insert never gets seriously damaged.

Table Saw Bearing Replacement

Posted on January 26, 2019 by Chase

A few months back I noticed my table saw was sounding a little ill. It was louder than usual. It had trouble getting through boards that normally didn’t give it pause, and the blade would come to a stop a short few seconds after turning off the power. I had a bearing problem somewhere.

I pulled the belt off between the motor and the shaft that runs the blade (called the arbor shaft). Turning the motor on, it spins freely and takes a while to slow down. Trying to turn the arbor shaft by hand is quite difficult. Well that was a fairly easy diagnosis. Now how to fix it. Matthew Cremona made a short video demonstrating his journey of replacing the bearings in this saw. (Ridgid R5411 Table Saw purchased in September 2009) He does a good job of showing what everything looks like, but some of the technique could be improved.

Step one is to remove the table top. Remove the blade and lower the arbor all the way down (sad story about that later). There are 4 bolts around the perimeter that hold the granite beast down. Remove them and walk the table top off onto a surface of similar height. This will expose the arbor shaft. There are two big bearings (6004zz) located here (under each red arrow), one of them is likely the culprit.

Now that everything is open I would suggest some lubrication. PB blaster is pretty well rated and available at a lot of auto parts stores. Spray everything that will need to slide and come back in a day or two. That stuff can creep into places for days. Raise the arbor back to the top, remove the pulley and use a block to push out the shaft like Matthew shows. I used a really big dowel to hammer out the bearing that gets left over (left side in above picture). What I ended up with was this below.

That right most bearing is tricky. It has to slide off of its resting surface, and the one for the left most bearing. Lube helps a lot, and so does the right tool. I picked up a cheap bearing splitter kit and am glad I did. There isn’t much room between the bearing and that flange that goes against the blade. The splitter wedged itself between the two and started the bearing moving towards freedom.

The big red vise from a few weeks ago is going to come in handy now! Next I installed the rest of the hardware to start pulling up on the bearing. The extensions were not long enough. Thankfully they were 1/4″-20 threads. I cut up some threaded rod I had around and got to work.

Original kit with extensions
Original kit compared to my threaded rod

With two adequate threaded rods installed a double fork thing hooks in and has its own threaded center to push on the shaft. A socket wrench helps provide some umph.

Careful application of force was all it took to take everything completely apart. Here is what it looks like with all the bits fully disassembled. The right most bearing was very much seized.

I broke out my new bearings (6004zz) and was a little disgusted. They had surface rust on the outside races. Both sets were individually sealed, but still had rust.

They were all I had and a little fine scotch bright pad took it right off. I used light sanding to make a lead in chamfer on all the bearing surfaces to help with initial seating. I hammered the right bearing back into place using a piece of 3/4″ PVC pipe. Most 3/4″ pipes should do, always apply load to the race you are seating. Inner in this case. The left bearing went back in with a parallel clamp just like in Matt’s video.

Everything was going well until I paid closer attention to the pulley. I had a section that was really dinged up. I had the blade off, but the arbor was near the top when I walked the granite top off. The top sat and slid around on this pulley with its delicate grooves. OOPS! I still can’t quite figure out what this is exactly called, or where to get a replacement. Careful use of needle files and a dremel got the rolled edges out of the way. I have used it a while and so far, no shredded belts.

Before
After some dremel and file work

With the drive system back together I dropped the arbor, waked the top back on and proceeded to re-align the saw. The miter slots should be square with the side of the blade. The only method of “fine” tuning available is to loosen the screws, bang it with a mallet and check again. Tedious, but I got there eventually.

I attached my dial indicator to a sled to make it all go faster. Once aligned I was back in business. Good thing too, I have done a lot of plywood cutting since this repair and have more to do.

In summary, the video linked at the beginning is a good general guide. Additionally, get a basic bearing splitter set to help ease things along. Use good penetrating oil to help in removal. Clean up everything and apply oil for re-assembly.

Table Saw Inserts

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Chase

Professionally made zero clearance table saw inserts are an important add-on for any table saw. They make the cuts come out cleaner and ensure small scraps don’t get lodged inside the throat. They are quite expensive though. They run over 30 bucks a piece for my saw. No more, time to make my own. I bought a smallish piece of phenolic coated plywood for 40 dollars. It has enough material to make at least 8 inserts.

I started off trying to make a jig that would hold the plywood and make all the blade relief undercuts and slots for the riving knife behind the blade. It was difficult to hold everything and produced mixed results.

Eventually I just used carpet tape to tape down one of my old store bought inserts. A guide bushing on my plunge router let me remove all the area where the riving knife should be.

From there I printed a 7/16″ radius template for the tracing router bit. I could have used the already taped on insert as a template, but it had a few weird features I didn’t want copied. With a finger hole drilled in, things were starting to look right.

I need a way to level out the insert. The pocket they go in is always deeper than a 1/2″ sheet of plywood so you can raise it up to be flush with the top. I used brass threaded inserts for #6 set screws to give each one leveling feet. The set screws can be adjust from above with the insert in place.

The surface coating on this plywood is hard and very slick. A great material for fences or inserts like this. The phenolic chips like mad though. I will stick with these and have left over material, but probably not buy it again. A few coats of polyurethane and wax would be easier to work with and also reasonably slick.

Because of how high the 10″ saw blade is in the housing I had to use a 8″ dado blade to start the cut before switching back to the full sized blade. I made 4 total, and once I got the swing of things they came pretty quickly. Two will be for dado cuts, so they don’t need the riving knife slot. Hopefully this batch lasts me a few years.

Folding Tablesaw Extension

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Chase

I like my table saw. It has a much larger top than a contractor saw, but was more affordable than a full cabinet saw. I will likely upgrade some day, but am fulfilled for now. That doesn’t mean I can’t make it better. A folding extension would really help with large and long pieces that want to fall off the back side of the cut.

I started without a few ideas of how best to build an extension, but not a fully fleshed out plan. That can lead to trouble, but it worked out pretty well in my case. I bolted on a wide board to the back to act as a good starting point. I used some of the laminate covered plywood from my table saw fence to build two fins facing outward. The idea is to use these as a hinge surfacesd. I made sure the slick plastic was facing out on all sides.

Ideally the extension meets seamlessly with the end of your table. In my case the the fence has bits that hang down below the surface and would interfere with an extension. I dropped the extension surface slightly and had to live with a gap. Small parts could fall through, but big and long cuts will droop enough to engage the new surface.

From there I used more of the plywood to straddle the fins I had made earlier and drilled through everything with a 1/4″ bolt to act as a hinge. Initially the outside corner of the fixed fins wouldn’t let the extension down all the way, but a small bit of rounding freed them.

The extension rotates freely with the interfaces being plastic on plastic. I added a cleat underneath and another to the table saw. No fancy mechanism, just a simple bit of cut 2×4. Magnets in the brace keep it held against the tablesaw when not in use. Everything feels pretty sturdy when in place.

Other than the compromises with respect to meeting the table saw surface it turned out well. It doesn’t add too much size to the saw when folded up, and provides a decent extension. I might want it bigger in the future, but I should be able to unscrew the top surface while leaving the hinge pieces in place. I could install one much wider and longer not have it take up any more space. I will have to try this out for a few weeks and decide. There is enough plywood left over to make the extension either a lot wider, or longer.

Table Saw Fence

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Chase

I have had the same fence on my table saw for most of the life of the saw. It is a bit of plywood and some UHMW plastic. The plastic has great wear and friction properties, but was never that flat.

I was looking for phenolic resin faced plywood as a replacement, but was coming up short locally. It is available at the wood stores in Orlando, but they are far and charge a boat load of money. I read about using cabinet grade plywood and applying formica to the front. That is a lot of work, and bubbles could prevent flatness.

Instead I found out my local cabinet shop sells something called “White Liner” plywood. It is nice birch plywood with a side covered in some kind of hard slick plastic. It seems pretty durable and is very smooth. I got a whole sheet for 58 bucks. Cheaper than the 1/4 sheets the wood stores were selling the phenolic stuff for.

I cut up 4 inch wide slices and doubled them up with glue to make a thick flat fence. If the face gets damaged I could probably flip it over and redo the countersinks to keep using it. I had so much material I made a pile of spares. These could be used for sacrificial fences or whatever!

The new fence is very square to the table and parallel to the blade. I have made some cuts with it, and life is good!

With nearly 2/3rd of the sheet left over I needed to get creative. I use a piece of melamine in my planer to act as a flat surface to bridge the gaps between the fold out tables. It makes for easier smoother cutting, but the inner particle board is starting to fall apart.

I cut up two pieces and glued them together using my table saw top as a good flat surface to clamp to. This is thicker than my old one, but the planer can handle up to 6 inch thick boards. No clue how I would ever get anything that thick into the planer, so I can sacrifice the depth. A curved bit of plywood on the front acts as a stoping cleat so the sliding surface stays put.

It fits well and ought to stay really flat with the added thickness and quality material. With a small touch of paste wax my planer has a new lease on life.

Woodsaw 3D Printed Parts

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Chase

Miter Saw Zero Clearance Insert

Sawing with a tight fitting insert is almost always the right way to go. It supports the wood being cut and prevents the fibers from getting torn as the saw teeth punches through. The plate that comes with the saw works, but has a wide gap. I made a thin plywood insert, but they don’t last that long. This is my attempt at a 3D printed one. The original is on the right. Notice how wide the saw blade gap is. I took a picture of the original saw plate on one of those self healing cutting mats. They have good ruled lines in both directions to make sure the image didn’t get distorted.

The first print out of the gate fit really well.

20170805_130315

I made the first cut with no wood in the way. It chopped right through the plastic and cut a self fitting slot that is just exactly the size of the blade. I might have been a little too cautious. Slow cutting built heat and there was a bit of plastic fuzz at the top edges of the cut. A little light work with a utility knife had those cleaned up. Some subsequent cuts have shown the insert to properly back the cuts.

I still need to find a spool of Dewalt yellow filament.

UPDATE: Decided to upload it to thingiverse.

Table Saw Organizers

I am in a near constant state of looking for pencils and rulers/tape measures. I should attach one of each to my body with a short retractable cable. Until then I try to stage as many as possible at each work station. At my table saw I made two different organizers to hold commonly used items. They both attach to the far side of my rip fence.

The white organizer holds my wooden ruler and a small stack of pencils. The pencil well could have been a touch deeper, but otherwise it works well. The yellow holder area keeps my grrripper push block. It is at a really convenient hand position for quick use when sawing.

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