Hi folks,

After a visit to my uncles well equiped workshop i am inspired to build my own table saw.

He has many fine machines in his shop, most of them pukka heavy cast pieces ranging from vertical milling machines, lathes, horizontal millers, surface grinders, thicknesers, pillar drills you name it!

In addition to this the centre piece in the shop is the tablesaw which i thought was a big cast beast too untill i took a closer look, its a wooden home made one painted in 'cast machine' green enamel the same as the other heavy machines.

He lives in Australia and i'm in the UK, I took some photos for inspiration but i sadly didnt take any photos of the inside of it.

Im after information on what size HP motor i should look out for. It will run on a domestic 240V supply and the blade will probably be 10 inch.

I also need information on the following, if anyone can advise

What max RPM i should run at (what does your table saw say on it?)
I assume i can use pulleys and belts to gain the correct RPM?
Do you have any photos or links that can illustrate how i could make the adjustable Raise and lower mechanism? (i'm not too fussed about the tilting left or right. )
What bearing/axle method would you reccommend for the main saw arbour, Pillow/plummer block bearings?

Any photos/links or personal experiences appreciated.
Many thanks
Colin

Mine is a SIP 10" table saw, and all the info is here, and here is the manual with exploded drawings showing the internals.

Here's a summary of the spec:
10" blade
2200W (3hp) 16A motor - runs off a 13A socket perfectly well.
Arbor - 25.4mm
Blade speed - 3500rpm
Max cut depth - 75mm at 90°, 53mm at 45°

I don't have the side table extensions, or the mitre gauge, but I did make a simple sliding table (see here) that works perfectly for 99% of jobs.

Cost me £100 to buy 2nd hand. Not sure if you'd be able to get all the bits for that much?

All the best,
Ed.

[Edited on 10/1/11 by Madinventions]

3600rpm is good speed for a 10" saw for mixed ripping and crosscut work. Good for plywood, mdf etc too.

3hp+ (2.2kw). i have a JET saw with 3hp and find it underpowered occasionally.

Pillow blocks and an EN8 steel shaft would be a good start. something around 19mm. belt drive from a 2 pole motor keeps things quiet.

Taperlock pulleys with a conventional V belt are plenty strong enough.

a simple pivot with an arm moved by a threaded rod is perfectly good for rise and fall, minimise backlash though as this can cause hurrendous kickback. ideally the riving knife should stay vertical, easily done with a linkage similar to a car jack.

I paid a lot more to get a long feed sliding carriage for hacking up 8by4's and squaring work. Not sure what you intend to use it for but i wouldnt buy a saw without one.

I built a birch shaker kitchen over summer, saw paid for itself in days very satisfying too.

Will

This is locost builders.. so, mine is locost indeed...

Mine started life as a mitre saw, a workmate and a pallet..

Basically the top half of the mitre saw mounted under the table of the workmate.
I drilled 2 holes through the top of the 'mate' and into the body of the saw and secured with two M8's tapped and loctited in place.



Cut some lengths of wood from the pallet and screwed them on top.



I had one thing in mind for this and it was to cut pallets up quickly to keep the front room warm

Maybe a sheet of steel on top would be better but it works just fine for what it was intended for.

Eyup Colin
My advice is keep your fingers out of the way.......i took the top inch of my left hand ring finger with one a few years ago, paramedic found it on garage floor and i took it with me to hospital in a bag of ice, sat in A & E for 2 hrs before surgeon told me he couldnt put it back on, he made a nice job of sealing the soggy end up though.
My missus thought i was trying to get the wedding ring off!!!!!!

It doesnt cause me any problems at all now but not a pleasant experience at the time. I still use the saw but keep my fingers well away when blades spinning......great tools but use with care....same as all machinery
Regards
Ian

What about a hand held circular saw mounted similar to coozer's method. At least a cirular saw has some blade protection on it and would double as a hand saw when required. You could bolt through the footplate of of the circular saw. Router tables are often made this way too.

On balance unless it's really the challenge of designing and building that your looking for I'd look for a decent used table saw myself.

BTW coozer...is this you...?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bVAAx3mMKY

Colin
I have a elu flip table saw thats missing a motor........is going for a few beer tokens.

Make me an offer...... (hint need some glanze inserts for the lathe...)

.

quote:

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Originally posted by nick205
BTW coozer...is this you...?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bVAAx3mMKY

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