those with custom stands

[brubakes]

This question is for those of you who have built custom stands/cabinets for their BT3x00.

How high did you make the the cutting surface of the saw from the floor. I'm playing around with how high to make my new stand and can't seem to come up with a height I'm happy with. I'm 6'1" so normally I would think to get things a little higher.

[dbhost]

Brubakes,

I don't have a custom stand, but being 6' 0" I can attest to liking my tools at a higher level than my 5' 6" brothers in law... The BT3100 stock height is quite comfortable to me, I believe the working height of the saw is either 36 or 38 inches. I would be looking at the stock height, and figuring out how much higher / lower you want your saw table...

[LarryG]

While it's always good to get input from others, IMO the most important factor is what height will interface best with the other tools in your shop. If you have a cramped layout (and who among us doesn't?), this may even trump personal preference and comfort (within reason).

For example, say you have a jointer placed adjacent to your saw, and the top of the jointer fence is 37" above the floor. Putting the saw's top 36" off the floor would probably be a mistake, because wide/long material might snag on the jointer fence as you feed it into or out of the table saw. I had a similar situation in my previous shop, which had my 37" router table sitting less than two feet from the back of my BT, right in the outfeed alley. This made the ~38" height of a BT on the factory stand exactly what I needed.

All that said, I now have a cabinet saw the top of which is 34-1/2" high, with no interference issues to worry about, and I much prefer this lower height to the taller stance of my BT. I'm six feet even.

[RayintheUK]

I decided the height of my mobile cabinet by standing relaxed in my work footware and getting my wife to measure from the floor up to the point at which my hand becomes my wrist. Suits me perfectly. YMMV

Ray

[rcp612]

I decided the height of my mobile cabinet by standing relaxed in my work footware and getting my wife to measure from the floor up to the point at which my hand becomes my wrist. Suits me perfectly. YMMV

Ray

I followed Ray's suggestions to the letter and couldn't be more happy.
His link to the mobile base he developed is excellant and really is what I followed.

[Black wallnut]

I'm 5'8" and I built my saw cart at the same or maybe 1-2" higher than my stock BT3K. I've found this to be comfortable to me. It is a plus in my shop that this is higher than a workbench along one wall. I can hang lumber over the bench while making long cross cuts.

[steve-norrell]

High enough so there is minimum bending at the waist or of the back when working at the saw -- it saves the already sensitive back from added aches and pains. When I stand next to the saw, I can place the underside of my elbow on the table top without bending or stretching. That turns out to be about 40 1/2 inches above the floor. All other surfaces, such as router table and near-by cabinet tops, are keys to the working surface of the BT3100.

That probably seems high to some, but it works well for me. Bottom line is do what is comfortable for you.

Good luck, Steve

[master53yoda]

table hei

My table height is 42.5" I am 5'7" My BT3000 sets on top of the fine dust collection fan and filter assembly. the custom router table is built into the rails of the saw. At present it is fabricated out of chip board and 2x2 framing. I built it this way to get the bugs out of everything as i built part of it twice. I am now to the point that I intend to make it new out of good materials this summer although I have used it for 2 years the way it is.

[JimD]

I liked the height of the stock BT3100 - I used it on its stand for awhile - so I built my base the same height. I think it is 38 or 38.25 inches. I am 6'2". I made a workbench/outfeed support about 1/4 inch shorter and also made my router table about the same amount shorter. That way, my router table can also double as infeed support and my workbench is outfeed support.

Jim

[Garasaki]

I'm 6'3", I built mine by standing in "free space" and pretending I was pushing wood across a saw, and basically measured where my hands were from the ground. In other words, were I felt most comfortable working with them at. Sounds a bit dumb to stand there pretending, but it works. I believe that put me at 37" plus casters so probably table height around 40". I can't be sure thats right (I'm at work) but it is SIGNIFIGANTLY higher then the stock table height.

[brubakes]

Thanks for all the replies so far. It's really helped. Anyone else want to chime in?