I may do both. I got a router lift last month and of course the insert is different than my current plate - a tad smaller in one dimension, and a half inch shorter in the other. I have an idea of how to re-make and re-laminate just one subsection of the saw top, but I don't want to do it. Also, after making the planer base I like how much easier the smaller bases are to move around.
My Mobile Base
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I started on the router table over the winter and needed some casters so I decided to upgrade the rubber casters on the big saw tables to urethane and then re-use the rubber ones on the router table. I also took the opportunity to relocate the casters underneath the torsion box. Doing so reduced the dip in the table saw base to almost nothing. Made for an odd sight too:
That brings both of the original saw tables up about 4" to my preferred new working height. I already like it better. Router table build pics next.Comment
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OK here's the router table build. This is essentially the same dimensions as the planer base, but a mirror of it, and I decided to do storage doors on the left, nested together. It required some careful measuring to make sure that the doors closed together correctly, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.
Torsion box base build was exactly the same. Here's the face frames going together:
The storage doors will be hinged opposite each other so the outer door, hinged at the back, will close on top of the inner door, hinged at the front. Hopefully you can start to see from these photos how it will work:
I started running out of pocket hole real estate and mis-drilled a couple so you can see some oopsies here.
The top is constructed much like the one on my BT and CMS bases, 2 layers of 3/4" MDF wrapped in maple (thought I mitered the corners this time):
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Here's the two cabinets together:
Now to chop up the top for the router insert, using essentially the same procedure as when I added the router insert to my BT table top at the beginning of this thread (still just as nerve-wracking):
The rabbet (on account of the way I chose to route it) required a 1-1/2" straight bit. It was a monster.
This came out great. And some more chopping for the miter slot:
Now for the door construction, which is basically like building drawer boxes but with mitered corners:
(I reinforced the corners with biscuits)
I decided to use french cleats to give me some storage flexibility. The cleats were ripped out of 1/4" MDO maple to help stick with the same materials as the rest of the cabinet:
You can also see that I've installed the piano hinges for each door
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I'll interrupt the construction narrative for some major surgery on the BT. It would not turn on and, as suspected, carbon build-up was keeping one of the brushes from seating properly. Cleaned it out and it's been fine ever since (I wish I could say the same for the elevation rack).
So here are the cabinet doors installed. The inner door is held in the closed position using rare earth magnets epoxied flush with the outer edge. I will use a mechanical latch or clasp for the outer door. I haven't decided yet what style to use.
And here's the first batch of storage "units" after spending a day or so trying different construction methods
The plan is to store drill bits and saw blades of all types in this cabinet:
DC port on the back. This is from Rockler:
And now chopping the top up again for t-track. I did not have a 7/8" router bit so I had to create a template and use a bottom- bearing router bit. Really, really nerve-wracking:
After debating for a while, I elected to leave the radius at the tend of the t-track slots, and used the miter saw and a hand file to make the matching radius in the track:
Routing for the t-track worked well except for some avoidable tear-out in the maple banding. Another oopsie. Epoxying everything into place:
Adding the WOOD Magazine router fence that I started, oh, 6-7 years ago:
And, lastly, a new safety switch:
That's it for now. I'm shopping hard for a used cabinet saw and have been considering how to construct a mobile base for a larger, heavier saw that will still use the DNA of the bases and cabinets that I've built in this thread. I will post further once I have made some progress with that.Comment
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I am impressed. The router table looks fantastic and I love your attention to detail. You obviously put a lot of thought into the design.Chr's
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A moral man does it.👍 1Comment
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How well does the dust collection on the fence work? Do you have plans to the fence? I have a slightly modified version of the NYW router table and I'm not happy with the fence.
edit: I just saw that it is from Wood magazine plans. I'll have to dig through my stack and see if I have the right issue.Last edited by Pappy; 06-11-2020, 01:37 PM.Don, aka Pappy,
Wise men talk because they have something to say,
Fools because they have to say something.
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I started and left the fence unfinished years ago (first bought the plans in 2009) and this was my excuse to finally finish making the faces and doing final assembly.
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Well gents this weekend I finally acquired and brought home an "old iron" cabinet saw so I'm nearing the end of my time with the BT (11 years with the BT3100 and another decade or so before that with my dad's BT3000).
My BT's final project will be building a mobile base for the "new" saw. It's going to be a torsion box like the last two, but it will be a bit more complex because I'll need to accommodate the fixed 34-1/2" height of the saw, bring it up to my preferred working height of about 41", and still match the aesthetic of my other mobile bases. I am not making a 6-foot-long monster this time. The base will be about 30" X 28". It may require outboard leveling feet. I'll make some type of separate mobile stand to support the end of the fence rails. I'll post pics here as I make progress.
randombetrayal, I sent you a PM to see if you are interested in the saw and mobile base since you are local.
I'm hoping to find a good home for these this summer and I hope they go to someone from the BT community, even if the saw itself would be for parts on account of the problem with the elevation adjustment.Last edited by yamato72; 06-15-2020, 01:24 PM.Comment
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Here's the plan I came up with to hold a 400lb+ saw:
The torsion box can only be about 2-1/2" high in order to keep the saw table at my 41-1/4" working height. The sides remain 4-1/2" tall just like my other bases, and I routed out the top to achieve the "look" I was going for. To compensate for the shorter torsion box, I added 4" tall ribs across the bottom. Everything is registered using 1/4" dados. Here is the underside of the bottom skin showing the stopped dados for the bottom ribs:
Next the dados and rabbets cut for the bottom and "middle" (shelf? platform?) skins. Both were rabbeted in order to line up the dados precisely, then I'll cut off the rabbets on the middle skin in order for it to fit down inside (hope the pics help this make sense):
The the top and middle skins were dadoed for some addtional braces:
Then I cut and assembled the ribs and also installed the T-nuts for the casters:
Here's the middle skin in place:
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OK on to the rest of the assembly. Here the first two sides and the two top ribs/braces are getting glued up:
And here the remaining sides have been glued in place and the top skin is ready to go on:
Top skin glued down and I think I've sanded the sides at this point
Now I'm routing the cut-out for the saw cabinet to sit down into. I used a 4-1/2" hole saw to form the radius in a template made out of 5mm birch ply, and routed it out with a bearing bit. The straight parts were done with just a straightedge. This was a bit too much of a job for my poor trim router, though.
Lastly I glued the ribs into the dados in the underside of the bottom skin, and installed the casters:
Finished product:
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