Enlarging the working surface

[rmasteller]

Hi. Totally novice wood worker here. Inherited a BT3000 from my father. It has the folding table for material on the output side, but how do I enlarge the table to manage cutting 4 x 8 plywood? Is there a Ryobi accessory or do I make something? Thanks!

[d_meister]

There is a Kit with extended rails, an additional set of rails, and hardware to support additional table surface that you would make from plywood. On mine, I have a table surface between the saw and the accessory router table, and then an additional surface. I originally used "mahogany" plywood because it was a superior grade of plywood with a smooth surface. Over the years, being horizontal and supported at the corners, it sagged in the middle a tiny bit, so I rebuilt the surfaces with MDO a couple of years ago. If you search for "Frankinsaw" in this forum, you'll find examples of saws with extended tables.
Having the extended rails for the rip fence is essential for me, as I have the router table with a router permanently mounted in it and accessable at all times. I can use the the rip fence for a guide to the right of the router as well as mount things to it like dust collection. Some folks have extended the rails less than full length by cutting the extension rails shorter. There are folks in this forum that have parted out old saws and offer the original rails as extension rails. eBay is a good source for rails and parts, too.

[cwsmith]

Generally, I find trying to cut a full sheet of 4 x 8 plywood on anything less than a full cabinet saw, is just too cumbersome.

So, I set it up on a couple of saw horses, and using circular saw along with guide, cut it down to an easier to handle size. Only then do I move to my BT3100.

In my shop, I have my BT3100 set up with a wooden-top cabinet at the outfeed, but that still leaves to challenge of feeding a large sheet into the saw. As heavy as a full sheet of ply can be, it's difficult to properly feed, ensuring that you maintain proper flatness with the saw table and position against the fence. Cutting the sheet down, as mentioned, allows you for better control, and safety!

CWS

[LCHIEN]

To answer the question, the expanded work are is solved by getting extension rails. Once sold as an accessory, you can also use rails from bt3000 or bt3100. Try and get ones from the same model as there are cosmetic differences, but you can mix if you need to. There's multiple articles here on how to join them. You will need extension legs to support the rail if all 42 inches added to the right. There was a kit but hard to find now, a set of DIY 2x4 legs would work great. You may also need a surface on the extended rails. Again there was an air table that did this, now unobtainium. I extended my saw rails with half rails of 21 inches, no support needed. I use a extra aux table in between.
last advice, unless you do it a lot, and have a spacious shop, its easier for me to make the 1st cut on 4x8 sheets with a circular saw and guide on sawhorses in the driveway.
If you're going to cut a full 4x8 sheet of material, you are also going to need an outfeed table (which I note you already have) to support the back end as it comes off the saw.

[rmasteller]

Hi everyone. As a new member, I wasn't allowed to reply right away. I finally Googled the right terms and found pics of the rails for the wide table kit. I assumed it would be an entire table, like the folding one I have attached on the back of the saw. So, knowing what to look for, I dug through more stuff from dad and found the extension rails!! Now, I just need a bit more space around the saw. The box was never opened.

[capncarl]

rmastelier, as mentioned, cutting a sheet of plywood on any table saw whether it is a cabinet saw or not, is a formidable task I’ve cut quite a bit of .5 and .75 plywood on my Craftsman BT with roller stands as an outfeed table. We all learn from our mistakes and threw away a lot of miss cut pieces due to the difficulty in handling the large pieces. A hand held circular saw with a guide ( track saw) on a piece of styrofoam is a really good way to cut up a sheet of plywood wood. Then you can re cut it to exact dimensions on your 3000 without building a large table.

[Jim Frye]

This is how I do wide sheet goods on the BT3000. The system will handle 48 inch wide stock as designed. The setup in the first picture was used to crosscut 60 inch wide stock. I also have a moveable 30 inch by 48 inch table located behind the folding outfield table for long work pieces. But to reduce sheet goods length, I use a hand held circular saw, a guide, and some 2x4s laid on the floor.

[mpc]

Use the site's SEARCH feature to look up posts on the wide table kit and various infeed and outfeed tables folks have posted over the years. What I used to use on my BT3000 with a wide table kit when handling plywood sheets is pictured on post 9 of this thread:
MPC's infeed and outfeed tables

I used flat bar stock and square tubing material to make brackets that fit into the bottom T-nut slots of the BT3's fence rails. These can slide left/right to match whatever size panel I was trying to cut. Their length is such that, when folded, they hang down from the rails without touching the floor so I can still roll the saw around. I still have these but I don't use them anymore. Why not? Like others have said, sometimes it is better to cut big sheet goods using a different tool. There is an old adage in woodworking: "sometimes it is better to take the tool to the work than to take the work to the tool." Trying to manhandle large/heavy workpieces on BT3 saws, other benchtop saws, and most contractor table saws can be difficult/dangerous. The stock BT3 fence isn't long enough when trying to rip long sheet goods; it is easy for the workpiece to drift or rotate a tiny bit... that is enough for it to bind on the back of the blade and create problems including damaging the saw. Having to lift/support a large/heavy sheet at the start of a cut is risky as well: your attention is now divided between trying to hold the sheet flat and parallel to the saw tabletop and against the rip fence as you feed it. Hence my original infeed tables. They supported the weight of the sheet and provided an area I could walk into as the cut progressed so I never had to lean over at an awkward/dangerous angle. And the outfeeds supported both parts of the cut workpiece.

The wide table kit includes parts to join the extension rails to the original rails; these use the T-nut slots along the bottom and inside faces of the rails. My large infeed and outfeed tables also use the bottom slots so the Ryobi parts would sometimes get in the way. I didn't have them originally... like others have posted you can use flat bar stock and screws to make your own rail jointing gizmos. I did that for a while and then made wood + aluminum channel versions that fit inside the rails; countersunk screws from the outside of the rails into these pieces lock the rails together. This kept the slots free for my infeed and outfeed tables. See my posts in this thread:
MPC's rail jointing pieces

The "take the tool to the work" is what other folks have been suggesting: using circular saws or track saws to cut the large sheet into more manageable pieces. Do a SEARCH for "sawboard" on this site for some ideas on a simple gizmo for circular saws to make long and straight cuts trivially easy. I have one that is just over 4 feet long and other just over 8 feet long. Folks with track saws typically have 4 foot and 8 foot tracks. You can lay the plywood sheet on a few 2x4s on the floor, or on sawhorses (make sure the supports will support both pieces once the cut is finished!), or on a big piece of inexpensive foam insulation. That's what I do now. My BT3000 has a much smaller outfeed table these days that serves my needs. It is about 18 inches deep and slides over the top of my lathe bed.

mpc

[dbhost]

In my experience having had the wide table kit installed for over a decade now, trying to wrestle and manage a full sheet of 3/4" plywood over a table saw is challenging at best. I stopped doing that and break down the sheets with a circular saw / straight edge first. I only cut material smaller than 4ft x 4ft on the table saw now...

[d_meister]

I have ripped full sheets of plywood in the past, but I've found the panel saw at my local Lowe's is in good condition. I plan how I want to have a sheet cut, and watch them closely when they do the cutting to be sure that the saw kerf is where I want it. If they mess it up, I would reject it or get it for a discount. The benefit is that I can then transport the full length cut pieces inside my SUV.

[Black walnut]

I formerly had a 3 foot deep outfeed table the width of the saw. When I built my saw cart I made my outfeed table 7 feet wide by 3 feet deep. A single roller stand on the infeed side and one past the outfeed table and I could safely rip full sheets of plywood, melemine, or 3/4" MDF. With the wide table rails the width of my saw cart I can crosscut a full sheet as well. It can be done. You need a large workspace and skill in guiding along the short rip fence. A panel saw or circular saw and guide are easier solutions to the problem. The important thing for safety is to make sure the sheet remains level for the whole distance of the cut and use a guard. Full or partial panel kickbacks are not fun and are hazardous.

[dbhost]

So Black walnut has a good point. I know it is a project and one I SHOULD do... But building a workstation out of the saw integrating the wide rails while providing for more ample drawer stroage underneath solves a LOT of shop stowage problems... I have a stack of reclaimed drawers I need to build the carcass for sometime before I am dead....

[capncarl]

Building an outfeed table for your saw creates its own set of problems. Its good benefits are you just created a really good work bench. Its bad benefits are you just created a great place to pile stuff. If your new outfeed table is a fold down device that is connected to the saw you might not be tempted to store stuff under the new outfeed table, but if it is a 4 legged table you now have created a monster that you will store roller conveyors, saw horses, vacuum cleaners and countless boxes of stuff, and not forget that it’s a perfect place for the garbage can and storage for all the cut off pieces of wood that are too good to throw away!

Another point that has been mentioned is kickback. Unless you have a full length rip fence ( that means the fence on the table saw plus the length of the outfeed table ) to guide the piece completely through the cut, you have a very high chance of the wood binding the blade and having it flung back at you. With a BT saw that might mean breaking a drive belt. I’ve actually had a fairly large piece of plywood somehow get on top of the blade and get pitched back at me.

A good alternative to an outfeed table is roller conveyors. The pictured conveyor folds up pretty compact.

Photo if my current saw with outfeed table.