New (to me) Incra system

[jms]

Hey guys -- I picked up the following off of a local craigslist listing that included a full 520 with bandsaw and jointer. The seller was willing to part out the Incra components and router table along with 5' connector tubes and the pre-drilled extension table (actually I'm trading extension tables and giving him my un-drilled table).

Basically, this stuff was never used even once -- he got the entire package as a gift and best I could tell never made any sawdust with it - in fact you can tell that the extension legs were never installed on the pre-drilled table. It's a bit dirty, so I'm going to put the mineral spirits to it this weekend.

I'm a little bummed that the router table has 510 rails on it, but not really sure thats going to affect me much if I use the Incra TS-LS and mount the wonder fence to that when routing. I do need to go back and pick up the solid black extruded aluminum part that mounts to the curved gold-colored aluminum parts that mount above the TS-LS fence but curves out and sits above the wonder fence (look at the wonder fence photo on the SS website) - he has this part I just forgot to grab it. Otherwise, the only other part I can see that is missing is the right angle fixture, which surely would have come with this packaged 520 / Incra system if I had to guess.

Any words of wisdom the community would share about setting all of this up? Any other parts blatantly missing?

BTW the 520 is still available here locally in the Raleigh area, and best I could tell it had very, very little wood passed through it - if any at all. If anyone is interested PM me and I'll send you the information, I believe the price would be very hard to beat. If I had room for another one I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

[algale]

Buy some 520 rails, spacers, etc.

[masonsailor2]

Another option is to buy the TS Incra rails and extra brackets and for about the same cost as the 520 table upgrade you can convert the entire system to Incra. I have it on one machine and absolutely love it. Instead of the tubes as in the 510 and 520 you use the extruded rails of the TS system. It gives you a far more accurate and rigid table system with the full functionality of the shopsmith system. The floating tables stay dead on accurate and everything slides off the rails with the loosening of the bolts much like the SS system. You can order the extrusions in any length you want from Incra and the extra mounting brackets come in packs of 2. Very nice people to deal with. One of my next projects is to replace the bolts underneath with bolts that have knobs to eliminate the need for a wrench.
Paul

[moggymatt]

Good pick. Incra stuff very rarely shows up in my neck of the woods.

[Deycart]

Paul
How do you get all of that stuff of to use the other setups for the shopsmith? It looks like it would take forever to reinstall.

Edward

[masonsailor2]

The rails are attached to the brackets with bolts. When the bolts are loosened the rails slide right off about the same as sliding the tubes out of the 510 or 520. I leave that particular saw set up most the time in that way because I have other 510's for the other functions. I have done the breakdown several times for various reasons and reinstalling the rails is very easy. I need to replace the bracket bolts with knobs which will make things a little faster. One issue is having the fence attached only to the main table as in drill press mode. It would be very easy to fabricate a bolt together fence using aluminum extrusion parts from Incra that would ride on shorter pieces of the rails which would use the existing mounting brackets and just slide on. The people at Incra will cut and ship any of their extrusions for you for a very nominal cutting charge. Essentially it would be the same fence without the positioner bar. The other option would be to cannibalise your 520 fence and mount it to two of the Incra supports that ride on the rails. Incra is great in that all their components are available individually and give you erector set type capability. The entire setup could be done very easily. I really like the combo of Incra and SS. The two work together very well. The wonder fence system is the best router fence system I have ever seen or used. What I did not like about the SS stand alone Incra fence was the lack of a rail to tighten it to once it is in position. For me it definitely had movement and is not stiff enough without a rail to give it stability. A third option would be to mill two brackets out of maple and make your own fence for drill press mode which would also be very easy to make.
Paul

[Dccarpenter]

Paul,

I'm considering the Incra setup. One annoyance I have on my mark v right now is constantly setting the extension tables heights when adjusting the height of my main saw table. Is the Incra rail rigid enough that when raising and lowering the main table that my extensions will move with it and then I can lock them after setting ?

[masonsailor2]

Thus far I have raised and lowered it numerous times and it moves in unison. I have never adjusted them since the first time. I just put one hand on the wheel and as I turn lift the other end with my other hand, slide the spacer underneath the stop collar let it down gently and tighten it down. I have the spacers made of 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" ply which either alone or in combination work for about any blade height I need. I use two of the adjustable collars which work really well. Once I set the collars it's the same procedure in reverse to go to a shallower blade height.
Paul