Custom main tabletop?

[wood4fun]

Dusty,
Apology accepted. Sorry if I overreacted. No harm, no foul.
Back to woodworking/tool-design.
I'm very glad to have your woodworking and tool-modification expertise "on the job".
I guess I'll take a shot at drawing something up and see what all of you guys think about it. It would be great to have so many eyes give it a once over.
Is there a picture of your crafter station on the forums somewhere? I'm wondering how you chose to get it to sit still once you've rolled it to where you want it.

Hudsonmiller,

1. The top (if mounted to the sliding posts) will NEVER be rotationally stable with regard to the blade unless you pin it (as designed) to the auxilliary table in either end using the extension tubes.

Sorry, I'm confused. I think I understand that you need to constrain it not only in translation but also in rotation, e.g., with one bolt thru a slot and another thru a hole. But which are the "sliding posts"? On my 500 table, underneath, there are some bolts with shims up into the casting, so I was hoping to just take that off, save the bolts and shims with the casting in case this all goes horribly wrong and I run back to the 500 table, and put some different bolts and glued on wooden shimstock underneath the wooden table to hold it on to the "trunion?" so it tilts.

Big Ed,
Yes, it's definitely got to be able to tilt. I'm still thinking of it as a subtractive process of starting with a board and taking away whatever isn't essential, or is specifically an obstacle. So maybe on the right side, it either has slots for the way tubes or maybe all I need out there at 3 o'clock is a few inches between the way tubes. Or maybe a sled's the solution, with an interrupted T-slot (like drawing a line across your fingers and then spreading your fingers apart), though that sounds like a treat to line up...maybe you put it in place as one long t-slot for alignment, and then surgically remove the parts between the fingers.
I guess I need to think thru the cutting operations and where I need support for each, and then union them all together...
Actually, I do way more 90deg cuts than tilt-table work, so maybe there's a way to make tilt work less convenient although still possible, while making flat work more convenient.
Another thought is to make this table a quick swap vs the 500 table, and ONLY use this table for the 90deg cuts, no tilt enablement, and then for the few tilts, swap back to the 500 table.

Francis,
That's pretty close to my thoughts about outfeed from a non-tilting table too. Sort of like that beautiful shot someone posted that was gleaming and had huge trapdoors in the floor for who knows what. You were just a few hundred gallons of polyurethane ahead of your time.
-w4f

[robinson46176]

Repeating one of my regular quotes: One of the best in-feed or out-feed supports for a Shopsmith is another Shopsmith.

[wood4fun]

Ed,

I believe if your doing much crosscutting of 7 foot long or longer boards on a table saw you are losing accuracy, stand a good chance of having the board pinch the blade and other wise working dangerously. Instead of spending any money to modify the SS go buy a lower cost 12 Powered Miter saw, a 10" slidding mitre saw (most will crosscut 9" fairly easy) or pickup a used Radial arm saw that are usually on Craigslist everywhere.

Good point about safety...that's the sort of thing that caused concern. I looked at the Hitachi 10" non-sliding that people said was quite good, but then thought I should be able to get the Shopsmith to do it. But maybe you're right. Maybe the key is to specifically exclude some excessive woodcutting tasks, and then use an only moderately larger wooden table (something like the 520 without the flying buttresses and wings) to do the rest with ease and safety.
-w4f

[Ed in Tampa]

All the options but the radial arm saw are viable alternatives. Had the opportunity to buy one a while back and just ran from it. Too many horror stories.

But, of course, none are alternatives if you want to mess around and be creative. Go for it.......

Etc92guy
Horror stories???? I really think radial arm saws are a lot like Shopsmiths they get bad raps from people that either never used them or don't use them properly.

First the blade is always visible so it is easy to see your hands and blade and make sure their proximity to each other is always safe.

Two for large pieces of wood you don't have to horse the wood around while you try to make a cut.

Any kick back is away from you.

One negative the blade can climb a cut and force the blade forward but two things come into play to insure if that happens there is no problem. First make sure your hands are out of the blades path. Second make sure you in control of the carriage. It is easy to let down you guard and with your finger tips simply pull the carriage forward, it is those times the blade usually does it climb cut and rushes forward. If you firmly grasp the carriage handle position you hands and body properly the radial arm saw can't be surpassed for cross cuts.

Rip cuts? Use your Shopsmith!!!!!!!

[gregf]

Woodcraft has plans on their website for an interesting looking
"Shop Assembly Table"
The plans are downloadable. (is that a real word?)
Has possibilities as and adjustable outfeed table.
The up and down adjustment uses a scissor jack.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2020810/26157/Shop-Assembly-Table-Downloadable-Plan.aspx

[guitarnut]

I don't have room in my shop for a table, so I need something that folds away and is easily attached and set up. I have been toying with this design but I still need to figure out a way to make it easily height adjustable. I think I'll call it the "Flip Phone" table. Hehehe.

There's an animation of it in motion here:

http://www.crenshawweb.com/tables.wmv









Peace,
Mark

[wildcard]

Here is a solution, i helped a friend build this about a year ago, but i just got my shopsmith so i am actually building this myself right now.

First its basically a table that is built of 2x4's and is made to be level with the lowest setting of the saw table on the shopsmith (i.e when the blade is highest) inside the table is basically another table, this one has the table top on it, and a bottle jack, it was built so that all of the 2x4's of the inside table are stabilized by the outside table, so the surface goes up and down evenly, and the bottle jack makes adjusting really easy, the table top was built from mdf with a sheet of plexiglass over it to make it super smooth.

no rails or anything were built into it, it is purly for support, but it works.

[rayjack]

This has been a most interesting thread and I have enjoyed every word of it, and learnt from it. However, for me the main problem with the SS is not table size (I use a crosscut sled and a crosscut/mitre saw) but DUST COLLECTION. Has anyone made any progress in improving the hopless dust collection system on the SS? (Other than buying a dedicated table saw with rise & fall blade as opposed to R&F table)

[Ed in Tampa]

This has been a most interesting thread and I have enjoyed every word of it, and learnt from it. However, for me the main problem with the SS is not table size (I use a crosscut sled and a crosscut/mitre saw) but DUST COLLECTION. Has anyone made any progress in improving the hopless dust collection system on the SS? (Other than buying a dedicated table saw with rise & fall blade as opposed to R&F table)

Rayjack
I'm at a lost to explain your problem. My Shopsmith does a better job with dust collection than my son in laws Unisaw. Can you explain what is happening? What model SS do you have. What guards are you using and etc.

[georgek1]

As a relative new-b to this forum, I get somewhat confused by how we tend to stray from the original thread.

I too get mired deep in thought about infeed and outfeed and the use of work surfaces adjacent to my SS. I must share my workshop with a vehicle, so I get to use half of a two car garage. All of my tools are mounted on some sort of mobile stand. I came across this plan in Wood Magazine and have attached a link to a table that has some interesting possibilities.

Rather than suggest ways of applying these options to the SS, maybe a thread dedicated to mobile support solutions might be appropriate instead of going on with engineering or the custom work top to replace the main table on the SS.

OOOPS... I forgot to include the link. See what a newbee, sorry, here it is http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking ... nch-video/