Shopsmith Forums

What is the OPR sliding table made out of.

Same material as the SS router table, outfeed table, and sliding crosscut table - appears to be MDF with a black plastic edge and a laminated top. top isthe low friction plastic.

Here is a post from a few years back that shows the table and what it looks like. It is one I repaired.

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=2771

Ed

I'm not sure we are talking about the same thing. I'm talking about that Sliding Router Table Nick built that slides on top of the OPR that clamps onto the way tubes table. The plans do not specify what type of material to use. You must forgive me but I'm new to Shopsmiths and don't have a clue yet.

Fred

fredsheldon wrote:I'm not sure we are talking about the same thing. I'm talking about that Sliding Router Table Nick built that slides on top of the OPR that clamps onto the way tubes table. The plans do not specify what type of material to use. You must forgive me but I'm new to Shopsmiths and don't have a clue yet.

Fred

I believe this is the Sawdust Session to which Fred refers. I will have to view the session again to be sure but I do not believe Nick specifies the material used.

I think I would use baltic birch plywood.

Maybe someone who has built one will provide an input.

fredsheldon wrote:I'm not sure we are talking about the same thing. I'm talking about that Sliding Router Table Nick built that slides on top of the OPR that clamps onto the way tubes table. The plans do not specify what type of material to use. You must forgive me but I'm new to Shopsmiths and don't have a clue yet.

Fred

I've used about anything I have on hand (MDF or Plywood). I have one big sled which straddles the OPR table and slides fore/aft. I have another big sled which straddles the OPR table and slides left/right. In each case I just made rails on the bottom of the sleds so they move smoothly in the direction intended. I really didn't want to drill/rout into my fresh OPR table the way Nick did.

Hi,

If I'm not mistaken and I might well be but I think Nick modified the OPR table.

I did a quick Search and found this:

http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... ding+table

Ed

Thanks for the replys.

I found a old thread where Chuck built his sliding tables and he suggested Melamine Faced Fiberboard, whatever that is. Others have suggested Baltic Birch Plywood and Poplar and MDF. So, I guess it doesn't really matter as long as it holds up and is easy to cut.

Fred

fredsheldon wrote:Thanks for the replys.

I found a old thread where Chuck built his sliding tables and he suggested Melamine Faced Fiberboard, whatever that is. Others have suggested Baltic Birch Plywood and Poplar and MDF. So, I guess it doesn't really matter as long as it holds up and is easy to cut.

Fred

In the actual sawdust session video nick looks like he is using the exact same stuff that the original OPR or sliding tables are made from. Thats not terribly surprising since he could walk into the factory and grab whatever he needed.

Melamine faced fiberboard sounds like a good choice, or MDF with a melamine laminate face.

First I built the sliding table out of Melamine. Then I modified the base Shopsmith table to enable the sliding feature per instructions posted by Nick from the sawdust session and yes it both works well and gets a lot of use. Jim