Future pornography placeholder (work safe)

[SwampNut]

My old Unisaw and the router table are gone, ready for the new stuff I'm picking up in a couple weeks.

 

 

 

 

[XXitanium]

Damn, I'm still using the craftsman table. Saw my dad bought in the early '70s.

[Biometrix]

Table is cupped. Very nice! I love the built-in router table section. Which main model did you go with? I too am still using my Craftsman table saw I bought 30+ years ago. Good luck with that beast!

[SwampNut]

 

 

I'd considered the 4HP with the dovetail carriage system, but their rep mostly talked me out of it.  Also out of stock until end of June.  I don't really need more power, in this case, and I'm used to how standard tilt carriages work.

 

My dust collection is going to be a bitch to figure out.  Notice how it goes on the old Unisaw.  Well that's where the router normally goes.  I could put the router on the left with some drilling, and rearranging the beer fridge and such.  It would probably be less than ideal.  Hanging on the right, it should allow my outfeed/assembly table to provide staging and infeed.

 

Thoughts....

 

I need to reduce the tube size anyway, since the saw only has 4" and this is 5" tubing.  What about a flat rectangular section of tubing, to minimize the obstruction?

 

I could put the down tube where it would obstruct the largest of cuts, but not the router table.  Use a flex hose for that part and move it if I need a full-size cut (rare).

 

 

[Biometrix]

I have no business commenting on matters of dust collection systems since mine consists of a shop-vac, dust pan and broom.

[SwampNut]

It's like Dave buying a new car...

 

 

 

 

 

[DBLXX]

I still put a coat of polish on the Weber Grill every few weeks...

[DBLXX]

And....14 miles.

 

 

[SwampNut]

New dilemma...putting the router table on the left or right side.  And if left, do I downsize the saw?  Fuck.  I was doing measurements yesterday, and while numerically this saw is a bit bigger, in reality in the space it's huge.  An inch here, another there, and ... huge.  Adding the router table to the left gives more supported space and grows the saw's total size.  Adding it on the right replaces a filler panel so the saw doesn't grow at all.  At that point, it makes my pathways on both sides much smaller, probably annoyingly small.  Do I call them and switch to the 36" saw from the 52 that I ordered, and put the table on the left?  Do I leave it alone, and decide when it arrives, and cut off some?  Damn.

 

[SwampNut]

I called the saw maker.  As usual, an actual expert answers the phone.  I said I wanted to talk about which end to mount the router, and what he would recommend/do.  

 

“Well, i couldn’t decide.  So I put one on each end and now I can load and set both bits for complex joints at the same time.”  LOL, bastard.  

 

Anyway he and I concluded that I should get the smaller version, and table to the left, for my space and usage.  They are making the change, refunding the difference, and pickup date stays the same.  So my overall size is still bigger, but manageable.  I've always kind of thought that saws should have their blade more central, rather than far left, at least for most things I do.  Having the router to the left vastly increases the size I can handle by myself.  It also means that dust collection challenge is gone, because the right side of the table is irrelevant again.

[SwampNut]

Early arrival.  It seems a shame to hide that machining below the table.  This is a high-precision router motor lift/adjuster.  It can be adjusted at 1/512" increments and can reliably repeat 1/256 precision.

 

 

 

 

[IcePrick]

3 hours ago, SwampNut said:

Early arrival.  It seems a shame to hide that machining below the table.  This is a high-precision router motor lift/adjuster.  It can be adjusted at 1/512" increments and can reliably repeat 1/256 precision.

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, that's pretty.

[SwampNut]

I was going to just try my router's built-in adjuster base, it was "free" and all that.  It can be adjusted in 1/64th-ish with a repeatable precision of, well, who knows.  Maybe it won't tear up the wood and/or shoot it at your face.  It's cast aluminum with plastic adjuster threads.  But there was a sale, you see...  

[SwampNut]

Photos don't do it justice.

 

[superhawk996]

On 5/23/2023 at 7:25 PM, XXitanium said:

Damn, I'm still using the craftsman table. Saw my dad bought in the early '70s.

Same here.  Some day I might replace the belt, but that old one slapping around and shaking the fuck out of the machine keeps things exciting.

[SwampNut]

It's mostly assembled.  It's fucking amazing.  Over-built in every way, down to the motor cover being stout and not flappy sheet metal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got the router fence (ridiculously stout and adjustable) to within less than a 1000th out of alignment.  I need more meth to do better.

 

[SwampNut]

Now I need to clean up the shop, but it has cut wood.  And it's just amazing all around.  I haven't even checked parallel or square on the blade, but it cuts with perfection.  Most people report that it's absolutely dead-on when they get it.

 

 

 

 

 

I made a holder for the router fence, to get it out of the way when not needed.  Other people put a quick-disconnect on the vac hose, that seemed ass backwards.  You'd still have to put the fence somewhere.  I just made a shelf, and attached it to the legs using conduit clamps.

 

 

 

 

 

Achieving perfection in measurement.

 

 

 

 

I'm way too lazy to bend over and open/close the dust gates, so I made a thing.

 

[blackhawkxx]

Even though this equipment isn't in my wheelhouse, everyone can appreciate high quality machinery.   I bet you smile every time you cut.

[SwampNut]

1 hour ago, blackhawkxx said:

Even though this equipment isn't in my wheelhouse, everyone can appreciate high quality machinery.   I bet you smile every time you cut.

 

I touch myself inappropriately every time I just walk out there.

 

We just got a new customer who makes commercial doors.  They are small, don't need much.  I am going to make the 3-4 hour round trip to hand deliver phones because I simply want to see how they do it.  I have no idea what machines are involved, but I know I will love seeing it.

 

I just saw this on CL, for what is usually considered a fairly high end router table.  Now in comparison, I have to laugh at what I used to think I wanted.  The table is 1/4 the weight, and very thin.  And look at the fence mechanism; just a sliding slot with a lot of slop, requiring manual alignment after every movement.  The Harvey rides the fence on a set of eight bearings that always stay aligned.

 

 

 

[CBR-RR-XX-CESS]

Nice equipment!    Now where can I buy your precision products? 

[SwampNut]

The one thing Harvey gets totally wrong is documentation.  It's trash.  So unclear and poorly detailed.  There are various fasteners with no indication of where they go, I just had to guess, and then move them around.  And then I found that the blade alignment was off my .003", which is really tight, but I am rolling with their own slogan.  "When good enough is not enough."  I can make it better.  Except two of us couldn't.  It wouldn't move, or worse, would move under pressure and then rebound even farther off.  WTF!!!  Normally there are four bolts on every saw to do this.  One in each corner of the cabinet, just loosen them and rotate the bed.  Nope.

 

Finally, I found a forum post where a guy said that there are HIDDEN mini set screws under the washers of two of the main screws.  Are you fucking kidding me.

 

Anyway, I'm going to say that about .0002 error is fine.  Generally accepted spec is .2mm, I'd never roll with that.

 

 

 

[SwampNut]

 

 

 

 

 

Just one coat was smooth and slick.  Fourth coat going on soon.

 

Then...I can't use the saw for at least 24 hours.  Ugh.

 

[XXitanium]

I used to work in the wood window industry. We used to think that a variance of 1/64" total was good.

 

We had to consider the wood shrinking and contracting due to humidity, at least up here. Have less of that.

 

[SwampNut]

For the end result products, that's fine, and I only chase a better number for small items or complex joinery.  But making the TOOLS perfect also involves safety and cut quality.  Having the blade not be perfectly parallel to the direction of travel can cause a pinch and kickback.  Or at best, a pinch and heating, which can leave burn marks.  If it's a visible piece now you have a new problem.  It's also just such a pleasure to use a perfectly aligned tool; the noise level goes way down, pressure is much lower, etc.

 

The first real project going across it is a jewelry box, not tiny, but not very big.  I'll be shooting for 1/128th precision, and accepting of 1/64th.

 

[SwampNut]

It's done, storage cabinet still fits, beer fridge had to move to the other side.  Not as convenient to grab a beer from outside, more convenient when inside.  Now I need to clean up the rest of the shop, and complete the storage/de-hoarding project.