Built portable table saw stand

[mastiff0]

I bought a Dewalt 745 portable table saw a few months back because I thought that, though I do more automotive work than woodworking, everyone should have the basic woodworking tools. It turns out that I actually started to like woodworking and started a variety of projects to give me excuses to buy more woodworking tools.

The biggest project was a movable stand for the portable table saw. I saw lots of designs online but found a very ingenious (and complex) plan from Shop Notes. The plan is a for a compact unit that has expandable and folding surfaces that allow you to have the surface space of a full size table saw. Here it is in the compact form for storage:



And here it is once expanded:



The stand has two foldable surfaces covered in laminate so that pieces of plywood can be cut. The surface on the right has T-slots installed so an auxiliary fence can be used. There are also extendable infeed supports to help support large pieces of wood. The table saw is on an adjustable shelf so the top of the table saw could be the same height of the table. There's also a drawer and a storage space for the braces that hold the foldable surfaces.

View from the back:


Here you can see adjustable outfeed supports told hold/catch pieces of wood after you've cut them. The horizontal pieces have slides routed into them so you can change the lengths of the supports or completely contract them.

I was pretty amazed, being my first big woodworking project, that I was able to get this thing built square and level with all the moving pieces actually functional. Of course I made some mistakes, but it was a very good project to learn how to use the basic woodworking tools.

 

[djjsr]

Nice work!

BTW, woodworking is a bit of an addiction. I think it's caused by inhaling sawdust.

 

[scott37300]

I like that!

Have you gut a sheet of plywood on it yet? I have a bosch 4100 and have thought about something like this instead of buying a cabinet saw or hybred saw.

 

[Zeke]

Looks like you have quite a knack for woodwork.

 

[nnoble83]

i just bought the same saw and love it. i like the stand you built can you link the plans? One thing i noticed is that one of the reasons i really like this saw is because of the geared fence and with that stand it doesn't look you will be able to use the fence. And i feel kind of dumb for asking this but the hinged piece on the fence that flips over i am not sure what its for, maybe a sacrificial fence?

 

[mastiff0]

Have you gut a sheet of plywood on it yet? I have a bosch 4100 and have thought about something like this instead of buying a cabinet saw or hybred saw.

I haven't cut a large sheet of plywood yet. The plans also included a design for an auxiliary rip fence that fits in the t-slots, but I haven't built it yet because, well, my wife wants me to spend more time inside and less time in the garage. But the auxiliary fence should allow me to do full size pieces of plywood.

While I was building the stand, I used a jawhorse with the plywood attachment and a circular saw to cut the plywood. Thats a little cumbersome, but I think that's always the case when dealing with a 4x8 sheet of plywood.

 

[gahrajmahal]

That is truly awesome!

Do You have material $ estimates? How much time do you have in it? How do you like using it?

 

[Mr.N]

Looks very nice.

Have more info on the plans? Link?

 

[mastiff0]

i just bought the same saw and love it. i like the stand you built can you link the plans? One thing i noticed is that one of the reasons i really like this saw is because of the geared fence and with that stand it doesn't look you will be able to use the fence. And i feel kind of dumb for asking this but the hinged piece on the fence that flips over i am not sure what its for, maybe a sacrificial fence?

The plans are from Shop Notes magazine volume 104. Their website has the cutting diagrams, but to get the complete plans you have to get one of their bound volumes. But you can find the plans online if you look hard enough- pm me if your interested.

Your're right, the Dewalt's geared fence is great, but its motion is limited by the table. It can only travel 11inches, and normally it has 16" of travel. Fortunately, I either have the option of using the auxiliary fence or adding 2" blocks under the table saw shelf to elevate the saw and clear it from the table.

the flip-over piece on the fence is to support boards when you have the fence at full travel (16"), at which point the fence has extended past the standard table top. The flip piece acts a a makeshift tabletop to hold the board.

 

[mastiff0]

That is truly awesome!

Do You have material $ estimates? How much time do you have in it? How do you like using it?

Thanks!

Ugh, I hate to think of how much time I have in it, and fortunately my wife doesn't know how much money I have in it.

If you follow the plans exactly and use hardwood plywood and hardwood boards and high quality casters, it gets pretty expensive. 3 sheets plywood ($40 each), a sheet of plastic laminate ($40), 5 1x4's, 2 1x6's, makes ~$200 for wood. Add another $150 for casters, drawer slides, piano hinges, and fasteners. Probably around $400 if you don't have to buy any tools like router bits, finish saw blades, sanders, clamps, etc. $100 could be removed easily by going with cheaper wood and cheaper casters.

Being that this was my first major woodworking project and I had very little experience with using a router and making accurate cuts, I spent over 3 weeks working a little during the weeks and a moderate amount of the weekends. Definitely different than making a workbench- something like this involves precision cuts, sanding, lots of clamping and gluing. A lot of planning. Very rewarding though. And its great having something that doesn't take up a lot of space but allows you to make cuts quickly and accurately without having to have a full size table saw and a handful of outfeed supports.

 

[mastiff0]

Looks very nice.

Have more info on the plans? Link?

The plans were in last years Shop Notes Vol 104. PM me if you can't find the plans online.

A few more pics:



Close up of the side supports. A lot of time cutting out excess material with a jig saw and then smoothing the edges with router. Also, the notched blocks that hold the side supports were made from gluing 1x4s together and then some fancy saw work with the table saw on the ground. Only messed up twice!



These plans were very well thought out. You can see that there is a shelf specifically for storing the side supports. The shelf with the groove cut is for the crosscut sled (which I haven't made yet) that is a good replacement for the standard miter gauge on the table saw. Also above this you can see the two closely spaced shelves- the top shelf holding the table saw rests on machine screws screwed into the lower shelf, which allows for adjustablity to raise/lower and level the table saw.

 

[usmc_noma]

What's the measurements of the stand when everything is compact? It looks good and definitely seems to get the job done.

 

[mastiff0]

What's the measurements of the stand when everything is compact? It looks good and definitely seems to get the job done.

39"Wide x 31" deep

 

[rvr6000]

Very nice.....I made something similar to that for my mitre saw....will have to think about making one for the table saw too. Great looking stand!

 

[5lima30]

Nice craftsmanship! That will make a nice family heirloom!

 

[boiler7904]

Looks good. If I had a portable table saw, I'd have to do something along those lines. Have you thought about recessing a router plate in one of the side wings? Woodworking is a lot easier with a router table.

 

[mastiff0]

Have you thought about recessing a router plate in one of the side wings? Woodworking is a lot easier with a router table.

That was exactly what I was thinking. At some point I plan to convert the surface with the T-slots into a router table. Since I will already have a fence and rail system, it shouldn't be too hard.

 

[PCO6]

Looks good. If I had a portable table saw, I'd have to do something along those lines. Have you thought about recessing a router plate in one of the side wings? Woodworking is a lot easier with a router table.

I bought the DeWalt DW744 with that in mind. It has a gear operated fence system that will allow the fence to be used for a router table mounted next to the saw table. This model has just been discontinued so there may be some good deals on the ones that are left.

 

[harrisor]

Really well done!

 

[BigRed390]

Very nicely done. I love Shop Notes!

 

[woody 73]

Good Job it looks very nice!