Some vintage Craftsmen aficionados may have noticed the "washing machine" stand, a hold over from the locomotive inspired "streamlined" art deco design aesthetic popularized in the 1940's. This saw was made in 1949-1950.
The width of the stand streamlined with the width of the bench saw's cabinet, and the bulbous detail of the stand's legs, as well as the down and inward taper of the stand's side plates, match and compliment the contours of the saw body itself, unlike the wider, more generic, and less contoured stands produced soon afterward where one size fit multiple machines. This stand is made for this machine only, as far as I have been able to determine.
The wood gussets under the stand support the dust collection hopper and plumbing under the saw. Here's what the hopper looks like inside the saw's cabinet:
The foam surround is fitted in the gap between the saw cabinet's sides and the welded on base ring. It is the welded base ring (about 2" high) that is actually bolted through the form fitting stand.
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I chose a steep angular bevel for the hopper, to eliminate horizontal "shelf surfaces" that layer upon successive layer of sawdust would pile up upon forming a strata that would interest a geologist or archeologist in later years if not cleaned out periodically.
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The taper eliminates the opportunity for all that dust to pile up and collect, instead combining the forces of gravity, blade throw, and shop vac suction to whisk away the wood debris while it is still flying.
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The "drain hole" is 4", for a standard shop dust collection system. But since I don't have a dust collection system, I have a tapered reducer (as opposed to a stepped reducer, which creates stop blocks that collect dust and restrict flow) to bring the 4" gradually down to the 2.5" shop vac hose size.
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-Dan
