Table Saw With Double Router Extensions

[Keith Outten]

The picture below is my old Grizzly 1023 table saw with two Quality Grinding and Machines new steel router extensions installed. Both of the extensions have identical JessEm router lifts and are 24" wide, only one has a miter slot.

This setup allowed me to get rid of my old router table and save some floor space. At the same time I was able to keep my table saw which I rarely use anymore due to the changes in my shop work. New life for an old saw...and the router tables are the hot setup...better than I imagined.

.

[Joe Chritz]

Yummy!

This pic never seems to get old and is so fitting.

Joe

[Maurice Ungaro]

Keith,
I don't imagine that beast gets moved a whole lot, does it?

[Jim Becker]

Those are great, Keith. (I can't tell from the pictures, but I sure hope there is a good support system under those heavy monsters! LOL)

[Chris Padilla]

And I thought my 16" J/P was an aircraft carrier!! Nice looking stuff...didn't even notice that it was once a table saw.... ;)

[Roger Myers]

Hehehe...waiting anxiously for mine to come....
I sent Chris all the information he needed, and he has responded to every e-mail promtly... I see great customer service from Quality Grinding and Machine and I'm not even a paying customer :) but I know how this works...after I install the first, I too will want "double extensions" like Keith :)

Seriously Keith, great looking set-up and I can't wait to get mine...pics will follow!!

Roger (who will be headed to hopefully warmer VA next weekend for the SAPFM and CW Meetings....)

[Keith Outten]

The table saw weighed about 500 pounds from Grizzly, as best I can recall.
The new steel extensions weigh about 90 pounds each, subtracting the weight of the two original Grizzly extensions that I removed the saw probably only weighs about 125 pounds more now than it did when it was new. Give or take a couple pounds :)

The angle iron on the front and back of the saw extends to the ends of the new extensions so they have plenty of support, in fact they are rock solid. The saw doesn't seem tippy, I expect because it is now perfectly balanced. I do have a leg installed on one side but I honestly don't think it is needed...I will probably install another leg on the other extension for the heck of it...these are the two legs that were originally on my right side 50" table extension that came with the Beis fence and since I have them it doesn't hurt to install them.

I really enjoy using the new router tables. I feel like I have finally joined everyone else in the same century :)
.

[Don Bullock]

Wow, Keith you really know how to rub it in.:eek:;) I guess I can add that to my dreams.:rolleyes:

http://www.gifs.net/Animation11/Everything_Else/Knifes_and_Saws/Saw_blade_2.gif

[Mark Carlson]

Keith,

Very cool setup. I got my QG extension last week. I will be posting some pictures soon.

~mark

[Jason White]

Ok, but where do you put the router??
;)

The picture below is my old Grizzly 1023 table saw with two Quality Grinding and Machines new steel router extensions installed. Both of the extensions have identical JessEm router lifts and are 24" wide, only one has a miter slot.

This setup allowed me to get rid of my old router table and save some floor space. At the same time I was able to keep my table saw which I rarely use anymore due to the changes in my shop work. New life for an old saw...and the router tables are the hot setup...better than I imagined.

.

[Jason White]

Ok, dumb guy question....

What is the advantage of steel over cast iron?

Jason


The table saw weighed about 500 pounds from Grizzly, as best I can recall.
The new steel extensions weigh about 90 pounds each, subtracting the weight of the two original Grizzly extensions that I removed the saw probably only weighs about 125 pounds more now than it did when it was new. Give or take a couple pounds :)

The angle iron on the front and back of the saw extends to the ends of the new extensions so they have plenty of support, in fact they are rock solid. The saw doesn't seem tippy, I expect because it is now perfectly balanced. I do have a leg installed on one side but I honestly don't think it is needed...I will probably install another leg on the other extension for the heck of it...these are the two legs that were originally on my right side 50" table extension that came with the Beis fence and since I have them it doesn't hurt to install them.

I really enjoy using the new router tables. I feel like I have finally joined everyone else in the same century :)
.

[Jim Kountz]

Now thats some serious iron, looking good boss!!

[Bruce Page]

That’s cool. I’m envious.

[Chris Padilla]

Ok, dumb guy question....

What is the advantage of steel over cast iron?

Jason

Jason,

I can't post a link to another forum but simply Google: steel vs cast iron

You'll find some interesting stuff

An exerpt:

wrought iron has no carbon, old mild steel had .03% carbon, .35% is the start of high carbon steel, bearing races generally have 1.0% carbon. cast iron has as much as 3 to 4% carbon much of it in a free state, picture a glass full of marbles representing iron molecules and you fill in the void with black pepper representing the carbon. Mild steel has a tensile strength of around 60,000, cast iron is around 36,000 and is brittle, it will break before it gives or bends. Pig Iron called that because of the way it was originally cast it looked like a bunch of piglets nursing their mother, has much more carbon before it is refined into usable cast iron. Cast iron is refined into mild and other steels by removing a lot of the carbon and having other alloys incorporated into it.

[Keith Outten]

Jason,

Quality Grinding & Machine uses 3/8" mild steel plate then welds 3/8" flat bar underneath for the support structure, then machines the surface perfectly flat. It will stay that way. Steel seems to have more sound deadening properties than cast iron, although I can't prove it. Both routers are very quiet when running, about half the noise level of my last router table. Steel is much tougher than cast, it will take a beating year after year without warping or cracking.

Both table saw extensions were machined to fit the router raisers by QCM, the fit is perfect which is very rare these days. The fit is so tight you must drop the router plate into the extension straight down or it won't go. The machined lip that supports the router plate combined with the two steel bars built into the router raiser means the router plate will never sag...ever. The miter slot is machined so straight that my mite gauge slides effortlessly, the tension is consistent from end to end. Neither of the slots in my table saw are even close to the tolerance of the QGM slot so I have to leave a little slop in the miter gauge adjustment when I use the table saw slots. The 60,000 PSI tensile strength of mild steel won't wear like cast iron does, my great grandson could probably use these router tables and they wouldn't show any signs of wear.

Check out this thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=87932) for pictures, the second page has several pics of the first router installed.

.

[Chris Padilla]

...my great grandson could probably use these router tables and they wouldn't show any signs of wear.

...or really close moderator buddies who are quite young.... ;)


:D

[Todd Franks]

Keith,

That is one good looking setup.

Since you say you don't use your table saw much anymore, I wonder if Chris could replace your center section with a cutter head and a way to raise one of your router extensions. Now that would be a serious jointer.:D

I need one of those for my Griz. I just need to figure out how to hide the expense from the LOML.

-Todd

[Jason White]

Sorry, I should have been more specific with my question.

What is the advantage of a steel "router table" vs. a cast-iron one?

I think Keith answered my question pretty well.

I imagine with steel, you don't have the same issues with having to let the material "age" like you do with cast iron. Plus, there's always a chance the iron will age some more and not stay totally flat over time.

JW



Jason,

I can't post a link to another forum but simply Google: steel vs cast iron

You'll find some interesting stuff

An exerpt:

wrought iron has no carbon, old mild steel had .03% carbon, .35% is the start of high carbon steel, bearing races generally have 1.0% carbon. cast iron has as much as 3 to 4% carbon much of it in a free state, picture a glass full of marbles representing iron molecules and you fill in the void with black pepper representing the carbon. Mild steel has a tensile strength of around 60,000, cast iron is around 36,000 and is brittle, it will break before it gives or bends. Pig Iron called that because of the way it was originally cast it looked like a bunch of piglets nursing their mother, has much more carbon before it is refined into usable cast iron. Cast iron is refined into mild and other steels by removing a lot of the carbon and having other alloys incorporated into it.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Very NICE!! As I was hassling back and forrth changing cabinet door bits the other day I sure wanted a setup like yours!

[Keith Outten]

Since I started making signs I found little use for my table saw. Understandably there has been a major change in the way I work and the machines that are used most frequently. Surprisingly I use my router tables more than ever even though I own a CNC router, probably because it produces in higher volume and never gets tired. I found that there are still jobs that are best done by hand and even though they don't take long the number of plaques or sign blanks that must be processed in large groups means that efficiency is more important than it used to be.

So I find myself with stacks of sign blanks that need a couple quick passes on the router table before they can be engraved, painted or sanded. I am always looking for the most inefficient link in the process in order to either reduce my time or make something easier. A duel router setup reduces setup time and more importantly makes it easier to keep tolerances where they need to be. I am forgetful these days, my age has reached the point that I have to be more careful and I try desperately to remain a creature of habit....keep doing things the same way every time once I get a technique down pat. I have a serious fear of machining 300 sign blanks and find out that I setup something incorrectly and have to scrap $1300.00 worth of material and two days work. This can happen so easily if a router slips just a little causing the depth to change from the proper setting.

I never used to do it but I find myself making setup jigs and fixtures all the time now. I am also more aware of safety than I used to be since I rely on keeping my digits where they are to make a living :)

.

[Todd Crawford]

Looks great!!! Can I have the cast iron wings you removed for this set-up? :D