Picked up an Excalibur Sliding Table Attachment, Questions

[Chris Tsutsui]

So my local craiglist presented me with two options. One excalibur 60" sliding table attachment that was brand new for $200. (Older model)

The other option was another older model 40" version that had seen better days, but was assembled and had some scratches and dings, etc. Also $200. :(

I am having some regrets right now that I bought the 40" model yesterday because it's not in the best condition, but my garage is small enough as it is and the 60" version just seemed huge attached to a 52" cabinet saw. I don't really need the large capacity because I use a track saw right now for breaking down sheet goods. I just wanted to give the slider a try because I work a lot with sheet goods.

Anyways, enough with me trying to justify my bad decision...

I can't find a manual for the Excalibur online. Is there a correct method to install this in the right spot on my G1023SLX (which is a left tilt). Should I keep the left wing on at first and see how that goes and just drill holes and use bolts to attach the sliding attachment. I'd like to avoid cutting the rails of the G1023 because I could probably sell the cabinet saw and slider for more if they are separate from eachother.

So when testing the slider out, the slide wasn't gliding very smooth and it was because an "L" bracket with a bearing was bent and askew, so I bent it back into shape and it's better. Though I am seeing that it is more difficult to slide in the first part of the slide, and half way through the sliding stroke it becomes easy to slide. I wonder if this is because the unit needs to be square or is this typical due to the design?

Another question I have is should I shim the bearings (that are adjustable) with like a dollar bill or should the bearings touch?

Finally, has anyone come up with a better solution to keep the leg height because 2 small set screws don't seem robust enough. I can buy 1-1/4" thicker square steel tubing and is there an easy to way to add an adjustable threaded foot to that at the bottom of the 1-1/4" square tubing?

Thanks

[frank shic]

chris, fine tuning that thing can be a pain. i used the carriage itself to space the rails out properly by screwing everything together losely and then sliding the carriage back and forth a few times until it worked smoothly and then tightened everything up. i cranked the screws on the legs as tight as possible and bolted the legs to the concrete although i wish i had bought or borrowed an impact drill before busting two masonry bits :( haven't tried shimming the bearings like you mentioned but i did grease everything up with bee's wax. keep in mind that it will never slide as smoothly as the mast-r-slide or a european format machine but it does the job well and it's a lot easier than dragging out/storing a crosscut sled every time. i moved the fence rail to the right instead of chopping it off although it does make the rail protrude beyond the original auxiliary table. i threw away the original left cast iron wing and just attached the bracket to the remaining screw holes although you could bore them yourself but make sure you are dead on accurate since metal is a lot less forgiving than wood!

[Chris Tsutsui]

Thanks, yeah I saw some of your posts when I did a forum search.

The feeling of this slider is rough and clunky compared to a $25,000 Robland which I've used in the past, but suprisingly there's no real play so I think that once I dial this in, it should cut nice and square.

I don't think it will work for me to move the rails of my grizzly over because there's indentations where the miter slots are and those won't line up correctly. Maybe i'm wrong...

I thought cutting the rails seems like the only other option vs mounting to the wing though I don't know if I will regret cutting the rails and this slider doesn't work as planned.

I'll try loosening things up, test, and re-tightening to see if can square it up later today. Thanks

[John Aperahama]

General now own and sell the Excalibur they have the install manual on their website.
I have the Excalibur and use it everyday. Dont shim the bearings it is all in the setup.

[Bob Wingard]

Search for the unit under the EXACTOR name ... I think you'll find the info. that way.


http://www.exaktortools.com/index2.htm

[frank shic]

best part of it chris is that it will HOLD its settings unlike the cheaper delta sliding table attachment (grizzly has a clone) that i used in the past. hang in there, it's totally worth it even though i had to essentially sacrifice parking the second car in the garage to accomodate the larger model you mentioned earlier!

[Peter Aeschliman]

The two steel tubes the sliding table rides on need to be parallel to each other. I suspect your problem is that your rails aren't parallel.

[Sam Layton]

Chris,

I have the 40" Excalibur, and it works great. Once you get it set up and dialed in, it is very accurate. I have my saw bolted to the floor, and the Excalibur bolted to the floor. Once the legs were set, I tightened the set screw, and drilled through the leg and leg bracket and installed a sheet metal screw. That leg is not moving. My saw has kept its setting for a few years now.

[Steve Griffin]

I kept the left extension wing of my 1023 on, and mounted the slider to that.

The two holes in this should not be much of a problem for resale.

You are right about the set screws being wimpy, but crank them down and they hold ok. (unless you use the slider table to set a cabinet or lumber, which I keep doing....)

-Steve

[Jeff Duncan]

I'll add one other tip, I also have the older version and the standard mounting only allowed about a 28" depth of cut with the fence at the front (closer to the operator). I never use the fence at the back as I'm just not comfortable with it on this type of slider. When I mounted it to my new 12" saw I moved it much farther forward by just drilling new holes in the saw and I now get 38"+ depth of cut. Just have to be careful when you move to the left after making a cut:>(

good luck,
Jeffd

[Steve Griffin]

Fence in back for me. Never once used it close to the operator. Loading larger sheets or counter tops is about 7 times safer and easier, than lifting over a fence.

Another tip. If yours has an extension stop, stick an adhesive measuring tape on top of it. It can index where it slides into the fence, allowing tape measure free cuts to the tools full capacity.

-Steve

[Chip Lindley]

The current Excalibur sliding table manuals are on the General site. See Excalibur Products Manuals in the right column. The 32-page manual should tell you everything you need to know. About 2 minutes on Google found the link.Enjoy!

http://www.general.ca/pg_index/manual_en.html#Anchor-33869

[Rick Potter]

At one time, I had mine attached to the wing for a few years. It worked fine. Later to save room, I removed the wing, and that worked fine too. Like Sam says, get it perfect, then drill a hole through the legs and bolt it there. Moving the whole unit back one set of bolt holes greatly increases the useability for large stuff when using the fence closest to you. I liked it, some don't.....try it, it's nothing permanent. My reason for doing it was to dado wide panels.

Rick Potter

[CPeter James]

I have an older model Exactor and to stabilize it, I have the legs sitting on a platform that is attached to my PM66 saw cabinet with two lengths of angle iron and about 8 inches off the floor. The saw and the sliding table are ONE.

CPeter

[frank shic]

+1 for using the fence in the rear position. the larger sliding table easily accomodates a full sheet of plywood width wise.

[Peter Aeschliman]

At one time, I had mine attached to the wing for a few years. It worked fine. Later to save room, I removed the wing, and that worked fine too. Like Sam says, get it perfect, then drill a hole through the legs and bolt it there. Moving the whole unit back one set of bolt holes greatly increases the useability for large stuff when using the fence closest to you. I liked it, some don't.....try it, it's nothing permanent. My reason for doing it was to dado wide panels.

Rick Potter

The only thing you have to be careful of is that the workpiece will still clear the blade when you're using the sliding table for miters (non-90 degree cuts). If you're only doing 90 degree cuts, this is definitely the way to go.

[Ben Martin]

Gents,

Are you talking about the Excalibur SLT20 sliding table? Only reason I know the model # is because General sent me the manual...lol

I got one with the PM66 I bought a couple weeks back and am just getting it set up. Does anybody else have this installed on a PM66? On mine, the PO has modified the main mounting plate to the point that adjustment is very difficult. Looking at it though, this is the only location that will provide the fence to be in the rear location and start the panel in front of the blade and than also provide 48" of cut. Am I missing something here? I would like to fix the way it is bolted to the saw, and make it cleaner, I have been debating about drilling some additional holes in the main table to add extra bolts.

Does anybody have a motor cover that they are using with this and a PM66. I have yet to install the one I bought, but will figure out a way to make it work.

As far as the issues with the legs mentioned above and the set screws, I think that I am going to make new legs with fine adjustment so it is much easier.

Another thing, mine came sans fence. I am thinking about putting something together with 80/20 material but also wanted to call General for a quote on replacement parts. Is Exaktor owned by General or what is the relationship there?

Anyways, on to some pictures. Ignore the messy shop, I had to tear up a bunch of stuff getting this thing in place and set up...

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/1989%20Powermatic%2066/2013-01-22_22-16-59_998.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/1989%20Powermatic%2066/2013-01-22_22-22-58_981.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/1989%20Powermatic%2066/2013-01-22_22-23-07_977.jpg

Ben