sloping floor and my SawStop Cabinet Saw

[Andrew Pitonyak]

My basement floor slopes toward a drain. Based on available room, my table saw will be placed such that I will be facing "up hill" away from the drain while feeding wood into the saw (ie, the front of the saw will be lower than the back of the saw).

Yesterday I removed my Ridgid table saw and I purchased a SawStop Cabinet saw (Professional model, 1.75 HP). The Ridgid saw had leg levelers, so everything was level. The SawStop does not have levelers, and the manual says that I should place it on a level surface. well, I don't have a level surface.

I sent in my paperwork for the mobile base, so that will be installed, but I will likely not move it much after I put things in place.

Any thoughts on how to create a level surface? My first thought was to measure how far out and place a single board on the ground that would elevate the front so that the saw would be level. I suppose that I could then use some shims to support the sides if needed. My guess is that it is out by about 1" over the roughly 24" that the saw base is deep.

My thought was that I would take a board about 2" to 5" wide and plane it so that it provided a level surface along the front. Would make sure that the sides of the saw case did not press down on the back portion that would be a bit higher.

[Neil Brooks]

I'm not sure what the underside of your new SS (nice stealth gloat, by the way !!!) looks like, but my gut tells me I'd probably build a frame for it....

You could always put a "deck" on top of that frame, to help distribute the weight over larger area.

Is there any facility for adding heavy-duty leveling feet TO the base ?

Can you simply shim one side -- where the gap is -- and affix that shim board to the base ? I don't think that would be optimal, but ... sure should work.

[John Coloccia]

My shop is a converted garage, so the floor has a significant slope to it. I level all of my machines exactly the same way. I pry up one end until it's level, and then I measure it. I cut a piece of plywood to fit under that side. If I have to choose, I choose a thinner piece rather than a thicker piece, so for example if I need to shim by 5/8", I'll cut a piece of 1/2" to fit. Then I use thin plywood from my hobby shop to fine tune it. I cut it up into little squares and stick it directly under the supports.

[Van Huskey]

Don't overthink it, just shim it as others have mentioned. If you were planning to move it a lot I would suggest something different.

[Sid Matheny]

For a buck and a half you can get shims like these at Lowe's that work perfect.

228000
Sid

[Andrew Pitonyak]

nice stealth gloat, by the way !!!

I almost feel ashamed :-)


Is there any facility for adding heavy-duty leveling feet TO the base ?

I did consider that because I could drill holes and bolt leveling feet into the corners, but, that would place all the weight on corners and ignore the rest of the housing (unsure if that would be wise). Would probably be better off attaching a base around the bottom that can be leveled.


Can you simply shim one side -- where the gap is -- and affix that shim board to the base ? I don't think that would be optimal, but ... sure should work.

Will probably just shim all around. The primary gap will be closest to the front, but after I set the front, there will be gaps on the sides.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I cut a piece of plywood to fit under that side. If I have to choose, I choose a thinner piece rather than a thicker piece
OK, that sounds reasonable and was what I was thinking of doing.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

For a buck and a half you can get shims like these at Lowe's that work perfect.

I have an open pack and a not so open pack of these. An inch is a bit much for the entire job, but will work great for fine tuning if there is a specific dip (and there is) in the floor.

Initially I was thinking of scribing against the floor, but the shims would be faster / easier.

[Myk Rian]

You are over thinking the whole thing. Just put some shims under it, and forget about it.

[David Micalizzi]

Just cut some hardwood shims(wedges) and use these to level your saw. That's what I do and it works great. Happy sawing!

[Andrew Pitonyak]

You are over thinking the whole thing. Just put some shims under it, and forget about it.

Just wanted to make sure there was no perceived issues with shimming the steel walls (as opposed to the thicker legs of the contractor base). I learned the hard way that what seems to make sense to me may be a really big problem (like assuming I can sue a 10" DADO in a 10" table saw... I even bothered to ask and was given wrong advice.... I received good advice on this topic at my local Woodcraft.).

Thanks for the advice. I really do appreciate it, and it is one reason why I appreciate it when others also chime in and say "yeah..... what he said".