Simple Slider Modification

[Chris Fournier]

There have been several threads about sliders lately and of course much of the talk is about our struggles to get used to the silder - the new opportunities and obstacles that it presents to the atrpohied table saw synapses in our heads.

One of my initial struggles was coming to terms with the slider and it's propensity to, well, slide. As a newb I thought that I should be able to lock the slider down in its stroke anywhere I wanted, and it would stay there. I found that I wanted the slider in certain spots for different operations and the habit of the slider locking forward but not backwards was really annoying when I was ripping and pulling the ripping back would also pull back the slider back usually into my groin. I wanted a TS experience for certain rips and the slider needed to be locked. (For the record I like ripping on a TS and never felt unsafe doing so but I did feel that it was very fast and efficient so I want to simulate this on my slider too.)

Attached are two photos of a simple delrin stop that I made which is movable. In the position that I have shown in photo 1 you can see that it is at the end of the slider stroke almost - the width from the end is the width of the lever lock at the end of the slider. This position also corresponds with the front lever locking position at the front of the sliding table. Set the front lever and you have effectively locked the table from any fore and aft movement. Photo 2 is the slider locked as described. This has really helped me out and alos prevents the "lean on the slider and end up on the floor" slapstick move that shop guests like to do.

For some other operations where I like the slider locked somewhere "mid-stroke" I have simply left threaded blocks in the guide rail and I can fasten locks from above where ever I like.

Some may scoff at my need for this modification or add on but it helped me come to terms with the slider and sort of brought back a sorely missed trait of my TS - a fixed table to the left of my blade254553254554.

[David Kumm]

I modified my slider too although not as cool as yours. I primarily wanted to lock it all the way forward and the lock was located in a poor position. I epoxied a holder for rare earth magnets under the sliding extrusion and screwed another to the front plate of the slider bed on a bracket. When the slider is all the way forward the magnets catch enough to hold it when I'm turning sheet goods but not so much that a gentle push frees it. Works good enough for who it is for. Dave

[Chris Fournier]

I modified my slider too although not as cool as yours. I primarily wanted to lock it all the way forward and the lock was located in a poor position. I epoxied a holder for rare earth magnets under the sliding extrusion and screwed another to the front plate of the slider bed on a bracket. When the slider is all the way forward the magnets catch enough to hold it when I'm turning sheet goods but not so much that a gentle push frees it. Works good enough for who it is for. Dave

I have to justify my machine shop expenditures David! If it works it works and it's hidden. I have used glue and a rare earth magnet on my machine to hold the jointer blade guard up out of the way on the back of my aluminum jointer fence (crazy glue didn't hold but polyurethane sure does) and I have a rare eath magnet on the saw table in a little depression that holds onto allen keys and srews which hold down the throat plate. Handy.

[David Kumm]

Magnets are right up there with duct tape and shims in my world. Dave

[Chris Fournier]

Something tells me that you wear plaid and perhaps even camo shirts David. The shame...

[David Kumm]

Something tells me that you wear plaid and perhaps even camo shirts David. The shame...

Suit and tie. Used to be tar paper and shims so I've improved. Dave

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Chris, that is a MM saw, correct? I'm I thinking correctly that the locking feature on the X-roll Felder slider does the same thing? The Felder just locks in one place, but it is easy to slide the crosscut carriage on the slider. Well done mod, I can see why you would want it.

[Phil Thien]

Great idea and execution.

[Chris Fournier]

Chris, that is a MM saw, correct? I'm I thinking correctly that the locking feature on the X-roll Felder slider does the same thing? The Felder just locks in one place, but it is easy to slide the crosscut carriage on the slider. Well done mod, I can see why you would want it.

I don't know the Felder product well enough to know what it does. It is indeed a MM CU 410 Elite S. A lovely machine that I don't deserve.

[Erik Loza]

Chris, you have no idea how long I have been waiting for someone to actually do this and then talk about it. Some of the bigger SCMi saws have "multiple stop positions" but none so far from the factory on any MM machines. Great result, thanks for sharing.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Chris Fournier]

Chris, you have no idea how long I have been waiting for someone to actually do this and then talk about it. Some of the bigger SCMi saws have "multiple stop positions" but none so far from the factory on any MM machines. Great result, thanks for sharing.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

It's a relief to know that I'm not crazy. It's maddening to know that there are bigger saws than mine out there...:) Truthfully it was very easy to do and the materials I used are not required. A bit of aluminum or steel bar stock or even hardwood would do. A drill press and a tap and die kit - done.

[Chris Fournier]

While in my shop yesterday I took some more photos of useful micro-mods that I have made. The magnets in the saw table surface keeps the throat plate allen and screws right where I need them. The jointer blade guard held on the fence by the magnet reduces the aggravation of shifting fences and bashing into the guard, the magnet is a 3/4" diameter rare earth magnet glued onto the aluminum fence with polyurethane glue - don't bother with super glue.
Lastly I certainly felt like a kid at Christmas when my combo machine showed up and there were these two large boxes, large enough to be on dedicated pallets -would the joy never end? Ah each of the gifts inside was cosmolined and required fondling, I mean cleaning. Alone time at any rate. Once I had all the boxed parts identified and cleaned I realised that I had a serious inventory of attachments that had to be organizes, accessible and use up as little floor space as possible. You can see that I still have room for more stuff. All wrenches are held on the top rail with a magnet strip.

Sorry for the photo mess.

[Erik Loza]

That rolling cart is brilliant, Chris....

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[David Kumm]

That General combo sander is as nice as I've seen. Also like the multiple fences and stops. Can't have too many. Dave

[ian maybury]

Some nice ideas there - thanks Chris.

The Hammer K3 slider (8ft) is has a single lock position - and it's not the most reliable or robust feature of the machine. There's tapped holes for more locking bracket locations on the chassis, so it's not 100% clear (to me anyway) what the logic is...

ian

[Chris Fournier]

That General combo sander is as nice as I've seen. Also like the multiple fences and stops. Can't have too many. Dave

It came up on Kijiji and it was a mess. I tore it down and rebuilt it afer sandblasting everything. Brazed cracked (non-critical) castings, body filler, bearings and paint. I'd always wanted one and I'm so happy with it in my shop. I enjoy using the disc much more than my edge sander.

[Chris Fournier]

That rolling cart is brilliant, Chris....

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

Well it has one very squeaky wheel! I have to move equipment on the slider side of my saw to be able to cross cut 96" or more so everything moves.

I can't say enough for the clever design and robust build of the CU 410. The adjustability of the accessories is terrific and there's no excuse for not having a highly accurate machine. It is the finest piece of equipment that I own and it has allowed me to do work that would normally have gone to larger shops. Even at it's price tag it has earned it's keep and was paid for in less than 18 months.

[Erik Loza]

Chris, one customer machined some slot nuts for the T-slot in his slider out of Garolite phenolic (I guess SCM wanted some ridiculous price for OEM steel ones: Imagine that...). Basically, did them on the router table, through-drilled holes, then epoxied in theaded inserts for his various jigs or whatever. Scrap pieces of Garolite are abundant on Ebay, so it was super-cheap and make as many as you need.

Just remembered that as I was thinking of clever slider mods...

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Jim Becker]

My wagon locks for both directions if it's lined up with both ends of the supports. (MM slider)

[Jim Becker]

That rolling cart is brilliant, Chris....

Erik Loza
Minimax USA
I absolutely agree!