John K Jordan
05-31-2018, 10:20 PM
Long before I built me shop I bought a used Robland sliding table attachment through a benefit auction. It had come off a PM66 and I had a new PM66 in a crate, waiting for me to build the shop. About five years ago I built the shop, attached and aligned the sliding table to the table saw, tested it, then never used it on a project. (My shop time is almost entirely woodturning.)
Today I had a simple project for the house so I used the table for the first time. Wow is that thing handy! It's too small for a full sheet of plywood but for partial sheets of baltic birch it was a dream. I found out first hand what I assume everyone else already knows - with the clamp, cuts on even relatively small pieces of ply were safe and right on the money, as were crosscuts and angles on even fairly long boards. I got everything cut square and rabbeted and assembled in 1/2 the time I thought it would take.
I can see why you slider guys like your big saws so much! This one is small and simple but incredibly smooth and sturdy. The mass of the cast iron table probably makes it feel smoother. Makes me want to do another flatwood project now. :)
386915
JKJ
Today I had a simple project for the house so I used the table for the first time. Wow is that thing handy! It's too small for a full sheet of plywood but for partial sheets of baltic birch it was a dream. I found out first hand what I assume everyone else already knows - with the clamp, cuts on even relatively small pieces of ply were safe and right on the money, as were crosscuts and angles on even fairly long boards. I got everything cut square and rabbeted and assembled in 1/2 the time I thought it would take.
I can see why you slider guys like your big saws so much! This one is small and simple but incredibly smooth and sturdy. The mass of the cast iron table probably makes it feel smoother. Makes me want to do another flatwood project now. :)
386915
JKJ