What's the easiest way to reduce thickness in a large top by 1.5mm

[Alan Lightstone]

So, busy making the new shop furniture, and I'm building a large cabinet to house previously built drawers that used to sit under my contractors saw.

The table carcass is finished, and is large (71"L x 26" deep), and when I put it on its casters, is now about 1.5mm too tall. A tiny amount, you think, but it sits on the left side of the saw, and would really screw up long pieces of wood going through the saw. So it must be decreased in height.

It's made of 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood.

Unfortunately, it's just wider than my wide-belt (24" capacity), and is too long to safely dealt with in other ways.

What's the best way for me to get 1.5mm off of its thickness and keep it flat? It is not light, to say the least, and is very bulky.

I've thought of taking the table apart and asking my local wood supplier if I can run the top through their wide belt (an imposition, but they'll likely say yes). I would have to sand the paint off the top to not gum up their belt (which I will do).

Any other thoughts on doing this in house. Not really looking forward to the prospect of hand planing a top that large, plus keeping it flat could be an issue, plus planing plywood??

[Stan Powers]

If it is on casters, just lower the bottom. Cut an insert for the casters 1.5 mm deep and the top should be right where you want it to be.

[Mark Wooden]

Yes, mortise in the caster plates

[Jamie Buxton]

Or raise the saw by that 1.5 mm?

[glenn bradley]

I am in the 'mortise the caster plates' camp.

[Alan Lightstone]

Or raise the saw by that 1.5 mm?

Thought of that, but then I need to raise the outfeed table, ...

[Jamie Buxton]

Making a big sheet of plywood 1.5 mm thinner is big work. You'd be better off buying 5/8" plywood.

[Matthew Curtis]

Use smaller caster and then add spacers on them to get to the correct height.

[Jacob Reverb]

Thought of that, but then I need to raise the outfeed table, ...

Would having the outfeed table 1/16" lower than the TS hurt anything?

If so, 1/16" mortises under the casters should go pretty quick...

[Alan Lightstone]

Would having the outfeed table 1/16" lower than the TS hurt anything?

If so, 1/16" mortises under the casters should go pretty quick...

The outfeed table is already at least 1/16" lower than the table saw. I think making it >1/8" lower might be a bad idea.

The mortises sound like a good idea. I just need to get someone to help me turn the table on its top. Getting pretty heavy with all that 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood.

[Mike Henderson]

I built an outfeed table for a friend and it wound up just a bit high. I mortised in the casters and everything worked fine.

Mike

[Matt Day]

I think you’ve been given about all the answers there are. Pick your poison.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with the others...concentrate at the "bottom" to make adjustments for height in this case, not the work surface.

[Bill Dufour]

Ditch the casters and use adjustable height fixed legs. I think they make adjustable height casters. no idea on minimum/maximum heights. how tall are your casters now.
Bil lD.

[David Buchhauser]

Reduce the diameter of the casters by 3mm. This would be a simple lathe job. Or recess the caster mounting plates as others have suggested.
David

[Alan Lightstone]

Ditch the casters and use adjustable height fixed legs. I think they make adjustable height casters. no idea on minimum/maximum heights. how tall are your casters now.
Bil lD.

4". I would love adjustable height casters, but haven't found ones that will work.

[Alan Lightstone]

I took the advice and mortised the casters. The table is now 2mm lower than the table saw, and all is good.

Thanks for all the good advice.

If someone knows of good adjustable height casters, I'd still love to know.

[Jim Becker]

Alan, the casters on my Adjust-A-Bench are adjustable in height, but it's not normal to leave the bench resting solely on the wheels relative to stability. The adjustability comes from the wheels being suspended from a threaded stud/bolt that is fixed at heigh by turning the stud/bolt. I do leave the wheels "engaged" with the floor, but only for additional stability while it's parked. It's not raised up so the wheels can roll it around. Now for an auxiliary outfeed/worktable like you have, you could use the same technique, buy having screw down feet that you would get to the floor while the table is parked. I did that on our mobile kitchen island...while the 4" double locking casters are supporting the weight, the screw down feet insure it stays put more than the locked casters can do.

[Randy Heinemann]

Rockler and Woodcraft sell workbench casters that will raise the bench legs off the floor when you want to move the bench. When the bench is in place you can lower the legs to the floor. I installed them on my bench and they work okay for those few times I want to move the bench out of the way. When I'm working on the bench, the legs are resting on the floor instead of the casters. The levers on the casters can be a little hard to raise and lower the bench because of the weight, but I don't move the bench very often.
Rockler Workbench Casters, 4 Pack (https://www.rockler.com/rockler-workbench-caster-kit-4-pack)