Really Embarrassing ScrewUp - Need Advice

[Joe Beaulieu]

Hey All,

Long story, and frankly I am not sure how I actually ended up doing this, but I did, and I would really appreciate some help...

I was cutting a 12" diameter circle in a piece of 3/4" birch ply. I put another 3/4 inch piece under it to act as the backer for tear-out etc. I dont have room for an assembly table, so I use my saw. For some reason I chose to do this over the iron end of the saw, it was the only place with room at the tiime. I clamped the plywood to the top of my Sawstop cabinet saw and began the process of routing - taking progressively deeper 1/8" cuts. Everything went very well (first time I was doing this)until I got near the bottom. I was at "zero" on the router but hadn't cut all the way through, so I removed the stop and pushed the router down through what I thought was the first piece of ply. Well - as you can probably guess, I went through BOTH pieces, and routed a beautiful 12" diameter circle into the top of my beautiful Sawstop saw. The bit is a 1/2" upcut, so the path it left is about a half inch wide, and it varies in thickness/depth. It is a few thousands of an inch deep, possibly more in a couple of places.

I take care of my tools. It is more than 15 years old, closer to 20, but up until I did this it still looked really nice. Now I have a Christmas wreath on my saw... Unbelievably the router bit doesn't look too bad - I thought I would have to add the $50 I spent for the bit to the cost of the repair, but it seems OK.

So I need to somehow get this engraving out of the top of my saw. It just looks terrible. I need advice on how to remove this. I called Sawstop - they can replace the parts, but its $900 when you throw in shipping. I am thinking of possibly taking it to a machine shop. I wouldn't know how to explain what I needed. Any of you with that kind of experience give me an idea of how to present this to a machinist? What needs to be done to it - should I take all three parts - the main center table and the two wings? Can they remove the engraving and leave the table useable? I realize it will depend on the depth of the groove, but damn am I embarrassed.

Its an old saw obviously. I have used it on and off for about 17 years, and it has been fantastic. I dont want to sink $900 into it just to hide my embarrassment, but I dont want to look at it every day either.

I appreciate the understanding, and really appreciate the help.

Joe

461129

[Brian Holcombe]

Buy the new top, if you machine it, then you’ll need to re cut all of your miter slots as well and those tops are not particularly thick so loosing more thickness is not ideal.

Flattening the top will cost a comparable amount to buying a new one. I’ve done so in cases where I want the top perfectly flat.

[Jim Becker]

What Brian said...or alternatively, fill the recesses with quality resin and just use the machine...

[Scott Winners]

You could do some test glues, real shallow ones or down in the deeper areas, to try to have a close color match when you get to the surface.

Bummer deal, but stuff happens.

[Richard Verwoest]

Fill it with green tinted epoxy and decorate for Christmas. Sorry.....I would consider the epoxy fill for now. Over time if it still bothers you, maybe look for a damaged Sawstop on them market type places. FB, CL, etc...heck, even give Woodcraft a call. Maybe they have a damaged one laying around.

[John Lanciani]

Fill it with JB weld and move on, it's just cosmetic. Use it as a reminder that your table saw is a tool, not a work bench.

[Ron Citerone]

Fill it with JB weld and move on, it's just cosmetic. Use it as a reminder that your table saw is a tool, not a work bench.

What John said! Just glad you didn’t get hurt!

Besides, just like men and scars, they all have a story to tell.😉. A drill press hasn’t come of age till somebody drills a hole in the table, but a table saw with a hole is something special! Cherish it.

[Stewart Lang]

That's not that bad lol. I wouldn't worry about it. Fill it with resin, or epoxy, or JB Weld or something, or just leave it. It makes for a great story I think! Makes the saw your own, I wouldn't be embarrassed by it. Just laugh it off and everyone else will with you lol.

[Dmitri Joukovski]

Sorry about your mishap and I really want to know which company made this router bit :-)

[Christopher Charles]

OMG, i feel your pain. But really, that's almost artistic. And remember, suffering comes from attachment... I'd round the edges and _maybe_ fill with resin and move on. Well, maybe turn it into a smilie face with a sharpie, at least for a while. :)

Best,
Chris

[Andrew Hughes]

I also vote for buying a new wing. You can find a use for that one woodworking is mostly making mistakes and fixing them.
Good Luck

[Bill Dufour]

Fill it with jb weld and scrape it flush. My saw came with two straight cuts at 90 degrees about 6 inches long, each. Since I did not make the marks they do not bother me much. they were more then 1/16 deep. Some would mix in iron powder as filler to match color better. It is fairly close to broken cast iron gray. But not polished machined iron color.
Do it similar to dry wall compound several thin layers scraping in between so it does not build up too high in spots.
Or cover the entire top with a piece of masonite but it will not be as flat and useful as it is now even with the divot.
Bill D

Jb weld is about the color of pvc conduit when it dries.

[William Hodge]

True up the circle, fill it with brass. Add 360 degrees of angle markings. It will look like it was used for set ups. Someday it will appear on Old Woodworking Machines, and experts will debate its function. By making it into artwork, it will become not just a screw up, but something you created. It might be easier to live with it.

Some old Oliver, or some other good brand of saws, have angle markings cut into the table.

[Matthew Hills]

Surprised nobody is seeing the opportunity...

https://www.sawstop.com/images/uploads/gallery/PCS-30-TSASA48_1600px.jpg

[roger wiegand]

Based on its position I don't see that it will have any effect on the use of the saw at all. File off any rough edges that might cause wood not to slide over it easily and see whether it actually causes any kind of problem for you. My guess is that it is cosmetic only damage.

You might take a cue from the woodturners and fill it with a brightly colored epoxy infill, turning i into a decorative feature.

[Frank Pratt]

I did the exact same thing to the top of my then brand new workbench. I filled it with glue & sawdust & now that the bench is marked up by use, it doesn't really bother me anymore.

[Alan Lightstone]

Personally, I would buy the new top from SawStop. It would drive me nuts seeing it every day. But that's just me. Frankly, filling it with as close to a color match is possible (I like that JB Weld/iron powder filling method) is a reasonable first step. If it still bothers you, replace it.

[Bill Dufour]

Don't try to file the edges to reduce burrs. Stone it down by hand. this method will not raise a burr like a file can.
Bill D.

[Prashun Patel]

I would buy the slider attachment . What a
great excuse to upgrade.

[Charles Coolidge]

I would buy the slider attachment . What a
great excuse to upgrade.

Unfortunately the damage is also into the main table. I'm with Alan I'd have to replace the top I couldn't look at this oops without it sucking the fun out of woodworking.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I would route a ! (exclamation mark) in the center of it. Fill the circle with black epoxy and the exclamation mark with red.

As a 'Check twice, cut once'.........

Then trademark it as a safety feature.

But seriously, I would fill it, use it for a while and then make a decision to see if it really bothers you or affects you work.

[Al Weber]

Been there & done that. Jen-Weld. Color will not match but serves as a reminder not to do it again.

[George Yetka]

I would think jb, quiksteel or this looks promising too
https://www.grainger.com/product/5TT85?gucid=N:N:FPL:Free:GGL:CSM-1946:tew63h3:20501231

I built a shop drawer a week after I got my sawstop and realized I needed to shrink the width. So i dadoed one side and didnt realize there was a pocket hole screw just sticking out. I ran it through 4-5 times and then saw I had gouged scratches into the top. Cosmetic but it was 6 days into owning it.

[glenn bradley]

What Brian said...or alternatively, fill the recesses with quality resin and just use the machine...


I'm with this solution. It's done. Make a usable repair and use the machine. A good resin will self level to some degree. Sand it flush, paste wax and move on. If it makes you feel any better I cut through a piece of prefinished interior siding into the piece I already prepared to finish the job. Not as dramatic or soul crushing but, I move on . . . ;-)

[Derek Arita]

$.02...If you can afford it, just buy the new top. It would drive me nuts to see it every time I used the saw. Resetting the new table will be a pain, but a good learning experience. Save the old table and you'll find many uses for a solid, really flat surface. Bite the bullet and chalk it up to experience.

[Scott Clausen]

buff the edges smooth if any material is above the surface. You can then ignore it or fill with any resin or other fillers. Use a marker to draw clock hands and use all 5's for the numbers on the face. Add the caption that "it's 5'oclock somewhere". Just having some fun but you are going to need to live with it or get $900 dollars lighter.

[Rick Potter]

I suggest posting it on YouTube as a 'Don't do this' video, and follow up with 'How I fixed it' video. Who knows, SawStop may post it on their site and send you a new top.

I am in the fix it and use it camp. I have several tools with mistakes on them, they remind me just how imperfect I am.

I would make an unhappy face out of it with the router, now that you know it works.

[Randall J Cox]

I feel your pain. I'm actually blown away that SawStop has been around that long......... Seems like just the other day to me. Probably has something to do with my age - mid 70s. Randy

[michael langman]

I would check to see that the saw top is still flat and not moved any from the cut. It is probably ok but check it anyway before trying to salvage it.

The cut looks pretty deep from the picture, and this would make remachining and keeping everything flat some what harder so buying a new top would probably be the best thing to do. You would have more then half the cost of a new top into it remachining.

Maybe you could cover the entire top of the saw with an 1/8" piece of hard board and just leave it as is.

[Stephen White]

It's a battle scar, you lucked out with only needing to spend an hour or so and a few bucks filling this in and then being good to go. It could have been a lot worse and you would be out $900 if you had ruined it.

[Brice Rogers]

There is a product called Moglice. It is used on things like lathe beds, Mill beds, etc. to fill holes, dips, dents, chips, pockets. Google it and see if it'll do what you want.

[David Buchhauser]

I would opt for filling with epoxy and keeping it on the table. This way it will be a reminder not to do this again. And if you do have another mishap, then it won't be so bad since the top is already marked up. And - it will still be fine for its intended use on the table saw (to support material as it passes thru the blade).
David

[Osvaldo Cristo]

I am sad with your bad experience. Unfortunatelly it happens... as always it could be worse.

Personally I would maintain the scars of that experience as a reminder - something common for Japanese woodworkers. I would fulfill the groove with classical tin solder like those we used in the past for gutter installation followed with some sanding or even routing when conveniently set up.

[Mark W Pugh]

As I've gotten older, cosmetic scars on tools no longer bothers me. If it works, carry-on. No need to spend good cash on something that doesn't affect the performance of the tool. Just my $.02.

[johnny means]

I've routed CI before, just little tiny alterations and such. It's always seemed very violent. I can't imagine routing that much of it and not noticing, just seeing that ring makes me grit my teeth. Anyway, I would clean up the ring and fill it with brass or silver. Clean it up with a file and cut wood.

[Kevin Jenness]

Reminds me of the story about the flatlander who drove his car into a snowbank. A local with a 4wd pickup hauled him out and waved off the driver's $20 bill, saying, "No, I don't want no money, I just want to know how the hell you got in so deep!"

[Chip Seltzer]

I haven’t read this entire thread but there is a company in Aston, Pa called Devitt Machinery and they sell a resin product that is intended for repairing the surfaces of big machine ways. I think it is called Mogalise or something like that. I don’t know the phone number but you shouldn’t have any problem finding them.

[Donald G. Burns]

What John said! Just glad you didn’t get hurt!

Besides, just like men and scars, they all have a story to tell.. A drill press hasn’t come of age till somebody drills a hole in the table, but a table saw with a hole is something special! Cherish it.


JB Weld has fixed many many screwups over the years.

[William Hodge]

On second thought, after reading these posts, a $900 repair doesn't sound so bad. Reminding yourself of a terrible mistake that you made on a daily basis can cause constant pain.
I know how it feels to look at photos on the wall of my most terrible mistake, otherwise known as my wedding. If I could get out of that for $900. , the cash would fly so fast that the air friction might set it on fire.

[Bruce Mack]

That’s funny! I’d spend the $900 for peace of mind but as has been noted, both the wing and the central table have to be replaced. That necessitates recalibration of parallelism of miter slots to blade. Possibly not a big deal but I would talk to someone at SawStop.

[Stewart Lang]

That’s funny! I’d spend the $900 for peace of mind but as has been noted, both the wing and the central table have to be replaced. That necessitates recalibration of parallelism of miter slots to blade. Possibly not a big deal but I would talk to someone at SawStop.

I think spending $900 on a new top would make a person LOSE their peace of mind. Because now with a brand new top you're starting over, constantly being overly cautious and careful around it. With his top the way it is now, he's gained so much peace of mind not having to worry about every little ding and dent on it anymore.

He also mentioned the saw is almost 20 years old, no point in buying a new top for it as that point. Buy a new SawStop if you're going to spend money like that. But then again you'll lose all your peace of mind again worrying about not damaging it over again.

[Bruce Mack]

That’s funny! I’d spend the $900 for peace of mind but as has been noted, both the wing and the central table have to be replaced. That necessitates recalibration of parallelism of miter slots to blade. Possibly not a big deal but I would talk to someone at SawStop.
Correction- I’m looking at my 2017 Honda CR-V with the operating but wobbly driver’s side mirror I dinged backing out of my garage. It works but every time I bump it, it moves and complains. I cheaped-out to save a $700 replacement. I now accept it like I accept my limp and my hand tremor, with regret. (John 16:33)

[Keegan Shields]

This is a strange looking epoxy river table...

I'm glad to know its not just me that does these things...

[Bill Dufour]

Jimmy carter probably has a round presidential seal engraved on his table. Just tell people it was intended for him. Any chance you were in the marines or navy? their seals are round aren't they?
My wife likes to shop at target.
magnetic darts anyone?
Bill D