Am I the only one with plywood in their mobile bases?

[Doyle Alley]

A recent thread on replacing a Delta universal base with a tool-specific Delta base got me thinking about how I put together my universal bases. I have one Delta universal and half a dozen of the Harbor Freight copies (which don't seem to be available any more). All but one are put together with 1 1/2" steel tubing. The steel is a pain to work with, but once in it does provide advantages.

The question is how to attach the tool to the base. Since I had nobody to teach me otherwise and the holes in the base triangles didn't match up with the holes in my tool/toolstand feet, I decide the best way was to bolt a plywood deck to the mobile base and bolt the tool or toolstand to the plywood. Not only did this give me some extra rigidity and bottom heaviness (not that I needed it with the metal stretchers) but it also gives me an extra shelf to accumulate junk. In the case of my Delta 34-670 table saw, it turned a very tipsy machine (due to the extremely small footprint) into a very stable machine.

Is anyone else using plywood decks between their mobile bases and tools?

[Frank Pellow]

Not exactly but close. I built my own mobile base using plywood for my Delta 16.5" Drill Press. The drill press seems to be quite stable on the base.

[James Suzda]

Doyle, you asked: "Is anyone else using plywood decks between their mobile bases and tools?"
Nope, I put plywood under my jointer and my contractor's saw bases. I think it makes the base more stable. Plus you have a shelf to store "stuff".
Jim

[Larry Conely]

I have a plywood shelf between my HTC mobile base and Powermatic enclosed-base bandsaw. This seems to make the saw more stable to have a solid shelf under it, even if in reality it doesn't help. It also prevents metal-to-metal contact between the saw and base, lessening the chance of paint loss and oxidation.

Larry