Build a RAS fence / table ?

[Joe Trotter]

OK, I talked to FIL and he said I could keep the RAS for a while. It has a partial table on it and no fence. I made a makeshift one the other day with some OSB, and a 2X2. It wont do for anything I have in mind.

I was wondering if any of you could point me to a plan or a photo of what a decent one should look like.

I just searched the archives here but didnt find anything.

Thank You, Joe

[glenn bradley]

http://www.hudson.edu/hhs/acad/specials/woods/images/Rad.arm.saw.jpg

[Joe Trotter]

Thanks Glenn,
I was thinking the top should be thicker. It looks pretty straight forward.

Joe

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I've never seen anything special regarding the table and fence for an RAS.

Basically, the table top is made in two parts from a sheet of 1" MDF and the fence is usually made from 3/4" x 2" hardwood.

The table consists of a front and rear table. The larger front table is bolted to the RAS subframe and is fixed in place. The smaller table at the rear and 'floats' but has a screw type clamp that pushes the smaller table into the larger sheet with the hardwood fence clamped in between. By simply unscrewing the pressure clamps on the rear table, the fence can be quickly changed out when its all kerf cut up, or when you need a taller fence to support taller workpieces.

If you're looking to make some type of side feed supports with a sliding stop device, then you are going into a more creative area of fence design. But this system does not come with any RAS that I'm aware of. It's either homemade or aftermarket (ex: Biesemeyer).

Oh...by the way Glenn, that's one handsome RAS you got!

cheers, Jeff :)

[josh bjork]

Yes just slap that board on but make it all perfectly square on three planes and you are there.

[Joe Trotter]

Thanks guys,
I will stop at HD and pick up some supplys on my way home.

If i had been thinking I would have googled it and found some pictures. It has been a long week with the flu bug.

Joe

[Randal Stevenson]

I would go over to the Dewalt radial arm saw forums, and read the faq's on a Mr. Sawdust table. Two layers of 3/4" mdf, with some 3/4 by 1/8" bars running vertical through it, sealed and a sacrifical top. The bars help keep it flat, so your blade when set at 90, will stay at 90 if you have weight on it.

[Scott Loven]

I agree, go with the sacrificial top and the steel stiffeners.
Scott

[Joe Trotter]

I couldnt get into that forum without a password.

I took off the old top and used the hole pattern to make a new top. I had no idea the thing had t-nuts and set screws to adjust it. I went to town and bought some supplys and started on it a 10:30 Friday night (insomnia).

Using the old top helped make a pattern for the new top. The problem was it was missing the fence and the piece behind it. I was able to get some measurements after attaching the new top.

Would you use hard wood or pine for a fence? What is the typical height of a fence? I want to incorporte a sliding clam type stop so I assume that will dictate my height.

I took the saw apart as much as possible to clean it up. It is an old monkey wards unit and built real well. My wife thinks it is about 30 years old.

Thanks, Joe

[Charlie Velasquez]

Spend as much time as needed to make sure your table is flat; then make sure the fence is perpendicular to the track of the saw when you make a 90 degree crosscut. Just as user of the table saw needs to insure they have a flat top and square fence to produce quality work, so must you, even more so, with the RAS.

When your table is flat, attach a sacrificial top so when you make kerfs you will not damage all the work you did making the table. I use 1/4" tempered hardboard, smooth side up, attached with brass screws and doublesided tape, then apply several coats of wax... The double sided tape is used as a spacer actually.. I place a strip of tape under the 90 degree kerf, as sooner or later I end up cutting through the hardboard there. In the past I had sawdust migrate under this kerf and raise that part of the sacrificial top ever so slightly; the double sided tape seems to have solved this problem. The rest of the table gets strips of tape so it is uniform throughout and the top stays flat.

As for the fence.... A fence on a RAS is a disposable item. It is like a zero clearance insert on the table saw. As you use it to make various angles of cuts, it loses its effectiveness. Make several to have on hand. I have a couple that are about 1" higher than my table, I have a couple that are 2 and 3" high. Most people I know use particle board. I use the melamine shelving stuff. It's smooth surface facilitates ripping.
Speaking of ripping and fences... I have a fence I use just for ripping, no kerfs on it. It is melamine, and about 5' long. It helps to keep the stock aligned as you rip. For thin stock and/or thin rips you must be careful of kickback. For this I made a ripping sled. Just as crosscuts on the tablesaw can be dangerous, so can the small rips on the RAS.

It sounds as if you are quickly learning things about the RAS as you go. As they say, experience is a good teacher. However, the saying I like better is, "A smart man learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others." I think this is especially true of the RAS. Consider getting a book on the use of the RAS. The book by Wally Kunkel, Mr. Sawdust, is considered the bible on the use of the RAS. Jon Eakes's "Fine Tuning Your Radial Arm Saw" is outstanding for its emphasis on RAS tune-up and maintenance. There are others. Your library is a good source.

Hope this helps.

[Joe Trotter]

Thanks for the tips Charlie!

Joe