Mini Max S315 WS - Installation, Adjustment and Group Frolic

[Jim Becker]

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In the beginning...there was a box. It was a lonely box, cold and scantily clad for two days and two nights awaiting its fate. And lo, on the third day, 5 woodworkers (and a supportive spousal helper as well as two young maidens) arose from their anxious slumber to behold the box and its contents, bringing the box's long journey from a land far away to its final climax...my shop.

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Let me begin by offering my profound thanks to my friends, Robert Tarr, Fred Voorhees, Joanne Adler and Chris and Dawn Lambert for their help this past Saturday. There is no way I could have accomplished in many days what this merry band accomplished in just a few hours. At first you might think that Saturday, 3 February 2007 was about a new tool. Not! It was about a bunch of woodworkers having a great time together, despite the 19ºF temperature when we got started and the "Ode du Kerosene" we all left with at the end of the day. Joanne's fresh brownies weren't bad, either... ;) An extra thank you goes to Robert for meeting me bright and early to pick up the pallet jack rental and then returning it for me on the way home later in the day. Robert is both a co-worker and a good friend and my appreciation goes deep on both accords.
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Now...getting down to what folks have been chomping at the bit for, in this and the following 12 posts are a total of 61 photos that were taken throughout the day on Saturday as well on Sunday when I was working on adjustments, etc. In addition to those I shot, Robert, Joanne and Chris all picked up the camera at just the right times so that I can share the experience we all had with the SMC community...a not-quite "you were there" moment!

Robert and I got started by un-tarping the big brown box. All attempts at untying the ropes that made up for the lack of bungee-cords failed...freezing rain does not make a cooperative knot in cheap clothes-line. A utility knife was not affected by the cold, however... :)

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At that point, the rest of the gang had arrived and it was time to "decant" the saw from it's wrapper.

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We all got into the act after I made the ceremonial first knife-slashing and box ripping...here, Fred lends a hand.

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[Jim Becker]

While we were destroying the box (but not its contents!), we had a small audience...a couple young maidens out enjoying the crisp morning air. (My lovely older daughter Nastia happens to be wearing my ski hat from back when I was in high school...that would have been prior to 1975. It's one of only three articles of clothing I have hanging around from "back then". 'Made so well it still looks nearly brand new. Unbelievable!)

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Once the box was stripped off the pallet, we maneuvered the trailer closer to the door manually...I didn't feel comfortable backing it up with the Highlander given the risk to my shop doors doors. The idea was to get the rear of the trailer as close to the concrete as we could...and we managed to get within about 4" once the bed was tilted.

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Robert and I had been talking earlier and the idea became to take the machine off the pallet with the trailer tilted, rather than bringing the pallet into the shop and then doing gorilla work to get the nearly 1600 lb machine onto the floor. Here, Fred and I prepare for that by knocking out some of the rear-most support on the pallet to ease the angle.

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We're now ready to tilt the trailer bed. Although things were (strangely enough) balanced pretty well, we had Dawn pretend she was a counter-weight while I pulled the pin...

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We weren't sure how fast that bed would tilt, so I brought the tractor over and used the bucket as a stop-limit to insure that it didn't go too fast. No worries...it went up smoothly and we still had to break the pallet free from the trailer surface. I guess a little bit of moisture got under it over the two nights it sat outside and it was frozen solid...but only briefly.

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[Jim Becker]

It was only a minute or so and we had the "first foot in the door"...literally.

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Thanks to our stealth photo staff, we have another angle of this somewhat scary process...

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It really didn't take very long and the machine was almost in the door. A little help from the pallet jack was necessary to get the last foot over the threshold, but we made it in the door smoothly and without incident.

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At that point, it was time to employ the pallet jack to rotate and move the machine to approximately where it was going to live from now until, well...forever. (At least in the context of my point of view) We did end up having to move the band saw out from the wall to give ourselves some more room to maneuver. It was easier and faster to move that than move the jointer/planer, that's for sure!

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Another shot of "hot pallet jack action"....

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[Jim Becker]

There's always one in the crowd...Joanne demonstrates the "read the fabulous manual" principle...

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While Fred plays with some bubble wrap.

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And everyone joins in the un-wrapping fun...almost like a certain winter holiday!

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Before we could begin to decide on the "exact" final location for the machine, we had to get the extension table installed as it would be in the space between the business end of the saw and the wall behind it. Here, we check things out for position, etc.

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"Sometimes you feel like a nut...sometimes you are one..."

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[Jim Becker]

With the extension table installed, we could move the saw to the approximate place it would end up...pending measurement of the slider's extent of travel in both directions. On one end would be the back wall and on the other, my workbench.

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Accordingly, it was time to "release the wagon!" by removing a few screws and shipping plates that keep it from moving in the crate while in transit. (Really...it's actually called a sliding wagon in all the literature)

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And so we test...

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...and test...

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And make about a one-foot adjustment back towards the lumber rack to this final position. And then we level the beast...my floor slopes towards the doors and with a machine like this, it's a good idea to make it level. So we did.

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[Jim Becker]

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. (You, too, John M... :D) It's quite level. 'Probably the only thing in my shop that is. And it's not going to move anywhere all by itself!

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Surprisingly, the "cosmoline gods" were kind and what gunk there was on the machine was largely in the right places. It was pretty heavy on the cast iron saw table top, but Robert showed us how to first scrape it off (we actually used one of my scrapers), leaving only a thin film to remove with the kerosene. At this point, the shop was also getting warmed up with the doors shut, the electric heaters on and the kerosene heater fired up from it's winter slumber. Here, Robert and Joanne are working on some of the accessories that did have some of the gunk strategically placed that needed removed.

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There are three bolts that secure the dust collection port to the internal blade shroud. One was easily reachable through the side of the machine. The other two, however, required access through door that is behind the motors (there are two...a 4.8hp motor for the main blade and a 1.5hp motor for the scoring blade)...and long arms. Robert got the nod for that job. Here he is pretending to be a "saw procto". Yes, the floor was quite cold, thank you very much! Oh, there was a mighty fine hunk of concrete inside that cabinet, too...it both adds mass and provides balance relative to the very heavy superstructure up under the slider.

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There is a heavy outfeed table that inserts on the saw forward of the cast iron table. It's very heavy and requires no support leg. It also includes built in leveling screws...a very nice design. That said, I suspect at some point, I'll put a router in this space so I can take advantage of the sliding carriage for that function when it makes sense for a project.


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Here, Robert and Fred continue some important cleaning tasks...

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[Jim Becker]

The arbor and blade area proved to be a good place for a "group cleaning"...lot's of parts that required cosmoline removal and it went fast with so many hands reeking of petroleum products...:p

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The saw shipped with a nice 12" blade very suitable for sheet goods, so it seemed to be a good one to install first. Note that this machine does have a 5/8" arbor and can/will take all my current saw blades including the dado set. The 12" blade came with a bushing (12" blades are bored for a 1" arbor) and it fit on very nicely. The large support "washer" was a bit too snug...I later polished the arbor with a little 320 wet and dry to ease things up and it now slips on just the way it was designed to do so.

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The last major assembly work was to attach the rip fence. It was very nice to have multiple hands as it's heavy and unwieldy when it's not mounted securely. This was the only area that we had to do some noticeable adjustment, but it's important to insure that the rail is parallel with the face of the saw table and at the right distance from the same so that the gear on the micro-adjust properly engages the cog on the fence scale.

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Once the fence and scale were installed, we did a rough alignment of the fence scale to the blade...I later made a final adjustment on this after a test cut as you'll see.

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Woo-hoo...time for some power! Connection of the 10-3 rubber cord at the saw is pretty simple...strip it, push it through the strain relief grommet, insert the conductors in the appropriate places and tighten down the screws. All color coded...

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[Jim Becker]

Time for "da plug"...I wonder if there is a penalty for advertising Festool while working on a Mini Max machine?? :D

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Well...here we are, fully assembled and ready to test! This after only a couple hours of fun group work.

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Can you say, "First cut??" Sure, I knew you could...:D

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The scoring system was new to all of us. Here Robert is exploring alignment of the scoring blade with the main blade. For those not familiar, the scoring blade, umm...scores...the underside of the material in perfect sync with the cut line. It's primary and only purpose is to insure that the bottom of the cut is as clean as the top. This is particularly critical when working with veneered stock...no...and I mean zero chip-out. The small blade spins in the opposite direction from the main blade and it matched in kerf width. (One of the scoring blades I received with the saw is adjustable in width using shims...the OEM non-adjustable blade matches my Forrest WW-II kerf perfectly)

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And here's a shot of the dust collection arrangement. The port is 120mm, which is just under 5". I use a 5" to 120mm reducer at the port and the hose is 5". The saw does have a guard that attaches to the top of the riving knife and there is a 2.5" drop for that overhead. (The hose has not yet arrived from my supplier)

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[Jim Becker]

One of the interesting thing about this sliding saw is the way you can configure and utilize different ways to handle stock. The large outboard material support, which is supported by both the slider wagon and the outrigger at the bottom of the saw, is quite capable of holding very long material...something like 12' or so. In my shop, the limit will be about 8" from the cut line as you can see in this picture. The end of the bar is set at 96" and rides just over the jointer bed. (I would have to remove the guard from the jointer to avoid interference to make a cut this wide, but that only takes a minute) This whole outrigger system is set up so it not only supports a large workpiece when necessary, but can also be used to make precision angled cuts...yup...that's a giant miter gage, in effect!

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For more, um...sedate miter work...this is the regular miter gage. Because this (and all the other) accessories take advantage of the tee-slots on the sliding wagon, it can be positions where it is most suitable for the work at hand. There is always an exact frame of reference relative to the cut line, too.

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This interesting attachment is called a "rip shoe". When working with solid stock that you want to straight-line, you jam the one end of the board under this contraption and use the eccentric clamp to hold the other end in place on the wagon. Then you rip the edge perfectly straight. And I do mean perfectly. More about that later.

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We all had a chuckle with this feature on the table top. It's basically a divot out of the cast iron. It's not mentioned anywhere in the manual that we could find...err...that Joanne could find since nobody else has touched the manual yet except her, including myself. :rolleyes: It dawned on me that no matter what the "official" explanation might be...it really is a handy place to stash the insert screws and blade nuts when making changes. I tried that out on Sunday and it was a winner!

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One of the things I had on my Jet saw was two wrenches for blade changing. I was thankful for that because I really never liked the idea of jamming a piece of wood into the blade just to hold it in place while working the nut. This saw comes with a little rod that you insert through a hole in the table down to catch a recess in the arbor shaft, effectively providing a simple arbor lock. Just peachy! Of course, this being a right-tilt saw like all sliders are, I now have to get used to turning the wrench in the opposite direction...honestly, I'll likely get over that! :o

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[Jim Becker]

The scoring blade has a similar arrangement, but with a smaller hole. The "lock rod" has one end machined to fit.

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Our earlier efforts to align the scoring blade were fine for the 12" cutter, but I subsequently put my WW-II on the machine. Not wanting to deal with the shims on the adjustable scoring blade, I measured the kerf of the OEM blade and found it to be identical to the WW-II...so I put it back on the saw for now...and went through an alignment exercise. The scoring blade not only moves up and down, it also moves right and left. The latter two are the key to a perfect cut, so I put the miter guage on the machine to support some scrap plywood and started making test cuts after doing a rough alignment with a straight edge.

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After about 5-9 cuts :p , I had it just right. This is a picture of the final cut. This is the bottom of some very cheap and prone-to-chipping plywood. Smoooooooth.... You can see that the previous cut to the right was just a hair off laterally.

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The pointer on the blade tilt meter was knocked out of alignment during shipping, so I took off the clear face and set it back to the right place. This is a very nice setup...intuitive to use and easy to lock with a lever, rather than something you have to twist.

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I couldn't resist doing my first "captive rip" using the shoe and clamp. While the two pieces I cut were quite short, the finish on the edges was not unlike a hand-plane. I have NEVER, EVER had a rip cut that smooth before. The key is that the wood is held in place absolutely through the cut. You cannot do that with your hands, no matter what kind of feather boards and other hold-downs you use on a none sliding saw.

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[Jim Becker]

I mentioned in the previous post that I ripped two pieces of stock using the shoe and clamp. Here's the result of mating them together. This is as good a joint as I've ever seen off a jointer, let alone a saw. Now...since I know the question will arise in some folks' minds....no, I'll never divest myself of my jointer. Jointers are not just about edges. I happen to like flat lumber and all stock I use gets face jointed before being thicknessed. But the slider is going to alleviate the challenge of edging very long boards as well as straight line ripping oversize material accurately and easily. The saw carries all the weight and the clamps insure that that it doesn't move. Oh, by the way...when using the slider, your hands don't go anywhere near the blade. That's a very nice safety feature.

Here's the two pieces for your edification. Yes...they are short, but the edges are polished and absolutely straight.

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The miter gage needed some minor tune-up to level it with the sliding wagon. The adjustments were quick and easy. I also did a 5-sided cut and it was near perfect "out of the proverbial box".

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One thing I wanted to check carefully was the relationship between the rip fence and the plane of cut, so I broke out the TS Aligner JR. Knowing that for all practical purposes that the wagon is parallel to the cut line, I used the tee-slot as a reference to test down the face of the fence. There was just the right amount of deviation away from the blade toward the back of the blade to satisfy me. I could probably refine it with work, but that will wait until later.

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Next was to check the fence scale, so I did a test rip with the fence set to 6". It was off "just a hair".

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Loosening the fasteners slightly for the scale allowed me to gently move it in the appropriate direction to match the width of the actual cut. BTW, rather than having some kind of magnifying window to set the fence to the scale, the reading is exact on the face of the fence, whether it's in the vertical or horizontal position. (The fence itself is very similar to the Delta UniFence in it's provision for easy cutting of thin materials)

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[Jim Becker]

Whoa...into the home stretch here, folks!

In an effort to get used to using the machine a little, I decided to mill up some strips of hardwood to use in the tee-slot on the top of the fence for jigs, and the like. Between the MM16, the FS350 J/P and the new S315WS saw, I had some very nice stock in a jiffy! (Yea, I know...a lot of iron for such a simple thing...:o ) But more importantly, it allowed me to feel what "conventional ripping" would be like on the new machine...there are many times when that will be the appropriate method.

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Yup...it fits! (for those interested, the stock for this is just a hair over 1 1/8" wide and 3/8" thick.

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And here is a feather board retrofitted with a piece of the strip I just cut as an example of how jigging on the slider might be accomplished.

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Ok, I'm tired. I have a lot of other things to say and explain, but they will have to wait as it's been a long day with work, cooking dinner and doing these 12...soon to be 12 posts of pictures. Here's a few more shots of the saw in the shop.

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One other thing: I have a lot to learn to put this machine to most efficient use. But I can already see that ever from the beginning, it's not going to be a hard transition; more of a retraining and a rethinking of methods and steps. I like that as it keeps things fresh. And, of course, I'm not squeamish about sharing the good ... and the bad.

[Jim Becker]

This last shot shows the view "down the gullet" of my shop. Strangely enough, this "big machine" has actually resulted in more effective room to move around, at least when the outrigger is not deployed. I like that. Space is good.

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[Corey Hallagan]

Congrats Jim, it's a beautiful machine and a nice layout. Enjoy!

corey

[Jim Dailey]

Wow!! And congratulations!!!

That was a very nice step by step of the process of setting up the saw in it's new home. Very informative.

I have to admit I am jealous... Looks like a sweet setup!!!

jim

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Congrats Jim. Have fun with the new toy, I mean machine. It looks like a beauty!

[Dennis Peacock]

Congratulations Jim!!!! Very nice looking machine and it will serve you well for many years to come. :cool: :cool: :D

[Alan Greene]

Jim,
Congratulations on the new saw, and thank you for the time you took out of your busy day to share it with us in such a detailed and informative way. I learned a lot from your posts and can see some of the benefits of the new saw. I look forward to any new posts in the future.

I also want to point out that you have had over 9,400 hits on the subject of your new saw. That tells me a few things. The most important of which is the high esteem the members of the creek hold you in, and their appreciation for the encouragement and help you give us each day. So Thank You and spend some time with your new saw.:)

[lou sansone]

hi jim
congrats on the saw. I have been very happy with mine and it looks like you feel great about the purchase. I think as more people get used to the idea of a slider it will become much less of an issue when worrying about how it compares to a regular cabinet saw. It is quite a difference between the jet saw and this one. I went a similar route from a jet 10" saw, but stopped along the way at the oliver 260D (16" blades which are really awsome) and the RT 40 / 12"-14" blades. The change was not as dramatic for me, but it was still a great change and I really do not think that once someone uses a good slider they would ever go back. The tecnomax 315ws is really the best saw dollar for dollar out there IMHO. I do wish they would incorporate some of the felder features on the slider though.

BTW ...That little divot in the top of the table saw casting is a "finger lift" area; it allows you to lift up a piece after you have cut it easily. martins also have this divot.

best wishes
lou

[Mike Cutler]

You're right Jim. It's wasn't about the tool.
It looks like all of you had a fabulous morning and break from the winter doldrums.
What a nice party.:) ;)

[Dan Forman]

Jim---That's quite the machine you have there. Thanks for letting us experience it, if only vicariously. Now if only I could get one of those down my basement steps...

Dan

[Nate Rogers]

Congrats Jim.....You just can't beat good quality tools!! so what ya going to build?

Nate

[Dick Bringhurst]

Jim - What a wonderful write up. Enjoy your saw. Dick B. (now back to my Jet)

[David Less]

Jim,

Congrats on your new toy, your wife must be very understanding with your hobby. I really enjoy your posts especially when it's a new tool. You helped me deside on going with an 8' slider rather than anything shorter.

David

[Mike Hill]

Jim: Great pictures of the saw, your support team and the shop. I know it will be put to really good use and we can look forward to some fine examples of your work. Congratulations!
Mike

[Mark Singer]

Jim,
That is quite a machine! I now how they are built....I have the MM Technomax Jointer /Planer...very solid...industrial quality and super accurate... That is a saw! Use it well!

[Karl Laustrup]

WOW!! Jim that is a great commentary on the aqusition and set up of that wonderful machine. Some great help you had and any time you can get together with other "Creekers" is a good day.

Will the book becoming out in "Hardback" and then to "Paperback"? ;) :D

After reading and viewing the pictures, I've decided to load my trailer with as much sheet goods as I can haul and head to Bucks County PA. I would guess that monster will make quick work of all of it. :)

I do have a question though. How is the dust collection?

Enjoy that beast and you certainly deserve it.

Karl

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Sweet Jim !! !!

You'll have a boatload of fun exploring all the really cool (and easy) ways that machine will help you work better and smarter.

[Tyler Howell]

Way cool JB Way cool:cool:

[Jim Dunn]

Nice pictorial. Glad to see it in the shop up and running. But, where's the leg lamp??:)

[jeremy levine]

Great write up. It answered a bunch or questions I had ( and a bunch other people must have had). The part on the scoring blade alone was worth the read, quite a machine.

[Al Navas]

Congratulations, Jim! You have a great machine that you will enjoy for many years. Please let us know how things develop, your learning the ins and outs, etc.

Thanks for sharing!


.

[Joe Mioux]

Very nice Jim.

The MM guys owe you debt of gratitude for such a great set-up tutorial. BTW: do you hire out your fine help? ;)

Joe

[John Schreiber]

Congratulations Jim,

You've got a beautiful tool, a beautiful family and some wonderful friends. Your story shows how excited you are about the tool, but that you know that it's the family and friends which really matter.

Keep making things of value.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats Jim! I know you've wanted one of these for quite a while!

[Robert Tarr]

Jim,

I guess it is alright...if you are into quality, accuracy, safety, power, and vibration-free cutting.

Seriously, I had a great time helping. It was great to spend some time with some Creekers, sharing ideas, stories, incredible brownies and playing/working with new tools.

Congrats Jim! I know you will use it well

Next stop...Joanne's house to help her install a new Gorilla in the attic!!

Robert

[Robert Waddell]

Jim,
I know your going to love using that saw. Congrats. It's starting to look a little full in the shop. Running out of room for more toys, I mean tools. I bet we see a shop expansion before long.
Rob

[Jim Shaver, Oakville Ont]

What an EPIC Jim,

I loved reading your post...you not only have a great ooking new saw but you also wrote a great story.

I really like your choice of saw, it has all the details and features that make it a true gem of a machine. I am sure that it will be a peasure to use too.


Bless all your kind friends for their help....and thank heavens Joanne was reading the instructions, who knows what it might have looked like assembled from just a picture...:)

Thanks for sharing your day.

[Robert Kasahara]

OK, Jim I admit I have saw envy......... and jointer envyhttp://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon10.gif Awesome machinehttp://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon4.gif

[Don Bullock]

Well, it's definately "out of the box" in a lot more ways than it's been removed from its carton. WOW!!!! -- (Shades of green in envy) That is one beautiful piece of equipment Jim. Again, congratulations. While I've only been here a short time I can truly say that you deserve to have such a fine piece of equipment and I know you will fully enjoy it. I'm looking forward to reading more and seeing what you are able to do with it in the coming months and years. Enjoy!!!:D

[Jim Becker]

I do have a question though. How is the dust collection?
Given that this machine uses a shroud that surrounds the blade(s), dust collection "should" be good. It is noisier than my cabinet saw was with the collection system running...the air flow rushing into this kind of point-collection arrangement causes that. I will try to pay attention to this topic and comment on it further as I get more experience on the tool. I also need to get the blade guard pickup hooked up as soon as the hose arrives (from Grizz via Amazon...my local WW store didn't have any 2.5" hose in stock) and test that out, too.


Next stop...Joanne's house to help her install a new Gorilla in the attic!!
Indeed...that is a project coming along soon; probably in the next two weeks. 'Should result in a nice pictorial, too!


I bet we see a shop expansion before long.
Not possible if I am to remain married. :o The last remaining bay is for the tractor, our gardening tools and "outdoor toy storage". But I did, in a sense, "expand" upstairs now for lumber storage which I need to formalize when I have the chance. I moved my slab stock up there already and may also put the large lumber rack up there, too. Honestly, I'm not kidding when I state that I feel like I have more room now than I did before. This shop arrangement is much more open and I feel like I have assembly space now that I didn't have before.

[Glenn Clabo]

Sweet MAMA! That's just one nice Mo-Chine...and I can't wait to see the first product from it. Congrats Jim...

[JayStPeter]

Wow, that's a nice well thought out machine. Congrats Jim.

[Dan Mages]

Nothin like a little tool porn in the morning... Sweet saw there Jim!!

[Joanne Adler]

Great docu-drama, Jim! The only thing missing are the sound bytes to help illustrate that we worked seriously and safely, but had a lot of fun and laughs. Oh, and the "smell-o-meter" so everyone can get that aroma of chocolate brownie kerosene! Then they'd really feel as if they were with us.

I must admit, I was a little nervous as we started shoving that beast off the trailer. I had scary visions of it zooming down too quickly and flattening Fred. What a crazy man! No way I'd be standing right in front of a moving locomotive like that! Thankfully, everything went very smoothly.

Thank you, Lou, for identifying that little indent on the table surface. Not knowing silly little details like that bugs me. That's really why I was poring over the manual. I realized pretty quickly that Jim had already studied this saw and pretty much knew what went where, so he didn't need to look at any book (which, BTW, had NO installation information or help, in any of the many languages!).

Great saw, great day, great people--great representation of all that in Jim's posts. Enjoy it, Jim!

[Jason Tuinstra]

Jim, very nice. My brother-in-law works for a place setting up CNC machines and saws such as yours. I got to play around with one in December. What a joy to use! I'm sure you'll enjoy yours a lot. Have fun.

[Bob Childress]

Way to go, Jim! :cool: :cool: Your fun-meter must be up against the pegs. :D :D

[Rich Torino]

Jim,
Congrats on a magnificient piece of machinery... And thank you for that extremely comprehensive and enjoyable write up. Really appreciate you taking the time to to do that. I do have a question though.... when you were doing some conventional rips using the fence I noticed that there is no splitter on the saw. Does it have a riving knife or does the scoring blade serve that purpose..?? Or (most likey) I missed something....

[Wilbur Pan]

I think I saw a riving knife in one of the saw blade closeups. Riving knives sit lower than splitters, so it's hard to see it in the picture where a cut is being made.

Jim, is there a significant limitation as far as saw blade choices in the future because of needing to match the width of the scoring blade?

[Ken Salisbury]

GREAT THREAD! !

p.s. if I had your money I would burn mine :)

[Jim Becker]

JI do have a question though.... when you were doing some conventional rips using the fence I noticed that there is no splitter on the saw. Does it have a riving knife or does the scoring blade serve that purpose..??

The machine has a riving knife. I had it set at about blade hight, so it's not visible in the pictures. One of the things I discovered is that the riving knife that comes with the saw is about 1/8" too tall to work with my 10" WW-II for non-through cuts. I have an inquiry into MM about the availability of the separate riving knife that goes with the optional overarm guard...if that was too tall, I could grind it down a little, but I can't do that with the original riving knife as it also serves as the mounting point for the guard that is not shown on the saw currently.

[Mike Weaver]

Jim,
Thanks for the excellent writeup, and again - congrats!

I had wanted a sawstop, but that's the Cat's Meow with a table saw as far as I'm concerned.

Gheesh, something else for which to save....lots.
That's ok, it'll give me time to plan how to get it into a bsaement shop.

-Mike

[Mike Heidrick]

Looks like a great saw. Enjoy!

Any pics of the tractor??

[Jim O'Dell]

As others have said, very nice write-up! Again congrats on the new saw. I'll have to start playing the Lottery so I can win and move to a bigger shop and get one!:D
Nice to have friends to help out. My hat is off to all of them. And to bring brownies as payment for getting to help!!! Wow! Jim.

[Michael Keating]

Hi Jim,

I was wondering if I could ask a quick question. When you use the saw as a "normal" tablesaw, can you lock the slider so you do not move it during the ripping process. I have always wondered that on these wonderful tools.

Thanks for your time and I really enjoyed the read. I have a MM-16 and love the machine. MM makes some great machines and I am sure you are going to love the saw.

Mike

[Bill Simmeth]

Ahh, very nice! (For new iron!! :p )

If I might piggy-back on Michael's question, is it at all awkward to perform a "conventional" rip operation on one of these? With the wagon and pedestal to the left it looks like you really have to stand relatively far to the right of the fence.

[Todd Solomon]

Jim, that's just terrific! You think you like your slider now, just wait until you process your first stack of sheet goods in an afternoon, for your cabinet project. Efficient, square, tearout-free cuts, no risk of kick-back, the sliding table just glides as you knock out your cut list in no time flat.

Congrats, I couldn't think of a more deserving guy.

Todd

[Paul B. Cresti]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=520257#post520257 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=520257#post520257Please) Please see above to a link where I posted some of my EFSTS (European Format Sliding Table Saw) posts where I tried to relay some of the many uses I have discovered for these great machines. I originally looked into these saws for two main reasons: 1) I was sick and tired of slapping on and off my crosscut table on my Unisaw in order to achieve perfectly square consistant parts. Sorry but my very good CSMS just did not cut it for perfect (or as perfect as I needed them to be) cuts on all sizes of materials. They inherently can only handle up to a 12inch wide board anyway.2) I began using sheetgoods more and more and I needed consistant square cutting ability....so in comes the slider.It was not until after I began using my sliders over the past 4 years that I have learned how well they saws can be adapted by use of jigs or by simple changing my work habits to any other functions. It very hard for someone to truly understand how well these machines work unless you actually use them. I have gone from a skill saw, to a worm drive, to a table top saw, to a contractor saw, to a cabinet saw, to a 8.5ft slider & guided saw system and now to a 10.5 slider.....so I think I have kind of covered all basis and can speak from some experience (except of course CNC routers, beam saws, a really good horizontal panel saw).Poor Jim....here he is really excited about finally getting this machine he has been lusting after for quite a few years and now he has to sort of defend his purchase?....come on guys give him a break and if you do not understand how they work then ask but do not criticise him for buying one

[Paul Canaris]

Very nice piece of equipment Jim. Wellcome to the Fellowship of Sliders.:D

[Wes Bischel]

Jim,
Thanks for taking the time to do such a great write-up. It must take a great amount of discipline - I know I'd want to be out with the new "baby". I can see already the saw is a great addition to your shop. And may prove to be a valuable learning tool for the girls if they are so inclined (much safer than the old TS)

Wes

PS - No lights dimming - but there is this issue of colder than h-e-double hockey sticks. Came about the same time as the saw - any relationship??;) :D

Congrats again.

[Wes Bischel]

Very nice piece of equipment Jim. Wellcome to the Fellowship of Sliders.:D

Is there a White Castle nearby? :eek: :D :D :D

Wes - sorry couldn't resist.

[Paul Canaris]

But we do have a secret handshake.:D :D

[Pete Brown]

Poor Jim....here he is really excited about finally getting this machine he has been lusting after for quite a few years and now he has to sort of defend his purchase?....come on guys give him a break and if you do not understand how they work then ask but do not criticise him for buying one

I didn't see any such posts in this thread.

BTW Jim, nice machine! I really hope to get one some day, but I need to build a bigger shop :)

Pete

[Dave Avery]

Jim,

Thanks for taking the time to document your purchase and installation. Congratulations as well. MM should have given you a significant break on the price - an amazing amount of free advertising as well as getting people like me to ask why I don't own one of these beasts :p . Bonus check arrives on the 15th, but I'm reasonably sure that it won't buy both the equipment and the shop I'd need to house it (currently have a basement shop). I'm positive it won't buy the time needed to mentally justify the investment. Long-winded way of saying that I'm jealous :) .

I noticed the MFT feeling forlorn in the background..... is it destined for the classifieds or are you planning to keep it? Best. Dave.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, is there a significant limitation as far as saw blade choices in the future because of needing to match the width of the scoring blade?

No...the scoring blade that came with the machine is exactly 1/8", but the "tooling" included with the year-end deal has an adjustable width scoring blade as well as the 12" sheet goods blade. No problem for the future on that account. Judging from various ads I've seen, adjustable width scoring blades are becoming popular. Makes sense when you think about it since you leave that blade on the saw all the time and generally only change the main blade. I probably will not be changing often, however, as the WW-II blades I own do what I want to do for almost any material. Over the past few year, outside of dado functions, the only change I make is for ripping heavy and thick stock...and that's with a 20T ripping grind WW-II.


I noticed the MFT feeling forlorn in the background..... is it destined for the classifieds or are you planning to keep it?

Keeping it, Dave...it's portable. But I likely will not be keeping it set up in the shop full time like I was with the cabinet saw as the main workstation. Much of my shop use for the MFT can easily and quickly be done using the outrigger on the slider.


I was wondering if I could ask a quick question. When you use the saw as a "normal" table saw, can you lock the slider so you do not move it during the ripping process. I have always wondered that on these wonderful tools.


If I might piggy-back on Michael's question, is it at all awkward to perform a "conventional" rip operation on one of these? With the wagon and pedestal to the left it looks like you really have to stand relatively far to the right of the fence.

Yes, the wagon locks, effectively in three modes: Completely centered and locked (what you would use for conventional sawing and setup), locked from moving forward beyond the limit of the support structure and locked from moving backward beyond the limit of the support structure. The latter two are incidental because of the way the locking stops work...but could be useful if you don't want to accidentally bang the wagon into something important... ;)

Conventional ripping in some cases does require a bit of reorientation relative to position. But you can also stand in a place that you can't on a conventional saw...directly to the right of the blade where there is usually a cast iron extension table. Like anything...it involves a learning process. I have to unlearn a few things and pick up a lot of others. But it's nice to still have that "conventional" cutting capability when it is the right way to do something.

[Bill Simmeth]

Thanks for the info, Jim. Again, very nice machine and a most excellent thread. Congratulations!

[Eric Shields]

Jim,

An impressive narrative to go with an impressive machine. Congrats once again, she is a beauty. I'd say I'm jealous but I KNOW I'd never be able to justify a purchase of that magnatude at this stage of my hobby. Not to mention I'd be hard pressed to fit it through the basement door to my (soon to be) shop.

I can't wait to see what you produce using this machine and your additional impressions.

Eric

[Dan Lee]

Jim
Nice iron. Its alotta fun as you begin to work with a much anticipated tool and it is as good or better than you anticipated.

BTW
Hope this wasn't asked already
How do you get such great picture quality in such small file sizes?? Camera?
Dan

[Jim Becker]

J
How do you get such great picture quality in such small file sizes?? Camera?


Decent cameras do help...but so does Adobe Photoshop Elements where I retouch them for lighting/contrast, color balance, cropping and size. I also do a little sharpening after doing the "pixel shrink" to 640 pixels wide to restore detail. All of the pictures are then saved with the "Save for Web" feature with a quality setting of about 35-40.

Most, but not all of these photos were taken with my Nikon D70 and start out at 3000x2000 pixels. Others were taken with a Nikon CoolPix S1 as well as an unidentified camera that Joanne brought to the "party".

To give insight into how I created this thread, I used sequential names for each shot when saving (S315-5.jpg, for example) and kept small notes for each so that when I wrote the narrative, I could move though the posts as quickly as possible. The 13 posts that start this thread took about, oh...an hour and a half or more of writing and tweaking text. It would have been a lot longer if I hadn't jotted down the picture contents as I processed them.

[Bruce Page]

Oh well, I was going to replace this cheap keyboard anyway. :o
That was a great post Jim and the S315 is simply beautiful! I can’t help but think that standing beside the blade to use the rip fence would feel a little odd, but I’m sure that you will adapt. :rolleyes:

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

[Mandell Mann]

There's nothing greater than a man getting exactly what he wants out of life. Touche!:cool:

[Bob Michaels]

Geez Jim, that's sure fine machinery. Frankly, from what I know about you through this forum, all I can say is that it's a quality saw for a quality guy. Enjoy it in the best of health. I hope I didn't offend you by referring to you as Jim "The Saw" Becker on the Festool forum. Only my closest friends have titles bestowed upon them. Regards, Bob.

[Jerry Olexa]

Jim, a major acquisition...OUTSTANDING pics of the whole process...Thanks and now, enjoy..

[Kristian Wild]

Congratulations Jim! That looks like an amazing machine. You also get an award for the longest and most detailed documentation of any project I've ever seen here. ;)

Kris

[Chris McDowell]

You are killing me Jim. I can't have mine delivered for a few more months. Seriously great post and congratulations on a great machine. I'll have to live vicariously through you until I get mine.
Chris

[Tom Hamilton]

Wonderful informative, witty and yet concise write up Jim, as always. Congrats on your new machine and the fun you will have exploring all of its capabilities.

Have you picked out a name for the new addition to the family? :D :D
Best regards, Tom

[Kyle Kraft]

Awesome saw Jim!!! I can't believe I saw a Dunkin Donuts coffee cup resting on a CI bandsaw table without a coaster under it. People who do that in my shop are looking for a bullet:D

[Jim Becker]

Awesome saw Jim!!! I can't believe I saw a Dunkin Donuts coffee cup resting on a CI bandsaw table without a coaster under it. People who do that in my shop are looking for a bullet

It didn't stay there long...and was empty. I don't "do bullets", so it would have been a sharp Ellsworth gouge or the evil skew as an alternative punishment... :D :D :D

And there is plenty of wax on the tables. One thing I've never had problem with in this shop is rust. Thankfully!

[Chris Padilla]

Sweeet....

[Wayne Watling]

Jim,

Firstly, that was a terrific series of posts I learned quite a bit from them and they helped confirm some things I weren't quite 100% on.

From what I understand in the following post you talk about aligning the rip fence parallel with the slider tee slot. My understanding is that the distance from the slider tee slot to the trailing edge of the blade should be ever so slightly larger than the distance to the leading edge. If that is the case then the rip fence should be angled away slightly further from the trailing edge of the blade. I guess its perfectly okay to position the blade exactly parallel to fences too but I just wanted to get your comments on this.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=520463&postcount=11


Thanks,
Wayne

[Jim Becker]

Thanks, Wayne...I'll check the slider in relation to the blade to see if it's parallel or not. But based on my "baby bottom smooth" test captive rips...I think the blade is perfectly parallel to the slider. (I showed Robert one of the boards on the way to lunch yesterday and his eyes nearly popped out of his head...)

[Robert Tarr]

I do a lot of neander type stuff and this is just like the polish off of a nice smoothing plane, never could have convinced me that it was just off the saw (or jointer for that matter.)

Robert

[Todd Solomon]

Jim,

Firstly, that was a terrific series of posts I learned quite a bit from them and they helped confirm some things I weren't quite 100% on.

From what I understand in the following post you talk about aligning the rip fence parallel with the slider tee slot. My understanding is that the distance from the slider tee slot to the trailing edge of the blade should be ever so slightly larger than the distance to the leading edge. If that is the case then the rip fence should be angled away slightly further from the trailing edge of the blade. I guess its perfectly okay to position the blade exactly parallel to fences too but I just wanted to get your comments on this.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=520463&postcount=11


Thanks,
Wayne

Wayne,

On sliders, you want the rip fence to be as close to parallel to the slider and blade as possible. I attended a Kelley Mehler seminar at Felder, and the group debated this. Kelley is a strong advocate that it's not necessary to have the rip fence slightly farther from the trailing edge of the blade. Just make 'em dead nuts parallel, and you'll get accurate, safe work. I wish I could remember the details of his justification, but the class was convinced.

Todd

[Jeff Weight]

Wonderful Post and Pictures... Congratulations on the new saw. I have to say you suck. Here I am looking for a new cabinet saw to replace my contractors saw, and you get the ultimate saw. Like I said you suck! :p

Based on your tutorial, I can fully understand why and how a slider is superior to everything else. Seeing you stand next to the blade while making a cut with the board clamped to the slider removes the need to push the cut past the blade with your hand, giving you more control and safety.

If you don't mind me asking, how much more expensive is a sliding saw like yours compared to a say a Saw Stop?

Congrats! :)

[Matt Hyman]

Jim - Great pictures and write up. I trust you will continue to share your experiences and the learnings as you grow with you new toy, I mean tool!

[Jim Becker]

If you don't mind me asking, how much more expensive is a sliding saw like yours compared to a say a Saw Stop?
Saw Stop sells for a pretty big premium, but is at the low end of the scale when it comes to "true" format sliding saws. The actual cost of the machine will vary by manufacturer and the size of the slider. If you can work with a 5.5' slider, you're in the $4.5K-7K range, generally speaking--not that much more than the decked out SS, frankly. With an 8.5' slider, the range jumps about 2 grand, in general, but can goe a bit higher with the manufacturers that offer a lot of options. I would have been very happy with the next machine down in the MM line if I could have gotten it with the 8.5' slider, but it would have meant a special order from Italy and arrival after my major immediate cabinet and furniture making need already passed. Further, with the year-end promotions, etc., there would have been little actual cost difference since a special order wouldn't have the same incentives.

One piece of advice I can enthusiastically give is to try and coordinate a buy with a trade show that the manufacturer you are interested in is exhibiting at. Between the "show specials" which often offer better pricing and freebies, you can often take delivery at the show and save some or all the shipping cost of the machine. The S315 had a ~$500 shipping cost and it was too big for a lift-gate. I picked up at the terminal with my trailer, but many folks will meet the truck with an automobile tilt-bed wrecker for final transportation to their shop. For show pickup, a trailer with appropriate capacity (preferably a tilt-bed like mine) or the auto wrecker is the way to go. (Bandsaws are easy...on the spine in a pickup truck bed is easy and effective)

For folks in PA/NJ, MM is going to be at both the Somerset show this month and the industrial show in Edison in March.

[Paul B. Cresti]

Jim,

Firstly, that was a terrific series of posts I learned quite a bit from them and they helped confirm some things I weren't quite 100% on.

From what I understand in the following post you talk about aligning the rip fence parallel with the slider tee slot. My understanding is that the distance from the slider tee slot to the trailing edge of the blade should be ever so slightly larger than the distance to the leading edge. If that is the case then the rip fence should be angled away slightly further from the trailing edge of the blade. I guess its perfectly okay to position the blade exactly parallel to fences too but I just wanted to get your comments on this.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=520463&postcount=11


Thanks,
Wayne

Wayne,
I suggest setting up your slider parallel to the blade. Then set your crosscut fence 90d to the blade. Set your rip fence 90d to the crosscut fence. This way your crosscut fence can reference off of the rip fence when the need arrives. I never had to adjust the slider on either my S315 or on my current Formula S35. The neat thing about the S35 is there is no adjustment needed! It was set at the factory dead on. Any slider over 8.5ft or so gets the sliding carriage shipped unattached. That is how my 10.5 ft slider arrived.

[Jeff Wright]

Jim,

Now that you have your new saw, you need a cart to haul all the accessories! The attached photos show a cart I just completed for my MiniMax 410 Elite Combo. I call it my Tool Mule. Many folks probably are unaware of how many pieces of add-ons the machine handles. The cart shown is carrying all combo stuff except for the Spindle sander and some Festool abrasives on the top shelf. The rack also doubles as a wood clamp rack (see the Besseys mounted on the back) and a base for my drafting table (which swings up when in use).

[Robert Tarr]

Jim,

Now that you have your new saw, you need a cart to haul all the accessories! The attached photos show a cart I just completed for my MiniMax 410 Elite Combo. I call it my Tool Mule.


Now that is just neat! I might have to do something like that for the mortising unit on my FS35. I really like the incorporation of the clamp rack. As for a drafting table, (don't laugh) I am looking for a wrecked Ferrari hood that will attach to the roof of my shop (dutch barn style) and have it fold down to reveal the drafting surface (probably furred out 1/2 mdf.) If I can't manage the Ferarri hood (I should be able to), I am going to try to get a decent VW Bug front hood, for the same reason. If I manage that, I might have to post that over on the Favorite Tool thread...

Thanks for the great idea!

Robert

[Mike Goetzke]

Wow - I'm an engineer and that machine is a marvel. Only problem I see is that machine is the woodworker now not you :)... well sort of - you still need to feed it. I really like the panel cutting capabilities - hope you really enjoy the new saw and will be waiting on pics of your first project!

[Wayne Watling]

Wayne,
I suggest setting up your slider parallel to the blade. Then set your crosscut fence 90d to the blade. Set your rip fence 90d to the crosscut fence. This way your crosscut fence can reference off of the rip fence when the need arrives. I never had to adjust the slider on either my S315 or on my current Formula S35. The neat thing about the S35 is there is no adjustment needed! It was set at the factory dead on. Any slider over 8.5ft or so gets the sliding carriage shipped unattached. That is how my 10.5 ft slider arrived.

Thanks Paul and Todd,

That is a great tip for setting up the fences Paul, I'll give it a go on the weekend.
I just checked the slider with a dial meter and the slider seems to be quite close to parallel with the blade about 0.001" over the width of the 12" blade. That was just one of a number of questions that have been swirling around my head since taking delivery of the slider/combo.

I noticed while turning the blade around that there was up to 0.004" variation between the different parts of the blade. I'm not sure where to start with improving on this or even whether I need to improve on this.

Regards,
Wayne

[John Kain]

Thank you Jim.

For awhile there I was all set on buying the Sawstop. Now, once again, I am rethinking that.:D

Between Paul, and now yourself, I still haven't made a decision.

How's the safety factor so far for you? Obviously it's improved on cross-cutting. But what about precise measured rip cuts where you must use the fence like on a typical cabinet saw? Any difference?

Oh yeah, congrats on that monster!:D

[Wayne Watling]

Jim,

Now that you have your new saw, you need a cart to haul all the accessories! The attached photos show a cart I just completed for my MiniMax 410 Elite Combo. I call it my Tool Mule. Many folks probably are unaware of how many pieces of add-ons the machine handles. The cart shown is carrying all combo stuff except for the Spindle sander and some Festool abrasives on the top shelf. The rack also doubles as a wood clamp rack (see the Besseys mounted on the back) and a base for my drafting table (which swings up when in use).


Jeff, I really need a cart like that too and great idea with the clamps. All those accessories are scattered around the place here and badly need a home. I might try to design something that also takes the mortising attachment, that way it could be wheeled up alongside of the J/P and mounted/demounted as/when required.

Thanks,
Wayne

[Jeff Wright]

I noticed while turning the blade around that there was up to 0.004" variation between the different parts of the blade. I'm not sure where to start with improving on this or even whether I need to improve on this.

It's been recommended to turn the blade by pulling on its pulley rather than spinning it by the blade itself when measuring for runout. If you turn it by the blade itself, you might introduce some deflection. Also, maybe one of those smallish anti-vibration dampening discs would help. Also, make certain no sawdust is caught on the spindle when mounting the blade.

[Pete Brown]

Jim,

Now that you have your new saw, you need a cart to haul all the accessories! The attached photos show a cart I just completed for my MiniMax 410 Elite Combo. I call it my Tool Mule. Many folks probably are unaware of how many pieces of add-ons the machine handles. The cart shown is carrying all combo stuff except for the Spindle sander and some Festool abrasives on the top shelf. The rack also doubles as a wood clamp rack (see the Besseys mounted on the back) and a base for my drafting table (which swings up when in use).

Hmm. Is that some Oneida ductwork I see in the background in that "Fragile" box. Better install it ;) (I have a couple such boxes in my shop)

Nice mule. I can see where that would be a huge help.

Pete

[Pete Brown]

Wow - I'm an engineer and that machine is a marvel. Only problem I see is that machine is the woodworker now not you :)... well sort of - you still need to feed it.

Nah. You still need a lot of skill for a machine like that.

My dad was down a few months ago and looked in my shop. He told me that if he had great tools like that, he'd have no problem turning out stuff too. Umm no. ;) I was actually a little insulted, but I let it slide.

Pete

[Jeff Wright]

I might try to design something that also takes the mortising attachment, that way it could be wheeled up alongside of the J/P and mounted/demounted as/when required.

While you can't see it in the above pics, my mortiser is on one of the lower shelves behind the stowed drafting table top. The second shelf is about the same height as the mortiser attachment points on the combo. Also not on the cart at the moment in the photo are the longer slider table fence (which mounts vertically on one side of the cart) and the squaring table (which mounts on the other end with its long post resting on the top shelf and its bottom cradled by a ledge on the side of the cart).

[Jeff Wright]

Hmm. Is that some Oneida ductwork I see in the background in that "Fragile" box. Better install it ;) (I have a couple such boxes in my shop) Nice mule. I can see where that would be a huge help.

Yes, you're right . . . some left over Nordfab duct work for my 3HP Gorilla. The Nordfab has spoiled me . . . just like Middleton's Tavern did in Annapolis for Jimmy's black bean soup!

[Jim Becker]

Mike, it's just a tool...and yes, it's true that without direction it just sits there. The trick now for me it to learn to orchestrate it! :)
------

Jeff, very nice idea with the cart. I don't need anything that elaborate, but I do need to come up with a solution for stowing the outrigger table. It's too heavy for me to put up on the one wall I have available at a height that will not interfere with my sheet goods rack...that leg that sticks out makes it more complicated.

[John Miliunas]

Well done overview, Jim! I thought I was a bit envious before the detailed looksie....Now I know I am!!! :o Congrats, dude! :) :cool:

[Frank Snyder]

I came to the party a little late...excellent pictorial, Jim, and thank you for sharing this experience with us. It's like being a kid on x-mas morning again :p. I look forward to reading more about your new adventures with your wagon ;).

[Rick Williams]

Should have bought the S350WS:p Seriously, nice overview. Is my envy showing? You've come a long ways since your days as a host at the Wood mag forums. Enjoy your new tool.:D

[Roy Wall]

Jim,

I'm extremely happy for you to get such a nice machine! Moreover, you chose to put your close friends "first" in the assembly party......which is fitting - and typical for your generous demeaner (sp?).

Enjoy your new saw and work safe. I look forward to all your continued production! I know it will see a lot of use:)

[Paul B. Cresti]

Thank you Jim.

For awhile there I was all set on buying the Sawstop. Now, once again, I am rethinking that.:D

Between Paul, and now yourself, I still haven't made a decision.

How's the safety factor so far for you? Obviously it's improved on cross-cutting. But what about precise measured rip cuts where you must use the fence like on a typical cabinet saw? Any difference?

Oh yeah, congrats on that monster!:D
John,Hard to explain with out a pictoral but I will try none-the-less. There a couple of different ways to rip with a EFSTS (these are just two that I have used) First is if I will be doing mutiple of very small pieces, etc....that require the utmost of accuracy I will use my slider ripping jig I made (check the archives here for my setup). I also have used the regular rip fence at times. This is how I stand. Picture the outrigger table removed so that all you "see" is a "T" shaped saw. I now stand to the left side of the blade or on the side where the hand wheels are (we call this the left side , Europeans call it the operator position). Since I have a over head guard the blade is completely covered! so remember this! I position the rip fence as needed, then start the cut with both hands on the stock before the blade (I am now facing the side of the blade) as the stock passes through the cut I now place my other hand against the stock against the fence on the back side of the blade. So I now have one hand pushing the stock into the blade (right hand) my chest is facing the blade side and my left hand is guiding the stock against the fence on the back side of the blade. This works for longer stock not real short ones (but no many people would rip real short stock on a saw anyway unless you have a handy dandy EFSTS ). I do not use this methos often but when I need to make one single rip I do or If I need to make a very long somewhat narro rip.Many manufacturers, including MM, offer parrallel ripping jigs which you can use on your slider in conjunction with your main crosscut fence. It is basicly an extra measurement guide that allows you to reference the opposite side of the stock your are ripping...once again best shown in a pictoralHope this helps a bit......maybe I need to start some new EFSTS installments ;>)

[Jim Becker]

I decided to post these pictures in the existing thread as they are a continuation of "installation", for the most part.

One thing I couldn't complete last weekend was the dust collection for the blade guard as the hose I ordered had not arrived yet...it managed to make it mid-week. The standard blade guard quickly clamps to the top of the riving knife and moves up and down with it. There is one ratchet bolt that allows fast connection and disconnection. That bolt slides into the slot shown at the top of the riving knife in this picture:

57553

A few quick turns of the ratchet bolt and the guard is then secure on the knife, ready to do its work.

57554

The guard is sized for a 2 1/2" hose. When I reconfigured the shop for the new saw, I rotated the 5"x5"x3" wye such that it was in position to hold the hose in a convenient plane when using the guard. The hose doesn't require any extra support and the length was cut to provide just enough slack for convenience without looking or being clumsy.

57555

For times when the guard is not being used, this simple accommodation keeps it up and out of the way:

57556

[Jim Becker]

One other thing that I decided to do was to provide a convenient place to keep the necessary tools for blade changes, etc., handy at the saw. There was a bolt already in the end of the slider support to hang the long, orange "push stick" that came with the saw on. Since I'd never, ever use that type of material handling device (I use push blocks and other safer designs), the location was perfect for a little "quick and dirty" box made from scrap 1/2" plywood and shown here:

57557

There is enough room in the little box to hold my standard push blocks, too...

One other thing I decided to do today was to convert a dedicated taper jig that I use for the Thos Moser "side stand" tables that I like to build to work with the slider. On the cabinet saw, it was just run along the fence. After some careful alignment with the plane of the blade, I marked it for the slot in the slider, made some simple keys to insure it locates exactly where it needs to be and then used some of the stock I milled last weekend to add clamping knobs to hold it to the slider wagon when in use. Now, I may redo this whole jig later on as it's moving past the blade in the opposite direction than it probably should, but it's good enough for testing right now as well as to practice jig-making for use on the new machine.

57558

The last thing I did today was to switch around my workbench. This opened up an area that I think will be quite useful when I get into some larger projects shortly. Oh, and don't be fooled by this panorama picture...it makes my shop seem huge. But it's not at about 22' x 30'.

57559

[lou sansone]

jim
nice idea with the taper jig. you can also do the taper legs very easily with the cross cut fence / outrigger setup. what I do is clamp a 2' x 3' piece of plywood to the fence that is tilted about 1 degree off of 90 and then clamp the legs to the sled, having the one side of the leg next to the tilted piece of plywood. ( will take photos to show )
lou

[Sean Hughes]

Great saw Jim!!!! A few posts back you mentioned a show this month in NJ. What show is it?

[Joanne Adler]

What a great idea to turn the bench that way. Now you won't have to even look to see if it's in the way when you run big sheets through. And, gee, without the wagon/outrigger setup, there's room for dancing! :-)
Well, at least there's room for moving stock or a project around without dinging it. Thanks for the new pic of the taper jig--I keep meaning to make one like that.

[Jim Becker]

A few posts back you mentioned a show this month in NJ. What show is it?
Next weekend (16-17-18 February) in Somerset (http://thewoodworkingshows.com/somerset). MM wasn't originally going to do this show, but since Sam is up here in PA on family business, they will be there. There is a pro show in March in Edison...Mid-Atlantic Expo, but it's a Thurs-Friday stint on the 29th & 30th of March.

[glenn bradley]

"Oh, and don't be fooled by this panorama picture...it makes my shop seem huge. But it's not at about 22' x 30'."

Now you've given me an idea . . . panorama safty glasses! My shop would always look HUGE!

[Dan Forman]

Jim---To me, 22 x 30 IS huge! Gotta love those wide angle lenses though. Looks like things are coming together just fine.

Dan

[Jim Becker]

Gotta love those wide angle lenses though.

That's three pictures knitted together with Adobe Photoshop Elements...

I was working out there today on a new project (new thread coming... ;) ) and really found the extra floor space to be nice, especially with the kero heater going.

[Mark J Bachler]

Congrats Bro, you're going to love it.

[Corvin Alstot]

That's three pictures knitted together with Adobe Photoshop Elements...
The taper jig is cool, but thats a clever idea about knitting the pictures together.
First time I have seen that on SMC. Oh by the way, love the saw.