outfeed table for contractor saw

[Tyler Davis]

Hello all,

I am planning on building a basic outfeed table for my contractor-style table saw to prevent cut boards from "falling off the face of the earth". It will also cover the gap between the end of the right-side extension table and the end of the rails. Nothing fancy - MDF or plywood with adjustable height legs. What I can't figure out is how to attach the new table to the old one so it is a smooth transition. My fence (Delta T2) has a rear rail which is basically a 2" piece of angle iron. Has anyone figured out a way to ease the table/outfeed transition without drilling into the rear rail? I would like the option to easily pull back the outfeed table in case I need to access the motor/trunions, etc. Thanks in advance

[Randal Stevenson]

Hello all,

I am planning on building a basic outfeed table for my contractor-style table saw to prevent cut boards from "falling off the face of the earth". It will also cover the gap between the end of the right-side extension table and the end of the rails. Nothing fancy - MDF or plywood with adjustable height legs. What I can't figure out is how to attach the new table to the old one so it is a smooth transition. My fence (Delta T2) has a rear rail which is basically a 2" piece of angle iron. Has anyone figured out a way to ease the table/outfeed transition without drilling into the rear rail? I would like the option to easily pull back the outfeed table in case I need to access the motor/trunions, etc. Thanks in advance


Not quite attaching, but for ease of access/storage, please look at the November? Wood magazine at your library. I think you would like it for your needs.

[Jim Becker]

Find a way to use some form of commercial or shop-built clamp to secure the assembly to your rear rail.

[Richard Dragin]

Just build a seperate table the same hieght or slightly lower than your saw. You can place it on the side of the saw for cross cuts of sheet goods, use it as an assembly table and move it wherever you need when you access the rear of the saw.

[Jeff Cremers]

like this one, designed from a guy here

click on the link and go to Jeff Norri's post and click on his link
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=697334&page=2
This is the one I want to build soon
JC

[Daryl Upole]

HI,

I had some old 2 1/2" x 1 1/2 angle (about 1/8" thick stuff) with holes punched through the length. Looks like it might have been some type of shelving uprights in a prior life. I cut them up into 12" or so lengths for the outfeed table.

I've found this stuff useful for many projects. But one was to connect the end of the outfeed table to my contractor saw. I attached one angle to the underside of my rail and the "L" pointed down. Then I attached a piece to the underside of my outfeed table with the "L" pointing down. Some of the holes were elongated which made fine adjustments easy. Any more that that small amount, I could just shim under the table. I drilled & tapped holes under the fence rail to attach. Also, on the table, I through-drilled & countersunk from the top & just used carriage bolts.

For my base under the outfeed table, I just built some 3/4" melamine cabinets with adjustable legs and that added a lot of weight for stability.

It makes it very easy to disassemble or move also. Just four bolts.

I'm setting up my new PM with the same system. I'm going to have my old contractor saw at the other end of the outfeed table to have two saws available

[Don Stanley]

Hello all,

I am planning on building a basic outfeed table for my contractor-style table saw to prevent cut boards from "falling off the face of the earth". It will also cover the gap between the end of the right-side extension table and the end of the rails. Nothing fancy - MDF or plywood with adjustable height legs. What I can't figure out is how to attach the new table to the old one so it is a smooth transition. My fence (Delta T2) has a rear rail which is basically a 2" piece of angle iron. Has anyone figured out a way to ease the table/outfeed transition without drilling into the rear rail? I would like the option to easily pull back the outfeed table in case I need to access the motor/trunions, etc. Thanks in advance


Not sure if you mean fold-down outfeed, but here's how I did mine!

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/1012/thumbs/1_P1010663.jpg (http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showphoto.php?photo=14519)

Link to all pictures: Album: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=1012

-Don

[Jack Porter]

Hey Tyler, just finished this exact project, I'll take some pics whne I have my dig. camera, but it only took about 4 hours to assemble and cost around 80 bucks. I put it on locking adjustable height casters so it can be moved around. I built storage underneath the main table with a box out in the back to accomodate the TS motor. The table size is 24x49 to maximize the mdf sheets. Since it is only 24", I also built a frame off the back of the table on hinges that can be foled down to the back of the table to increase outfeed support lenghts; it has 2 arms 24" long with a 2" dowel inside a 3" pvc pipe roller so the outfeed support can be 48" (table+fold out roller arm).

Let me know if you want the specifics.

[Vic Damone]

Don, That's a very nice design. Does the wood framing around the edgers add support to the table surface material (is it MDF / melamine )?

Tyler, Some of the issues I ran into were the MDF will sag over time so it may need some sort of bracing. Take into account the motor position at 45 degrees, blade raised, and blade lowered at both 45 and 90 degrees.

Vic

[Tyler Davis]

thanks guys - there are some really good ideas in here. I will reconsider the MDF and probably use plywood to minimize sag. For the folding designs - how do you adjust the table height? I was planning on using screw-in feet for leveling/adjusting but of course you can't do that for a folding design.

One other question - in order to clear the backside of my fence, I will need about 1 1/2" gap from the back of my cast iron table to the beginning of the outfeed. Is this gap a problem - with pieces getting stuck or hung-up in that gap? Or do you find that the pieces still slide right onto the outfeed across the gap?

[Jack Porter]

havent' had any problems with the gap

you can use threaded inserts in the legs with threaded feet

[Lee Koepke]

i have about 12" directly on the back of my table, and then a couple of rollers, and a mobile outfeed table that I roll up to the saw when cutting. The table is a bit below the TS and the rollers just help things along.

I have some adjustable feet from WoodCraft that I used to adjust the height of my side table.

[Jim Becker]

I will reconsider the MDF and probably use plywood to minimize sag.

MDF will not sag if properly supported. An outfeed table, even with plywood needs an under-structure to keep it flat over time as well as support the weight you might put on it for things like assembly, etc.

[Roger Wilson]

goto thewoodwhisperer.com, click on blog, then browse by category for video, look for Episode 30- Somebody Feed Me (http://thewoodwhisperer.com/episode-30-somebody-feed-me/). Marc builds a simple, quick standalone outfeed table based on something Norm Abram built. No need to attach the table to your saw.

[Chuck Lenz]

Not sure if you mean fold-down outfeed, but here's how I did mine!

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/1012/thumbs/1_P1010663.jpg (http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showphoto.php?photo=14519)

-Don
Nice job Don.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I think the way to go would be to have a separate table to catch the outfeed material.....I wouldn't want to attach it to the saw itself. I just happened to come up with an old table that's about a half inch shorter than my saw table after I put casters on it. If you have an outfeed that is exactly the same height as the saw table but not continuous with the saw table you stand the chance of the material catching on the table edge - especially if the board has any downward bow to it. The slight drop to the outfeed table allows material to clear the edge but provides support as longer pieces "sag" to rest on it. The chance of shorter material dropping between the saw table and outfeed shouldn't be an issue as short pieces won't clear the saw table edge after they're cut.