Anyone build their own Sliding Table Saw?

[Carl Fox]

I was looking at those European TS and they seem really neat. However, since I already have a TS, and don't have an extra 4K in my pocket I was thinking of making a huge sliding table that indexed off the 2 miter slots in my current saw.

I was thinking of using UHDP for the to slide in the slots, and 4x8 1/2" ply for the slider. Then, I could clamp the wood to the slider and just run it through, without any pushstick or featherboard nonsense.

Any ideas, or am I nuts?:rolleyes:

[Mike Wilkins]

I have seen an article in the Fine Woodworking book series called Making and Modifying machines. There were a couple of articles on making a slider to attach to a cabinet-type table saw. And the construction of an entire sliding table saw out of MDF and plywood. This is an older series of books, but you may be able to check the FWW site and find it.
Good luck and watch those fingers.

[Joe Meazle]

I put a Dewalt sliding table on my Jet cabinet saw. It took a little grider work, a $20 trip to the machine shop and 3 new bolts. It will only cross cut to 30" but it does not make the footprinto fo the saw much bigger which is very important in my shop. I moved the old left cast iron wing to the right. That gives me a total of 56" cast iron table surface.

[Randal Cobb]

IIRC, there is a complete slider table that is shown in one of the earlier issues of ShopNotes. If my memory serves correct, it's issue 27. I just looked through a few this past weekend looking for a specific jig that I need to make. I'll confirm when I get home from work this evening.

[Steven Wilson]

It's your saw, do what you want. You'll end up with a large cutoff sled. It will work but it's still not a slider - no where near the same level of precision. The long, highly adjustable, bearing surface located very close to the blade makes the slider the precision tool that it is. Miter slots don't come close. Been there, done that, sold the Powermatic 66 and bought a slider.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

It's your saw, do what you want. You'll end up with a large cutoff sled. It will work but it's still not a slider - no where near the same level of precision
Kind of a drift - but - would the arrangement be:
- better
- worse
- about the same
as using a circ saw & guide like the EZ or Fesstool?

[Jim Becker]

Rich, for crosscutting, the "sliding miter" setup that an aftermarket slider (commercial or shop-built) might be better than the guided saw setup in general (EZ does have some nice accommodations for repeatability, etc) But for long cuts (rips, etc) the guided saw system is likely a lot more comfortable to use, especially since the aftermarket slider on a table saw is so far from the blade, unlike a Euro slider arrangement. My opinion, obviously...

[Brad Shipton]

Can you make one, sure, but unless you add some linear bearings along with the shaft stock that goes with it, it will not end up accurate like the Euros and very well could be an excercise to waste time and money. I have a euro slider, and it is a great tool but it has rails that support the bearings and an outrigger to support the cross cut fence. A 4x8 sheet will become unstable at some point and will want to fall off without more support than a cabinet saw can provide. Maybe you can add wheels to support, but again unless your floor is perfect that might not work that well. Worth researching, but companies like Felder and SCMI have been making these for 50years, so i am guessing they have tried it all.

Good luck
Brad

[Gary Curtis]

I have a General Cabinet saw and their sliding table. The table, complete with an outrigger arm, is an $800 accessory. What others have said here about the need support and for bearings, is correct. I don't know how anyone without great metal fabricating skills could make a shop-built equivalent.

Sliding tables that can readily be bolted onto a Cabinet Saw are sold by Delta, Jet, General and Robland. A friend in my WWing club owns an Inca saw, and he bought the Robland bolt-on slider. Cost for all these is comparable.

If you objective is simply to have good cross-cut ability with smaller pieces of wood, the Jessem slider is an economical alternative.

Good luck,

Gary Curtis
Northern California:)

[Noah Levy]

I feel compelled to chime in here about the JessEm Masterslide. Feel free to PM me about the gory details. This accessory has been the most dissapointing purchase I have made. JessEm's customer service is really abysmal. I have a friend here on the creek who had a similar experience.

[Charlie Plesums]

I had a very large sled (and a separate reasonable size sled) that I used on my earlier table saw. They were a big help, and got a lot of use, but are a far cry from the results I get with my euro slider. To me, the slider was well worth the investment, and it fits in my garage workshop (to the surprise of many people). The precision and convenience of the slider are far beyond what I was able to achieve based on the miter slots.

[Shawn Honeychurch]

IIRC, there is a complete slider table that is shown in one of the earlier issues of ShopNotes. If my memory serves correct, it's issue 27. I just looked through a few this past weekend looking for a specific jig that I need to make. I'll confirm when I get home from work this evening.

I just checked my collection and it is indeed issue 27 of Shopnotes that has a good slider plan.

[John Guerra]

Carl,

Wood magazine made one a few years back that looked pretty cool. Hopefully I can post this here.

John

http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e320/ctxman/?action=view&current=wood127.jpg

[John Guerra]

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e320/ctxman/wood127.jpg

[Shawn Honeychurch]

Now that's an article I would really like to get my hands on.

[Jerome Hanby]

Shop Accessories You Can Build (http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Accessories-Build-Best-Woodworking/dp/1561581186/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211907141&sr=8-1)

is available through Amazon for a few dollars (plus you can use the Creek's shopping link and make a little for the cause). It has a pretty good looking slider.