New 24" TS Extension and Router Lift Installation Complete

[Keith Outten]

Late yesterday afternoon we had a truck delivery that was a couple days earlier then expected but welcome to say the least.

Chris Brown of Quality Grinding built a custom Table Saw extension wing for me with a JessEM router lift and it was delivered via Averitt Express. The extension wing is made from steel, not cast iron and the overall quality looks extremely nice based on my receipt inspection. It will probably be this weekend before I will be able to remove the old extension and install the new but I will take pictures along the way to share should anyone else be interested in having these guys build one for them.

Just so you will know I have been planning to downsize my table saw for a long time. Last month I removed the 62" slider that was installed on the left side of my saw. I was about to remove the 50" extension on the right side when I hooked up with Chris Brown and learned that he could build me a custom extension with a router lift so I changed my plans a bit. My table saw doesn't see as much use as it has in the past, mostly because the types of projects I do these days have changed and I am using my EZ Smart Guide for jobs I use to do on the table saw. It became clear that my table saw was taking up precious floor space and wasn't being utilized as much as it should. Once I found that I could add a very high quality extension and router lift I felt the added benefit would be worth keeping my table saw even though I was still planning on downsizing. I recently purchased a wheel kit for my saw, this will also be installed this weekend so I can move the saw out of the way when it isn't in use. The end result should be the same table saw with new accessories geared toward a whole new machining style.

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[Bruce Page]

That's a big chunk of steel!

[Ben Cadotte]

It looks like it is a piece of large steel channel with some short ribs attached. Going by the pic on the left. How are the ribs attached to the channel? I would love a steel extension wing. I have seen another, but it would cost more than the saw itself. It seems this version could be made at a more reaonable cost??

[Keith Outten]

Theres no channel. The top is 3/8" thick steel plate. The sides and the ribs underneath are all 3/8" flat bar, everything is welded then the bottom and top are machined flat. Shipping weight was about 92 pounds with the router lift and it probably included the pallet so the weight of the extension is most likely 60 to 70 pounds.

I will take pictures of the bottom side so you can see how it is made. This has to be one of the best quality router tables on the market, nothing else would have changed my mnd about the plans I had for my table saw. I am nuts about router tables being flat, I'm pretty sure this one will stay perfectly flat until the end of time :)

I'm pretty sure that Chris told me his company makes all the table saw tops for Powermatic and Delta now, they obviously know their stuff.

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[Jim O'Dell]

That is slick looking! Congrats. Anxious to see the pictures of it installed. Jim.

[Lewis Cobb]

Nice ! Looking forward to seeing more pics of this as you install it.

Cheers,
Lewis

[Matt Ocel]

Keith -

It didn't "arrive" at the proper address.

Wasn't it to be delivered to my house?:D

Box it back up - I'll be waiting!

[Jim Knishka]

Wow, very very nice. Was this a custom order? I looked at their website (qualitygrinding.com, right?) and didn't see any specifics.

[Keith Outten]

Here is a picture that shows how the wing is constructed from the bottom side.

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[Keith Outten]

Wow, very very nice. Was this a custom order? I looked at their website (qualitygrinding.com, right?) and didn't see any specifics.

Jim,

Based on a couple of phone conversations with Chris Brown I believe this is a new activity for his company. They have been selling new saws and offering custom accessories for some time but offering just extension wings made to order is new for them. This one was made to fit my Grizzly 1023 but it is a standard 27" width so it would fit almost any saw. I elected to drill the mounting holes myself but they will provide the service if you send them the necessary dimensions.

Quality Grinding will have a Manufacturers Forum here shortly and will be doing tech support for their products. They should be able to provide price quotes for those of you who are interested in a custom accessory. In the meantime you can contact Chris via email.

sales@qualitygrinding.com

BTW Chris is the boss so you get to talk to someone who has answers and can make a decision. It helps that he is a really nice guy who is willing to spend some time to make sure you get the services you expect and we are fortunate to have his company join us here at The Creek.

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[Keith Outten]

Keith -

It didn't "arrive" at the proper address.

Wasn't it to be delivered to my house?:D

Box it back up - I'll be waiting!

Matt,

You right, it was shipped to my address by mistake and should have been shipped to your shop :)

I can help rectify the mistake and put you in touch with the guy who is in charge of shipping so he can get yours to you ASAP :) Meanwhile I hope you don't mind if I keep this one, I like it much better than I thought I would now that I have seen it up close and personal.

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[Matt Ocel]

Keith
Yeah -
You can keep that one.
I'll just cry it out of my system today.:( and keep dreaming.

Let us know how it performs. Enjoy!!

[Brian Weick]

Man,
All I can say is ~ Sweet Keith. Guess were I went after seeing that , off to see my friend Allen Fredric, from Fredric's Machinery. I have been wanting an extension bed made for my table top and I am thinking about doing it in aluminum. He said if he made it out of steel it would weigh about 250lbs (27" x 48") so he said the aluminum may be the way to go 3/4" thick and then machine the drop for the plate. What it's going to cost , I don't know the exact figure as of yet , but he said it would be less than having it made from steel because after the welds it has to planed , shaved, and some other things I can't remember, he explained that the welds can affect the levelness of the table and there for it has to be surfaced.
One more question, what is the thickness of the router plate itself ?
can you give me a ballpark figure on the cost involved with the one made for you?
Thank you,
Brian

[Greg Cole]

With prudent welding most carbon steels don't wander tooo far. I occasionally weld thinner stainless steels at the day job, and that stuff will move all OVER the map with addition & subtraction of heat. The thicker plate material like used here won't move much.
From seeing the pic of the bottom of the "top" :rolleyes:, I'd say after welding a trip to a blanchard grinder would give a dead flat surface. Also bear in mind a machinist has a different definition of DEAD flat versus a wood worker....
Getting the router lift cut out isn't terribly difficult either. CNC or an old fashioned mill will do it.
I'm curious at the price too. I've had an eye on the Bench Dog CI one for awhile. Do you mind sharing the price Keith?
I have a Woodpeck phenolic RT now that's saggy like a holstein at milking time, replacing it is a one of these days projects.

Cheers.
Greg

[Brian Weick]

My question to Keith is ~ and forgive me if I am missing something (which isn't unusual) but if he has 3/8" steel plating ,(which is also located in my cranium by the way), anyways as Keith has stated, and they did recess the pocket for the plate~ what diameter is the thickness on the JessEm router lift Keith has, ( i can't even find that model on the WWW) It can't be 3/8" and if it is , he isn't going to be a happy camper. My Woodpecker (aluminum) plating is 3/8" thick. I can't use 3/8" steel unless there is a perimeter plate welded on in the router plate opening. That must mean the plate he has is 1/4" or I am missing something, probably the later, and even then that leaves you with very little room for adjusting it for a level Field plane? Just my curiosity has me on this one?? . I looked at the pics very close and it is machined out apparently as you say but ~ I don't know?????:confused:
Brian

[Chris Padilla]

These fellas with the name of "Chris", good folk, good folk.... ;)

[Greg Cole]

Brian,
If the router lift plate is the same thickness as the RT top, I'd wager there's a step machined into both, like a "boss" on a set mating flanges or machine parts. Basically an "L" shape cut part way into the top, the bottom leg of the "L" is what the router lift plate rests on.
Thats how my Woodpeck top and lift (made my Jess'em) is made. There are screws in the router lift plate that you adust the level of the lift plate with in relation to the router table top. The screws push against the bottom leg of said "L" that the router lift plate sits on top of.
Make sense?

Greg

[Brian Weick]

Yes,
I see what you mean ~ the L ~ on both of them . I wasn't sure on that one. that makes sense, that table is awesome~ I just hate to see how much it is going to run me , it's twice the size of Keith's because I have 2 routers set up for doing stile and rails for cabinet doors~ that way I don't have to keep changing bits. I have the digital height reader which is really great because I marked down the readings for a perfect match and I can drop both routers right out of the way and then bring them back up , get my readings and I am ready to go again. That table will make for a real professional set up!
Thanks for the info there Greg, never thought of that~,,,,,,, what else is new~ LOL :)
Brian

[Keith Outten]

The top is 3/8" thick.
The recess is machined 1/4" deep which leaves a 1/8" lip for the router plate to rest on.
The JessEM plate is 3/16" thick aluminum that has 1/2" square support bars that run parallel to the long edges. There are ten set screws around the plate for leveling.

Here is a link to the Rout-R-Lift I got but Chris can provide any make or model lift you want. http://www.jessem.com/rout_r_lift.htm

I don't have a price for you guys, Chris and I are doing a little bartering on this one. I imagine that the price would vary a bit from saw to saw and it would certainly depend on how your extension wing was customized...there are lots of options.

Send Chris an email and ask him about his pricing. This is a subject that he has recently been considering based on our conversations and he is willing to offer SawMill Creek Members a discount but he hasn't shared that information with me yet. They have built plenty of extension wings that were installed on new saws they sell as custom units but offering these to people who already own a saw is something they just started doing.

I will call Chris tomorrow and bang on his head a bit. Maybe he will be ready for us to setup his Manufacturers Forum so you guys can have at him :)

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[Keith Outten]

I talked to Chris today and I have a price. Chris said that this size extension wing with the machining for a router lift is $350.00. Chris can provide the router lift of your choice with the wing for an additional fee or you can purchase your own lift and let him know which one you have. Don't assume that this price will be the same for long given that the price of steel is climbing these days, if you want one get your order in ASAP.

Chris also said that he would offer SawMill Creek Members a ten percent discount.

I haven't shopped around for extension wings but it seems to me this is a very good deal given the quality of the workmanship and materials. Chris will be on travel next week and will return on June 9th. His new Manufacturers Forum will be open as soon as he returns. Meanwhile feel free to continue sending him email, however his response time may be slower than normal next week.

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[Brian Weick]

He is pretty quick responding, I have already been corresponding with him ~ the weight thing is my problem ~ he said 300lbs -WOW. I have to think about this one , but I love that table you have ~ Sweet!
thanks Keith,
Brian

[Peter Quinn]

Looks like a great table. Is there a way to include a miter slot in this type of table? Also curious what type of fence you have in mind and how it may be attached to the table. Will you be tapping holes?

Would be cool to be able to attach an extra shaper fence/hood to that awesome top.

[Keith Outten]

My extension wing is heavy but I can lift it by myself so I don't think that 300 pounds is even in the ball park :)

Peter, I asked Chris about a miter slot, He said if you want one you can have one. My Router Lifter came with a fence, it fits holes already drilled in the router plate. The fence also includes a dust collection port.

I expect you can add just about any type of accessory you want to this wing. I also think that you should be able to use your table saw fence and be able to attach certain accessories to it if desired. I have been giving this some thought.

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[Keith Outten]

I spent the majority of the day working on my table saw upgrade. I removed the old 50" extension wing and striped the saw down to bare bones so I could move it onto a caster system so it could be moved about as needed.

I don't know how much time I will have to work on installing the new extension from Quality Grinding this week but I will peck away at it when I can. I will take some pictures as the assemby portion of the job progresses.

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[Keith Outten]

The new 24" extension wing and router lifter is finally installed and ready to make sawdust.

The first picture shows the installation of the angle iron supports for my fence. I elected to have Quality Grinding ship the wing without drilling so I could mount it myself. The new wing fit my old table top perfectly, when the bolts were tightened it was perfectly level without any shims. A couple shop stands and a clamp and the drilling went without a hitch.

The second picture is a view from underneath that shows the router raiser before installing the new Porter Cable 7518.

The third picture is the completed install. Note that I installed the router raiser 180 degrees from its normal position. This allows me to access the business end of the router from the end of the saw extension. Another benefit for me is that the crank handle is behind the fence so the handle doesn't have to be removed while using the router. Most of my work these days is small plaques and signs, I can rotate the router plate if I need more table space for larger projects. The fence in the picture came with the router raiser, I expect to be making some changes to the stock fence to incorporate some features I feel are best for the type of work I do.

The third picture is a view of the router installed, there is plenty of room and easy access for wrenches when changing bits. The fit of the plate to the iron extension wing was so tight the plate has to be installed straight down or it won't drop into the seat. There are ten leveling set screws that allow the plate to setup perfectly level to the wings surface.

The last picture is a view of the whole package. Needless to say i am very pleased with the quality of the extension and router lift, it is a super nice feature and excellent quality. It will be used frequently, some days for hours and hours and hours when I am edge routing hundreds of door signs...

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[Keith Outten]

Aaron setup a new Manufacturers Forum for Quality Grinding (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/forumdisplay.php?f=45) today. I hope everyone will give Chris Brown and his company a real warm welcome, it will be real handy to have a group of folks who offer custom machining and saw renovations right here at The Creek.

The pictures I took don't do the new extension wing justice, you have to see it in person to appreciate the top notch quality. I was impressed how well it fit and how easy the install went.

[Joe Mioux]

Now that is a NICE extension table!

Looks great, Keith.

joe

[Jim Becker]

Wow...that's a mighty fine setup, Keith!! Those folks do really nice work and I'm glad they will be helping to support SMC.

[Bruce Page]

That is some serious steel Keith!

Sweet setup

[Keith Outten]

Every time I look at the saw now the phrase "tough as iron" comes to mind :)
I was so pleased with the fit it made my day, it is so nice to have everything go together without having to modify or shim and work for hours trying to make something work with an older machine. This old Grizzly hasn't been moved in over 16 years and it has a lot of running hours on it. I hated to remove the slider and the 50" extension table but my needs have changed considerably over the last four years. I have a panel saw and a growing EZ Guide system plus a large CNC router so my old saw wasn't being used enough to justify the floor space it was taking up. Downsizing seemed better than removing the saw from my shop because floor space has become precious now and I'm attached to an old saw that has served me well.

I have a router table that I built many years ago but it doesn't have the nice lifting feature and it isn't possible to modify the table to add one, mostly because it has a steel frame and an aluminum top with two router capability. Changing bits meant removing the router body from the housing which is slow and cumbersome. The new router lifter is open and accessible with easy vertical adjustment and will be a joy to use.

The mobile base I added means it won't be necessary to dedicate a whole bay of my shop to the table saw and I can reclaim some space that I desperately need. Adding a CNC router that takes up 6 by 10 square feet of space blew my shop floor plan out the window and I have never been able to recover the working floor plan that I originally setup. I ended up with no work space and terrible clutter which makes cleanup near impossible.The evolution of my shop through the years finally hit the wall so to speak and it has become to difficult to work on most projects degrading to near dungeon status. Along with all the woodworking machines I have two welders, several metal benders, commercial tile saw, an abrasive cutting saw, a metal lathe and mill drill plus all the accessories necessary to support both mediums. I have lumber and steel storage to support and it can't be done in a 24 by 36 foot building. The extra few square feet of working space will be much appreciated :)

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