TABLE SAW

[BRYAN LEE]

Im having trouble finding a good table saw here in Thailand. Its even hard to get a chinese job and they are flimsy and the moters suck. Im actualy considering building one but not the old circular saw screwed to plywood. I have a machine shop close by so this maybe a fix.Cheep skilled labor too. I was thinking of steel table top with a ten inch blade and moter on a caragge so it could go up and down precisly. Not sure about tilt though. I would never dream of this in the States but here anything is possible if youve got a couple hundred bucks to spend. Maybe Im just daydreaming but some daydreams are fun anyway. Anybody got any Ideas if they could build their own table saw?

[ 08-06-2004, 08:28 AM: Message edited by: BRYAN LEE ]

[Garrett Lowell]

Bryan, the only thing I can find is this: 6 inch table saw plans. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4316992103&category=20785)

Maybe you could adapt it to the size you need.

[Garrett Lowell]

And, maybe you could make it so the table top itself tilts, instead of the motor and blade.

[ken mcclure]

I built my first kitchen using a 5 1/4" circular saw mounted upside-down in a little saw table that was made specifically to do that. I don't know if those are still made, but it worked just fine.

Whatever you make, be sure that you can get the fence aligned perfectly with the blade, and the blade perfectly aligned with the slots in the table top. You ARE going to have slots in the top, right? So that you can use a mitre gauge or some jigs?

The quality of your cuts depend on those alignments and your ability to measure accurately.

[Dave Fleming]

Look for Fine Woodworking's book.

Making and Modifying Woodworking Machines or(Machinery)

[Gresham CA]

I don't think I would want the table to tilt. Table saws are a much different animal than band saws.

[gary porter]

Bryan, there used to be plans available as well as parts for all sorts of woodworking machinery like table saws, bandsaws, and shapers. I may even have some of them and if so I'd be glad to send them to you but not sure if they are still in business.
It was something like Gillum or Gillbuilt. I'll have a look. On the other hand its unlikely that you can build as good a saw as you can buy. Before I had a table saw I used a Triton table with a mounted circular saw. It did work.
Gary

[Jon Etheredge]

There have been several commercially built table saws with a tilting table. Sears-Roebuck sold a small table saw for many years that had a stationary blade arbor and the table moved up and down and tilted. I don't know exactly when they discontinued this saw but it was probably available till the late 1950s or so.

More recently, I believe that the table saw made by Inca (a Swiss company) had a tilting table. This was a very high quality saw. I don't know if this saw is still being made or not.

I haven't used the Inca version but the first table saw I owned was one of the little Craftsman saws. Given a choice, I would definitely going with a tilting arbor instead of tilting table especially for mitered crosscuts on larger pieces of wood. But the tilting table is a workable solution.

<hr>

As far as the comment that "its unlikely that you can build as good a saw as you can buy", come on guy... Look inside a Unisaw. There's nothing in there that can't be built with a lathe and a milling machine. It ain't rocket science. Yeah, I know that Delta uses lots of castings but you can always fabricate those pieces out of bar and sheet stock if you don't want to make patterns and have them cast.

Of course you can build a better saw than you can buy if you have access to machine tools, experienced operators, and time.

I'll agree that is unlikely that you can build a table saw that costs less than what you can buy one for in the U.S. But if you do all the fabrication work yourself or the purchase price of a ready made saw is very high it might be cheaper to build rather than buy.

Sorry for the rant but I get irritated when I hear someone say "you can't do that" ;)

[gary porter]

Bryan, here is the address for the Gilliom co.
I do have plans for a 9" tilt table saw and for a 10" arbor floor saw. Your welcome to them but it might take a while to get them to you. Try this company if you really want to build one. They do or did have all the parts for each of their projects as well.
Good Luck
Gary

Gilliom Manufacturing
P.O. Box 1018
St. Charles, Mo 63302
636-724-1812

[Dave Fleming]

The Table Saw in that Fine Woodworking book is at least 90% wood and plywood. It was built for use in a University wood shop.

There is also a Jointer with the same proportion of wood and ply by the same author/builder.

Very Slick and something that could be built by village craftman with not too much trouble. I'm thinkin'.

Loooong before there were tilting arbors on woodworking saws there were tilting tables. I mean big stuff like Oliver, Tannewitz, Beech, Newman, Whitney.They swung 14 inch and up to 18 inch blades.
It definitely takes a different mindset to work one of them effectively but, it was done.

[Jack Heinlen]

Hm, a few comments. You're saying that in the land where Grizzly tools are made you can't find a tilting arbor, ten inch, contractor's saw? Christ on a crutch, I can buy one for four hundred dollars here in Maine. Decent, if not special. I would think someone local would have one, less the shipping. ;)

I've worked with both tilting arbor and tilting table, and the former is a much easier tool to work with, IMHO.

[Phoenix]

Hi Bryan,
Take a look at this it is all the rage in Australia,
http://www.k-c-electronics.com/triton/1.jpg

I am not sure if they have an outlet in Thailand but it may be worth contacting them it is a very versatile unit and can be used as a table saw, a cross cut saw, router table etc, check website Workcentre 2000 (http://www.triton.net.au/products/wc2000_2.html) I use this work centre all the time as it is very portable

[Jack Heinlen]

I misread your original post, Tailand, not Taiwan. redface.gif

[Stiletto]

Phoenix, I think that is the Triton that Gary Porter mentioned.

[BRYAN LEE]

You would think it would be easy to get stuff like chineese table saws and bandsaws in THAILAND but it aint so. There are laws like same penalty for carring a gun or having a chainsaw, limets on saw sizes and you darn sure better not get caught wigh one of those portable sawmills like we haul around behind the truck in ALASKA. The other thing is people just cant afford to buy big items like table saws. I found some leads on a couple saws but that is an all day bus ride and an overnight trip plus import dutys and dragging it back to my island over the ferrie and a major exausting effert. Im still drawing up plans as I have to do something soon I almost burned up my MAKITA circular saw today when I tried to rip a piece of rubber tree that was a THAI 2x4 but was really more like 3x6 and green. No mossies for a time cause I smoked em out. Im also always having computer problems so sometimes im off-line for days at a time. Last month I barbqued a gecko with my powersource and shorted out everything.