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Table Saw Safety
- Thread starter Lonnybass
- Start date
That's a very good point. The other way to keep an abrasive disc/belt/drum cool is to slow it down. A 12" disk running at, like, 400 rpm with 80 grit paper and 1 hp behind it will grind maple quickly without loading up.
I did later add a vac port and sliding sides to hold down the dust even more than just the top. The FeatherLoc in the background is just on the fence pulled to the side and has nothing to do with this sled.
The front side sliding block is for repeated cuts. That slides off the end for long pieces. I put pads on the bottom of the hold downs to not mar the part.
The T slots can also take single hold down clamps that are usually on my drill press.
Very nice! What I really like about your design is the T-slot rails along the top and back rails of the sled. That gives you the flexibility to attach all kinds of accessories to fit different jobs. All easily adjustable for position. For example, I'm sure you already have a second clamp bar that can go on the right side of the blade, if you need it to hold down an odd cutoff and keep it from jamming and kicking. And special sub-fixtures to hold parts that you are making a big batch of.
This basic sled idea could also be adapted into a longer, narrower version made for ripping boards. Same basic principles: The whole sled slides in a straight line, guided by the table slot. The workpiece board is clamped down solidly to the sled. There are adjustable blocker bars and guards covering the blade through its whole length of travel, so you cannot get your fingers into the blade. The cut is a straight slide of the sled, with no binding or kickback.
If you look at the giant saws in lumberyards, that's how they work. Big rolling carriages that go in a straight line in relation to the blade. The log is clamped down to the carriage during the cut.
Most of the machinery in my shop is intentionally purchased as three phase power. I wire in a VFD (variable phase drive) to convert it to single phase power, but a primarily side effect is that so I can infinitely control the speed from zero to traditional high speeds. Imagine running a spindle sander at 10 rpm or adjusting the big bandsaw speed to compensate for density & cutting quality, & vibration, or a 24" disc sander at 15 rpm, so rather than burning and destroying material, you can finesse them and do extremely delicate work on a large double bass size.
I used to go and use the tablesaw at a friend's shop and it scared the hell out of me.. Little by little I set up my own shop and went looking for just a jobsite tablesaw as my shop is pretty small and I was chatting to the guy in the shop about how I had issues with them and how that scared me.. First thing he asked was are you a lefty, I told him I was and he said right you need a saw that can flip the fence over so it's on the left of the blade and you can control he wood with your left hand.. Like night and day, it's now a tool I'm comfortable in using.. I'll set it up for the cut, switch it on and before anything hits the blade just take a moment to double check where everything is and the push stick is right at hand.. The router however is a whole different ball of wax..
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