Last night I drilled the holes in the saw table and the rear rail and mounted it. The result was the same as with the front rails, it fit perfectly, and I don’t think that I could be any happier. The fence is aligned perfectly and it slides across the rails like a hot knife cutting through butter.
I am actually on vacation for the remainder of the year, so I’ll be finishing up this saw. I have 2 more things to do to it….
1. Mount the motor and install a new switch
2. Make a router extension wing.
I have always hated the Crapsman ‘Professional’ router table that I have. It has the aluminum top that we all hate, and it has always felt flimsy.
This saw has the standard cast iron extension wings, which are not solid. If I leave the right side wing off, that will give me approximately 24” from the edge of the table, to the end of the fence rail. So i’m looking at a 24” X 27” router table extension.
I took some pictures, but I can’t get them uploaded because my step-daughter took my usb cable to her dad’s house. Hopefully I’ll get it back tomorrow and I can upload them…
-- Jamie, Kentucky
3 comments so far
rpmurphy509
home | projects | blog
288 posts in 2022 days
#1 posted 1978 days ago
Would love to see the pictures of your handiwork when you get a chance.
-- Still learning everything
Todd A. Clippinger
home | projects | blog
8654 posts in 2267 days
#2 posted 1978 days ago
I can’t wait to see your upgrades. It sounds like you are really breathing new life into this old saw.
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com
Jamie
home | projects | blog
162 posts in 1982 days
#3 posted 1978 days ago
On my workshop page, you can see the saw in the second picture. It’s the one on the left with the can of WD40 sitting on top of it. That’s just in case you guys want to see a before picture. Amazingly it even still has the original motor. It doesn’t look very pretty, but it still runs good. It is a 3/4hp. I have a 1.5hp that I may put on it if it bogs down too much cutting hardwoods… I have a feeling that it might. In the meantime, while I decide on the top for the router table extension, I have dismantled the motor, and removed/cleaned/repainted the cast iron sides and base.
One other thing that I’ll have to do is make an insert for the saw. The original insert is a normal blade/dado combo made of aluminum, but it is bent in a few places so I don’t really want to use it. Oddly enough though, it is slightly thicker than 1/16”, more around 3/32” in thickness. I thought about just buying a zero clearance insert, but I haven’t been able to find one that will fit..
-- Jamie, Kentucky
Have your say...