| Blog series by Jim Bertelson | updated 10 days ago | 8 parts | 2090 reads | 36 comments total |
Part 1: My antic plans for the weekend........
I am into “shop antics” this weekend, or at least I think thats what Mike Stefang from Norway would call it. One of Mike’s comments gave me that part of the title for this series. I decided I was not going to use my TS (nearly 20 year old Delta contractor’s saw) any more until I fixed the on-off switch and position. You can’t find it half the time, and to look, puts your face in front of the blade. Bad deal. So I have pretty well designed my new switch…...
Part 2: Running late, but the switch mechanics look good......I hope
Lots of thing goin’ on Saturday…....exercise, lunch with my true love, errands…..... Well I lengthened the cord from the motor to the switch, got the mount figured out to the Vega Fence…....even made it adjustable. Had to revamp some materials usage, some of the aluminum tubing I had was bent. Switched to dowels, thats OK, use aluminum bearings. Please understand, I am making this from scrap and the junk box….....that’s one of the premises….make a ...
Part 3: Nearly done with the table saw switch..........
I am nearly done with building my table saw switch mechanism using the original toggle switch. CHEAP, fun, and interesting. My rules are…. no new purchases allowed. Scrap box and odds-and-ends. Not done enough for pictures, lost a lot of time today for a variety of reasons, but did get some of the Sketchup stuff done, and got the mechanism to the point that a couple of hours will have it on the saw. The concept has been established in wood and a tiny bit of metal and works well. Mind yo...
Part 4: A little progress on the table saw switch
Work has been interfering with my life again….rats. Got enuf time in the shop today to finish the bearings on the switch. They provide the sliding surface for the dowel that flips the switch. The bearings, and stops now eliminate unwanted rotation, over depression, or over extension of the switch. Meaning, it you can’t push it in too far, pull it out too far or somehow turn it…....all to avoid stressing the toggle switch. So just a little bit of plywood, the actual face t...
Part 5: THE SWITCH - functionally complete, outstanding performance
DELTA CONTRACTOR SAW ON-OFF SWITCH REPLACEMENT – PRECISION SCRAPBOX REPLACEMENT PURPOSE: Replace my current table saw (TS) switch with a safer, more convenient switch mechanism. BACKGROUND: My saw has (had) the stock toggle switch mounted on the cabinet that was hard to find, occasionally required a look, right behing the saw blade, and definitely dangerous. I almost bought a couple of switches I saw at Rockler, Woodcraft, etc on the internet. But they didn’t grab me. They all see...
Part 6: Switch Done - all dressed up for the dance
I put the dust shield sides on yesterday and I used two tone Watco to finish the switch. This is a picture of the switch on the saw, completely done and in use. I think this is the most successful shop addition I have made. Performance is optimum, and the safety added by the switch alone makes it worthwhile.
Part 7: Using the improved table saw, and making zero clearance inserts
Got 4 blanks cut for the zero clearance inserts (ZCI). Using MDF. Drew out 4 blanks on a 48×40 sheet of left over MDF, cut the section out with table saw, then split that section in two length wise so I had two pieces with two rough blanks. Then split it into 4 with the RAS. I had cut some plywood earlier today, and some fiber board. Why the detail in the description? Since I put those machined pulleys on, and the twist link belt (along with my Forrest WWII thin kerf blade with stabil...
Part 8: An ELECTRIFYING WEEKEND, When Peter Power Pillar Got More Power, & Tammy Table Saw Got More Whine
What follows is a true story,……Tammy arrived without a motor……..and we found it…..and the rest is true also, so help me SAWDUST ………… Of all the joyous sounds of the shop, there is none more beloved than Tammy TableSaw’s wonderful whine. She is a proud Contractor’s Saw, born to serve, born to create, born from love. When Tammy starts a whining, all the other tools become alert, knowing that they too will soon join in the song. The whine of the saw is the herald of creation, the shop will b...
Revamping an old multipurpose shop, and hopefully creating a solid woodworkers shop...
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