| Project by elbarneso | posted 412 days ago | 2694 views | 17 times favorited | 11 comments |  |
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I have long wanted to replace the HercuLift mobile base on my R4511 table saw that I seemed to curse every time I needed to use it. However, it wasn’t until I saw the Decked out R4511 project that Paul Stoops posted here on Lumberjocks that I got to inspiration to actually do it – thanks Paul !
Although I used Paul’s basic design for the mobile base, I made a few changes:
- slightly smaller width, as I was not planning to build enclosed side storage. I also nestle my mobile flip stand next to my table saw, so I couldn’t have the width extend past the big dust door on the right
- instead of building my own angled dust chute inside the main body, I cut down and reused the plastic dust chute that came with the R4511. This also allowed me to re-use the dust connection on the back.
- to reduce dust buildup inside the table saw, I used 3/16” pieces of white foam board that was on sale at Hobby Lobby. It is not too thin, and naturally slick. I also focused on the front and back of the inside of the saw, so I did not go all out like Paul did with foil-taped inserts on the side and inside the dust door. I am going to keep an eye on dust buildup in those areas and will add more foam board if needed.
- I am leaving it unpainted, so it matches my mobile flip stand. I will probably add some shellac and paste wax similar to the flip stand.
- For the main drawer slides, I am just using some scrap hardwood on the bottom. The drawer is heavy enough to stay put by itself, and I like being able to quickly pull the whole thing out.
Regarding transferring the table saw from the stock base to my new one, I toyed with borrowing an engine lift or similar. In the end, I decided to just put some plywood under the old base to raise it up to be barely higher than the new base, locked the 4 (double-locking) wheels, and slid the table saw over on a scrap piece of Hardie Board. I did take as much as I could off the top of the saw (including the granite wing) to reduce the weight. I know some will call me stupid for doing it this way by myself, but it felt solid/safe the whole time. I think maybe struggling with the HercuLift the last couple years made me able to muscle my table saw around easily – it was like a full workout sometimes to move that thing before :-) Now it rolls like butter!
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11 comments so far
MoshupTrail
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271 posts in 678 days
#1 posted 412 days ago
I have GOT to do that for mine. Nice job. Did you consider just using the whole dust collection chute and mount it between the base and the saw? That’s what I was thinking. That “herculift” thing is a real pain and doesn’t work well.
-- Some problems are best solved with an optimistic approach. Optimism shines a light on alternatives that are otherwise not visible.
Martyroc
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2708 posts in 503 days
#2 posted 412 days ago
Nice job, can never have enough storage and making it mobile was a great idea.
-- Martin ....always count the number of fingers you have before, and after using the saw.
elbarneso
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7 posts in 441 days
#3 posted 412 days ago
MoshupTrail – I did consider using the whole dust collection chute, but I noticed when measuring it out that too much space would get used where the drawer goes. You will notice that even after I cut it down a lot, the drawer still needed to slope down towards the back.
Jason Watts
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32 posts in 450 days
#4 posted 412 days ago
Very nifty! It would be awesome looking if you paint it Rigid orange so it all looks factory!
-- - In Christ
cavemancarpenter
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41 posts in 1910 days
#5 posted 412 days ago
Nice job. Been thinking of doing something like this to my saw but was worried that it might be tippy when I run long heavy stock. Do you find that to be an issue?
-- SATISFACTION = a large pile of sawdust and a great finish when the job is done
Grant Davis
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595 posts in 2105 days
#6 posted 412 days ago
PILFERRED, I mean bookmarking to borrow later. FANTASTIC job.
-- Grant...."GO BUCKEYES"
Picho
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15 posts in 1979 days
#7 posted 411 days ago
very cool!!
elbarneso
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7 posts in 441 days
#8 posted 411 days ago
cavemancarpenter – I never noticed it being tippy, even before with the much smaller base that came with the saw, but I rarely run huge stuff (both long and heavy) through my saw.
GodofBiscuits
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92 posts in 1272 days
#9 posted 411 days ago
Ok, this is one I am definitely copying, well, sort of. I was going to build a mobile base for my craftsman 10” table saw so I could build in some table extensions but didn’t think about also putting in dust collection as well. This is moving up to a top spot on my to do list of things to build. Great work and thank you for sharing this and expect to see a number of copycats in the near future.
-- Are you going to use that piece of scrap?
Paul Stoops
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278 posts in 758 days
#10 posted 410 days ago
Great job! Thanks for sharing. Sure makes the R4511 easier to move around, doesn’t it! I agree with Jason—some paint would sure make it look spiffy!
One of the things I love about Lumberjocks is the willingness of folks to share their ideas and designs. I get a lot of ideas just seeing the great posts here. It’s great to be able to take someone’s project and modify it to meet your unique requirements.
-- Paul, Auburn, WA
MikeW
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4 posts in 1250 days
#11 posted 63 days ago
Nice. I have headaches with the “Herculift” as well, so I need to buold this for mine. Could you post dimentions so I can replicate one? I can guess from the pictures, but it seems like yours is perfect so I don’t want to mess mine up. Thanks for helping those of us not as skilled imaging how to build something.
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