For those of you that have your table saw in the center of your garage shop how are your running power to your table saw? Currently, I have my dust collection hose and an extension cord running on the ground to my table saw. Every time I look at it I think "I'm going to trip on that one day". I was considering adding a permanent collum in the center on the garage and installation power outlet in it. But I'm questing if I really want a permanent obstacle in the center of my garage. Plan B would be to install a power outlet in the ceiling and run an extension cord down from it. Any advice on the best way to do this would be great.
I can't give you the "right way" to do it but I can give you my experience from my last setup (in a move transition right now). I had the power cord run on the ground, couple of pieces of duct tape held it down so no tripping. The dust collector hose was run over head as I had a tripping concern as you do. The only problem with this was ripping down long sheet goods. As the dust hose was about center so if you had a 20" wide or so rip cut on a sheet of plywood then the board would hit the hose and you would either run the risk of it pushing on the board and causing kick back or you would have to unhook it before making that one cut.
on the one hand taking away dust collection for one cut isn't the end of the world but it is still annoying. So if you do run it over head figure out a better way to drop it down so it doesn't affect cuts.
All shops should have electrical outlets in the ceiling. That would be my advice . I have one of those 25 foot reels of 12/2 on my ceiling. It is the most used electrical outlet in my shop.
I too had my DC hose and power cord running across the floor and I did trip.
When I modified my DC and added a Cyclone and ducting, I ran everything overhead including a very heavy duty extension cord (15 footer). I now have my DC hose and power cord dropping down from the ceiling.
The extension cord plugs into the 15A circuit I had run several years earlier. It runs up the wall, across the ceiling, and drops down just far enough that I can reach up and plug the table-saw into it. In my case, a 15 footer was perfect.
I should have done this a long time ago.
The ceiling outlet and extension is how I do it. Since I have DC ducting running down, I just run the extension along it (zip ties). If I didn't have the ducting I'd likely just let the cord hang from hooks.
I work out of my two car garage, that's underneath our bedrooms. Due to the layout, there's a big metal column in the middle of my shop, and it frequently gets in the way. Whatever solution you end up with, I have to imagine it's preferable to having a permanent fixture smack in the middle of your shop.
I have both 120 and 220 outlets over the main machines and run my dust collection overhead as well. The cords and dust collection drop down directly above the machines. Only drawback, as Notw identifies above, is that when ripping wide goods, the cord or hose may get in the way. I left enough slack in them to permit me to pull them aside with a bungee cord for those occasions.
My saw power cord runs mostly under my outfeed table toward the shop wall outlet. In the short space between the end of the outfeed table and the wall, the cord is covered with a wedgy thing like this only mine is made of wood scraps. Works great. My table saw is a contractor style and I don't have my DC connected to it. Instead, I covered the back, to the extent possible allowing for the belt drive, and put a diaper bag on the bottom to catch the saw dust. Again, it works great. Just vacuum out the diaper bag when it gets full. Very little dust escapes out the back.
I ran a dedicated circuit in the ceiling. It goes into a box mounted on the ceiling and has a nice drop down with a receptacle right at the table saw. No extensions, nothing else plugged in to it. Nothing to trip over and it's always right there ready to go.
I have anti-fatigue mat between my combination workbench, assembly table and saw outfeed area, and the wall with my DC and other tools. I picked up some 1/2" steel conduit tonight with the plan of running the conduit on the floor and adjacent to the mat to limit tripping potential (I too have been using an extension cord).
I am presently in the process of setting up my dust collection system and will be using a flexible hose for the table saw, then storing it off to the side and out of the way when not needed. I had considered dropping something down from overhead but didn't want the obstruction.
I was looking for someone to answer this. What do you use to hold the cable ramps flat on concrete? The double sided tape I'm using isn't lasting very long so there must be another method I'm missing.
I have a wood floor and screw the cable ramp directly to the floor so it can't move. For concrete I'd do the same thing, pre-drill and use some tapcons.
I ran a dedicated circuit in the ceiling. It goes into a box mounted on the ceiling and has a nice drop down with a receptacle right at the table saw. No extensions, nothing else plugged in to it. Nothing to trip over and it s always right there ready to go.
I had a 42×28 shop before I moved and had the same problem. I noticed that the folks who poured my concrete made a rather large and deep saw cut right down the middle of the floor.
It was just right to fit a 12-2 with ground on edge in it so I ran my wire in it and put my receptacle under my saw where I could reach it easily. Worked fine for me as I was the only one working in the shop. The cut was deep enough that I didn't have to worry about damage. larry
I have no problem with the power cord and dust collection hose being along the floor behind the saw. Just run it along the right rear of the saw. You rarely walk that way around the saw. Better still, stick your jointer or planer to the right of the table saw and have two cords and one dust collection hose there.
Seems like overkill to me. It's a one man shop, after tripping over it once or twice, you'll remember it. We always use one side more than the other with any tool, just make sure the cord is on the other side..
I run my tablesaw off of 220 and I only have one outlet on a wall. I have my saw in a cabinet along with my jointer and router table.
I've thought about running an extension cord along the ceiling, but I can't figure out where to drop it down that won't be in my way when cutting. So I run the cable out the back of the cabinet and along the floor to the outlet.
It's a minor trip hazard when walking around the big cabinet, but I'd rather the trip hazard be there rather than where I'm operating the saw from.
I have been thinking about this.
I had a sub panel added with 3-120V 20 Amp and 1 240V 20 Amp, all 4 dedicated lines and plugs. They're right below the sub panel on the wall that I intend to have most all my machinery against except for the tablesaw in the middle of the shop. I have very beefy 20 Amp 25ft extension cords for everything ($$$). I was going to run the 120v along the wall to the machines they power, but for the table saw I hadn't come up with a good idea. I like the idea of the wooden ramp the best, as the ceiling is 10ft tall (which is awesome) but I'm 5'10" so that would be a pain for me.
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