# Advice on Table Saw Cabinet Features



## Joe0907 (Mar 29, 2012)

I'm fairly new to woodworking and recently received a hand-me-down table saw, but its stand is in pretty rough shape (see my workshop pictures for details). I'd like to build a cabinet to adequately support it and to provide storage for blades and other table saw tools (and eventually jigs), but I'm not entirely sure what features would be most helpful to include.

My questions are: what features would be most helpful for you in a table saw cabinet? What type of storage is most useful (drawers vs. open adjustable shelves, pegboard on the side vs. all interior storage, etc.)? Do you have any general tips or ideas regarding the project?

I've been looking around at other people's cabinets and have a few ideas, but I figured it would be good to ask for the opinions of people with far more experience than I have. Any ideas would be appreciated!


----------



## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

If you would like to get a better idea, or look at another cabinet, go to my blogs, and read about my tablesaw I refurbished a couple of years ago….It called* "A new look for an old workhorse".*
You might get some ideas from it that might help…..And the old saw is a Craftsman I've had for 28 years…..


----------



## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

joe….who put the new wings and 3650 fence system on that old c-man? that old c-man is a great saw, built in america by emerson electric for sears and ridgid, proably has the reliability and mass of a truck rig. good luck with your cabinet project.


----------



## Joe0907 (Mar 29, 2012)

The saw belonged to a friend of my father's. He upgraded to a new saw, so I got this one. In addition to the wings and fence additions, he also replaced the motor. I haven't run it yet, because the arbor washer was misplaced along its travels. I should have that soon, so my planning has begun! And you were right about the mass… moving it down the stairs on my own wasn't the most pleasant experience.

Thanks for the direction, Rick. That's a great looking cabinet. Mine will be quite a bit simpler, as I'm not very experienced. I was thinking of making adjustable shelving, because I don't know exactly what will be stored there yet. And wheels are a must; I'll need to move it out of the way when it's not in use.

I think I'll start drawing something up this weekend.


----------



## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Welcome to LumberJocks , a world of advise, opinions, and experiences, all shared without judgement.

The great thing about woodworking is, as your skills develope and your needs change you can replace the stand or cabinet to accommodate your present needs. We all cross that bridge from time to time.

Have fun and work Safe developing your shop.


----------



## EEngineer (Jul 4, 2008)

That is a fine old saw! I think you will find that saw was actually made for Sears by Atlas. Does the model number start with 101? Atlas saw model numbers started with 101 and Emerson with 113. This and a lot of other info about vintage woodworking machinery can be found here (one of my favorite sites).

I also have an old C-man saw that I restored and have been looking for a decent cabinet design for it quite a while. After looking at lots of them on the web, I am going to start on a cabinet like this one this summer. This is based on a design from Woodsmith Magazine.

I like the storage drawers, but I want to add a deeper storage drawer for blades and accessories like this .

Good luck!


----------



## Chipy (Apr 20, 2011)

Thats a nice saw with a little TLC it will give you years of good service! I had that same fence on my Ridgid and liked it a lot!


----------



## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

I built this cabinet for the Craftsman TS I used to have. The opening directly under the saw was a dust collection chamber with a 4" DC connection on the back. Worked really great.


----------



## Joe0907 (Mar 29, 2012)

EEngineer, you are absolutely right. It's 101.02142, apparently from 1938? I had no idea it was that old. Thanks for sharing vintagemachinery.org with me. I wasn't able to find the manual there, but they do have Craftsman power tool magazines from that time period. Seeing everything that was available back then is pretty cool. I really like some of the storage ideas in the last link you provided. I'm going to incorporate them in my design. Thanks for the tips!

Sawkerf, I had originally thought about making a cabinet that extends to the ends of my fence rails, but I've realized I would probably benefit from making it similar to the size of your cabinet (or the one EEngineer linked to in his post). I can always add on to it later, once I'm ready to put a router on there. I like that your dust collection design allows for more storage beneath. That's much better than a couple cabinets I've seen that devote all the space beneath the saw for dust collection.

Details are coming together in my mind. It's time to put them on paper.


----------



## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Joe:

I'll be more than happy to help you with the details on my saw cabinet…But in the future, if you have questions about certain things, just send the person (and me, too ) a PM (personal message) instead of post it on thier profile…...Go to your homepage, and under your picture, (avatar), it says "Send a message", add buddies, block, etc. Hit "send a message", and you're good to go….Now you can write whatever to the person you sending it to, and they will get it…....It's just conversation between the two of you, and noone else…..


----------



## Gregn (Mar 26, 2010)

You can see mine in my projects. Its served me well.


----------

