# Nifty saw made even better by nifty upgrades



## jack1 (May 17, 2007)

Some roller stands at the back work well too as long as they are level with or slightly lower than the table surface. I used that system for years.


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

Yep, and you can still use the stands with my modified saw. However, for some projects the additional support at the back of the modified saw is all one needs, thereby making it less tedious to set up to cut certain board lengths.

Howard Ferstler


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## JasonWagner (Sep 10, 2009)

Howard - check out my router table insert for the Ridgid 4500 I used to have. Sorry there's only one picture but I took it right before I sold it. I made a similar fence for my cabinet saw in my projects section.


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## JasonWagner (Sep 10, 2009)

Sorry for the double post - Actually I think it was TS2400 or something like that. Down in the comment section there are some links to design ideas.


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

A novel approach with that saw of yours, which is, as you noted, one of the earlier 2400 series units. The 4510's main upgrade over the 2400 involves the changeover from a fixed-position splitter to a movable riving knife behind the blade, and a bit later on still to the "zero gravity" folding stand. I do not need to add a router table to my saw, because I have a separate Delta bench shaper, but there are certainly people here who would be happy to adopt your design. I think that there is a Sears Craftsman jobsite saw that also has a built-in router table. A big cabinet saw like what you upgraded to later on, or even a contractor's saw would be a great addition to my small shop. Unfortunately, if I put one in there not much space would be left over to do any work. In addition, my two jobsite saws roll easily over the shop's threshold to the work deck outside.

Howard Ferstler


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Great additions : ) 
I guess you weren't kidding about the lack of outfeed table area !!


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

The total front-to-back depth of 28 inches (counting the bar) is roughly what one has with a typical contractor's saw. And that added back bar is almost precisely on the same plane as the main table, and is very stiff. I think that Ridgid could easily offer up a modified version of the saw that incorporates much the same kind of thing. It could be configured in such a way that it could be quickly removed to reduce the size of the unit for storage, which cannot be done with my arrangement. Thankfully, I do not have any space problems with storage.

Howard Ferstler


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## RDR (Jan 31, 2011)

I've got the same saw and have been quite happy with it. I, too, have space concerns. I have to haul the saw from the basement to the garage every time I use it if I don't want to make a big mess in our utility/ laundry room. I'm in the process of making some zero clearance inserts, and I really like your outfeed rollers. The only complaint I have is that cutting sheet goods is pretty tricky.

Have you installed a dado set on the saw yet? The manual says only to use a 6 inch set, but I think that's only because the saw couldn't handle an 8 inch if it's set to cut a 45. I really want to invest in a dado set, but don't really know what to get. I wonder if power is a concern with an 8 inch?


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## Bigjoemann (Feb 12, 2011)

Thanks for the review! I have had this saw at the top of my purchase list for a couple of months now. Just waiting for it to go on sale at HD. I, too, have space restrictions, so I am looking for tools that can be wheeled or folded up out of the way.


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

The only tricky thing about making a zero-clearance plate is that you cannot lower the blade enough to get the plate to seat soldly before cranking the spinning blade up and letting it cut the slot as it rises. You have to kind of diddle it into place while the blade spins at the lowest setting, and that can be a hairly operation. Once the plate seats, however, you can hold it in place (carefully!) while raising the spinning blade with the crank.

I do strongly suggest fabricating a tab at the back of the plate to fit under the overhang at the rear of the blade-cutout area. That will guarantee that the blade will never snag the plate at the back and flip it out. My tab is held in place by both a screw and epoxy glue. The stock plate also has a tab.

Note that the outfeed support I built does not use a roller. That steel sleeve is fixed in place over a thick wooden dowel and simply allows workpieces to slide over it. It is waxed, and is easily as slippery as the top of the saw table.

I have not used a dado set yet. For that kind of work I so far have been using a Delta bench-top shaper and whatever square-cut router bits that make the width cut I need.

I am lucky enough to have a small shop in my back yard (heated, cooled, and dehumidified full time), with a big deck next to it that allows me to move my larger (wheeled) tools out onto it for projects. I live in north Florida and I have much of the year free to do that. (Murder in June, July, and August, however.) So, getting tools into work positions is easy and not all that time consuming. Storage space in the shop is very carefully calculated and everything (and, believe me, everything means a LOT of stuff) is shoehorned into calculated positions.

I was lucky enough to get a 10% military service (I got out 46 years ago) discount at Home Depot. Ours has this locally, as does the local Lowe's. (It may be company policy, or just local.) There are two HDs and two Lowe's in this town, by the way. My only beef is that I only recently learned of the discount deal, and prior to that I have purchased a LOT of tools at each store.

Howard Ferstler


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

The outrigger brace continues to work fine, as does that zero-clearance insert. As I mentioned, an insert like that could potentially lift at the rear, due to blade rotation, and so right at the beginning I installed a small tab on the bottom back end of the insert that extends under the rear of the opening (the stock insert also has a tab) to keep it from lifting. The tab was made from a piece of scrap metal (I cannot remember just what it was originally used on, but anything with decent stiffness would work), and is held in place by both a screw and two-part epoxy. A photo is attached.

Howard Ferstler


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## handystanley (Jun 4, 2010)

@ferstler: How did you go about making the outfeed bar?


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

Hi, handystanley. I am hoping that the description I made with my initial post will be answer enough. However, "enough" is rarely enough when describing some jobs.

Initially, the crosspiece was just the cut-down shovel handle. This was a big construction handle, over an inch in diameter, and was a consistent size all the way down its primary length. (For several years before using it to help modify the saw I employed it as a walking cane during my health-oriented morning walks.) I cut it to fit between the installed extension arms exactly, drilled the ends, and used screws to lock it in place. However, it looked, well, not all that good. I had an old halogen torchiere lamp in storage (you see items like this for sale at big-box stores all the time, and with this one the variable brightness control was shot) and I removed its top pipe section (it had three) and used the remaining two lower sections to make a standard lamp, with standard socket, harp, and shade. It looks good, and the wife likes it.

Getting back to the saw. I took the removed pipe section and sanded off the black paint, and installed it over the wooden dowel. Tightening down the screws took care of the installation. (A fair amount of care was required to get the length just right.) I slightly shifted the screws holding the two arms in place to offset the increase in thickness with the crosspiece, because I wanted the entire piece to be exactly the same height as the table top.

Those arms are standard pine sections, cut from a 2×4, and painted grey. The most tedious part of the operation was setting them up initially so that I could drill the holes in them and in the saw chassis sides to get proper alignment. I first drilled the holes in the arms, then taped them in place, checked the height of the end tips in relation to the table top very carefully, and then marked the drill-point locations. The chassis of the saw at one end is slightly tapered towards the top, so I used a spindle sander and wood file to contour the contact point of one of the arms (where it seats against the side of the plastic saw chassis) to have it extend outward square to the cross piece.

The bar is very solid. I would not exactly advise picking the saw up by the thing, but it easily supports even a fairly heavy work piece and does help nicely with outfeed stability.

Howard Ferstler


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## AMMOSHORT (Jan 6, 2014)

I like your Outfeed bar on this but what is this "flipper" you are talking about?


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

Ammoshort. The "flipper" is that nifty support stand made by Ridgid that you can purchase at Home Depot. It can be adjusted to be a fairly rigid support, or else you can set it to "flip" to a flat position when an out-fed board bumps up against it. This makes it less likely for a work-piece to snag the thing and tip it over. There is a link to a listing for it at:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Flip-Top-Portable-Work-Support-AC9934/100618242

Howard


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## AMMOSHORT (Jan 6, 2014)

Awesome thanks for the link!


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