Full Size Custom Adjustable Outfeed Table

[Bob Feeser]

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Using the Incra Table Saw fence requires that you create space between the table saw, and the outfeed table. (In the above picture the table is not attached to the saw yet.) A space is required because their are 2 rails that the fence rides on; one fore, and one aft. Normally the rail for the fence is in front of the table. Having dual rails with one on the back means you can not have an outfeed that mates right up to the table saw. You have to create a space between.
The problem with that is that wood coming off of the table saw, if it is bowed, or bent in any way, even the slightest, when it comes off the saw, it could span the gap, and hit the tables edge, rather than glide over it. On the New Yankee Workshop, Norm reported that he places the outfeed an 1/8" below the table, just for those type of problems. I am critical of that, whereas if you lift your hand from the work piece, it could tilt ever so slightly to fall that 1/8", leaving a slight uneveness in the cut. So what to do? Quite simply, build a table with an outer edge that is beveled like a slight ramp. See the following photo.
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That slight dip on the "on ramp" compensates for any wood drift while cutting, and immediately lifts it up to an even flat plane with the saw top. No problem using it. That brings me to the next point. With concrete floors never being "perfectly level" how do you create an absolutely flat and even table when it is this large? The answer is to place 8 legs on it, with adjustable feet. You can see that in the first photo. Dual legs on the ends and center, as well as 2 extra legs in the centers as well. That way you can fine tune the leveling throughout the entire table surface. With seasonable changes in humidity, tweaking is not a challenge. A large straightedge ran across the saw top, and side table, extended over the outfeed table, gives you an easy method for getting rid of any light sneaking between the gap between the table top and the straight edge. Even a thousandths shows up that way, and with this set up, you can even eliminate that. As a matter of fact the whole table is so level, I place plastic on it and use it as a gluing station. Having something perfectly flat is great for accurate glue ups.
To tell you the truth, I don't have a workbench built yet, so I use the outfeed table as a double for that as well. It is so great being able to cut anything from small pieces to a 4x8 sheet of plywood and not have it fall off the back of the saw.
If you have any questions about mating up an Incra Table saw fence to an outfeed table, please post your comments here. I will be glad to help in any way I can. Here are a couple more pictures.
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[Jess Wetherhold]

What is the top made from Bob? I don't think I have ever seen such a thing.

[Bob Feeser]

Hi Jess,
You're right. No one else would put a melamine sheet up against oak, then sand the edge to create a snag free surface, but I did. (No wonder nobody else has done it, what kind of nut would sand coated melamine to get an even surface, knowing that the result would be=break through melamine, and uneven as heck at that :confused: :eek: )
The melamine is from Home Depot. A 4x8 sheet is about 20 bucks. It has that real nice white coating on the top, creating a very glidable surface.
The oak was made from some saw mill lumber that I bought, planed, jointed etc. This table has a lot of kerfing that you don't see. The legs, were kerfed 1/8" where they meet the supports. That way everything falls into a proper fit. Then I used urethane glues and screws to secure the seams. Finally filling the screw holes with plugs. I secured the top to the sub frame with pocket hole screws, not glue in order to let it breathe.
I was putting the final finishing on it, when I took the pictures, and hadn't yet attached it to the saw.
Later on when I got the PM mustard machine, I took the side feed table and made an independent double router station out of it, (pics of that later) and used the factory side feed instead. I will have to show you the pictures of the final set up, which does not have any router tables on it.
Lots more coming, talk to you soon. Show us your lathe.

[Bob Feeser]

Early Stages of Building Outfeed Table
Pictures now, talk later. Bob


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http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/4518/2931127350100733997S600x600Q85.jpg
The above pic shows the spacer pieces between the cross table frame supports. I also mated that up to a longitudinal piece that was a single piece. I used a compound slider to make the individual pieces, with a stop system-measuring side feed table, that way I was guaranteed a perfect even fit with all of the pieces. The table top lying under it, was joined to the outer edge oak using tongue and groove bits. I learned that tongue and grooving melamine requires a slightly looser fit, because while gluing up, it is possible that some of the melamine might shred a tiny bit, here and there, making it very difficult to sandwich together at the critical glue up stage. I wouldn't make it loose, but I would make the dry fit a little less than very snug.
Another interesting thing is that by attacking the legs to the cross frame pieces, it creates a more distributed fit.

[Jess Wetherhold]

From the picture it looks as if the top is white plastic or acrylic with gold flecks around the edges. It doesn't look like melamine at all to me. What am I missing? Did you sand through the surface, fill the ply under it with gold flake and then put a finish over it?
I have to read the pic tutorial again and I will post some shop pictures. It's a small shop right now so I am only making small things.

[Bob Feeser]

See the previous post in this thread called Outfeed Table Early Stages Pic's for my reply to your questions.

[Jess Wetherhold]

Maybe I should pm you but I still don't get it.
I understand melamine and oak and I get the joinery. But...when I look at the pic of the top of the table I see a white plastic looking top that is wavy with gold fleck around the outside. It almost appears to be acrylic.
What am I missing?
ps- I didn't pm because I refuse to be blind:rolleyes:

[Bob Feeser]

What you are seeing that appears to be little gold flecks is just the compressed flake board underneath the white coating. With the clear coating it came up looking kind of nice. At first I hesitated to sand it to an even edge, knowing it would be uneven like that, but then I decided that form and function was more important than glam. When it was all done, I was glad I sanded. It made for a snag free surface.
I noticed over at SMC that their was someone who was building the David Marks table to create a flat platform for glue ups, and assembly. This outfeed table doubles for that purpose beautifully. Some may say but what if you need to use the saw while you have a job gluing up? That is not a problem for most jobs, because the table is at least 72", and I can use the lower end for glue ups, and the upper end for cutting. As an aside, I do have the Sears saw in the event, I am gluing up a larger project, or several smaller ones. I guess you can tell I love the outfeed table. With the adjustable feet throughout, you can even tweak it in during the change of seasons.

[Jess Wetherhold]

I understand the method...just not seeing it.
BTY, where is the PM?

[Bob Feeser]

Just kidding. Here is a shot of the Model 66 table saw, freshly assembled on the floor. The motor cover wasn't put on yet. You can see it sticking out the side. It is a 5hp over 100 pound monster. I had to remove the motor and the top to get the saw down the steps. Then I wrapped the motor in a blanket, and strapped it to a hand truck, in order to get it down the steps. The saw without the top and motor is a manageable 350 pounds. It still contains a cast iron trunion, which PM told me not to remove because it was set up properly from the factory, and you would have a heck of a time getting it right again. So the saw with the base and trunion were also blanketed, and strapped to the heavy duty hand truck, and winched down the stairs. I didn't want that thing to suddenly let go, and I was in way. Ouch.
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Here is a pic of the 8" jointer. Notice to the left of the jointer, on the floor is some prototypes of some windows I am making. All it takes is two specialty window making bits from Frued.
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And here is the hollow chisel mortiser. Not long after I bought this, PM came out with the new version, which is the same machine, but has a tilting bed. Of course I am dying to have that one. It is only one hundred more dollars than this one.
http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/4482/2477720880100733997S600x600Q85.jpg

If you look in the back of the photo, right in front of the clown picture, you can see the tail stock of my mickey mouse lathe. It is directly in front of the clown itself. It is a cast iron, 44" total reach with the extension bed which I just leave on. The motor on it is only 1/2hp. I got the lathe in a bundle purchase with the old Walker Turner band saw. It is a cast iron bed, and actually does a decent job. With sharp tools it suffices, well at least sort of. I built a side table to mount it on, and secured it to the floor and ceiling. I know at some point in the future I will be getting a lathe like yours. First I have to use this one more ofen to justify a larger one.

[Bob Feeser]

I should say farewell to the Old Sears setup, which was transformed with a new base, fence, side table etc. Here is the old set up with the custom outfeed table on the Sears.


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You may be saying, what is with all of the fences. I just wanted to show how you can still use the saw for cutting normal stock size pieces, and independently be able to run all 3 router tables at the same time.

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The reason why I wanted 3 router tables is because in the router book, when making cabinets for example with a 3 bits, stile, rail, and panel bits, they stated that when you spend the time to get a perfect setting, then make your runs, then spend the time to get your second setting, and make your runs, then when you do the same for the third setting, then realize you need one more of the first setting bit, you have to go through all of that again. Of course if you keep a sample piece of your original run, it speeds up the setting to make it the same, but still requires some resetting several times to get it perfect. By having 3 tables, you can get your settings, and leave them. If you need the run of another piece, you just cut it on the saw, and make a quick run, and you're done.
Making custom router tables is easy, and inexpensive. When it doubles as a side outfeed table, it is serving a dual purpose.
I guess I am getting wordy again. I love to talk, especially about this stuff. Talk to you soon. Bob
PS: I used the side table you see above, to make another separate routing station with 2 tables. I just built legs for it, and added the mobile base. Then in order to accomodate the larger table depth of the PM, I had to build a new side table, so I skipped making the PM setup a multi router station. Since I have the double table I just mentioned, and have a new double table for the side of the sears that you saw in the previous pics of the new Sears setup, with the Rouseau side table still on, then I also have the sliding router table, that you see in the back of the PM pics, on the right side, sorting of tilting at an angle. All that adds up to 6 router tables. The beauty of it, is that 5 of them are on 2 movable base tables. 3 on the Sears saw, and 2 on the dedicated combo station router tables, and assembly-glue up.
For routers I added to the collection by going to Home Depot when they were giving away the Porter Cable 2HP plunge routers, with above table adjustability, and bought 2 of them, to add onto the Bosch 2+hp, which I have 2 of them, and I have the 3 1/2hp Bosch on the sliding table, plus I have the Fein 3 HP German engineered plunge router. All told I have 9 routers if you include the 2hp Makita D Handle, I had to have after seeing Norm Abram using it all of the time, and I have the Porter Cable trim router which is smaller. I think Norm Abrams has over 20 routers, he showed them in one of his shows on the NYW. I am not bragging, I am in love, and you are driving me back into the workshop.
I want to do a piece on breathing protection schemes over at SMC. I know it will take me some time, you know how thorough I like to do things. I know that the above text is rambling, but I do not have time right now to go over and edit it all. I have to work on my sales guide, for ThankYouByOwner.com, to finish it up, which is a 60 page + guide I have been working on for the past 5 months. That one is edited properly. I just have to do the section on PMI, and disclosures. Talk to you soon, no really, this time I have to go. Thanks for writing. I love the quote someone wrote at SMC, he said something like, "Its not saw dust, it's wood dust, if you are getting saw dust, it's time to change some settings." :-)

[Bob Feeser]

You wouldn't believe how many people have asked me about this table. It was a joy to build. The design came naturally. I just figured out what the objectives were, and it all fell together. The adjustablity for flatness, allowing the seasonal changes, and the ramp on the leading edge, avoiding any snags, and the melamine top worked out great. Anyone want to know anything else about it, please write.