Getting ready to start making sawdust. Bought a nice Freund blade for the table saw and figured the first step to get started would be to make the ingenius panel jig. Then I looked at the miter slots...
ARRRGHHHH! It has these little tabs on the top of the slot.
The saw is a Craftsman 10" that hasn't been used for a year and half since I put in the kitchen. Didn't realize that the slots were like this actually until now.
So... Am I SOL for using the jig with this saw or is there some way to do it?
Use a piece of ply slightly thicker than the thickness of the tab to pack out the runner. If you glue the runner and packer on, you'll have to clear out any glue which will be some trouble.
If you use enough screws, you may not need glue. Make sure you countersink them
Harley
Semi-retired: Former Australia and New Zealand Authorised BFM cab builder.
I have the same style craftsman table saw. I ordered 4 replacement rods, part number 0121011802, for the mitre-pusher that came with the saw...they were about $6.15USD each plus shipping. Order them from sears.com they will get to you in a couple days.
Get at least 4 of them, use a sander to round off the ends of the runners, and you will need to drill your own screw-holes into them as they don't have any at one end.
You will have to be creative to make the jig with these rods. I was unable to glue them on, but rather had to screw them on from underneath the jig using 2 washers as spacers so nothing binds. I will try to get you a pic, but you will have to e-mail me for it.
I know money often seals the deal, but seriously, quality is an investment, not an expense... Grant Bunter
Accept the fact that airtight and well-braced are more important than pretty on the inside. Bill Fitzmaurice
I, also, have the same saw.
I found a piece of scrap wood that fit the slots well, cut of 1/4" thick slices with a carefully adjusted fence, and used those to make a panel jig.
It's not perfect, but it works.
If I do it again, I'm going to be picking up a sheet of 1/4" thick HDP (High Density Polyethelyne) and cutting runners out of that. Countersink some screws through it, and it should work great.
Thanks everyone for the outstanding replies. I have to figure out what I am going to do. I was even considering taking a grinder to the tabs but talked myself out of it.
Harley, what program did you use to cobble that graphic together so quickly. Excellent work!
vlad335 wrote:Harley, what program did you use to cobble that graphic together so quickly. Excellent work!
Good "Ole Faithful!"....CorelDraw! 7
If I did constant work on the one Bill uses ( Sketchup ) I'd probably use that, but brain leakage is high these days and what I learned a month ago....gets hard to retrieve today.
I'm just trying to find a way to venture the suggestion to the War Office ( without getting killed ) that she wears one of those "Hello my name is......" labels when she comes in from work at night so I can get the name right!!!!!
Harley
Semi-retired: Former Australia and New Zealand Authorised BFM cab builder.
I found rails for putting up shelves that were exactly the righ width. I have been using it, but when they wear out I am going to use the approach pioneered by Strapping Young Stu.
It's ingenious and looks to me like it might be more robust than the kind that uses the rail slots...particularly for those of us with cheap saws that have odd or sub-sized rails
fender3x wrote:I found rails for putting up shelves that were exactly the righ width. I have been using it, but when they wear out I am going to use the approach pioneered by Strapping Young Stu.
It's ingenious and looks to me like it might be more robust than the kind that uses the rail slots...particularly for those of us with cheap saws that have odd or sub-sized rails
Thanks MR. Fender3x. Wow! I think that might just be the ticket. I have been scouring the net for something cheap and simple and that fits the bill perfectly.
Thanks for the headsup about it, it did take weeks of thinking and looking at those tiny slots endlessly before I eventually looked beyond the slots for an alternative
I have updated it a little now and replaced the pieces I joined end to end with single long strips which works a lot better, there isnt a jolt as you move from one strip to the other that was there before.
I need some TIME to work on my projects, I am currently working on files in sibelius all day long for a musical production, so sadly the O10KBWs are sitting in the shed waiting for flares to be put together and installed! But with any luck I will have some time in september.
I had the same problem on my new table saw with the narrow and shallow grooves and i came up with the same solution as stu! I did find tho that the jig tended to bend outwards slightly as i pushed, so one of the first things i did with the jig was cut and trim some thin runners to fit in the factory slots too! then i glued them on without screws coz they were so flimsy. Now the jig works perfectly. Im VERY happy with the increase in accuracy.
-1 for thought terminating cliches.
Built and/or own:
8 x T48 24" 3015LF
6 x DR280
2 x DR250 old style beta10
2 x T36s 20" delta15L
1 x TAT
1 x dual Lab12 30" T60
Dave Non-Zero wrote:I had the same problem on my new table saw with the narrow and shallow grooves and i came up with the same solution as stu! I did find tho that the jig tended to bend outwards slightly as i pushed, so one of the first things i did with the jig was cut and trim some thin runners to fit in the factory slots too! then i glued them on without screws coz they were so flimsy. Now the jig works perfectly. Im VERY happy with the increase in accuracy.
Hmm...this combined approach might be perfect for mine too. Will give that a shot! I have the thin runners without the side braces. It works. It's accurate. But I am worried about breaking the flimsy runners of the heavy MDF jig.
Working on a panel jig for my Craftsman the other night and I finally had it. The saw was sliding across the floor when you push the jig through! Thats the final straw!!!
My Craftsman table saw is like a bad sitcom... It got cancelled!
Anyway... Bought a Jet contractors saw on Craigslist for $325 and picked it up tonight.
What a piece of machinery. I didn't realize how bad my saw sucked till I ripped a board with this one. Right tilt blade and standard miter slots too so I can still make a panel jig.
Currently running:
Four Titan 48's, Six Omnitop 12's, Two Wedgehorn 10's, Omni12 2-10
Also Built: Omni15 Tallboy, Omni10.5.
'The hardest material on earth is the human skull'. How do we know this? Try pounding a new idea into one.
Semi-retired: Former Australia and New Zealand Authorised BFM cab builder.
