Here's my version of a DIY tablesaw (per Manshacks request)- works perfect
Started with a scrap piece of 1/2" plywood and framed the underside with 1x2 pine

Mine's 4'x21" but whatever you like. Next saw into the middle of the plywood clear through but only in the center. Then turn the plywood over and insert the blade from the bottom.
Screw it down



Then you'll have to grind down flush where the screws poked through-

You'll need a guide-
Make sure it's square and the same width as the table


I just hacked an extention cord and used some regular electrical boxes, mounted undernieth. Used a light switch so I can turn it on and off at the table.

BTW- I had to strap-lock the saftey switch so it would work right.


Then, when you want to make a cut, use a straight edge on the blade and measure back , place the guide and secure it with some type of clamp- and there you have it.
Hope that helps

That's awesome Capt_kirk! I'd had that idea rolling around in my head for a while but never put it together. Thanks!!

Nice, cap'n. Looks just like mine. I got tired of cutting off the strap-lock every time I wanted to use the saw seperately from the table, so I bent a heavy gauge wire that snaps on and off.

Awsome idea! I'm going to make one tonight. Thanks

Reminds me of my grandfather...when he needed a tool he just made one.

Is this safe? I mean if the blade were to come off it would fly through the table and cut off your head! How safe is doing this? I'd be willing to make one, but I don't want to have this thing be a safety hazard.

Its as safe as any power tool. You just need to follow the usual safety precautions.
1. Check your fittings.
2. Check your blade to make sure its not loose or anything is obstructing it.
3. Wear your safety gear.

Most table saws are basically the above design. The most important thing about this one is to make sure that in addition to the above, you need to periodically check the bolts that hold it to the wood. A little extra checking goes a long way to making sure you always have 8 fingers....Oh, sorry Ten...

All it is is a circular saw maunted on a sliding assembly, so with lockwashers and mounts it is prob. safer than you trying to rip a piece of wood holding the saw by hand.

Joe

Just remember to mount the saw so the blade cuts into the piece of wood you're cutting (like a regular table saw) if you mount it the other way, the wood will crawl up the blade and launch out the back side through your garage wall. (sounds like an episode of Myth Busters)

it would actually slice your head in two , vertically ..far nastier..

Unless it hooked mid air and boomeranged into your head.

Sweet guide. I'm going to be using a table saw and this is just what I needed.

It is a sweet guide indeed. I just did this last weekend.

3/4" plywood, framed with and standing on standard 2x4's. I bought a Drywall T-Square just because I'm lazy. The wood on the left side of the table is just some scrap that I used for a test cut.

This is a great idea, but I would recommend extreme caution with the DIY table saw. It doesn't have a blade guard or splitter. Without a precise fence, it would be real easy to get kickback, and that bare blade is dangerous. If you are a beginner, I would steer clear of trying this, or figure out a way to incorporate a splitter, and maybe figure out how to use the blade guard on the circular saw by cutting a hole for it.

Has anyone had any close calls with the saw yet?

I really like that idea though, if I hadn't bought a table saw a few months ago, I would have tried it...

FYI: You DIY Table saw guys might find this idea useful for Dado cuts:

http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/workshop/dado.html

I built one of these in a 30"X80" hollow door years ago and it is fabulous! I glued 2 2X2's underneath, front and back, for rigidity, which stick out the ends about 6" for lifting and to stand it on behind the door when I put it away. Underneath are folding legs (they fold between the 2X2's) - works great for a work bench too. A switch box is included under the front rail.

I built 2 mitre tool slots into it, and built a BIG sliding table to slide in the slots to hold items for precise angle cuts. I built a fence out of 3 maple boards and a BIG "T" to square it. The center board is in 2 pieces lengthwise, with a space between, so I could run a rod through to tighten a clamp on the back side to lock the fence in place. It is great to have a fence with a long lead to the blade.

It is great to have a BIG table saw, and then to have it disappear when you're done with it - the table "behind a door", and the saw in its box. The saw blade is more that 2 feet from the right end, and more than 4 ft from the left end. This means I can saw a 4'X8' piece of plywood in two anywhere, and it won't fall off the end. You do still have to catch it behind, of course. If you want to fix that problem in grand fashion, get another door, mount folding legs on it, and put it behind the first! Then, when you're finished, they both disappear "behind the door", or where ever you have space to stand them up.

I am planning in the future to replace the electric hand saw with the guts of one of these small, inexpensive 10" table saws. This will provide greater cut depth AND provide the blade protector/splitter that some have been complaining about in this forum.

This is in response to this whole thread in general, but why gut an inexpensive tablesaw (which generally have shoddy parts and are underpowered), which are dangerous enough as it is, and then use wood for a table... idunno... great idea, except that tablesaws can be one if the most dangerous tools in a shop, and i wouldnt trust anything besides a good slab of iron and a biesmeyer fence. Seriously, this isnt just tool snobbery, i am a boatbuilder, i do things with tablesaws most wouldnt think you could do, but this is just plain unsafe. a table made out of wood is not a good idea, wood moves, flexes, contracts and expands, therefore making it unstable for the purpose of the table. Second, most circ saws do not have the horsepower of a tablesaw, just look at the size of a motor, theres a reason for that. Now not to rain on your parade, im all for DIY jigs and fixtures, but this is pretty unsafe unless you REALLY know what youre doing. But at least let me give you two piecies of advice... one, dont bother installing the guard/splitter from a cheap tablesaw, they are actually more dangerous than they are beneficial... people rip those things off 5000 dollar cabinet saws in pro shops (illegally mind you, and i dont advocate it, unless they make the cut youre making, such as a thin rip, more unsafe than if you had the guard on) but at home, and since in the case of this DIY saw, youve already voided any warranties, and im assuming not doing this professionally, id advise either going without a guard/splitter altogether, or better yet, buy a highly rated aftermarket one, and make SURE the splitter is PERFECTLY aligned with the blade, or this WILL cause a kickback eventually, unless you want your workpiece coming back at you like a giant throwing star at very high RPM (this has sent many woodworkers into early retirement). Second, your fence, i didnt let the page load enough to see what youre using, it doesnt really matter, you dont need a 500 dollar fence system, it would be nice, but if youre going DIY, heres the most important factors, one is that the fence is PERFECTLY parallel to your blade, and second, when you make your cut, your fence should NOT move AT ALL. check the far end of the fence, thats where most cheap fences fail. Yet again, youre actually better off freehanding it than having your fence loose or not parallel, which of course is commonly done, but I am not advocating it here. Yet again the second most common cause of a kickback. Im not trying to knock youre ideas.... just trying to make sure nobody gets hurt.

cheers,
Chris

I'll second all the above. Tables saws are freakin' dangerous tools. I hear getting fingers sewn back on costs a lot more than renting or buying a table saw. Take a look through the incident reports here. No, really. Whatever kind of tool you're using, they probably have an incident report for it.

Some scary stuff. Remember a couple of things when you use power tools.
They're faster than you are.
You can't move fast enough to get out of the way.
Your reflexes aren't good enough.
The saw blade doesn't care what it cuts.
Table saws are EXCELLENT throwing machines. If you don't believe me, stand BEHIND (on the outfeed side) a running table saw, and feed or drop a piece of styrofoam into the back of the blade. It will throw a piece of wood just as hard, and picture where you would be standing while using the saw.

One thing you should always do before you turn on a power tool is think through the entire operation. If something about it bothers you, don't turn on the tool, figure out a safe way to do it.

Lets face it this is DIY. With a little common sence and research as should be done with all DIY projects this is a real good project. A few things to consider:

Instead of a ziptie to hold the trigger on or a removible clamp a safer practice would be a extension cord with a switched outlet attached to the front of the home made tablesaw top that the circular saw can be plug into. This would leave one hand free to turn off the saw and at the same time be able to hold on to the piece you are cutting.


For a guard, well the guard that is on the saw has been in use for along time with this type of saw, I would leave it on and just make the blade cut wide enough to let the guard work freely with no binding.

If I was to make this saw I would make the fence before I attached the saw or even cut the slot. Then I would mount the fence and cut the slot with the saw that I would be using. By doing a plunge cut using the fence as a guide. This does two things It makes the saw parralell to the fence and gives you a guide to mount the saw from under the table. Making it a no brainer

Kickback is one of the most dangerous problem with any power saw. A home made table saw has its limitations. I have no idea how to make or mount a anti-kickback or a kirf spreader without giving me a cold shudder down my back. I can probally say that someone has done it. You would be dealing with very presciece tolerances that will have to hold up to a kick back and as you all know some of them kickbacks pack a whallop.

A few things to help reduce the risk involved with kickback:
Stand to the side of the saw where the fence is located this give you more protection incase of KB
Make sure the front area of saw is clear of trip hazards nothing like loosing your balance during a cut.
Don't force the material, There is a reason for it getting hard to push through the saw turn off the saw without letting go of the wood ,once the saw stops look and see what is causing the bind. You may have to flip the wood around to finish the cut.
Place the table saw in such a way as to be able to see doors and other access points, less chance of getting startled. A surprised person may jump, flinch or letgo of the material being cut, causing KB

I hope this helps someone who is thinking of making one of these. remember proper maint. is needed with a tool like this make a visual check on all parts . Bolts loosen up, fences will get loose. Vibration is a real part of safety and it works against all tools.

I have heard of these saws lasting for years and years, but it should only be considered a temp tool until a one with all the safety devices can be bought.

Excellent post!

I just used my DIY table saw again last night, cutting some pretty small parts for my LCD frame.

Current finger count: 10.

I once had a shop teacher who was missing most of his fingers (we called him stubs, but not to his face). Boy, was he a stickler for safety. His major advice was to Use the right tool for the job, and know it's safety procedures. Wear proper safety equipment and work apparel. Work in a clean, tidy, and well lit environment. Don't rush and don't work if your tired, pissed off or drinking. As hobbiest we sometimes overlook many of these rules. It would be interesting to know how many of use have been cut, burnt, electricuted, inhaled copious piles of dust, are loosing our hearing, or have gotten shrapnel in our eyes.

Remember that luck rarely lasts forever. Take your time do it right, and be save.

I thought about doing this the other day (saw the thread today), very interesting.

I later found out though that dremel make a circular saw with straight cutting guide & bought that for my dremel tool.

Man talk about DIY I thought I was the Only one... at my so called father in laws shop we made an all in one table I will have to get photos when I go over there.. Basically a long Lunch room table that we mounted a skill saw, the further down a router, then further down a jig saw under the table complete with switches.. We used a safety cover off of an old table saw and mounted it on a hinged rod .. Now the router .. that s a little dangerous if you are using a real hard piece of wood.. I once shot a frame corner clear across a 22 foot shop... But the jig saw idea of mine is one I use alot , It is like haveing an adjustable angle scroll saw where you move the wood on the table instead of the saw on the wood , it gives a better cut ... I got to go to the store BBL ... Think I will play with some ideas for my dremel tool today .. I am going to make my own router table for it..

I rebuilt a 300 year old chateaus in france with a setup similar to that.
MDF is smoother though. You can use cleats on the bottom so you can take the saw in and out.

Actually, I'll be building a DIY table saw this spring. I'm going to NEED a table saw for some projects around the house, so...

Another thing that I'm going to need is a router table, so... I'm planning on making an insert into the table part of it which will handle either the skillsaw or the plunge router. That way I can accomodate either with one fence system.

For a fence, I'm going to use a piece of angle iron, and weld some crossbars at 90 degrees at the front and rear. These crossbars will sit in grooves in the table top, so that I can accurately keep the fence at a true parallel to the saw blade.

Oh, and kickback is a bad thing. I've seen a tablesaw throw a 2X4 through a cinderblock wall because someone was being an idiot trying to rip 2X2s out of it. The poetic irony of it was that the truck on the other side of that cinderblock was happened to be his. Fortunately nobody happened to be standing in the way, however, the next day, the tablesaw had been turned 90 degrees so that any similar incidents would throw material to a much nearer wall, with the commesurate decrease in likelyhood that anyone would ever be standing there.

Yep, watched a strip of 1x1 inch oak go through the side of a garage one time. Kinda slow motion and odd looking. The only I could think while watching it crash and penetrate the wall was 'Its missing the feathers'...

That was when we decided the placement of the new duct...funny that.

SJ

Heh, thats funny. To cross-referance your 'things I learned on the couch' thread... Our brain actually slows-down time in a life-threatening situation, so we are able to see more then the normal estimated 30 snapshots (fps).

Still not enough time to prevent a table saw mishap tho. Ask member JoWerb, he will give you a 3/4 thumbs up.

OHH a safety expert

There is a New Yankee Workshop episode where Norm takes a basic job saw (one of the little ones you buy, with about nine inches of rip width) and makes an extension for it out of wood, and adds a new fence.

While this would be less stable than a proper wide feed table saw, a lot of us don't have all the shop space that would need, and this is a compromise that lets you have a proper fence, blade guards, and the original metal table near the blade, while giving you the wider width which is needed to do many jobs (projector cases, shelving, blah blah)

They sell plans and videos on the website, google it. Way less likely to lacerate you than a circular saw on plywood setup.

I just bought a homemade router table at a yard sale (at today's material prices, I couldn't have built it for what I paid for it!) and got to thinking about converting it to a table saw. The builder made a removeable insert for the router, and I think it is possible to make an insert to hold the saw securely as well. I like the idea about enlarging the hole for the existing blade guard, but I wonder- would the spring-loaded guard tend to lift the material as it went across the blade? That seems like it would be unsafe.

I'm all for safety- I have seen many chunks of flying wood, a few stitched fingers, and a shirt that disappeared from the operator and reappeared on the shaft. However, I am also a schoolteacher, homeowner, and parent. Therefore, I cannot afford real tools and must borrow or build whatever I can!

The spring loaded guard opening is your best bet for safty but will not work very well with smaller stock like fresnel frames. Any stock smaller in width than the opening between the blade and the slot cut for the spring guard will have a tendancy to be sucked or pulled in the direction the blade is spinning. Just a warning.

A DIY table saw is useful and can be made to last years. But for the price of a good skillsaw you can buy a nice if not great bench top table saw.

Safty is a learned skill But it is not like learning to ride a bike. You always have to work with it. Safty never changes only you or the situation changes. All has to be taken into and processed by our mind and our mind-set changes by the moment. Safty is the awareness of all that is around you and within you. If you want to be able to count to 10 on all your fingers then this is not just a rant.

Joe,
a carpenter by trade that still counts to 10 on all his fingers.

I agree, fingers are too valuable to waste! I am proud to say that by the grace of God, I have all ten fingers still! (Although I have done a dumb thing or two that could have easily altered the matter) I agree also about the price of the good skil saw vs. the table saw- still out of my price range. I do have a skil saw that was given to me, and though it is not what you would call a "quality brand", it is powerful and cuts very well.

What about an old jigsaw instead of a circular saw? Less likely to throw the material, but perhaps not as smooth a cut? Depending on the material, it could be planed smooth. It seems like it might cut slower as well, but I don't mind taking my time with things. It might also have similar advantages to a band saw, being able to cut round shapes.

I'm a firm believer in form follows function. For example your DIY router table should be used as a router table. Every thought, all the beads of sweat and work that went into designing your table had the router used for all its built in safety.

With that said, I also know that from what you have wrote here you have a skilsaw, router and a jigsaw. with those 3 power tools you have the potential to make anything you need to help you make jigs, bench top tables for any of your tools. What you lack is experience and knowledge of what your tools are capable of. The only way to get that is to dive in.

If you choose to redesign your router table into a multi use aid for your tools then the questions needed answering is will the tool in question fit where the router goes? If that is yes, then the next one is will the table support the different size of the tools weight and where will the balance points change. How does that effect the use of the fence? What about vibration each tool will have different trouble points that need to be addressed. Can they be solved safely.


Now the skil saw will give you better and straighter cuts, The jigsaw will give you the option of cutting curves or straight but you will need to clean up your cut edges. Since this topic is about DIY table saws then I think you will be better off making a table saw.

As far as vibration and balance points are concerned, the skil saw produces very little vibration once it is up to speed (pretty good kick when you hit the trigger though). The jig saw is very smooth- it is also very old and has a steel case so I think it's weight tends to absorb some vibration. I think it may be counterbalanced as well. I'm not sure what you mean about balance points- the table has four hefty legs and is built strongly enough that I could jump on it without the least fear of damage (to the table, maybe not to me). The table also has a large, removeable center plate where the router attaches. This plate could be duplicated and adapted for use with different tools. I think the builder perhaps had only one router and wanted to be able to access it quickly and easily.

The fence is the weak link in this table for use with a skil saw. The fence is attached through two parallel slots in the table with large wing nuts. To use with a skil saw, I would have to measure and re-measure off both ends of the blade to ensure that the fence was parallel. This would be tricky and time-consuming, but not out of the question for the limited use it would get. Besides, the only table saws I have seen that did not require regular fiddling with the fence were the very large, super well-built professional saws.

The jig saw would still be a table saw, just reciprocating instead of circular.