My table saw had a metal stand that had a number of problems.
When I put it together I didn't use locktite so with the vibrations over the
last 3 years some of the nuts fell out and were thrown away with the
sawdust. Consequently it was no longer level.
Also it was hard to access inside when needed (e.g. when adjusting the 90
deg stop or replacing a belt.
It was a major effort to move it around to accommodate large sheets of
plywood.or extra long stock.
I was never happy with the height of it, another 5mm would have made life a
bit easier.
Finally there were lots of ledges and crevices to accumulate sawdust and
cleaning under it was a real pain.
To solve this I built a plywood base for it. First I cut the major sections
to size cutting 2 panels of each side to give it extra strength - these were
glued and screwed. Then I hoisted up the tablesaw by it's top, from the
steel girders that hold up the upper floor. Then I disconnected the metal
base and built the ply box and fixed it into position (sounds easy doesn't
it?) I got a wheeled platform lowered the base onto it and reconnected the
wheels that control saw height and angle.
A bit more bracing and it was nearly finished.
The only gotcha was that I made the base 5mm too wide so that the side wheel
which controls the blade angle couldn't lock into the shaft properly. So I
had to rout out a few mm of the side around the wheel. Since the side was
double thickness (32 mm just under 1.25 inches) that wasn't a problem.
I had a plastic storage box with wheels which I was using for scrap which
fits exactly under the TS so it will collect a lot of the dust.
It is now level, exactly the right height and I can wheel it around the
workshop with one hand. All in all worth the effort.
Total cost 1.5 sheets of ply, screws glue and the platform, well worth it.
Next I will resite the power switches. I am hoping to make a knee switch
which turns off both the router and the saw.
Pic in alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking
Mekon