And a different kind of mobile base

Thats a nice mobile system! Do you have any pictures closer up of your
overhead guard system? I have been thinking about putting something
together and I'd like to see how you mounted this to the ceiling. Is it
positionable or fixed? My saw is mobile and I use it multiple locations
depending on the other tools I have set up. I'd like to figure out a
way to connect something to the ceiling and make it relocatable easily.

Thanks for the pics. Good work.


Lewis wrote:
> Hi,
> I wanted a base that would allow full support for a five-foot
extension
> table, allow easy movement over a not-so-even garage floor, and allow
easy
> levelling on that floor. My solution was to bolt the saw legs and the
legs
> that support the extension table to a pair of sturdy rails. I
drilled holes
> in the saw's legs, and raised it up 3/4". The rails are 1/4" thick
steel 4"
> X 4" angles. There are four 1.5" casters per rail, and a leveling
foot next
> to each caster. It's not as easy to go from immobile to mobile as
simply
> stepping on a lever, but a minute spinning up the levelling feet and
it
> rolls easily. Even though it's mobile, I plan to leave it in one
place most
> of the time.
> Overview:
> http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/saw1.jpg
> Caster and levelling foot:
> http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/base1.jpg
> Extension table legs:
> http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/base2.jpg
>
> And all painted JET almond, of course!
> Lewis

In article <WeJAd.658359$D%.21887@attbi_s51>, Lewis
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi,
> I wanted a base that would allow full support for a five-foot extension
> table, allow easy movement over a not-so-even garage floor, and allow easy
> levelling on that floor. My solution was to bolt the saw legs and the legs
> that support the extension table to a pair of sturdy rails. I drilled holes
> in the saw's legs, and raised it up 3/4". The rails are 1/4" thick steel 4"
> X 4" angles. There are four 1.5" casters per rail, and a leveling foot next
> to each caster. It's not as easy to go from immobile to mobile as simply
> stepping on a lever, but a minute spinning up the levelling feet and it
> rolls easily. Even though it's mobile, I plan to leave it in one place most
> of the time.

Good job, and it's certainly stiff!

Just for aesthetics, I think I'd have turned the rails around so that
they pointed in, though. You'd lose just a bit of depth between the
casters, but I don't think it would be in any danger of falling over.

Kevin

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 03:10:35 GMT, "Lewis" <[email protected]> wrote:


> The
>knobs are just threaded on to them in the picture, but I plan to put on jam
>nuts.
>Lewis
>
So the knobs are fake, you say?!!! Reminds me of a woman I once knew.

If over-engineering were a sin, I'd have long ago gone to Hell. I think
your design is great. (Being tall, I like the suggestions Kevin made.) --
Igor

Hi,
I put spacers between the rails and the top hole on the saw legs. This
reduced the splay somewhat -- there's still a little, but the casters work
fine.
Lewis


"Fourleaves" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I like it! Nicely done.
>
> Question: I can't be certain from the pictures, but it appears the
mounting
> plates for the castors are not parallel to the floor due to the splayed
legs
> of the saw. If this is so, do the castors have any trouble swiveling?
>
> "Lewis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:9tKAd.658686$D%.42909@attbi_s51...
> > Thanks! But turning the rails inward would mean the saw legs would need
to
> > go on top of the horizontal portion of the rail. Here's a closer look at
> > the
> > way the legs are bolted to the rail:
> > http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/base3.jpg
> > Because of the height of the casters, turning them around would raise
the
> > height of the saw table about 2 inches. I'm not that tall, and that's
more
> > than I wanted. You're right, though -- it would look better!
> > Lewis
> >
> >
> >> Good job, and it's certainly stiff!
> >>
> >> Just for aesthetics, I think I'd have turned the rails around so that
> >> they pointed in, though. You'd lose just a bit of depth between the
> >> casters, but I don't think it would be in any danger of falling over.
> >>
> >> Kevin
> >
> >
>
>

Thanks! But turning the rails inward would mean the saw legs would need to
go on top of the horizontal portion of the rail. Here's a closer look at the
way the legs are bolted to the rail:
http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/base3.jpg
Because of the height of the casters, turning them around would raise the
height of the saw table about 2 inches. I'm not that tall, and that's more
than I wanted. You're right, though -- it would look better!
Lewis


> Good job, and it's certainly stiff!
>
> Just for aesthetics, I think I'd have turned the rails around so that
> they pointed in, though. You'd lose just a bit of depth between the
> casters, but I don't think it would be in any danger of falling over.
>
> Kevin

Hi,
I wanted to use small casters so I wouldn't raise the saw very much. The
casters I ended up with are only good for about 150 pounds each, and with
the hills and valleys in my floor, I was afraid of collapsing one if I used
just one at each corner. That's probably being overly cautious; two per side
probably would have been fine, and three would surely have been plenty. The
levelling feet are 3/8" thread and go through tapped holes in the rails. The
knobs are just threaded on to them in the picture, but I plan to put on jam
nuts.
Lewis


"igor" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 01:56:06 GMT, "Lewis" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Hi,
> >I wanted a base that would allow full support for a five-foot extension
> >table, allow easy movement over a not-so-even garage floor, and allow
easy
> >levelling on that floor. My solution was to bolt the saw legs and the
legs
> >that support the extension table to a pair of sturdy rails. I drilled
holes
> >in the saw's legs, and raised it up 3/4". The rails are 1/4" thick steel
4"
> >X 4" angles. There are four 1.5" casters per rail, and a leveling foot
next
> >to each caster. It's not as easy to go from immobile to mobile as simply
> >stepping on a lever, but a minute spinning up the levelling feet and it
> >rolls easily. Even though it's mobile, I plan to leave it in one place
most
> >of the time.
> >Overview:
> >http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/saw1.jpg
> >Caster and levelling foot:
> >http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/base1.jpg
> >Extension table legs:
> >http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/base2.jpg
> >
> >And all painted JET almond, of course!
> >Lewis
> >
> Looks good. Questions: Considering the size of the steel, might two
> leveling legs & casters/rail been enough? (That is the size steel I have
> for lintels in the first floor of my three-story (including the basement)
> brick house.) Of course, maybe the legs and casters could fail, but not
> the steel, IMO.
>
> Also, how did you secure the knobs to the levelers -- as I can see some
> substantial stress there? TIA. -- Igor

"rob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thats a nice mobile system! Do you have any pictures closer up of your
> overhead guard system? I have been thinking about putting something
> together and I'd like to see how you mounted this to the ceiling. Is it
> positionable or fixed? My saw is mobile and I use it multiple locations
> depending on the other tools I have set up. I'd like to figure out a
> way to connect something to the ceiling and make it relocatable easily.
>
> Thanks for the pics. Good work.
>
Hi,
There's more about the guard in the thread titled "Yet another way to do an
overhead blade guard."
<http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.woodworking/browse_thread/thread/41
60a53056357d8e/8aa8cd6617bbaa51?_done=%2Fgroup%2Frec.woodworking%3F&_doneTit
le=Back+to+topics&_doneTitle=Back&&d#8aa8cd6617bbaa51>
Some more pictures are at http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/guard2.jpg and
http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/guard3.jpg. It is fixed, but fairly easily
removeable (just run out four lag bolts). If I end up moving the saw a a
lot, I'll replace the lag bolts with threaded knobs and T-nuts. And if I
find there are one or two other preferred spots for the saw, I'll just set
up one or two more sets of T-nuts. It would require a little creative use of
dust collector hose, but that's fairly simple, too.
Lewis

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 01:56:06 GMT, "Lewis" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi,
>I wanted a base that would allow full support for a five-foot extension
>table, allow easy movement over a not-so-even garage floor, and allow easy
>levelling on that floor. My solution was to bolt the saw legs and the legs
>that support the extension table to a pair of sturdy rails. I drilled holes
>in the saw's legs, and raised it up 3/4". The rails are 1/4" thick steel 4"
>X 4" angles. There are four 1.5" casters per rail, and a leveling foot next
>to each caster. It's not as easy to go from immobile to mobile as simply
>stepping on a lever, but a minute spinning up the levelling feet and it
>rolls easily. Even though it's mobile, I plan to leave it in one place most
>of the time.
>Overview:
>http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/saw1.jpg
>Caster and levelling foot:
>http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/base1.jpg
>Extension table legs:
>http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/base2.jpg
>
>And all painted JET almond, of course!
>Lewis
>
Looks good. Questions: Considering the size of the steel, might two
leveling legs & casters/rail been enough? (That is the size steel I have
for lintels in the first floor of my three-story (including the basement)
brick house.) Of course, maybe the legs and casters could fail, but not
the steel, IMO.

Also, how did you secure the knobs to the levelers -- as I can see some
substantial stress there? TIA. -- Igor

I like it! Nicely done.

Question: I can't be certain from the pictures, but it appears the mounting
plates for the castors are not parallel to the floor due to the splayed legs
of the saw. If this is so, do the castors have any trouble swiveling?

"Lewis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9tKAd.658686$D%.42909@attbi_s51...
> Thanks! But turning the rails inward would mean the saw legs would need to
> go on top of the horizontal portion of the rail. Here's a closer look at
> the
> way the legs are bolted to the rail:
> http://lmills01.home.mchsi.com/base3.jpg
> Because of the height of the casters, turning them around would raise the
> height of the saw table about 2 inches. I'm not that tall, and that's more
> than I wanted. You're right, though -- it would look better!
> Lewis
>
>
>> Good job, and it's certainly stiff!
>>
>> Just for aesthetics, I think I'd have turned the rails around so that
>> they pointed in, though. You'd lose just a bit of depth between the
>> casters, but I don't think it would be in any danger of falling over.
>>
>> Kevin
>
>