Sawdust on the Floor

Hooray, the parts I needed to rework the table top on my Unisaw just arrived, so now I can get back to work on it. But before I do, please bear with me, as I try to bring you up to date on how the table of my Unisaw and the Kreg Klamp table came together in my shop.  On a prior visit to the local woodworking shop, we looked at the Kreg Klamp Table as a possible addition to my shop.  But came away not totally in love with the table, the concept was fantastic; however the size and some assembly issues made me reconsider that option.  What we decided was to incorporate the components of the table into the tabletop of my Unisaw.  So we ordered the parts we wanted, spent some added time deciding on what materials would work best, and now it’s time to get busy and make some saw dust.

 

The existing tabletop on my  Delta Unisaw measured 27” wide by 42” long.  And this size has worked really well over the years. But since I had a couple of 48” long pieces of ¾” Plywood, I took this oppo rtunity to extend the length to 48” long.  I left the width at 27”, as this is the maximum width that can fit between the front and rear rails of the Unisaw.

 

So the first thing I did was to rip a piece of the plywood to exactly 27” wide by 48” long.   If you are making this in your shop, take extra care in setting up your saw and then when actually ripping the wood to width.  The reason is that on most saws, there is absolutely no wiggle room between the rails. So “Measure Twice and Cut Once” really applies here. Not every table saw on the market will have both front and rear rails.  If that is the case on your saw then you have an opportunity to make the table as wide as you care to.

 

The next step was to cut the slot for the Kreg Klamp Table track.  It has an overall width of 2 ¼”, and is 34” long.  I wanted to place the rail so that it was centered lengthwise along the back of the table and the back edge of the track 3” from the rear edge of the table.  I choose to use my tablesaw to cut the slot out, rather then to use either a hand held saw or a router. Both of the latter two options would have required a lot of set up time, and I wasn’t sure I could cut a straight enough slot with either of these tools.

 

To cut the slot, I made two parallel plunge cuts, one for each edge of the track.  The first cut was made with the rip fence set to 3”, and the tablesaw blade raise to a little over 1” high.  Before starting to make the cut, I made layout lines on the plywood indicating the position of the slot for the track. The end lines for the slot were carried all the way to the back edge of the piece of plywood. I also made temporary marks along my rip fence indicating the front and rear edge of the tablesaw blade. The idea of the plunge cut is to lower the wood onto the spinning blade at your starting point of the cut and then move the wood along the rip fence until the cut reaches the end mark.  To find your start point, align the first end mark with the rear of the blade mark on your rip fence.  Lower the wood CAUTIOUSLY on the spinning blade. Once the wood is in contact with the table saw top, move the wood until the second end mark aligns with the front of the blade mark on your rip fence. 

A couple of very important notes about this process: the first is to always keep in mind where the blade is. Remember you can not see it when you are lowering the wood over it.  Keep your fingers away from the area that you are cutting out. The second thing is that you always want to make these cuts with the underside of the wood against the table. And finally the cuts on the top side of the wood will not go all the way to the marks you made; you will have to complete these cuts manually.  The advantage is that the underside will already be cut, so you’re cut will be not only be easier but probably straighter. 

Once you have the first cut made, you can reset the rip fence.  Since I wanted the total width of the slot to be only 2 ¼”, I took extra time to make sure the second cut was measured to the left side of the blade, as this would be the outside edge of the slot. Remember that the measurements on the tablesaw are normally made from the right side of the blade.

 

With both slots cut, its time to complete the cuts on the top side of the board.  I used a saber saw equipped with a fine tooth blade to finish the cuts.  On the right end of the slot, I used the saber saw to create a squared end.  On the other end, I first used a 2 ¼” forstner bit to create a curved end.  I then squared off the end which will house the end of the track, while the other end will provide an access point for the klamps that will ride on the track.

 

Now that the track slot was cut, it was time to add 3” wide pieces of oak to the underside of the board.  The oak is applied only on the front, rear and right end of the plywood.  There is no trim on the left end of the board.  The oak was applied with glue and sheetrock screws.  To prevent tear out, I predrilled the screws holes through the plywood into the Oak. The final step was to install a second layer of plywood to the underside of the top.  This piece was cut to 25 ½” by 47 ¼” so that it would fit within the oak sides.  I used construction adhesive and sheet rock screws to connect the two pieces together. 

With the second layer of plywood installed, the basic construction of the new table top is complete.  And this is a good place to end for today.  Next time we can get into installing the Formica on the top, and making the rabbits for the Kreg Bench system hold downs. Both are interesting subjects, so please check back soon. 

Thanks

Related posts:

1. A New Table Top for My Delta Unisaw
2. Woodworking Tool Review – Kreg Klamp Table
3. Woodworking Tool Review – Follow Up – Kreg Klamp Table
4. Woodworking Tools – Table Saw Fence
5. Woodworking Tools – Ridgid 10″ Table Saw with Granite Tabletop