Now that I have my homemade router table and my table saw, made with my power tools, the only thing missing was the side fence on both to work comfortably. Now I almost look like a real carpenter with a spindle moulder and everything. Adjusting a strip and holding it with clamps is neither comfortable nor precise. Since I have both tools on the same table, I thought it might be a good idea to make a double fence that slides over the table instead of making a side fence for each tool.
To make this side fence, I used a pre-cut MDF board with the same dimensions as the plywood boards I used for the tabletop. I didn’t use plywood because they were taking too long to arrive where I usually buy them. I didn’t want to wait any longer and used MDF instead. It’s a bit thicker, but I don’t mind. What I do mind is that it’s 1 millimeter longer, which caused me some problems as you can see in the video.
To make the sliding fence, I used drawer slides with ball bearings. I thought they would keep the movement parallel, but it turned out there was a slight wobble, which I fixed with some side strips that make the fence fit perfectly on the tabletop.
With this side fence, I can easily adjust the cutting width of my table saw. I can also easily adjust the distance to the router bit, have space to hold stops so the wood doesn’t move up or sideways while working, the router table dust extraction works very efficiently, and I’ve increased the capabilities of my router table. I think I’ll be able to cut grooves across any strip in any position.
Recommendation: On the router side, where I place the vertical sheet, don’t use as thin a sheet as I did. Sometimes it gives me problems when routing the ends of the wooden strips, as the bit pulls the strip towards the sheet, and it bends slightly under pressure, ruining the routing. A smaller hole behind the sheet and a half-centimeter sheet would work better.
Update: It took me a while, but I finally decided to improve the side fence with a new fence to solve the problem when routing the ends of the strips.
As soon as the plywood arrives, I’ll complete the tabletop, which, if you notice, is still not fully covered. Well, if you follow my channel, you’ll know that I’ve already completed my homemade combined woodworking table saw 🙂