In this post, along with its corresponding video, we see how I made a homemade table saw with a circular saw, or circular saw, attached to the underside of a plywood board.
I can’t remember how many times I said that I didn’t like the miter saw arm as a table saw, it gave me many problems. The cutting blade wouldn’t stay vertical but tilted from side to side as it spun. After trying everything, my impression is that the axle might be slightly bent and there’s nothing I can do about that.
A few days ago (maybe a bit more) I bought a new 1200W Ryobi circular saw to replace the miter saw arm.
When I got home, I realized it didn’t come with a riving knife like my small Bosch does, so I’m thinking of a system to install one on the table. In the meantime, I’ll install this one similarly to how I made another table saw with the Bosch circular saw.
As you will see in the video, the installation is simple, and the only problem is adjusting it so that the blade is parallel to the lateral guide you may already have installed. Since the saw is held with screws and self-locking nuts, one option is to place one of the screws and pivot the saw until it is perfectly parallel. I suppose if your table board is large, this can be a bit tricky, but I have the advantage that my table saw board is made with small, very manageable boards that are easy to remove and replace.
Did I say the only problem? It turns out that since this circular saw has more power, it also has a larger motor. The machine itself is attached to its base with some plates that articulate to allow for tilt and depth adjustment. If we look at them, these plates don’t seem like much, and in fact, they are not completely rigid, twisting with the lateral forces applied to the saw. The result is that the cutting blade does not stay perfectly vertical.
Luckily, when installing the blade height adjustment system, it holds the motor, keeping the blade vertical.
I suppose these saws are not designed to be used upside down, as in that position the motor’s own weight twists the plates enough for the blade to deviate slightly from vertical, even when I’ve turned the screw that adjusts the tilt until the plate touches the base.
Perhaps if I file the plate to allow the saw to tilt a bit more, I can compensate for the misalignment due to the motor’s weight. Another possibility would be to secure the motor with some sort of strap or wooden structure, but that would eliminate the ability to adjust the blade height, so it will be my last option.
I think an elevation system, in addition to allowing me to adjust the cutting depth, will help compensate for the motor’s weight. At the moment, I’m considering two possibilities, one similar to what I had with the miter saw arm, which won’t allow me to tilt the blade, and another with cables that I think would allow 45º cuts, although the truth is I’ve never needed such cuts.
Well, if you follow my YouTube channel, you already know that I ended up using the table saw blade elevation system I made for the miter saw arm. And with that elevation system, I CANNOT tilt the blade to 45 degrees. But, I made a sled that allows me to make some of those 45-degree cuts with fairly good precision. You can see it in the next video.
