In this post, with its corresponding video, we see how I made a homemade table saw with a disk saw, or circular saw, attached to the underside of a plywood board.
I don’t know how many times I said that I didn’t like the invention of the miter saw arm as a table saw, that it gave me a lot of problems. The cut-off wheel did not remain vertical, but tilted to one side and the other as it rotated. After trying everything, my impression is that I may have a slightly bent shaft and there is nothing I can do about it.
A few days ago (maybe a little longer) I bought a new Ryobi 1200W circular saw to put in place of the miter saw arm.
The thing is that when I got home I realized that it doesn’t come with a dividing knife like the little Bosh I have, so I’m thinking of a system to be able to place one on the table. But in the meantime I will install this one in a similar way as when I made another table saw with the Bosh disc saw.
As you will see in the video the installation is simple and the only problem is to adjust it so that the disc is parallel to the side guide that we may already have installed. Since the saw is held in place with self-locking screws and nuts, one option is to place one of the screws and pivot the saw until it is perfectly parallel. I suppose if your table top is large this can be a bit of a hassle, but I have the advantage that my table saw table top is made with small boards that are very handy and easy to take off and put on.
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 by plates where it is hinged to allow it to tilt and change the depth of cut. If we look at them, these plates do not look like much, and in fact they are not totally rigid, twisting with the lateral forces applied to the saw. The result is that the cut-off wheel does not stay perfectly vertical.
Fortunately, when the blade lift system is installed, it holds the motor in place, keeping the blade vertical.
I guess these saws are not designed to be used upside down since in that position the motor’s own weight twists the plates enough that the blade deviates slightly from the vertical even when I have turned the screw that adjusts the tilt until the plate touches the base.
Maybe if I file the plate to be able to tilt the saw a little more I can compensate for the misalignment due to the weight of the motor. Another possibility would be to attach the motor with some kind of flange or with some wooden structure, but that would eliminate the possibility of regulating the cutting height of the blade, so it will be my last option.
I believe that a lifting system, in addition to allowing me to regulate the depth of cut, will help compensate for the weight of the engine. At the moment I am thinking of two possibilities, one similar to the one I already had with the miter saw but that will not allow me to tilt the blade, and another with cables that I think would allow me to cut at 45º, although the truth is that I have never had the need for this type of cut.
Well, if you follow my YouTube channel you will already know that in the end I used the table saw blade lift system that I had made for the miter saw arm. And with that elevation system I can NOT tilt the disc to 45 degrees. But well, I made myself a table saw sled that allows me to make some of those 45 degree cuts with a fair amount of precision. You can see it in the following video.
