The Garage Shop
The Table Saw
The Evolution of my table saw
When I retired from full-time ministry as a priest, my parish very generously gave me a farewell purse, and with that gift, I purchased a PCS Saw Stop. Aside from the now-famous safety device, which has been constantly blogged about, my opinion is this is the finest saw I have ever used.
I recently milled 1/4" strips for edge banding and ended up with a 1/16" off-cut. The entire strip was precisely 1/16" of an inch over the length of the strip. You can expect this kind of results with an excellent machine finely tuned!
My first saws--Craftsman and Ryobi BT 3000
When I re-entered the Navy in 1998, I gave away my Craftsman table saw as it was heavy, and I had no idea where the Navy would be sending me next. I purchased a Ryobi BT-3000, which was a small and very capable table saw.
The BT-3000 saw was very popular in the late '90s, and I ended up selling it on eBay for $50 more than I paid for it! Add the several hundred dollar shipping cost, and it is clear the buyer really wanted this saw!
Delta
The next saw in the shop
This excellent saw has been in my shop for over twenty years. I created dozens of jigs to work with this saw, and, of course, would not work with others until I made several adjustments.
Grizzly--The temporary saw.
In the midst of creating hundreds of wooden craft projects for the summer's Vacation Bible School, the main trunnions on my Delta saw broke, and I had to make a decision quickly to get the projects ready for summer.
The Grizzly was a good alternative. I simply swapped out the saw on my Delta setup and continued with the many craft projects prep.
A rite of passage...
Well, I did it; I activated the safety mechanism. It took less than a year!
I did not check my miter gauge before I put it on the table and ran the corner of it right into the blade. The "SawStop rite of passage!" Apparently, this is a common and costly mistake- a $300 mistake!
The miter gauge did not even get a scratch on it! The safety system really works!
A few welcome additions
The outfeed table and dust collection arm are copies of The Wood Whisper's most excellent table saw upgrades. My version does not have the precision of Marc's version, and it is fully functional and I am very happy to have the extra storage space!
The Saw Stop blade guard has excellent dust collection; I just needed to add a hose to a Dust Extractor to take advantage of it. Thanks again to The Wood Whisper for a great recommendation.
These Jessem hold-downs are pricy, but for the added safety and reliability, holding stock tight up against the fence is more than a worthy upgrade.
Every tablesaw needs a push stick to protect the user's hands! The Master woodworker and teacher, Rob Cosman, recommends this form. I have several different push stick styles in my shop, and the version Rob recommends, I think, is superior—a simple design to cut out of ¾" Baltic Birch sheet stock scraps.
One of these safety devices always sits ready to grab on the fence.
Many years ago, I built a cabinet that Norm Abram used in his Garage Workshop video. It is spacious and works great. That is, until you fill it with so many boxes of nails and screws, it becomes impossible to remember what is in there.
The solution is this simple rack system that I purchased on Amazon. I will see how the bins hold up. The rack frame is made of nicely powder-coated steel. It should last for years, and it is now a breeze to find the fastener I am looking for!
Many years ago, I built a cabinet that Norm Abram used in his Garage Workshop video. It is spacious and works great. That is, until you fill it with so many boxes of nails and screws, it becomes impossible to remember what is in there.
The solution is this simple rack system that I purchased on Amazon. I will see how the bins hold up. The rack frame is made of nicely powder-coated steel. It should last for years, and it is now a breeze to find the fastener I am looking for!