Replies

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Mar 16, 2009 06:28am | #1

   I have a Delta contractor saw with the mobile base and extension wing. The legs are situated so that the legs are about 2" inside the mobile base frame. No issues with stability. I put a Veritas router table in the end of my table saw and it works great. I wouldn't put the table along the front because the fence rail would force you to stand further away. You could run the router along the back. But if you run it either along the front or back, you may have to remove the fence to use router.

   Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
   (soon to be www.flairwoodworks.com)

    - Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

1. 
   medicinedog | Mar 17, 2009 03:35am | #2

   Thanks Chris for the reply. I put the legs similar to what you described and they are going to work fine. Its odd you would be the only one to reply. I was frustrated with the instructions I had and I came in the house to get away from it awhile and clear my head. I made the post and then started reading random posts and picked up on your blog. I spent about 2 hours reading your blog, looking over your shop and the works you have made. You really have a passion for woodworking and have made some beautiful pieces. Did you ever go to a woodworking school? I have two sons, I have always told them to do what they love and they will be very successful. I am just now getting back into the hobby I loved when I was 20. Do you like your router in the extension table? Some have said it should be a separate cabinet, but I really don't have the room. I work out of a 28x28 garage. Also I'm really interested in doing things by hand (hand tools), I see your building a plane from Lignum Vitae. They make carving mallets out of it because its so dense. What is your feeling on making projects by hand? I see you have a planer and jointer from your photos.

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Mar 17, 2009 04:10am | #3

   Do you believe in coincidences? Out of curiousity, how far did you get with 2 hours of reading on my website? I know there's a lot to read there on projects, techniques, some personal, and philosophical. All on woodworking, of course. Which pieces were you most impressed with?I took every woodworking course I could through high school, but that was mostly shop time as my knowledge base soon matched (or exceeded) that of the teacher. You of course, have read the quote in my signature line, right? A while back, I was stuck in a big dilemma and only needed to read that quote to get myself straightened out.I don't particularly like the router in the table saw wing because it is difficult to secure a fence to the table without T-tracks. I can't effectively clamp the fence to the edge because the TS fence rail is lower than the table. I could use the TS Unifence, but I can't bury a bit in the aluminum extrusion. I know that I could build a sacrificial wooden fence, but still I would want to turn the fence around so that the table is less in the way. It's less than ideal for my work habits. And the wing always tends to get covered with stuff, so I need to clear it off before using it. But that's all my fault.You are lucky to have such a large, open space. Yes, I know the shop is always too small. Mine is 424sq ft, roughly square with a wall down the center, as you probably saw if you took my virtual shop tour (Photo Album). I really enjoy using hand tools, but value my power tools as labour savers. I use my Big 5 machines quite often - my 8" jointer, 10" table saw, 12" compound miter saw, 13" planer, and 14" bandsaw. It is fun, but not overly practical to build most projects with only hand tools (especially as I haven't yet acquired a boring tool except for a push drill). I rely on my power tools to get me most of the way, then finish up with hand tools.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)

    - Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

1. 
   medicinedog | Mar 17, 2009 04:59am | #4

   I particularly liked your Morris chair and ottoman. The two tables are also great looking. Did you commission the bubinga table or keep it for your self? Thats some pretty expensive wood. I am planning on building a sideboard this summer. Thats why I bought the table saw. I had a 30 year old craftsman contractor's saw with a lousy fence. I thought about just buying a new fence but decided to go with a new saw altogether. I still need to have 220 run to power the saw. I think I may have over bought (its 84 inches long with extension table) I'm only a novice woodworker but your can do attitude inspires me to really challenge myself and take on some increasingly difficult projects.
   I think I read the whole site. I'm a pharmacist and a voracious reader. I need to be to keep up with the field. I'm curious do you buy rough lumber and mill it? I live in Wyoming and its 6 hrs to Denver Colorado, nearest wood supply other than oak and pine, so I buy what is available which is mostly 4s. I use a 100 tooth blade on my tablesaw to get the best edge possible to glue up boards. This has worked fairly well so I haven't purchased a jointer. I do have a bandsaw and drill press. My next purchases are going to be a dust collection system and a dovetail system of some sort. Yes I did read your quote.
   Yes

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Mar 17, 2009 04:27pm | #5

   MDog,The Morris chair and ottoman were made in Grade 11. I made big two mistakes which I learned from. For the arms, I planned to resaw stock to 1/4" and make them with a bent lamination. My teacher convinced me that since I would be using multiple plies, why not just use cherry plywood. So, not knowing any better, I did. And they turned out great... until I applied a finish and realized why that was a mistake. Of course, plywood was it's plies oriented at 90 degree angles, so there was end-grain running along the edge of the lamination. I ended up with a striped arm. It looks okay. It's certainly interesting. My other mistake was relying on biscuits for lateral alignment. This was on the back rest along the top, where the two "quarter circle" details were cut out of the rail. I glued up the back rest and checked for square and let it dry. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the top rail was higher than the ends of the stiles. It's quite unnoticeable, but I know.Looks like you missed at least two entries on my site. I flew down to build the table with AZMO in Phoenix, Arizona for one of his clients. It remains the project I am most proud of and honestly the only one I can call perfect - I have absolutely no criticism. As you may have seen, a detail picture of this table graces my business card.As long as you have room in the shop to move around the table saw, I don't think that you can have too big a table saw. Even if you don't use the wide rip capacity every day, you can store stuff there or use it for layout. You might consider taking a page from Powermatic's book and building a bench into the extension table.
   http://www.toolmarts.com/media/Powermatic/powermatic_1792016K_lg.jpgOne of the things that really excites me about woodworking is the opportunity to inspire someone else. I'm glad that I've got you inspired. I try to get as much exposure to all aspects of woodworking as possible. Along with furniture making, also build at a smaller scale (boxes), turn, carve by hand, power carve, do a limited amount of pyrography (wood burning), and some metalworking, like making blades and hardware. Am I forgetting anything?The majority of my lumber is milled from local trees that have been fallen from storms. A friend of mine uses an Alaskan mill and delivers it to my driveway. From there, I haul the slabs (weight from 50 pounds to well over 300) to my side yard and sticker them on 7' pallets. The slabs are usually around 7-8' long and from 2-4' wide. It's a cheap way to get very unique lumber, if you have the time and space to dry it.It sounds like you are using a 100-tooth blade on your TS to rip boards, aiming for a glass-smooth cut. 100-teeth sounds like a crosscut blade. I think that you might be better off with a blade with fewer teeth for ripping. The feed rate will drastically increase, and quality probably will too. I use a 40-tooth Freud ripping blade. After FW's last article on thin kerf blades, I am lookng at one of those too.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
   (soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com) - Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

   Edited 3/17/2009 9:18 pm by flairwoodworks