Relocated Tilt Handwheel -- Finally Making It Happen
My Turn-The-Corner-Thingy Selection
My first choice was to use a small right angle gearbox, but I was unable to come up with any miniature ones with my Google searches. Fellow LJer
DIYaholic pointed out some really skookum looking ones yesterday from sources that I somehow missed when I was searching. (Thanks, Randy - I tucked those references away in my
Turn-The-Corner-Thingy file for future projects.) Had I seen them, I might have gone that direction. The only right angle gearboxes I could find were too large and cost half as much as my saw!
But in spite of that, my
Turn-The-Corner-Thingy quest has come to a successful conclusion! The winner is the
Milescraft Drill 90 Right Angle Drill Drive,
Model #1390, which I purchased at my local
Lowes store for less than $20. That said, there are other similar products that would probably work just as well, such as the compact
Milescraft Drive 90 #1302 suggested yesterday by LJer
Kiefer. Please don't let my choices limit your thinking.
Note that my selected
Milescraft product is very similar to the
Vermont-American Model 17172 suggested by LJer
DIYaholic yesterday. I had seen this
V-A model on
Amazon.com, but it had some accessories that I knew I wasn't going to use and the price was a little higher than the
Milescraft. I suspect that the two would be interchangeable. But the biggest driver was that I wanted to purchase something that I could get locally so that I could return it easily if it wasn't going to work for this application.
The
Milescraft Drill 90 is a right angle drill drive with 1:1 ratio, powder metal bevel gears and bronze bearings. For this application, I didn't feel that the plastic case was a detractor because of the intermittent usage, low rotational speeds, and low stress mounting design. The integral chuck would be ideal for gripping the extended
Tilt Shaft without having to fabricate or purchase any other adapters. This is not a precision device, but it is more than adequate for this job.
Designing and Packaging the Drive Train
Having selected my
Turn-The-Corner-Thingy, I was ready to develop a design for the rest of the drive train, which would meet my previously specified criteria, and a way to package it.
Design Criteria
• Low Cost
• Simple Configuration
• Use Available Components
• Accommodate Possible Shaft Misalignment
• Reduce or Eliminate Lubrication
• Retain Original Handwheel Attachment
• Be Contained within the Envelope of the Saw Table and Fence Rail
The photo below is what I came up with for the
Right Angle Drive train. Note that the
Part 15 is already installed in the new
Tilt Shaft.
Correction: It has been pointed out to me that some of the parts in the
Drive Train have been shown out of order in the photo below: Parts
#8 & #12 should be shown
between the two
#11 Flange Bearings. These parts are shown in the correct position in the parts installation photos and in the
Concept Drawing.
As I mentioned before, I intended to purchase the
Tilt Shaft,
Roll Pin, and
Cover Plate as
Ridgid replacement parts. Some of the other specialized parts, such as the
Flex Coupling components and
Shaft Collars were purchased from
McMaster-Carr online. The other hardware items were purchased at local hardware outlets.
As a side note, I highly recommend
McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com) as a source for almost any hardware item you can think of. Their prices are competitive, fast order turnaround, and very reasonable shipping rates. They also have some of the best prices I have found for thin wall PVC S&D ducting fittings, including 6" sizes, for DC system fabrication.
The photo below shows the drive train components assembled in their relative positions similar to the actual installation.
The
Coupling Nut was an easy way to attach an extension to the existing
Tilt Shaft projecting from the side of the saw cabinet. The extension shaft was the shank from an
8mm hex head bolt. The
Jamb Nuts lock the
Coupling Nut in place to prevent loosening. The round shank of the extension shaft would be easy to secure in the
Right Angle Drive chuck.
I incorporated the
Flex Coupling, a low priced assembly, to minimize the effects of misalignment between the
Right Angle Drive and the new
Tilt Shaft. I was delighted to find that
McMaster-Carr carried the necessary components to permit joining the
3/8" shaft on the
Right Angle Drive with the new
10mm Tilt Shaft!(Would that be called a
Multi-national connection?) The
Spider is a Buna - N rubber component that couples the two metal hubs and provides a small measure of flexibility.
The
Shaft Collars were incorporated to prevent any lateral movement of the new
Tilt Shaft. Operating the
Tilt Handwheel could tend to push the new
Tilt Shaft inward, putting unwanted stress on the
Right Angle Drive. Conversely, locking the handwheel with the
Bar Knob would tend to pull the new
Tilt Shaft outward, disengaging the
Flex Coupling.
The
Spyraflo Flange Bearings are a unique design in that the bearing surfaces are made from
Acetal (Delrin), an engineered plastic material that is widely used in industry for low load bearing, low friction, precision bearings. These bearings are also self aligning and will tolerate up to 5º misalignment - a low cost product with amazing specifications! The
Acetal bearing material is a product with a low coefficient of friction and requires no additional lubrication.
The flat steel and nylon washers were provided to produce low friction, rotational "thrust" bearing surfaces.
Right Angle Drive Train Installation
As shown below, a three-sided, open top (and bottom) box was fabricated and attached to the inside of the back and the right side of the storage cabinet. So that the storage cabinet would fit tightly against the saw cabinet, a counterbore was drilled in the outside of the storage cabinet back to accommodate the thickness of the original
Cover Plate. An oversize hole was drilled thru the cabinet back to allow access to tighten the rear
Jamb Nut. The photo shows the
Coupling Nut with the extended
Tilt Shaft and
Jamb Nuts installed.
The photo below shows the
Milescraft Drill 90 Right Angle Drill Drive installed on the extended
Tilt Shaft. Note the oversize access hole in the side of the cabinet to allow clearance for installation and removal of the
Right Angle Drive with the
Flex Coupling Hub installed. The
Right Angle Drive Hub was approximately centered in the side opening. The open top and bottom of the enclosure allowed tightening of the chuck on the shaft extension. I chose to leave the angle drive handle attachment bolt through the housing in place. I had originally considered using the bolt to attach the drive, but found it wasn't necessary.
As shown in the following photo, a separate external enclosure was built for mounting the
Flange Bearings and housing the rest of the drive components. The bearing supports were fabricated and drilled as a matched pair, minimizing alignment problems. Note that the
Flex Coupling is clearly visible and that the two
Shaft Collars sandwich the flat anti- friction washers and the
Inner Flange Bearing. These components were installed with full engagement of the
Flex Coupling components and adjusted to produce minimal lateral movement of the new
Tilt Shaft, while maintaining free rotation. Note the
Right Angle Drive is unattached on one end, constrained only by the
Flex Coupling - this design minimizes the stress applied to the
Right Angle Drive in operation. The
Flex Coupling is self adjusting, accommodating any minor misalignment of components.
After installation of the drive train components, the external box position was adjusted visually to produce the best alignment of the
Flex Coupling, minimizlng misalignment between the
Right Angle Drive and the new
Tilt Shaft, and clamped in place. Permanent attachment of the external box to the cabinet side was then done with screws from inside the storage cabinet.
The external surfaces of the box were covered with 5mm Birch underlayment plywood to improve appearance. I didn't like the appearance of a square box that looked like it was just stuck to the side of the storage cabinet, so I added some sloped panels to make it more aesthetic- strictly foo foo-they serve no other purpose other than to make it harder for dust to stick to them. A removable access panel was incorporated into the side of the box to allow installation, removal, and adjustment of the drive train components.
The photo below shows the
Outside Flange Bearing installation. The pairs of
Flange Bearing mounting holes were oriented at 90º to each other. Note the screwdriver access holes for installation of the
Inner Flange Bearing mounting screws. The
Cover Plate, not shown in the photo, was installed over the large hole in the face of the enclosure. Installation of the
Access Cover,
Tilt Handwheel, and the
Bar Knob completed the assembly.
The Relocated Tilt Handwheel
So for all of you folks who have been waiting with bated breath………..here is what the
Front-Mounted Relocated Tilt Handwheel looks like! It is totally contained within the envelope of the front overhang of the table and fence rail and the front of the storage cabinet. In addition, there is no interference with adjacent front-mounted machine components, such as the
Power Switch,
Elevation Handwheel, and
Tilt Indicator. The
Relocated Tilt Handwheel operates smoothly, with no more effort than when it was mounted on the side of the saw - but it sure is a heck of a lot handier to use!
The Handwheel Twins
Kinda looks like a poor man's version of the new
Delta Unisaw……………..!
Bits and Pieces and $$
So now your next questions are going to be,
"What are the parts? Where can I buy them? and What do they cost?" So here are some answers. You may find that substituting other parts will work just as well. Keep in mind that these are the parts I used for the
Model R4511 -
doing a similar modification to another saw may require different parts and hardware, especially for adapting to the existing tilt shaft.
What If My R4511 Doesn't Have a Storage Cabinet or I Have a Different Saw?
The obvious answer is 1) you could add one, or 2) you could find a
Model 4511 on Craigslist and change saws……………!!
But let me suggest a third alternative for relocating the
Tilt Handwheel to the front of
almost any tablesaw.
Firstly, purchase the component parts listed above or equivalents to fit your particular saw. Altho the
Flex Coupling could be omitted, I would recommend including it because working with wood usually isn't as precise as dealing with metal components, although with care it can be done.
Secondly, design and build a suitable enclosure for the drive components you have selected. Sometimes it is best to have the hardware in hand before fabricating anything so that you can be sure that everything is going to fit together.
As a starting point design, you might consider the concept below:
I would add a thin plywood or hardboard cover to the top and bottom to increase the rigidity of the enclosure and preclude dust and debris. At least one of the two covers should be removable to allow access for installation and removal of the drive train components. I would also make the two sides of the enclosure adjacent to the saw cabinet at 1 to 2 inches larger top and bottom to provide a flange for attachment of the enclosure to the saw cabinet.
WARNING!! This is
only a conceptual drawing-the actual dimensions of the enclosure and the placing of components will depend upon the configuration of your saw and the drive train components selected.
Well, we have finally come to the end of this chapter. But, stay tuned…........there's more to come!
This phase of the equipment upgrade was an interesting one for me- and will be right up there near the top of my favorite changes to this tablesaw. One of the things that delights me the most is that I was able to put it together with available parts and wood scraps in the shop. And the only part alteration was to cut off the head of the bolt I used for the extension shaft and cut off the excess length of the purchased Tilt Shaft. I hope others will find this information useful. If so, please let me know-and be sure to show us some pictures if you decide to take this adventure…................
Please feel free to leave comments or constructive suggestions. All questions will be answered. And if you find any errors in the material callouts or part numbers, etc., please let me know so I can make corrections.