Project Information
Updated 12/6/2014 with Fence and Dust Collection
Updated 3/1/2015 with T-track and Safety Power Switch
Here is my first project since I recently got back into woodworking. I know this is a basic project that countless others have done, but in all my searching for ideas, the only one I found that was made on this Delta 36-725 table saw was by Tinman, and they are very different, so I thought I would post it.
The funny thing is, even on a pretty simple project like this, it's incredible how many decisions there are to make. What side to mount it on, how big to make it, what materials to use, what insert plate to use, if any, and on and on.
Because of the layout of my garage woodshop, I had to install on the left, which was my first choice anyway. This saw has a two piece fence rail system, the left side rails only extend 10 inches past the cast iron top, where the steel wing mounts. I thought about replacing the left rails with longer ones and building a bigger router wing, but decided against that. I ended up with a wing that is 27 inches by 16 inches. I spent a lot of time deciding on the table material and thickness, I felt ¾ was too thin but was concerned about the weight of going 1½ because the rails didn't run to the end of the wing.
I ended up with a hybrid design, if you look at the pictures from below, the top is ¾ inch MDF, which I laminated with white Formica, and then I installed 2 panels of ¾ oak plywood. This gave me a stronger support area for the router, and saved some weight. I also made sure I had easy access to the location of the mounting hardware. It's wrapped in 1X3 select pine and the top is chamfered on 3 sides. Everything is glued & screwed/nailed. It's hard to see in the picture, but I had to cut two ¼ inch notches in the pine board in back that mounts to the cast iron top so it would fit on the bump out on the left side of the saw body.
As you can see, I decided on the Kreg router plate and levelers. Which like many other plates was pre-drilled for my new Bosch 1617EVSPK (what a great router). The plate leveler installation instructions were detailed and easy to follow. The one thing I didn't realize, until I was finished and doing the final mounting, was that the levelers hit the bump out I mentioned earlier. Luckily, it was easy to route out the material in the plywood panels, and inset the back levelers.
I also got an unexpected bonus, the saw has those 2 brackets on the side, for storing the fence when you're not using it, which I would never do. They are perfect for winding the router cord. Because I have a magical shop where tools and accessories seem to vanish
I put a few nails in the underside of the frame to hang the wrenches, and insert rings.
This was the first project I have done in about 12 years, I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I now need to make a fence with dust collection and maybe install a T track. I will post an update when that's completed. Thanks for reading.
Regards, Eric
Updated 3/1/2015 with T-track and Safety Power Switch
Here is my first project since I recently got back into woodworking. I know this is a basic project that countless others have done, but in all my searching for ideas, the only one I found that was made on this Delta 36-725 table saw was by Tinman, and they are very different, so I thought I would post it.
The funny thing is, even on a pretty simple project like this, it's incredible how many decisions there are to make. What side to mount it on, how big to make it, what materials to use, what insert plate to use, if any, and on and on.
Because of the layout of my garage woodshop, I had to install on the left, which was my first choice anyway. This saw has a two piece fence rail system, the left side rails only extend 10 inches past the cast iron top, where the steel wing mounts. I thought about replacing the left rails with longer ones and building a bigger router wing, but decided against that. I ended up with a wing that is 27 inches by 16 inches. I spent a lot of time deciding on the table material and thickness, I felt ¾ was too thin but was concerned about the weight of going 1½ because the rails didn't run to the end of the wing.
I ended up with a hybrid design, if you look at the pictures from below, the top is ¾ inch MDF, which I laminated with white Formica, and then I installed 2 panels of ¾ oak plywood. This gave me a stronger support area for the router, and saved some weight. I also made sure I had easy access to the location of the mounting hardware. It's wrapped in 1X3 select pine and the top is chamfered on 3 sides. Everything is glued & screwed/nailed. It's hard to see in the picture, but I had to cut two ¼ inch notches in the pine board in back that mounts to the cast iron top so it would fit on the bump out on the left side of the saw body.
As you can see, I decided on the Kreg router plate and levelers. Which like many other plates was pre-drilled for my new Bosch 1617EVSPK (what a great router). The plate leveler installation instructions were detailed and easy to follow. The one thing I didn't realize, until I was finished and doing the final mounting, was that the levelers hit the bump out I mentioned earlier. Luckily, it was easy to route out the material in the plywood panels, and inset the back levelers.
I also got an unexpected bonus, the saw has those 2 brackets on the side, for storing the fence when you're not using it, which I would never do. They are perfect for winding the router cord. Because I have a magical shop where tools and accessories seem to vanish
I put a few nails in the underside of the frame to hang the wrenches, and insert rings.This was the first project I have done in about 12 years, I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I now need to make a fence with dust collection and maybe install a T track. I will post an update when that's completed. Thanks for reading.
Regards, Eric
