Table Saw mods

[marcros]

I have a kity 419, bought second hand. I can't recall what I paid for it, but it is probably worth IRO £200 if I were to sell it.

It is becoming a pain, in the space that it takes up, particularly with the sliding carriage on it, and I seem to be constantly struggling to get around it, or moving it out of the way (it is on a mobile base).

The main issue seems to be the extension tables, which extend it in a direction that is not really used. It has already became a bit of a dumping ground! I have put a router table into the extension, but this doesnt really help the space that it takes up, and I plan to make a stand-alone router table.

My thoughts are to cut the aluminium tracks, and somehow put a hinge and means of locking on each side. They could then fold down when not required. When in use, I was wondering about building a frame, onto which something like rollerballs fitted, similar to http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ba ... tomsection (not necessarily these, but similar principle). I dont deal with a large amount of sheet materials, but I would like to retain the facility to do so.

Has anybody done a similar mod before?

The reason I mentioned the worth of the saw is that I dont want to make it worthless by cutting the aluminium and finding that t ruins it. It is an extruded profile, and I would guess that replacements would be expensive. The fence is a simple afair that slots over this profile, so removing it completely is out of the question. I dont want to spend hours setting something up every time I want to make a quick cut on ply/mdf.

Any thoughts anybody?

Mark

 

[JakeS]

The reason I mentioned the worth of the saw is that I dont want to make it worthless by cutting the aluminium and finding that t ruins it. It is an extruded profile, and I would guess that replacements would be expensive. The fence is a simple afair that slots over this profile, so removing it completely is out of the question. I dont want to spend hours setting something up every time I want to make a quick cut on ply/mdf.

I have a TS-200 from Axminster, which I gather is a clone of the Kity 419. Since Ax sell it with and without the extension table (I agree, it extends in the wrong direction for me, too!) they supply both a long and a short section of the same Al extrusion to mount the fence. So my first thought is that you could contact Ax and see if they'll sell you a short fence rail so you don't have to worry about losing the ability to use the extension table with the fence if you ever want to. You never know, it could end up being cheap enough to consider. (Also worth checking with existing 419 suppliers, of course - I just know Ax sell parts separately at least some of the time.)

My next thought is that since the fence just clamps on with a screw-down grip plate, you may find that a length of Al rectangular box extrusion of a similar dimension would work equally well, and since it's a generic shape it should certainly be cheaper to acquire. You'd need to work out a way to attach it firmly to the table in the right position, but again - it's a potential option with a bit of fiddling. I believe the important part should be that the front and back faces are parallel, and at right-angles to the blade... I doubt the angle along the top makes much difference.

Sorry I can't be more useful, but I have both rails for mine, so I don't need to make the same decision!


(Lastly, if the saw is in good working order and you have the sliding table and the extension, I think you could easily say it's worth £300, if not more; I watched eBay for a while for second-hand units, and the ones I've seen go - even listed as collection-only, which usually lowers the end price - generally went for £300-350! Here's a current example, £300 and still almost two days on the auction.)

 

[marcros]

cheers jake- i had that sam thought myself, but only after axi closed for the day!

second option was the box profile, but it is not quite as simple as that- it has a chamfer on it. but the router supposedly cult aluminium. so i am going to look at that too.

great minds and all that...