mayday3374

i have a $200 craftsman ts that was bought as a gift for me when i started fiddling around in this hobby, i need a new saw but its not in the budget right now, the biggest drawback of this saw is the miter tracks. they are not 3/4" standard tracks. they are more like the "T" tracks found on most router table fences. these tracks do not allow my to build or use traditional sleds on the table. i do not want to ruin the table by trying to file and mill the tracks out, i was wondering, is it a possibility for me to basically construct my own "table", lets say out of 3/4"mdf, and somehow attach it to the ts? i know this may sound silly, and i am looking for the voice of reason. i am thinking i could clamp it down to the existing table, and it would allow me to create my own miter tracks, enabling me to use jigs and sleds. or do i stop being silly and work some OT to buy a more suitable saw? sorry for the silly post. if it doesnt deserve a response, then just tell me i am being an idiot and move on

knotscott

I'm afraid any top you made out of MDF or similar wouldn't be overly flat, and the tracks would probably wear pretty quickly.

I'm wondering if you could get $100 for your saw if you sold it. I see older cast iron Emerson era Craftsman saws around the Greater Rochester Area pretty frequently in the $100-$200 range...have even bought and parted out several, and all could have been made into decent functional saws, and are upgradeable as needed/wanted. The Buffalo area would almost certainly have some around as well.

AZ Termite

I agree with Scott. See if you can find a good saw cheap. There are a lot to be had right now. If you can sell the one you have, and find a good used one you will be a lot better off. Just my $.02

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dodgeboy77

Mayday,

I can emphasize with your predicament. I had an old no-name table-top TS. I moved up to what I thought was a 'nicer' craftsman aluminum top direct drive saw that I bought used for $100. When I got it home I discovered that it didn't have the 3/4" miter slot. What the heck is wrong with the people that write the specs for these saws!? Anyway, I bit the bullet and bought a new contractor saw.

If you know someone at a machine shop, maybe they could run a mill down through the slot of your saw and enlarge the miter slot to the proper size (3/4x3/8). If you don't know somebody, the machine work may cost you more than a good used contractor saw.

Good luck,
Bill

GeorgeC

"these tracks do not allow my to build or use traditional sleds on the table."

I fail to see how the miter slot on your current saw has any bearing on what type of track you can put on a homemade sled. When you are building the sled you can make the track any size that you want. Just cut/mill to to fit the slot.

I used an oak track/runner on the sled that I built and it was good for many years. The only reason that I replaced it was because I saw a Rockler sled that had more capability and I decided to reward myself with that. It is really hard on my pocket book when I can walk into a store and see all kinds of neat toys. I just discovered the Rockler in Sandy Springs, Ga. a couple of years ago. Now every time I go visit my daughter I have to go there.

G

George

firehawkmph

Mayday,
I was thinking the same thing that George stated. (George, we've got to stop meeting like this, people are beginning to talk.....). If you are building your own sled, make the track out of a piece of hardwood and size it to the track. I don't know what part of the country you are in, but I am thinking of selling my Delta contractor saw, built here, very good condition, cast iron top, 1 1/2hp motor. If I put it on craigslist, I was going to put a price of 200.00 on it. Also has the link belt on it and mobile, retractable castors.
Mike Hawkins

Wood4Fun

if it is like my first Craftsman saw, the custom made runners for the sled may not work as great as you might think. it is not an inverted t slot like we are accustomed to seeing on most tables. It is a U, that isn't standard width, and it has little wings at the top of the slot, but not for the whole length... that are sporadic... hard to explain. in any case, I can see how these would get in the way of smooth operation.

it could probably be done - but there are a lot of other things besides a sled that use those slots. Simply milling out those tabs, as suggested, could smoothen out a runner going down the slot, but anything expecting the T design still wouldn't work unless that part got milled too.

I'd suggest hanging on to what you have and stashing a few bucks away each week until you can afford to pick up a used saw off craigslist - or maybe firehawkmph lives close enough that you can work something out.

Here is something to think about - assuming thats the shaft drive saw I had (same or similar, whatever)..... the motor on my burned up when I was ripping some 2x4's down the middle (kiln dried)... so, you could spend a lot of time getting something that works for you, and then be screwed with it goes tits up on you anyway

knotscott

That sounds worth a drive from Buffalo. One day of driving = one lifetime of table saw service!

glassyeyes

I'd vote for buying the best quality used saw you can get your hands on, like the Delta. PIANOS and TABLE SAWS have one thing in common -- when you move them, you've got to tune them up. If the blade is warped or out of alignment with the miter slots, it's impossible to get a good cut no matter how good the saw might be. Ditto the fence. I've wasted a lot of time on three -- 3 -- cheap saws. You'd think I'd know better at my age! It'd be better to wait and save up for a good saw.

knotscott

Here's one that's less than 90 minutes from you in case you're interested.....They're asking $275 for a Hitachi C10FL, but I doubt he'll get that. I'd be inclined to offer $225.

http://rochester.craigslist.org/tls/1090408153.html (Canandaigua)

firehawkmph

Mayday,
I just noticed you're in Buffalo. That's only about three hours from me. Here's some pics of the table saw.
Mike Hawkins

Attached Thumbnails

         

Clouseau

Dump our saw or save it for a portable. There are decent older Craftsman saws every week on CL. Better yet would be try to find an older Powermatic 62 or Delta contractor saw. The older Craftsman have 3/8 x 3/4 slots but the fences are crap. I have a 1973 Craftsman with a Baldor 1.5 hp, 2 extensions, an additional top as an extension and a Delta unifence. It works just fine. It's not as good of a saw as my Powermatic 62, but it gets the job done. "You can't beat the tonnage of cast iron." "When all else is equal, check the weight." Dr. Robinson

woodnthings

Given a choice I would opt for the new/used cast iron table saw and keep the little one for odd jobs, outside projests, on the site work etc. Then, with the new one safely in hand I would either file or rout out the annoying miter slots to the 3/4 by 3/8 standard. This would be predicated on there being enough metal thickness to adequately do this. And I'm also assuming the table top is Aluminum, hence the router approach. Carbide bits will handle aluminum taking very light passes, not "climb cutting" with a straight edge securely clamped to the top parallel to the existing slot.
Another thought that occurred to me is to use the new table saw with a carbide blade and the rip fence to remove the offending material. I've cut aluminum on the TS before, it's a little formidable, but it works!...yaa... I know this is a little tricky and involved, but it's either fix it and use it or sell it to someone else who will come to hate it like you do. Sell it to a stranger, meet them in a public place, don't give your real name, and cover your license plate! ...just kidding?... That's my advice. bill

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