phunt

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to this forum and wanted to ask some questions about upgrading my Delta 10" contractor's saw.

I've been considering a new miter system (Incra 1000SE) as well as a new fence system (Delta) and fabricating my own table saw extensions.

Can anyone offer any insights into any of these ideas? On a limited budget, which should I prioritize?

I'm especially looking for ideas on fabricating extension tables - I've never seen an example and as an amateur woodworker, I'm not sure where to start. My workshop doubles as a garage, so space considerations are an issue. Fold away extensions would be attractive, I'm not sure how to approach this.

joasis

Not to hijack, but as other guys chime in on this one, has anyone seen a sliding table that is made from melamine board and square tubing? That might be an asset on a contractor style saw.

And, welcome to the forum phunt!

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skymaster

www.jessem.com Mast-R-Slider Best thing I have ever done with my Delta contractor saw. Ya gotta luv it.

Rob

Hi Phunt and welcome.
If you go to www.augusthome.com and do some searches, you should be able to come up with some tablesaw extension plans. They publish Shop Notes and Woodsmith and have lots of that kind of thing.
If I were in your shoes, I would worry about my fence first. If the one that came with your saw is just beyond calibrating, etc., you can go with several upgrades. I have a 12" Delta Rockwell contractors saw and bought a Vega for mine. It didn't break the bank and works great.
Make some scarificial fences and other add-ons for it and you'll be all set in the ripping department (as long as the blade is good, true and sits parralel with the miter slot)
I would save my money on the miter guage and opt for building some sleds. There are a lot of professionals out there that use there own shop-made sleds instead of buying some pretty pricey guages.
These can be made for 90*, 45* or made adjustable. They allow for good support of the workpiece and if you take your time and make them right, are better than what you can buy.
BTW, what's wrong with the fence that came with the saw?

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kingsix

Have you looked at the Delta Sliding Table setup?

BULLHART

To answer your question to prioritization;
IN MY OPINION

1st is the fence system. I would get a Biesemeyer fence over the delta fence. I agree in making your own table. I made the mistake of actually purchasing a 52" extension, only to unpack a friggin piece of wood that i could have made myself.

2nd Miter table, I'd shop it out, any of the decent products are a nice upgrade. Id be interested to see if anyone was some homemeade plans.

3rd,- tenon jig...love mine

daryl in nanoose

#1- Fence system the most important.
Out feed tables are a real blessing so I have attached a few for you to look at. Building these are quite simple and there all over the net. The one I like the most is the the one that has a stationary table with MITRE slots and then a drop down one that is hinged to the stationary one. The stationary section is just deep enough to miss the motor so when you put the next section on it just misses the motor in the "down Position" and takes only a few inches extra of space . One day I might even have the time to make me one
As mentioned a few sleds utilizes your saw a lot more.

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skymaster

Kingsix When you compare the Jessem to the Delta there is NO comparision, The Jessem is 4 times the quality, I believe Delta's uses 4 or 5 bearings The Jessem has over 30! It is so superior that is it unfair to even use "Delta" in a comparision. IMHO
JackM

Jeekinz

A cheap upgrade with tremendous results would be a link belt and steel pulleys. http://www.in-lineindustries.com/performance_pack.html I can do the nickel test on my Frankensaw with these.