I am so happy with this Table Saw Outfeed Table, it was a major upgrade to my saw and allows me to quickly flip up the outfeed table when I need it and drop it down when not in use to give me more room in my shop. The only thing that is a bit of an inconvenience is having to feel around underneath the outfeed table to find the releases every time I want to drop it down ... so, time to make a quick release mechanism.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/BwhzXUlvQoU
The nice thing that I liked about these brackets was that the release is at the very tip of the arm, which in this case is also going to make it a bit easier to add the quick release mechanism.
When I purchased the brackets, I purchased another slightly smaller pair that I am going to use for another upcoming project, but it allowed me to use the smaller ones to help me figure out what the best way to design this quick release mechanism will be.
The simplest idea I could come up with was a cross bracket with a couple of large screws that, when activated, will depress the release buttons in the brackets. Next, I could see that I needed a way to hold that cross bracket to the underside of the outfeed table so I devised an arm, that is attached to a block on the end by means of a sturdy hinge.
I measured the length I needed and attached the arm to the underside of my outfeed table my and used a bit of glue as well to help hold it along with the 2 screws.
Next all I needed to do was to mount a couple of blocks of wood to either side of the arm, The blocks will server 2 purposes, they will prevent the arm from moving back and forth, and I can bridge the blocks with a short piece of wood that will make sure the arm does not drop down but will hold it in place, close to the underside of the table.
With this all done, all I needed to do was to align the cross member piece with the 2 screws in it that will depress the release buttons, and attach it with screws to the arm.
When I tested this for the first time, it worked perfectly ... a quick and easy add-on to an already super handy outfeed table.
And while I was doing some upgrading, it's now time to route a couple of slots into the outfeed table so that I can use my miter gauge and crosscut sled. The routed areas on the outfeed table should be wider than the mitre slot on your table saw deck. You do not want the outfeed table to interfere with the action of the mitre slots on the table top, so making them slightly wider and slightly deeper is best.
I could have routed these slots by hand, but if the router grabs a knot or other imperfection in the wood during the process it can make a very uneven line. The best thing to do is to have the router base run along a straight edge to get a nice clean, even cut. U used a piece of scrap wood to figure out where I needed to clamp my wood that would be the edge guide for the router and routed out both mitre slot sides. I needed to use one of my Suizan Pull Saws which did a quick clean job.
After all the slots were done, I checked them with the mitre gauge to ensure a nice smooth movement into the outfeed table.
For me ... the final step was to darken the top of my outfeed table slightly to help the light meter in my video camera to perform a bit more consistently when shoot table saw clips. The very white plywood top contrasting with the much darker steel top was making the meter flip back and forth, so the easy solution is to make the tops closer in tone. For this, I used a water-soluble dye that soaks into the wood and often gives a better penetration than Stains that of normally made with pulverized earthen products to give them their colors. The pulverized earth in stains tend to lie on top of the wood, which makes them the ideal of outdoor projects as the earthen product helps to make make the stain more UV resistant which means less fading over time when subjected to sunlight.
Click here to read more stains and dyes ...
And that completes the table saw outfeed table, it makes using the table saw easier, safer and more convenient and doesn't take up more workshop space when not in use, a perfect addition to my small shop.
See the first Build Article / Video for this Outfeed Table HERE
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Copyright Colin Knecht
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