Luc's Format Table Saw - Part 1 | |
Our friend Luc Scholte van Mast, Dutch by birth but living in Thailand, became a firm believer in our project from the very start. Luc has been weekly reporting his progress of his work in the Ibuildit Forum. This first picture shows the massive arbor and pillow blocks. He opted for a 32mm diameter shaft on 30mm pillow blocks, turned down to 25.4mm at both ends. Saw blades where he lives come either with a 25.4 or 30mm arbor hole.
Luc took the "Thinkbold" part of our website name very seriously and went for Wooden Trunnions cut with CNC. This is a first try of the male part, cut out of an MDF blank to check the build feasibility. Another bold departure is using Ball Screws instead of Acme lead screws. Below the trunnion there is the end connection of the Ball Screw. It will later receive a handwheel to operate blade raise. Ball Screws are notoriously smooth and precise.
Here is the female part temporarily attached to the Cabinet Back. Wooden trunnions were designed to be much larger to compensate the different material (wood vs. steel) and to minimize slight inaccuracies in their machining.
The real thing being cut with the CNC from a well seasoned Teak blank.
The hardwood male part being tested for fit against the front of the Power Box (upside down to ease alignment).
A view of the Retractable Wheels under the Cabinet.
Installing the heavy motor would require additional help, so Luc devised a cradle that enables to do it single-handed. This is a preliminary version.
Motor in place. The final version has its pivot point adjustable. The motor is set on a sliding carriage. With these two elements it is very easy to lift and slide the motor in place and bolt it comfortably. The cradle may be optionally left inside the Cabinet for future maintenance tasks.
This strange looking contraption is just the Cabinet Left Side with the Sliding Table support. It is upside-down while the paint job dries.
The partially assembled Saw viewed from the left. Note the Wooden Trunnions, Blade Hood, temporary handle to operate blade tilt and the neat electrical connections.
Same viewpoint but now with Sliding Table Support cover installed and a proper handwheel for tilting the blade
Sliding Table installed and operating. The Crosscut Fence is a very nice aluminum extrusion. Still have to add the angle scale on the table.
Luc avoided lathe work when building the eccentric mounted retaining wheels. He used a round steel bar that would fit the ball bearings inside diameter then drilled and tapped the offset mounting hole. Some additional file work created flats for the adjusting wrench.
The whole arrangement of parts required to build the Thien Baffle Separator.
The Thien Baffle installed and connected to the Blast Gate Manifold. On top, the Vac Motor and Filter compartment. The Vac-Motor is sandwiched between MDF formers that slide into a dado and can easily be removed for maintenance and repairs. Because Luc opted for a larger Cabinet, an extra side-wall was installed to support the DC System. This also enabled him to enlarge the Vac-Motor and Filter compartment.As you can see, Luc is in the finishing stages of construction. His Saw is already operating and a few details and finishing touches will be coming soon. We must thank Luc for his contributions to our project. He has provided several suggestions to make the building easier, more precise and enjoyable. We will be including many of his ideas in a future release of the Plans.
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