More details in the project build article: ibuildit.ca/projects/making-quick-dirty-table-saw/ Video on taking apart my old table saw: th-cam.com/video/sXT642wc4eI/w-d-xo.html Ways you can help support this channel: Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=865843&ty=h Project plans for sale: ibuildit.ca/plans/ More videos on my second woodworking channel: th-cam.com/users/IBuildIt My home reno channel: th-cam.com/users/IBuildItHome My "Scrap bin" channel: th-cam.com/users/IBuildItScrapBin Website: ibuildit.ca/ Facebook: facebook.com/I-Build-It-258048014240900/ Instagram: instagram.com/i_build_it.ca/
I'm an oldtimer - born in the early 40's! Growing up I remember seeing a lot of home made table saws. 2x4 frames with a wooden top. The blade was mounted on then end of a shaft and bearing assembly, belt driven with a surplus motor. It sounds crude today, but that was a different time! They got the job done!
One of the greatest table saw videos ive seen in a while! very acheivable for most D.I.Yers and doesnt cost much considering the abundance of redundant corded saws out there. Great content john and thanks for giving me the design for my future table saw!
Way cool! I started out that way almost 30 years ago with a cheap saw from a pawn shop and a piece of laminated countertop. Used that until I could afford a real table saw. It worked pretty darn good too. I was recently thinking of making one for where I work. If I come up with any ideas for a quick and dirty band saw I'll run them by you. Thanks for the tour down memory lane!
Funny story time. John, I used a circular saw to make a table saw in a box. It all fit in the wooden box it came in. Plus I could easily remove it to use the circular saw as it was intended. Similar to you, I used a black zip tie for the trigger, except my saw had a black handle that basically camouflaged the zip tie. I forgot to unzip it one time, plugged it in and watched it run across the carpeted floor until it pulled it's own plug out of the wall. Just missed my leg, ruined the carpet too. But I really liked the idea of the table saw box for site projects and it worked well.
Can i just say im addicted to your channel, your vids are just brilliant and so inspireing ...this one couldnt have come at a better time as in the next few weeks im planning on replacing my "temporary, temporary" table saw
Great temp saw. Thanks for the video. Had a quick idea for quick and easy fence measurements. You could put little holes for pins ( 1", 2", 3" etc plus the width of your fence) to the right of the saw on both the near and far sides. Label them. Put a pin in it and then quickly butt the fence up to it and clamp it down.
Really enjoyed the video and looking forward to the next. Your innovations are amazing and I'm sure they come as a result of decades of experience. Young people should jump at the chance to get those nuggets of knowledge from a master craftsmen such as yourself. Did I say young people, I should have said young and old. Thank you John.
Great build John! That's a great tip for those that are just getting started or on a job-site in a pinch with no contractors saw! The shop looks nice and clean, happy building!
I'm loving the helmet cam! The circular saw blade drawer was my double take replay this time. Excellent video. The screw driver rack is awesome. Your shop is looking great!! I've used these Table saws in the past on job sites for full sheets of plywood. The table was much larger though. Lots of trouble and with measuring off the reference line for the fence. I see you already solved the issue in your next video. Well done.
This is motivating - I don’t have a table saw yet and would rather cruise Craig’s list for a cheap circular saw and scrap wood and hack together a table saw I can disassemble/reuse. Very cool.
Thanks for this quick and easy video, John...I have been playing with the idea of building a table saw of my own, but I was having doubts about my capabilities as a very novice woodworker. But I think I will definitely be able to do this, so this will be my next project.
I just built those saw horses. I love them. So strange to see them now on your channel though, because I had to stop and remind myself those weren't "my" saw horses, they were your plans. Just got into wood working and it's strange how even though you got plans from someone, just spending the time and money making them still makes you feel like "this is mine" probably more so than anything.
Looks a lot like my 'not-so-temporary' table saw that I made from a saw that died, I resurrected, but not before I'd bought a new saw. My saw table is a lot smaller though, but attached to an old folding workhorse so I can set it up really quick. It has served me well in my renovations, especially as I don't have a shop at home and I can set it up in the yard easily.
Back in the day, the idea of buying a portable contractor saw was out of the question., So, I used to make job-site "table saws" just like this and screw the "top" to two saw horses. Add a straight edge with two quick clamps and we were good to go. Very, very useful for plywood and paneling work.
My first "table saw" was something like this. Actually used it for a couple years and built quite a few furniture projects before buying a used table saw off Craigslist. Not the most accurate thing in the world and slow to set up the "fence" (which was a level and clamps) but it worked. In the end the limiting factor and the biggest reason for an upgrade was the 1 5/8" max depth of cut.
It took me a long time to have the balls to change a tool I had bought because, when I was young and in awe of people who made things, I felt I had no right to tamper with the work someone else had done. I can change tools to suit now but I'm not sure if I could take an angle grinder to a saw yet LOL.
baconsoda I had that same fear/mentality until I drilled my first hole in the frame of my old Mustang. Been hacking "engineered" stuff to bits to fix their "engineering" ever since!
As an inexperienced young hobbyist, a question that comes to mind is: If I made this, would it be in any way more likely to kill me than any other table saw? I'm sure John's experienced enough for this not to be an issue, but sometimes I have trouble judging what's a good idea to try myself and what's not. And a DIY inexpensive table saw is tempting. Should we stay reasonable and civilised, a discussion on the subjet won't hurt :)
As long as you put this together properly (ie. the saw doesn't fall out during a cut...), it's not much different from a "real" table saw. Tools aren't dangerous - actions are. So if you are going to injure yourself, you'l do it just as easily on the real thing.
Jose Just don’t get your fence crooked to the blade. Clamping it in place each time vs having the repeatable locking feature on the “real thing” opens you up to more potential for mistakes here. If your fence isn’t parallel to the blade you’re asking for some trouble, but that’s something that’s relatively easy to control as long as you’re watching for it. Stay alert and be present and think through each cut before you make it. Same rules as normal.
I built myself a home made saw a couple of years ago and it does the job but I have had kick back which hurt my wrist, nothing "too serious" but my suggestion is to buy a splitter to attach to it just to make it a little more "safe". It just ties me over until I can afford a decent table saw.
Yes and no. Kick-back has already been mentioned, be aware of that. Another thing is stability, mount it rigidly on a very sturdy base, at proper working height. I would recommend a higher fence, as it will probably be beneficial when cutting thinner pieces. Finally, make the table of something with a low friction surface (I made mine of melamine particle board), then you will not have to push your workpiece through with force.
that looks much better than the time honoured and terrifying clamping the handle of a permanently on skillsaw upside down in a black and decker workmate !!
I did a temporary saw just like that. Unfortunately, at 4:36 on your video, the same thing happened to me. Except the scrap of wood caught my hand. Ouch.
DENIS KENNEALLY I believe he's building a new table saw, but wanted to do it from the perspective of someone that didn't already have a TS yet, so he dismantled the old one first. Yes, John is a badass. Purely my opinion, but I like to think (hope) he's also doing it to rile up the safety trolls (no guard or riving knife, how could post something like this!?!).
Not using the angle grinder protection screen (and two hands on the grinder) can cost you a fine of 10000$. Danish Working Environment Authority is so concerned with safety they forget to bring the brain with them to inspections. I was once told to stop everything at once and leave the work site for a serious breach of safety rules. After a bit of negotiation the work could begin if the crane was disconnected. Three days later we got stickers measuring 5 by 10 cm. After putting them on the massive columns supporting the 5 ton overhead crane we could use it again. The text on these small stickers read: "Danger Crane at work". ,
cord21465 ya. I would have expended the fence a foot and screwed a 6” wide plywood Tee on each end so it would slide across the top parallel to the blade. Good vid tho!!
I did the same with Makita saw and it wobbles under load. Basically, the shoe on it is attached off-center and only at two points, plus the sliding guide is very flimsy as it is not designed to hold the saw.
On one hand, I'm sad that we here in Australia aren't allowed to do our own 240V electrical wiring, but on the other hand I'm glad because of the "she'll be right" attitude. Someone most likely makes a plug-in switch so it's probably not that big of a deal in this case.
I have been meaning to make one of these for a while, but much to my irritation I have yet to find a drill bit that will even touch the saw plate of the old Black and Decker Professional saw I want to use ! Cobalt won’t do it so I’m going to have to buy an expensive Tungsten tip, who’d a thunk it !!
Any thoughts on adding a couple of length-wise (parallel to the blade) stiffeners to the back? I don't have your level of experience and I am not there to see how "stiff" the supports are against rocking motion in the direction of the fence but my civil engineer in California (earthquakes and lateral loads being the dominant design forces) brain is worried that the top could collapse under extreme circumstances (which I suppose is beyond the expected use of this contraption). I feel I am going to become another example of the "compressor in closed cabinet" people so please have mercy on me :D
It's a case of overthinking it and not knowing the strength of the materials used / loads involved. The strength axis of the plywood runs parallel to the blade, so adding extra support will do little for it. And on it's own, 1/2" plywood will support a lot of weight - I'm ~250lbs and I could easily stand on that top. On top of that, this is a very temporary build, so it makes no sense spending extra time and wasting materials to beef it up.
Thanks for the extensive response! It gives me a perspective on the strength of 1/2" plywood! :D And thanks for posting these and also for not getting angry at me for the "case of overthinking it". Although you can use this as an example in your next Scrap Bin video ;)
More details in the project build article:
ibuildit.ca/projects/making-quick-dirty-table-saw/
Video on taking apart my old table saw:
th-cam.com/video/sXT642wc4eI/w-d-xo.html
Ways you can help support this channel:
Patreon:
www.patreon.com/user?u=865843&ty=h
Project plans for sale: ibuildit.ca/plans/
More videos on my second woodworking channel:
th-cam.com/users/IBuildIt
My home reno channel:
th-cam.com/users/IBuildItHome
My "Scrap bin" channel:
th-cam.com/users/IBuildItScrapBin
Website: ibuildit.ca/
Facebook: facebook.com/I-Build-It-258048014240900/
Instagram: instagram.com/i_build_it.ca/
John Heisz - I Build It great video and very timely for me as I need a table saw but have no space or money to buy one.
you coulda borrowed mine. lol
This type of saw was serving me for 2 years and I made many projects and videos using it. One an achieve a lot with such a simple setup. Cheers
I'm an oldtimer - born in the early 40's! Growing up I remember seeing a lot of home made table saws. 2x4 frames with a wooden top. The blade was mounted on then end of a shaft and bearing assembly, belt driven with a surplus motor. It sounds crude today, but that was a different time! They got the job done!
That's how they do it in the Philippines today, with a gasoline motor.
1:54 this was the first time i've seen that saw blade storage idea. awesome!
One of the greatest table saw videos ive seen in a while! very acheivable for most D.I.Yers and doesnt cost much considering the abundance of redundant corded saws out there. Great content john and thanks for giving me the design for my future table saw!
I like seeing the 1st person perspective. That's a unique view that no other woodworking channel has.
sarcasm? lol, good troll bro
Way cool! I started out that way almost 30 years ago with a cheap saw from a pawn shop and a piece of laminated countertop. Used that until I could afford a real table saw. It worked pretty darn good too. I was recently thinking of making one for where I work. If I come up with any ideas for a quick and dirty band saw I'll run them by you. Thanks for the tour down memory lane!
Funny story time. John, I used a circular saw to make a table saw in a box. It all fit in the wooden box it came in. Plus I could easily remove it to use the circular saw as it was intended. Similar to you, I used a black zip tie for the trigger, except my saw had a black handle that basically camouflaged the zip tie. I forgot to unzip it one time, plugged it in and watched it run across the carpeted floor until it pulled it's own plug out of the wall. Just missed my leg, ruined the carpet too. But I really liked the idea of the table saw box for site projects and it worked well.
Can i just say im addicted to your channel, your vids are just brilliant and so inspireing ...this one couldnt have come at a better time as in the next few weeks im planning on replacing my "temporary, temporary" table saw
Great temp saw. Thanks for the video.
Had a quick idea for quick and easy fence measurements. You could put little holes for pins ( 1", 2", 3" etc plus the width of your fence) to the right of the saw on both the near and far sides. Label them. Put a pin in it and then quickly butt the fence up to it and clamp it down.
Wow! The best among all of your projects. It seems to very closely show your style; SIMPLE&CLEAR.
Great video, John. Again, I think your current format, narration, length is perfect!
I'm jealous of this man's shop. So clean and organized
Really enjoyed the video and looking forward to the next. Your innovations are amazing and I'm sure they come as a result of decades of experience. Young people should jump at the chance to get those nuggets of knowledge from a master craftsmen such as yourself. Did I say young people, I should have said young and old. Thank you John.
Looks good John. No need to build another saw. This one is perfect..... Bam.... Done....
Great build John! That's a great tip for those that are just getting started or on a job-site in a pinch with no contractors saw! The shop looks nice and clean, happy building!
I'm loving the helmet cam! The circular saw blade drawer was my double take replay this time. Excellent video. The screw driver rack is awesome. Your shop is looking great!! I've used these Table saws in the past on job sites for full sheets of plywood. The table was much larger though. Lots of trouble and with measuring off the reference line for the fence. I see you already solved the issue in your next video. Well done.
THIS is why I watch. Very cool John. Cheers, Chris.
Looking forward to the semi- permanent table saw build! This video was short but great.
Great video! Looking forward to seeing you use this to build a better table saw!
Now that's inventive. Good man John
This is motivating - I don’t have a table saw yet and would rather cruise Craig’s list for a cheap circular saw and scrap wood and hack together a table saw I can disassemble/reuse. Very cool.
Thanks for this quick and easy video, John...I have been playing with the idea of building a table saw of my own, but I was having doubts about my capabilities as a very novice woodworker. But I think I will definitely be able to do this, so this will be my next project.
I just built those saw horses. I love them. So strange to see them now on your channel though, because I had to stop and remind myself those weren't "my" saw horses, they were your plans. Just got into wood working and it's strange how even though you got plans from someone, just spending the time and money making them still makes you feel like "this is mine" probably more so than anything.
Have you built the other table saw - the coming one? Keep us updated pls!
I love your style; DIY friendly. Great!
Shop is looking clean John👍👊
Very good job Jonh.. cheers
Looks a lot like my 'not-so-temporary' table saw that I made from a saw that died, I resurrected, but not before I'd bought a new saw.
My saw table is a lot smaller though, but attached to an old folding workhorse so I can set it up really quick. It has served me well in my renovations, especially as I don't have a shop at home and I can set it up in the yard easily.
Looking forward to your build.
Back in the day, the idea of buying a portable contractor saw was out of the question., So, I used to make job-site "table saws" just like this and screw the "top" to two saw horses. Add a straight edge with two quick clamps and we were good to go. Very, very useful for plywood and paneling work.
My first "table saw" was something like this. Actually used it for a couple years and built quite a few furniture projects before buying a used table saw off Craigslist. Not the most accurate thing in the world and slow to set up the "fence" (which was a level and clamps) but it worked. In the end the limiting factor and the biggest reason for an upgrade was the 1 5/8" max depth of cut.
What cool and simple design. Thank you
Here we go!
Yup, quick and dirty it be, looking forward to seeing the next temporary table saw you make with this temporary table saw
Great project John, id like to see more like it in future
Sweet looking forward to your table saw build!!!
It took me a long time to have the balls to change a tool I had bought because, when I was young and in awe of people who made things, I felt I had no right to tamper with the work someone else had done. I can change tools to suit now but I'm not sure if I could take an angle grinder to a saw yet LOL.
What do they say? You need to break some eggs if you want to make an omelette :)
John Heisz - I Build It my omelette was missing a riving knife... ...oooh look! Now I have ketchup for my omelette:) great vid John. Keep it up.
baconsoda Brendan. as you get older you will become more sure of your abilities. I'm 70 and I'm starting to feel more sure of myself. Mostly
Ether, you are right, I'm 60 and can bring myself to take the varnish off a tool handle now.
baconsoda I had that same fear/mentality until I drilled my first hole in the frame of my old Mustang. Been hacking "engineered" stuff to bits to fix their "engineering" ever since!
perfect simple video video showing how to quickly transform ones handle held circular saw into a table saw.
Impressive Build: die to its simplicity.
Thanks for sharing it.
Jobsite version as it is
Great video... Keep up the great examples...
Not that its not obvious when its on and off but i would take a little bit of green and red paint and paint both sides of that switch.
How about purple and green?
Ha Ha, I like that
Hua hua expected answer.
John, do you think an MDF top would work just as well?
You mean Mastercrap isn't your go-to tool marque? Shocker.
Well shit. This solves exactly a problem I had this weekend. Thanks John!
As an inexperienced young hobbyist, a question that comes to mind is:
If I made this, would it be in any way more likely to kill me than any other table saw?
I'm sure John's experienced enough for this not to be an issue, but sometimes I have trouble judging what's a good idea to try myself and what's not. And a DIY inexpensive table saw is tempting. Should we stay reasonable and civilised, a discussion on the subjet won't hurt :)
As long as you put this together properly (ie. the saw doesn't fall out during a cut...), it's not much different from a "real" table saw. Tools aren't dangerous - actions are. So if you are going to injure yourself, you'l do it just as easily on the real thing.
Jose Just don’t get your fence crooked to the blade. Clamping it in place each time vs having the repeatable locking feature on the “real thing” opens you up to more potential for mistakes here. If your fence isn’t parallel to the blade you’re asking for some trouble, but that’s something that’s relatively easy to control as long as you’re watching for it. Stay alert and be present and think through each cut before you make it. Same rules as normal.
I will give you a quick advice. If you are worried and unsecured sure something will happen do not try this @ home. 😁
I built myself a home made saw a couple of years ago and it does the job but I have had kick back which hurt my wrist, nothing "too serious" but my suggestion is to buy a splitter to attach to it just to make it a little more "safe". It just ties me over until I can afford a decent table saw.
Yes and no. Kick-back has already been mentioned, be aware of that. Another thing is stability, mount it rigidly on a very sturdy base, at proper working height. I would recommend a higher fence, as it will probably be beneficial when
cutting thinner pieces. Finally, make the table of something with a low friction surface (I made mine of melamine particle board), then you will not have to push your workpiece through with force.
Making headway John!
Nice build John! Thanks for sharing the video with us.😎👍JP
Can't wait for the next step...
that looks much better than the time honoured and terrifying clamping the handle of a permanently on skillsaw upside down in a black and decker workmate !!
I'm looking forward to the evolution of the new saw(s).
That'll do. Thanks for the video.
dont you have a cordless dewalt table saw?
Nice quick temp fix.
Have you fixed the table top to the saw horses to eliminate accidental flipping or wobble of the top?
Pretty cool
I did a temporary saw just like that. Unfortunately, at 4:36 on your video, the same thing happened to me. Except the scrap of wood caught my hand. Ouch.
You are just awesome!
So would this iteration be for rip cuts only?
Ian Duh looks that way to me. he's got the miter saw for crosscuts.
Very cool!
I have a small one of these I take up on scaffolding to use - and it shoots saw dust in my face. I need to notch out the blade guard - great idea.
Really nice recycling! 👍
Cool video old head ...👍
Why diddnt you use the old saw to build a better permanent saw? I am confused on your thoughts.
John Ekedahl im pretty sure he wants to show how someone could make a table saw without a table saw.
I guess, John diddnt note it as a build video, just that it was temporary until he built a better one.
What happened to the other table saw ?
That's better than the saw I paid good money for.
John were did your old saw go I like the name busy bee
гениальное и простое класс
Many thanks.
LOOK OUT EVERYONE HE'S NOT USING A GUARD!!!!
very good thanks
Brilliant
Thats how i built my bandsaw 👍
It doesn't have the annoying high-pitched sound of the old table saw - thumbs up!
Gives me ideas. Thanks!
What I don't like bout this type of saws is the noise. I very much like the induction motors over the universal ones for that main reason.
Its happening, im on the Hype-Train!
Building a table saw to build a table saw woot woot does it get any better ;)
Short but sweet.
Quick & Dirty, like most of us like stuff.
Not sure if you already covered it but why did you get rid of the original table saw ?
DENIS KENNEALLY I believe he's building a new table saw, but wanted to do it from the perspective of someone that didn't already have a TS yet, so he dismantled the old one first. Yes, John is a badass. Purely my opinion, but I like to think (hope) he's also doing it to rile up the safety trolls (no guard or riving knife, how could post something like this!?!).
Edward Chen ah, that's cool thanks for the explanation.
What happened to your old table saw?
Not using the angle grinder protection screen (and two hands on the grinder) can cost you a fine of 10000$.
Danish Working Environment Authority is so concerned with safety they forget to bring the brain with them to inspections. I was once told to stop everything at once and leave the work site for a serious breach of safety rules. After a bit of negotiation the work could begin if the crane was disconnected. Three days later we got stickers measuring 5 by 10 cm. After putting them on the massive columns supporting the 5 ton overhead crane we could use it again. The text on these small stickers read: "Danger Crane at work".
,
Quien sabe que madres dijiste pero la mesa esta excelente
it's actually safer than a real big table saw in a way you know.
Now, a simple fence which is easily kept parallel...it would be sufficient...
cord21465 ya. I would have expended the fence a foot and screwed a 6” wide plywood Tee on each end so it would slide across the top parallel to the blade. Good vid tho!!
I did the same with Makita saw and it wobbles under load. Basically, the shoe on it is attached off-center and only at two points, plus the sliding guide is very flimsy as it is not designed to hold the saw.
Sorry - you've probably mentioned this elsewhere. What happened to your old Table saw?
plunder1956 he has a video on it. He took it apart because he wants to build a new one
plunder1956, I had the same thought :-P
Again the story begins.
Nice
I like you better in this than in Full House
Could we get a description of the new blade?... Brand, number of teeth, etc.
Epic
Where did your table saw go? Did it criticize your lumber rack build video? Ha ha ha...just kidding John.
On one hand, I'm sad that we here in Australia aren't allowed to do our own 240V electrical wiring, but on the other hand I'm glad because of the "she'll be right" attitude.
Someone most likely makes a plug-in switch so it's probably not that big of a deal in this case.
Incridible.
без пазов под ящик для торцевания и шипорезку не считается)
I have been meaning to make one of these for a while, but much to my irritation I have yet to find a drill bit that will even touch the saw plate of the old Black and Decker Professional saw I want to use ! Cobalt won’t do it so I’m going to have to buy an expensive Tungsten tip, who’d a thunk it !!
Nice work but my heart hurts in 1:35 :(
Don't you just wish the "thumbs down" folks would have the courage to post why thumbs down? Oh, guess maybe not worth the effort.
Howard Ludwig I doubt they even watch... just get the notification, thumbs down and move on.
Butthurt is as butthurt does...
Any thoughts on adding a couple of length-wise (parallel to the blade) stiffeners to the back? I don't have your level of experience and I am not there to see how "stiff" the supports are against rocking motion in the direction of the fence but my civil engineer in California (earthquakes and lateral loads being the dominant design forces) brain is worried that the top could collapse under extreme circumstances (which I suppose is beyond the expected use of this contraption). I feel I am going to become another example of the "compressor in closed cabinet" people so please have mercy on me :D
It's a case of overthinking it and not knowing the strength of the materials used / loads involved. The strength axis of the plywood runs parallel to the blade, so adding extra support will do little for it. And on it's own, 1/2" plywood will support a lot of weight - I'm ~250lbs and I could easily stand on that top.
On top of that, this is a very temporary build, so it makes no sense spending extra time and wasting materials to beef it up.
Thanks for the extensive response! It gives me a perspective on the strength of 1/2" plywood! :D And thanks for posting these and also for not getting angry at me for the "case of overthinking it". Although you can use this as an example in your next Scrap Bin video ;)
Alipasha Sadri relax . This guy has done awesome jobs by mixing things up.