"Spare" cast iron table saw top ... (in my hallway)

[julianf]

I have the top to a wadkin AGS 250 table saw.

One of these -

Its a lump of cast iron -

...and its been sitting in out hallway way too long!


As you can see its got the oval cut out for the blade, and two slots for sliding mitres etc.

I also have the fence mechanism, but kind of had plans for that elsewhere.




I wanted to turn the table into a router table. This kind of thing -

But its not ideal, in that the oval hole is too small to use as-is, and longer than standard router insert plates. Which isnt really an issue, as i can make up a custom plate, but it just starts feeling more and more like a bodge.


Plus, Im not 100% sure how, say, a 10mm, plate will work out. As in id need a lip for it to sit on, and ive not yet calculated if id still have that lip, after removing 10mm for the recess.




So, my question -

a) do you reckon a router table is a good idea / would work, or
b) what else should i do with it? Id consider floging it, and, sure, to the right person it would be hundreds, but as a lump of flat cast with an awkward oval hole, i cant see it being more than £50 or so, so its hardly a big money item.

Basically, any ideas that get it out of my hall way, and im all ears!

Thank you.

 

[TechnicAl]

You MUST live alone

no idea what to do with the table....but if it was mine, and in the hall, the wife would.

 

[julianf]

You MUST live alone

no idea what to do with the table....but if it was mine, and in the hall, the wife would.

16 years of mutual tolerance.

 

[armalites]

I would say your best bet would be to get a chunk of aluminium cut to drop into the hole and mount the router to that. You could fit some screws that sit on those tabs to act as levellers. As a proof of concept even a piece kitchen worktop/MDF/Plywood would probably work fine to test it.

 

[julianf]

I would say your best bet would be to get a chunk of aluminium cut to drop into the hole and mount the router to that. You could fit some screws that sit on those tabs to act as levellers. As a proof of concept even a piece kitchen worktop/MDF/Plywood would probably work fine to test it.

I considered that -

The router base would need to be completely removed, and the pillars mounted to the plate itself, as the standard router base is larger than the width of the slot. This would be awkward as all the attatchemnt would need to be from below after the plate was mounted.

Or -

The router is mounted with its own base, on a subframe below the cast. However, then it all becomes too far away from the surface, and collet extensions would be needed in excess.


Neither plan seemed good : ( But, if im mis understanding you, please do tell me, as id like it to work!

 

[armalites]

If the insert came below the ribs then it could work but that would limit cut depth as you be losing 50mm straight away as you say.

It does look like a couple of the ribs have been relieved/broken, could the router fit there? I know it won't be central but may be a better fit.

If you can get it to work it will be a nice platform to work to. I remember reading an article about home made router tables and there was a statement something like "To make a decent router table you need a router table" I thnk what they meant was twofold, firstly you don't know what you need in a table until you've made one and once you have one machining parts for the next one is easier.

 

[armalites]

This place sells loads of stuff for making your own tables but the price starts to stack up very quickly

 

[julianf]

Here's another photo -

The ribs could be machined away. The area where the black colouration is (between about 7 and 9 3/4 inches on the photo) is only about 7.5mm thick. The rest is more like 13.8mm.

If i were to make a cut out for an insert plate, because of the thin black bit, i would probably have to make it this big, in order to get a lip to sit it on the whole way around -

Or, i accept that its unsupported for 2.5" (which if i use a 10mm plate, im sure is acceptable) and move the insert plate away from the slot.

 

[armalites]

To me that looks totally doable if you don't mind grinding machining the the ribs. If you the commersially available table inserts they often just sit on 4 screw platforms. The new Trend one is aluminium but the older model was made of plastic so I don't think you have any isssue. It's not likely the top is going to flex.

I think I would cut the ribs next to the opening and the dark are back(only to square them) and tuck the router there. If you insert filled the hole and was on levellers you could then just have a couple bars to clamp it to the underside

The only downside will be if you want to use the router outside the table but it would probably be better to just buy another router and leave it mounted. If you went for a Trend T11 you can adjust the cut from above the table so no messing about clambering underneath

 

[frank horton]

sell it and start agin with something else.....to much faffing....
my next router table will be a Breakfast bar top, 1/2 as big again as kitch worktop.....

 

[frank horton]

shame u havn't got the rest of the saw......!!!!

 

[gaz1]

i can see a few uses depending on what your intensions arealso depends on the size of your slot 400 x ?

from

router
planer
sander as in drum sander

 

[julianf]

i can see a few uses depending on what your intensions arealso depends on the size of your slot 400 x ?

from

router
planer
sander as in drum sander

As per diagram, aprox 450

 

[gaz1]

As per diagram, aprox 450

its not i can see that from the pic i mean the gap drawn in red

otherwise your going back to the bar and threaded end with fitting for collets 1/4" 1/2" fittings on them

 

[Barking Mat]

Stick it on a pallet, send it to me.

I have an unexplainable attraction to cast iron.

Wonder how much the shipping would be?

Mat

It is flat?

 

[julianf]

Stick it on a pallet, send it to me.

I have an unexplainable attraction to cast iron.

Wonder how much the shipping would be?

Mat

It is flat?

It would be a pallet job. I can move it, just about, but there is a reason why it's only ever made it to just inside our front door...

It's flat. Not hand scraped flat, but as flat as you would expect.


It's not up for grabs yet... Someone on another forum was after it but I've no idea if they were serious, as I didn't follow it up as I've not concluded yet.


A router table would be useful to me, but not if it's just a bodge. It would probably cost me £50 in machining too if I wanted to alter the hole, as I only CNC alloy here.

 

[gaz1]

this is an older cast iron table saw router you will see what i mean about the bar

unless you can find a thin router to fit into the gap thats not a diy unit then its called forget it if your not willing to change it to a bar system

 

[julianf]

this is an older cast iron table saw router you will see what i mean about the bar

unless you can find a thin router to fit into the gap thats not a diy unit then its called forget it if your not willing to change it to a bar system

The Triton router id be using has its own top operated lift mechanism.

What problems do you see in chopping away a load of the cast and fitting an insert plate, as suggested?

Thank you.

 

[julianf]

I think I should clarify -

If I open up the hole, I won't be doing it by hand. I'll do the cad and take it to firm down the road who has much larger CNC machines than mine.

They will, I'm sure, make a perfect job of whatever my cad specifies.


I'm now wondering about following the curve of the existing hole and simply widening it. Ie keep one side of the slot as is, cutting a bit more out, and then mirroring the original curved edges onto the new cut.

Again it would mean a small portion of the plate unsupported in the edge (where the thinner black bit of plate is) but I don't think this is an issue.

The Triton tra100 or whatever it's called has a top operated lift.

I can machine up the custom insert plate here.

Router tables generally have a fence. I've not used one and am unsure if I would need a fence or if I could always use a bearing.

I have a planer thicenesser etc. so I would imagine most of the work I'd like to do with the router table could be work done with s bearing?

 

[bigegg]

I think I should clarify -

If I open up the hole, I won't be doing it by hand. I'll do the cad and take it to firm down the road who has much larger CNC machines than mine.

They will, I'm sure, make a perfect job of whatever my cad specifies.


I'm now wondering about following the curve of the existing hole and simply widening it. Ie keep one side of the slot as is, cutting a bit more out, and then mirroring the original curved edges onto the new cut.

Again it would mean a small portion of the plate unsupported in the edge (where the thinner black bit of plate is) but I don't think this is an issue.

The Triton tra100 or whatever it's called has a top operated lift.

I can machine up the custom insert plate here.

Router tables generally have a fence. I've not used one and am unsure if I would need a fence or if I could always use a bearing.

I have a planer thicenesser etc. so I would imagine most of the work I'd like to do with the router table could be work done with s bearing?

You'll need a fence if you ever want to machine a T-slot, for example.
(I'd've said a dado/groove, but you have a table saw for that!)
Having said that, a fence for a router table is a doddle: bolt at one one, clamp at the other.

As to the table:
I'd mill out a rectangular hole that an aluminium [clear perspex has its advantages] plate will drop into.
Bolt some 6mm thick bar around the perimeter (underneath), with grub screws to support the plate, and you can microadjust it so that it's level with the top.

The aluminium plate is bolted to the router in place of it's base and the router can then be lifted out and used freehand - or just adjusted.