I’d hoped to install the cross cut table extension on my table saw yesterday, but when I unpacked the parts the only paperwork in the box was an exploded diagram. I can see how this bit goes together easily enough, but no indication how how it should attach to the saw cabinet. I emailed General in Canada and they sent me the same diagram back again. Merci Infiniment.
My main concern was getting this properly lined up with the sliding table. I think what I’ll need to do is assemble the entire thing on the floor and then lift it into place while marking and drilling four holes in the cabinet. THAT should be a hoot. I think it will be really handy once it’s installed, it will make it pretty easy to cross cut sheets of plywood, just what the doctor ordered for making kitchen cabinets.
I made some decent progress on my shop this weekend. Paint and air compressor hook ups done. I re-located the timer for the outdoor lights. And I roughed in the ducting for the dust collector. I can’t do any more on the ducting until the blast gates and flex hose arrives later this week. I’m still missing a few odds and ends — like a dado insert for the table saw. It’s a peculiar size and shape so I’m having to order it from General. And I need to make some cabinets to store my planes and saws. They had “cabinet grade Birch’Maple” plywod on sale at Home Despot for $40 a sheet. It’s probably just the ticket for some inexpensive storage cabinets. I really wanted to use some nice hardwood plywood, but $130 a sheet is a bit spendy for shop storage.
Ok .. now I feel better. When I get a crazy diagram with some power tool and I can’t figure out what to do I always think .. “I wish I had been doing this stuff all my life like most of my guys friends have been able to do. Bet they know how to figure this out.”
Yay! it happens to everyone. I know that’s not much help, but it makes me feel better. 😀
It’s annoying isn’t it?
The way I’d like this to work is that there would be predrilled mounting holes on the saw that I could bolt part #1 on to, then assemble everything upwards from there. Having to assemble the whole (heavy) thing and then hold it in place sounds like a PITA.
maybe there is a picture on the manufacturer/dealer site
Good idea. The General catalog doesn’t show it installed, the only picture I’ve found so far is the one below. My only real question is where to put the bottom bracket so that the top of the mechanism ends up level/flush with the top of the saw. I think if I assemble the whole thing I can just heft it into place and mark where the holes for the bottom support bracket belong.
Joe have you looked inside the cabinet to see if there are any holes there? I did a Excalibur sliding fence many years ago but it didn’t look like this setup.
I just got home from work and checked inside, sadly nothing there (other than a sheetmetal tray that was in the way that I had to remove first.I measured the pieces ad my guess is that the mount/pivot bracket is going to sit on top of the lip at the bottom of the cabinet, That looks like it will put the top of the support assembly maybe 1/4″ below the top of the table — and there is an adjustment jack screw that can adjust it up and down +/- 1″.
I’ll re-measure everything later this week when I have time to install it. I’ll need to pick up some mounting bolts tomorrow.