HOME BUILT - FESTOOL STYLE Multi Functional Table mounted on 8020 extrusions of  45mmX45mm

I wish to share the latest project I have just finished, it is Festool Style MFT with a 20mm holes on the entire table top of 48* X 27" on a 4" square grid. The boring of all these holes was done with a 20mm Carbide Forstner Bit, after carefully drawing a perfect 4" grid on a 19mm MDF board. This board is mounted on a 45mm square 8020 extrusion, which has mitre corners, so that the clamps and other connectors can be inserted from all corners. The 20mm dia holes would take all bench dogs of 20mm and also those plastic clamping pieces which come with Black and Decker Workmate, in combination with Festool Special MFT clamps (which are sold in India my Hefele India Ltd. 

It is pretty simple to make, as long as one takes great care while drawing the 4" grid on the table top (festool uses 96mm grid, as it is cut with CNC or multiboring machines, which have got 32mm spacing between two boring heads (centre to centre), I choose to make 100mm grid, as it is easier to mark exact 100mm and the boring is done manually. You have a choice of making with a router or a vertical drill stand. As I was not sure of safety of using a carbide Forstner bit on a router, I used my Einhell Red 18volts Li Ion cordless Impact Drill. You can also make a acrylic template of say 10mm thickness having a grid of 5x5 holes or 3x5 holes and keep boring thro the template. As I am making just one table top, i did not go thro the template route, instead spent lot of time, carefully drawing the grid and punching the centre hole on all points of intersection of 4" spaced lines on X and Y axis and bored each hole, by carefully parking the centre tip of the Forstner bit on the punched hole and keeping the drill vertical with the help of a T square held next to its body.

These are the few photos showing the home made MFT and also some items clamped on it using Festool, special MFT clamps and Workmate bench dogs.

HOME BUILT SCROLL SAW WITH 
EINHELL RED JIG SAW RT-JS 85

Jig Saw is quite versatile for any contour cutting and even straight cutting of small pieces and thin material, which is not possible with either a handheld circular saw or on a table saw similar to what i have built and shared on this blog. 

But, many times i found that, I was unable to turn the Jigsaw at the right moment and right angle or arc, resulting in ruining the design I was planning. This I realised, could be solved if I mount the Jigsaw similar to my mounting my circular saw into a table saw mode, so that it would be much easier for me to move and feed the wooden piece on to the cutting blade and i can see all the time, the entire design i am cutting.

So I decided to mount it, but having a dedicated table top (with box beneath, as dust collection module to which i hook up my vacuum (please see my table saw blog for details), i decided that i would mount the jigsaw on a insert plat (similar to router insert plate) and would insert it on a box top. the same box top, can be used for various other tools, i am planning to mount, to free both my hands for manoeuvring the wood than the machine. (next in line would be my belt sander, my 82mm power planner, angle grinder and ofcourse a router)

I decided to use a bamboo kitchen cutting board of 15"X 9" and cost me just Rs.190/-, I have purchased four such boards for my various other tool mounting.  I routed a recess, to snug fit the aluminum caste base of my jigsaw, the recess was exactly of the same depth as the thickness of base plate (12mm) and the cutting board is 19mm thick. This I have done, to bring the firmly clamped part of the blade, as close as possible to the mounting plate surface, so that, while cutting the blade would remain firm and straight enough to give a true cut @ 90 degree to surface. Overarm with a clamp to hold the tip of the jigsaw blade is also in the making and i would install it so that the entire blade would remain straight while moving up and down. 

I used the two threaded knob base of the jigsaw for fixing a parallel guide to fasten the jigsaw from the insert plate top (with counter sinking) and to ensure firm clamping, also used a washer and a wing nuts and at the rear, drilled a centralised hole on the base the fastened it similarly. The following picture would make it very clear and no further build details need to be given. I have shown the mounted jigsaw just clamped as the box to receive this as insert plate is in the making as on date. 

Nothing new or innovative, but I wished to share so that others can adopt a few features which may be unique the way it is mounted etc.  Happy DIYing.

  

UPDATE ON MY SHOP BUILT TABLE SAW (WITH CIRCULAR SAW)

hi,

I have finished mounting a 8mm malamine top to my top mounted table saw and trimmed, the edges with my Hitachi Fixed based router with a cutting board subbase (fully detailed in my blog) and is ready. The malimine top is American Walnut finish. Now i would be mounting my fence made of 8020 aluminum extrusion and also a cross cut sled, which would slide on the sides of the table, that is why i did not make any mitre slots on the table top. I would share the photos of fence and cross cut sled soon.

SHOW CASES OF GLASS AND WOOD IN THE WALL ALCOVES IN LIVING ROOM

GLASS AND WOOD SHOWCASES IN THE WALL ALCOVES IN OUR LIVING ROOM:

Frame and vertical sections made of 18mm plywood with teak beading and horizontal shelves are 6mm glass fixed with chrome plated brass clamps. The design highlight is only vertical sections are wood, all horizontal shelves are 6mm glass with rounded edges, mounted on brass holders, screwed to wooden parts of the showcase.  Yet another feature is both the showcases are mirror to each other, one is the shape of S and another in the shape of Z. 

-- ALPHA-ZEE CREATIONS

LARGE BOOK-SHELF AND GLASS & S.S. STEEL SHOW CASE, BELOW THE STAIRS OF OUR HOME, WHICH WAS JUST WASTED, TILL I BUILT THESE:

We have Double “L” stairs, at one end of our double height living room, connecting ground and first levels. The space under the steps, was vacant and was not put to any use, since 2000, when the house was built. I wished to use that space, to the maximum, with a combination of storage underneath.

The 3’ X 3’ space under the second landing, has full 7’ clearance and I decided to put a glass and steel showcase for my numerous curios and the space of around 3’ X 7’ with varying heights leading to the second landing, i have designed and built a Book Shelf. The shelf was built with frame of 18mm plywood and shelves of 12mm plywood with half round wooden beading, fixed on all edges.

Entire lower portion of about 30” X 7’ is divided in two sections with shelves inside, where my collection of music CDs and DVDs are stored. This part has 12mm shutter doors with teak veneered plywood and upper portion is open shelves of different fancy sizes to house my collection of books and curios. Open shelves are painted with white enamel with satin pink colored beading, frame beading is polished mahogany strain, and shutters strained with natural teak shade.

Entire shelf, rests on 4 large stainless steel legs of 4” height. I choose this kind of legs instead of a platform, to facilitate pulling out the shelf, for cleansing to keep the space below stairs free from any insects etc.

-- ALPHA-ZEE CREATIONS

ANOTHER WEEKEND QUICK PROJECT : MAKE YOUR OWN ROUTER SUB-BASE:

All the router bases either round or mostly circular with one straight edge, would have a plastic subbase, fixed to router with 3 or 4 screws. When we plan to trim the edges of table tops, cabinets etc, half the base would not have support, that poses, risk of not able to focus on the cut, as great skill and hand control is needed to guide the trim bit, either cloakwise and anti-cloakwise, depending upon the job, becomes little tricky. and also while routing a rabeted pocket for mounting tools, clamps etc, the small router base of around 5" to 6" diameter is inadequate.

There is a need for making our sub base, which would give us greater control on such tasks, which is larger and also quickly allow us to clamp it homebuilt subbase to our workbench, so that we would have a router table, in a jiffy. 

Keeping in mind this, i was exploring various materials and evaluating it and one day while in the kitchen, i noticed the strong Nylon cutting board which is around 10mm thick and 400x250mm in dimension. I thought, why not I use a Nylon cutting board, which is quite strong and had a non slippery matt surface. So, in the evening i went to a neighbourhood shop who sells kitchenware and brought a Nylon cutting board, after due examination to check for dimension & flatness and got one and removed the small plastic subbase of my Hitachi Fixed Base Router and mounted the router after marking and drilling the screw positions and countersinking for screw heads, after carefully marking the dead centre for the mounting and cut a 30mm round hold in the centre with my Drill Press with a Forstner Drill bit. I choose 30mm for the hold size, as i have full range of Bronze guide bushes of various dimensions which  can be fixed in the hole with a locking threaded nut of the set.

Here are the two photographs of the final mounted Router. Total cost: a princely sum of Rs.300 for the Nylon cutting board.  I have retained the contoured handle of the cutting board, so that, i can comfortable lift the router mounted on the board and also hold it while doing edge trimming etc.

ONE MORE BONUS, WHEN I BUILD MY ROUTER TABLE, THIS CUTTING BOARD MOUNTED ROUTER WOULD BE JUST INSERTED INTO THE TOP OF ROUTER TABLE, WITH APPROPRIATE CUT OUT AND REBATING FOR MAKING THE CUTTING BOARD, SIT FLUSH WITH TABLE TOP. 

HOME BUILT TABLE SAW: WITH CIRCULAR SAW

I HAVE BEEN planning to build a Table Saw myself, with a circular saw and was hunting for a circular saw. You may be wondering why hunt, there are dime a dozen. Yes there are dime a dozen, but I wanted a circular saw with a riving knife. Circular saw with riving knife, every shop keeper in city market bangalore, used to laugh at me and say "indiame nahi milega" So, this hunt took some time, before i found one in an exhibition arranged jointly my Metabo/Cumi where one piece was displayed. After the show, i went to the main dealer and also have been virtually chassing Cumi marketing department, but no one was of any help and then thro a website of a online store selling various things, i was surprised to find a listing of a circular saw made by AEG of Germany and imported and marketed in India, by a bombay based company. Finally, after all the effort, i could manage to get hold of a AEG circular saw. and i was not willing to do like so many others, who just bolted it from the bottom side of a table top, with rebated pocket or just like that and plunging the blade to come out of the other side. I wanted to do it differently. I wanted to mount it from the top of the table, thro a pocket of appropriate shape cut out . this has two advantages, one base plate gets excellent support and chances of it bending with the weight of the saw is much less. No2, i would get more cutting depth, as i wont loose 12 to 18mm of cutting capacity in the grove of table top, thro which the saw has to come to the top. To decide on the cut out shape and dimension, i got hold of 8020 aluminum extrusions and made a frame of 30x30cm and mounted the saw from top in the frame and the frame i kept on a old bookshelf, which had a spacing of 30cm between two shelves and decided what should be depth it reaches at zero cut and at 45 degree angle, what is the width it takes.  why should i know, what is the depth and width the saw needs for depth and angle movements. Because, i was planning to build a box and mount the saw as a lid on the box. the box itself would be mounted on my black and decker workmate225. 

This box design, gives me an opportunity to contain dust within the box which would be connected to my vacuum machine, which would do only create vacuum inside the box, so that from the dust port of saw, the dust would get deposited at the bottom of the box and only very fine dust floating inside would get extracted by my vacuum. This arrangement, would separate vacuum creation and dust collection, at two independent places. Vacuum is created by machine, but 90% dust collected in box. My machine dust bag would not get chocked and the box below the table saw has huge capacity. 

At the prototype stage when my saw was sitting pretty on the aluminum frame, many forum members saw it and were curious and my friend Diptesh, liked the saw and frame mounting so much, i had got another saw of AEG for him and also went along to kamakshipalys industrial estate, to get him those extrusions and connecting components etc  etc. 

Actual build and dimensions etc, i would post separately. In this post i would share a few pictures. so you would get an idea of it. still i have to work on main fence and also mitre slots for running sled etc. and also safety cover for the saw blade and have a mechanism to adjust the height and angle of blade from outside, without lifting the lid of the table. I would share full details of construction after the saw is fully ready in all respects. only those also would be different from the routine. AEG 190mm saw gives a cutting depth of 66mm max at 90 degrees. and thanks to my top mounting design and a top layer to cover the saw plate and allow zero clearance slot for saw blade and riving knife, i have achieved getting a cutting capacity of 60mm.  

I have done a trial run and cut to check for 90 degree cut and i am very happy about it.

PARALLEL GUIDE OF JIGSAW & CIRCULAR SAW AND ELECTRIC PLANNER ETC
DIY MODIFICATION FOR MAKING THE GUIDE MORE ACCURATE & STABLE.

MOST of us have many Power Tools, which comes with, a parallel Guide which would get attached to the tool, by fastening a few screws. But, it has been the experience of most of us that the guide wont give support from the beginning to the end of the cut, which would give a snipe free cut. 

I have been thinking about this problem, why it happens, it happens because the tool base which has to complete the journey across the wood being cut, is longer than the face of the guide which holds the wood.
Then, solution was simple, make the face of the guide, longer than the base plate of the tool, to which it get attached. Easier said than done. Problem is getting a straight edge and perfect 90 degree sides to attach to the parallel guide. and I found that 8020 Aluminum extrusion which I have of various lengths for my prototyping experiments, is the best. 

I noticed that most of the parallel guides, have one or two holes predrilled on the face and my 8020 can be fastened to the face, in such a way that the guide would be firmly placed on the edge of the wood being cut, much before the blade is any where near the cutting line and the guide would remain firmly against the edge, till the blade leaves the piece, after completed the cut. Though, I had T bolts and nuts to fasten the Extrusion to the face of guide, I made it much simpler, by using a two sided foam tape of 3M.  

I am sharing a photo of the guide of my Einhell Red Jigsaw, with the extrusion of 300mm long attached to it, with a 3M double sided tape. i have also closed all the T slots, with plastic covers, which comes for that purpose, so that the slots would not get clogged with saw dust.  My Einhell Red Circular Saw, pararrle guide, has been similarly modified using a 500mm extrusion, as the base plate of circular saw is much longer than 300mm and the blade of circular saw has to be guided till it totally leaves the surface after completing the cut.

  

I wish to share briefly, few details and few pictures of the Workbench, I have built recently. In fact, every woodworker, at some stage, start dreaming of building his own workbench. I was no different. Though, woodworking being my pet hobby, from my childhood and have made several things, using wood in combination with metal and glass to create lasting products for Homes.

My table is almost similar to many such 2" X 4" solid lumber framed Benches, except that i fixed the bottom shelf to the bottom of the frame instead of placing it on top. Now the bottom shelf is in fact a 4 inch deep box of 27”X39”. I would be placing a 4 mm thin lid on this, to protect it from dust.  The Bench is not yet fully complete in the sense, I am yet to bore the bench dog holes. For bench dogs, i found nice 3 inch long SS rods of 20mm dia and i would machine it flat on one end for about 5/8”.

Bench Legs are two 2"×4" lumber joined together and all shoulder pieces and cross beams are all 2" X 4"s. The table top is 18 mm plywood doubled up to create a solid 36mm table top and shelf is also made of 18mm ply. Castors are 5” nylon wheels, two of them lockable, to provide stability. Vise is 9” steel cast.