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.