hi, on the woodpecker today i'm going to show you i make this fence for my table saw sliding table. i wanted an easy way to install a fence on my sliding table, so i built this one
woodworking hand tools canada, at the end of the video i'll talk to you about the sliding table itself. i start this project, by glueing two pieces of mahogany together. when the glue is dry, i start working on the base. after cutting a piece of baltic birch plywood
a little wider than the sliding table, i cut the bottom runners. they are cut to the width of the sliding table slots. i use plastic runners. i have a bunch already cut. they all came from this big one that my father found in the garbage. but you can also use your kitchen cutting board and make a new one out of wood, or just buy another one. this runner is too thick, so i cut it thinner. then i cut them to the right length and drill the mounting holes.
i mark the placement of the pilot holes and drill them. to locate the placement of the second runner, i stick some double sided tape on the runner and press the base onto it. i just need to mark the placement of the pilot holes again, drill them and screw the runner to the base. when i'm satisfied and think the runners are perfect, i drill two holes in the center of each runner for a "t" bolt. now i can work on the fence. i start by making one side straight on the jointer.
the painted side is cut whit the table saw. then i cut and drill the piece which will hold the fence to the base. i also drill two different sized holes for the fence adjustment. before i glue the support to the fence, i put some packing tape on the edge of the base so the glue won't stick to it. i mark the pilot hole spots and drill them. it's time to glue the support to the fence.
when the glue is dry, i screw the fence to the base. i cut two small length of "t" tracks to hold down the base to the sliding table. now i can insert those "t" tracks in the sliding table slots and hold the fence down with both knobs. using the fence this way wouldn't be really comfortable, so i will make a handle. now i just need to screw it to the base. to check that the fence is at ninety degrees, i'll do the five cut test. i cut each side by always putting the last cut i did on the fence.
on the fifth cut, i cut a little more. if this strip is the same width throughout, it means that it's straight. just by looking at the strip, i don't need any calliper to tell me the fence is not straight. i unscrew the adjustment, move the fence and redo the test. finally after nineteen tries i got it, not that bad hein.... i have the same width on both ends of the strip. so to make sure not to knock out the adjustment,
i make four holes under the base and screw the fence firmly. the last thing i need to do to finish this fence is to put this sliding flip stop on top of it. now i have a new perfectly square fence on my table saw. the only unpleasant thing is that i have to crawl on the dusty floor to get to the other side past it. now, as promised, i will talk about the sliding table itself. it's made of two extruded, thick pieces of aluminum. it slides on this metal rail with ball bearings.
the table saw came with this sliding table, but there's other holes in it, so it can be fitted on other types of table saw. you put it at the place of the left wing of the table saw. this came with two legs, which screw under the table. i just used one. the traveling movement is locked with this ball. as you can see when the pin is lowered the table can move freely, but when it's up, it locks the table. this came with a table extension, i never use it
because it's too long and hard to install. it also came with this guide that has a sliding flip stop and you can modify it's angle from minus fifty to plus fifty. there's also an adjustable ruler on top of the guide. you can even move the stop at the end, and the ending part of the fence is mobile. this looks perfect, but far from it. there's too much play in the fence mechanism. to make it straight, i must use a square and put the fence straight as best as i can. i can't always make nineteen cut test each time i put this fence on.....
but the really nice thing is that you can cut a four by eight sheet of plywood and it's supported all the way. one of the draw back is that it's protruding a lot in the front of the table saw, so you can't go really far at the left of the blade. it also collects a lot of saw dust. speaking of saw dust, when i plug the dust extraction hose, i really need to be careful with the corner because it can really do a number on your back. that's the reason why i cut this pool noodle and stick it there with double sided tape,
but it always falls down. if you think you can use your miter gauge, think again. the rail is not a standard size. as you can see, it's just a little bigger than a standard "t" track. this being said i like it and with my new fence i hope to like it even more. thanks for watching and i hope to see you next time for another episode of the woodpecker.