On 20 Nov 2006 09:01:40 -0800, "bremen68"
wrote:

Hello,

Had to part with my Delta 10" tablesaw... When I got it to babysit I
was really hoping it would be for the long haul, but alas it wasn't
meant to be... Oh well... we make do.

When I realized I was faced with reassembling my Craftsman 10", I
thought...may as well make some improvements. The tune up suggestions
on the Woodbutcher's Site were a great place to start!!!

These are the improvements I've done (some from the Woodbutcher's site
some my own) and some that I'm planning on doing in the very near
future...

-- Added 12 bolts (had to bore holes for these) to secure the body
housing sheet metal to the leg assembly to stiffen up the frame (8
1/4"x1/2" bolts to secure the side panels to the legs and added one
3/8" x 1/2" bolt to each corner)
-- Added a plate with a dust collection port to the bottom of the saw,
this plate also helped stiffen the frame (attached a toilet flange as
my outlet on the bottom -- It was on hand and it works)
-- Added 1/2" (they're 7" wide and span the legs) plywood panels
around the top of the leg assembly this was to prevent them from
splaying out and wobbling
-- Added 4 2" x 1/8" steel bands around the bottom of the legs to
stiffen them up and prevent them from turning

That's a lot of work with the leg system. I'd never heard of it, nor
did I ever think the legs were a problem on mine while I had it.

-- One of the biggest additions - I ditched the old fence and have
installed a new Align-a-rip 24/24 fence. WOW, I realize it's not an
Incra, but compared to the original fence it's wonderful. I was going
to align it to be 12/36 but didn't have the room so it's still 24/24


Yep - single biggest improvement to my Craftsman saw was the addition
of a Biesemeyer fence. A good fence makes the saw accurate and
usable.

Yet to be dones ----

-- Installing a link belt

Good idea. I did that, but I'm not sure the improvement was all that
significant. It's the steel pulleys I did at the same time that was
more useful. The cast pulleys were obviously well worn on mine by the
time I did it.

-- I'll be adding an overhead blade guard - I have parts cut out of
3/8" Lexan they just need to be assembled for the guard, then I'll need
to do the armature for the overhead assembly. (this one should be done
inside a week or so)

Like a Shark Guard? You're obviously going for dust collection. I
never felt it was worthwhile on this saw.


-- I also want to close in the back of the saw to improve dust
collection -- (I'm looking for suggestion on what the best way to close
it in btw.)




Have you added (or plan to) a zero clearance insert or PALS system?
The zero clearance was nice, but my saw held it's alignment pretty
good, I never felt I needed the PALS.

My saw is gone now, but with upgrades like the ones you're doing, it
becomes pretty fair.

Ultimately, I sold mine and got a saw with more power and didn't
require extraordinary effort to adapt for dust collection.