After letting it sit for 24 hours, the bench is now ready for the hardware.

This is a continuation of Workbench: Part 5 – Cutting the benchtop to size

The workbench top is almost done. It’s been glued up and cut to size. Now all it needs is the finishing touches to get it ready for the hardware.

Adding a shallow rabbet on the ends of each piece.

The left and right edges of each section are going to have angle-iron that wraps around the corners. Since these will be recessed, I need to add a shallow rabbet on each edge. I did this with my table saw and a dado stack. The depth was pretty crucial but the width was approximate. I knew I wasn’t going to get a final fit until I rounded the corner so I just made sure not to make it too wide.

Cut a shallow rabbet on the left and right edges of the benchtop pieces.

I did a rough-fit just to make sure it was deep enough but not too wide.

This is how the angle-iron will sit on the edge.

A close-up view shows how I need to apply a roundover to the corner.

I need to add a roundover in the corner so the angle-iron sits flush.

I used a contour gauge to determine the radius of the inner corner.

Using a contour gauge to determine the correct roundover to apply.

The router bit that fit best is a 1/8″ roundover bit.

It looks like a 1/8" roundover bit will work.

I set the benchtop upside-down on my router table and used it to set the height of the bit.

Then it was a simple matter of pushing the piece along the bit. The piece was pretty big but since my router table is mounted on my table saw, it was actually not too bad.

Cutting the roundover on the left and right edges.

It looks like this is going to be a better fit. Now it’s time to finish the rabbet.

Now I need to take the rabbet back by a bit.

It looks like I need to take an additional 1/16″ off the top.

I set the fence on my table saw so I would remove just a hair under 1/16″. I’d rather remove too little and have to take off just a bit more than remove too much.

Setting my fence so I can take ~1/16" off of the existing rabbet.

I carefully extended the rabbet just a bit. I didn’t end up needing to move the fence at all, but I did have to raise the blade up just a bit and make a second pass.

Running the pieces over the spinning dado stack.

That fits much better. It’s not perfect but it’s close enough.

Applying a stain to the tops and sides.

Now it’s time to apply the stain. For this, I’m using Varathane Kona wood stain.

I applied a generous amount using a 3″ brush.

First I apply the stain with a 3" brush.

My wife followed up with a blue shop towel and dabbed up most of the stain before it could soak in too much. As you can see, this leaves a lot of the stain in the deeper spots, like the dents, mill-marks, and “worm-holes”.

The towel soaks up most of the stain but can't really get into the dents, mill-marks, or "worm-holes".

I’m pretty happy with how this looks so far.

We need to let it sit for about an hour before we do anything else to it.

We put the angle-iron on the rabbet to get an idea of how it’s going to look when we are finished. I think it looks pretty good.

This is how the angle-iron will look next to this stain.

After waiting an hour, we made sanding blocks out of scrap wood and 220-grit sticky-back sanding discs.

Making a sanding block out of a scrap piece of wood and some sticky-back 220-grit sanding discs.

We used these to go over the benchtops and knock back the high spots a bit.

Knocked back the high spots with the sanding block.

The contrast was a bit too much so my wife decided to lightly dab on some more stain in spots to bring the contrast under control.

Lightly dabbing on some more stain to reduce the contrast between the light and the dark parts.

It’s probably worth mentioning that we made sure to get the front and back of each piece.

Making sure we got the front and back of each piece.

Now we need to let it sit for a few more hours before we apply the polyurethane.

Letting it sit for another couple of hours.

Protecting it all with polyurethane.

For this project I’m using Varathane brand matte finish interior polyurethane. It goes on easily and rinses out with soap and water. An added bonus is that you don’t have to sand in between coats. I still prefer to sand right before applying the final coat.

I used the same brush that I used for the stain to apply a generous first coat of polyurethane.

Applying the first coat of polyurethane.

After applying the first coat, I went over it lightly with the brush to smooth it out. You can see how the poly sits in the deeper spots. Our intention is to apply enough poly that it fills in these spots, making a smoother surface.

I'm hoping it will help fill up the low spots and even out the top.

Finished applying the first coat. I’m letting that sit overnight before applying the next coat.

Got to let it sit for a few hours before adding more coats.

I applied the second coat and let that sit for a few hours.

Applied a third coat…and waited.

…and a fourth.

After the fourth coat has been applied, I'm starting to wonder how many more coats this is going to take.

I let the fourth coat sit for 24 hours. It looks like it’s ready to be sanded before applying the final coat. The polyurethane has helped smooth out the high and low spots a bit. I’m not going for a writing surface here so it doesn’t need to be perfectly flat.

The fourth coat is dry and ready for sanding.

I carefully flipped the pieces over so I can stain the underside. Obviously, this isn’t as critical as the top and I could probably not worry about it at all, but the smaller piece will most likely be attached the the main piece with a piano hinge and will hang down on the side when not in use. This means that the underside of the smaller piece will be visible at these times.

Turned the bench-top pieces over so I can stain the underside.

I started the tedious process of applying the stain to the underside. This piece is pine plywood and it soaks up the stain a lot faster than the oak. As a result, this is going to be much darker than the top.

I soaked up as much excess stain as I could.

Soaking up as much excess stain as I can.

After waiting about an hour and a half, I lightly sanded the underside with 220-grit sandpaper. I’m just trying to knock back any bumps before I seal them for all time under a layer of polyurethane.

I let the stain sit for about an hour and a half then I lightly sanded the undersides.

I applied a single coat of polyurethane to the undersides.

This is the only layer of poly that I am planning on applying to the underside. I’m going to let it sit for 24 hours before flipping the bench-top pieces back over and finishing the tops.

The polyurethane has been applied and needs to sit overnight.

After letting the poly coat on the underside sit for 24 hours, I flipped the benchtop back over and lightly sanded the top with 220-grit sandpaper in order to knock back any bumps or high points. This also further distressed the top.

I sanded the top with 220-grit to knock down some of the high spots.

I carefully applied the fifth and final coat of polyurethane and let it sit for twenty-four hours.

I carefully reapplied the fifth and final coat of polyurethane.

After sitting overnight, the finish on the bench-top is complete and now it’s time to attach the hardware.

Do you have any tips on staining and protecting your work? What has worked for you? Let us know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you. Also, please consider signing up for my mailing list to be notified of future articles. I am also available on social media. Stop by and say ‘Hi’. I can be reached at the links below.

Previous articles in this series…

Pen-making on my lathe – Christmas 2016

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisFebruary 3, 2017December 10, 2021

For Christmas 2016, I decided to make some pens for my co-workers.

I remember when I first got started turning, and pen-making in particular, I would scour the web looking for different approaches and techniques from various wood-turners. I made a lot of expensive kindling in my attempt to learn to turn. Although I still have a lot to learn, I feel that I pretty much mastered the finish that I put on my pens.

In an effort to educate, I have roughly documented my technique below. This isn’t intended as a complete tutorial; more of an outline of my process. If this post generates enough interest, I will make a more detailed walk-through and an accompanying video. If you are interested in such a tutorial, please leave a comment at the end of this post.

I started by choosing a pen blank to go along with the kit. I try to look for pen blanks that have a lot of character, although sometimes a flat walnut will look good with the correct hardware.

For this project, I used a storage caddy to hold the pen kits and blanks. Seven of the nine kits are classic slimlines. Two of them are Cigar pen kits from Woodcraft.

Pen kits and blanks organized. — Kits and blanks all organized.

For each kit I lay out the blank and the tubes. I look for any markings in the wood that look interesting and focus there. Of course, the outer grain is going to most likely be different from the inner grain, but a look at the end of the blank can help show what type of character the finished pen will have.

Pen blank marking tools. — Tools for marking pen blanks.

Using one of the pen tubes and a silver Sharpie, I make a mark just past the length of the first tube. You’ll notice that the tube isn’t right up to the end of the pen blank. I’m not going for precision in this step. I just want to make sure that I have enough material for both tubes.

I draw a line over the mark using a 6″ combination square.

Tracing a line on the pen blank. — Tracing a line where the blank will be cut.

Then I lay the other tube on the blank using the newly drawn line and make another mark.

Tracing a line where the blank will be cut.

One trick that I picked up is that I make an “X” over the first line. This makes it easier to line up the wood grain once you put it on the lathe. You’ll see what I mean later…

Marked an "X" through the first line. — Marked an “X” on the first line.

Here are the wood blanks all marked.

Once they’re marked, I take the wood blanks to the band saw and cut on the lines I made. Here you can see them cut. The X that I made is now split in two, making it much easier to match up the wood grain.

The blanks after being cut along the first line.

I drill the holes for the tubes on my lathe. There are many ways to go about this but this is the method I prefer.

I try to stay consistent with how the blanks are lined up. For example, you’ll notice in the following picture that the wood has half of the “X” facing me and on the right end. After I finish drilling this piece I’ll put the other half in but I’ll make sure that the other half of the “X” is still facing me but this time it goes on the left end.

Mounted the pen blank on my lathe for drilling.

I drill out the blank being careful not to let the bit get too hot. I also have dust collection going and although it doesn’t get all of the big shavings, it does get the fine dust.

All the holes drilled.

Another trick I picked up is to sand the tubes before inserting. I do this by wrapping a piece of 150 grit sanding strip around the tube and spinning it while pulling it through. Just be careful not to use that piece of sandpaper for anything other than the tubes.

Now it’s time to glue the tubes in place. I use a few cheap IKEA kids plates, which you’ll see later, while I’m making my pens. I use one with a blue shop towel or just a plain paper towel over it. This doesn’t necessarily protect the plate, but rather the plate keeps the blue towel from getting glued to the workbench. For gluing the tubes in place, I use Titebond Medium cyanoacrylate glue. I recently learned from another pen turner that he’s had problems with the chemicals in stabilized woods causing the cyanoacrylate to cure before getting the tube fully inserted. This results in a wasted tube and possibly the pen blank. Instead, he uses 5-minute epoxy.

Materials for gluing the tubes in place.

I put a coat of the cyanoacrylate glue on the sanded tube and use an insertion tool to push the tube into the wood.

I always try to have some extra material. This gives me room to true up the edge but also helps the grain flow more smoothly by taking up the room that the center band takes up on the final pen.

Once I’ve allowed sufficient time for the glue on the tubes to cure, I mount each of the blocks in the lathe and use a pen mill to trim down the edges. This ensures that the end of the finished pen section is nice and flat where it meets up with the pen hardware.

Mounted the blank on the lathe for milling.

Take your time with this. I’ve had certain woods, such as zebrawood, use this as an opportunity to split. You want to trim it down to the edge of the tube. If you see any brass shavings coming off with the wood shavings, you’ve gone too far. Not the end of the world, but still…calm down there, tiger.

Here you can see the edge of the brass tube showing. This is what I look for.

When you can see the edge of the brass tube, you're done. — When you can see the edge of the brass tube, you’re done.

I could take this one down just a bit more but it isn’t necessary.

All the pieces are now ready to go on the lathe.

I mount the blanks on the pen mandrel using the “X” that I drew before to line up the pieces. I tend to turn my pens with the left side being the tip of the pen and the right being the end cap. It doesn’t matter how you do this, but I prefer to stay consistent. For slimline pens it doesn’t matter at all.

I’m not going to go into detail how I turn them. There are much better woodturners that you can learn that from. The important thing is that I turn it down to where it’s almost the final diameter.

Turned it down to close to the final size and shape.

I sand it to it’s final diameter and shape using cloth-backed 150-grit sanding strips. This is where having the dust collector on my lathe really comes in handy.

Sanding the pen blanks to their final diameter.

After sanding with 150-grit, I move on to 240, 320, 400 and finally 600. After each grit, I always stop the lathe and sand it left-to-right, or “with the grain”. This removes banding that can occur which is very visible since it goes across the grain of the wood.

Done sanding...for now. — Done sanding…for now.

Then I do a quick sanding with 0000 steel wool. One very important step at this point is to wipe down the sanded blank with denatured alcohol. This removes the extra sawdust while giving you a sneak peak at what the finish will do to the colors in the wood. Also, this removes surface oil from certain wood species that may keep the finish from adhering to the wood. If you skip this step with wood like Olivewood, you may find that the CA finish you apply will start to peel off at the edges almost immediately.

Here you can see one of the crappy IKEA plates that I put on my lathe for the remainder of the pen project. This thing is beat to hell. It is there to help protect the cast iron bed of the lathe.

To apply the finish you’re going to want a few things. I use a thin CA glue and a spray activator.

Additionally, I use a pair of nitrile gloves and an extra baggie that the pen kit came in. This is another trick that I picked up. I put the baggie over my first two fingers. Then I hold little pieces of paper towel that I use to wipe on the thin CA glue. When you apply CA glue, it gets pretty warm and can actually melt through the gloves. I find that using the baggies over my fingers helps the gloves last longer. Before doing this, I was typically changing my right glove with every coat of CA glue that I applied.

I will go into more detail on actually applying the CA glue in a later article. This is a photo of a pen after 8 coats of thin CA glue have been applied.

I then use a micro mesh sanding system to polish the CA glue. I sand it down using 1,500, 1,800, 2,400, 3,200, 3,500, 4,000, 6,000, 8,000 and 12,000 grit sanding sponges. I use the 1,500 grit sponge to do the bulk of the final shaping and smoothing. Also, as with the dry sanding done before, I always stop the lathe after sanding with each sponge and sand the pen going with the grain as well.

After sanding, it is ready to come off the lathe.

I lay out the pen blanks carefully so I don’t lose the orientation of each piece. Otherwise, the “X” that I drew earlier would be for nothing. I use a little scrap of 600-grit sandpaper to break the edges of the finish.

I simply angle the pen blank and carefully rotate it on the sandpaper. This removes the CA burr that has formed which if left in place can cause the finish to chip off when I press the pen together.

I have a beat up piece of scrap wood that I routed a few coves in so I can lay out the pieces without losing anything.

I use my small arbor press and a few scrap pieces of leather to put the pen nib in place.

Be careful not to put too much pressure on the pen and to guide the nib in straight.

Then I turn it upside down and press the twist mechanism into the pen. I push it in so the groove that is visible lines up with the top of the blank. It’s best to err on the side of caution. I usually press it in so it sits above the blank by a hair, then I insert the pen refill and twist it to see how the tip looks when fully extended. I also make sure that when the pen is twisted closed, the tip doesn’t still stick out past the end of the nib.

A little bit of trial and error to get this right.

Then I grab the other half of the pen and attach the clip and end cap. You want to be careful that you have the orientation right. I also look for a part of the wood that had rather boring features and line up the clip there, although that can be adjusted after assembly.

Then I’m done.

Here are some photos of the finished pens.

I hope that this was helpful. If you have any techniques or tricks to share, please leave them in the comments section below. Also, please consider signing up for my mailing list to be notified of future articles. I am also available on social media and can be reached at the links below.

Table Saw Enhancement – Converting Extension Table Into Router Table.

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisJanuary 27, 2017December 10, 20217 Comments

SawStop industrial cabinet saw with sliding crosscut table, extra wing, and router table.

This is a continuation of my other table saw enhancements, Attaching a Sliding Crosscut Table Without Cutting Down the Rails and Attaching an Extra Cast-Iron Extension Wing.

The additional cast iron wing that I attached to my table saw moved the wooden extension table another 10″ past the end of my rails. This allows me to relocate my router table to the far-right edge of the table saw without having to cut notches in my front and rear rails to accommodate the miter slot.

Converting the extension table into a router table.

I had to remove my fence in order to attach the additional cast iron wing. I didn’t want to put my fence back on yet but I realized that I needed to so I can cut a dado in the wooden extension table for the miter slot. This is the same extension table that I had previously removed. I temporarily reattached the front rail and did a quick fence alignment so my cut would be parallel with the edge of the table. This led to a slight problem as you’ll soon see.

Temporarily reattached the front tube so I can use the fence to cut a dado in the extension table.

I wanted to make sure I didn’t accidentally cut through any screws so I removed the legs for the table.

I figured that I would make the miter track 6″ from the edge of the table. This would ensure that I didn’t hit any screws while cutting the dado. I wasn’t worried about hitting a screw and activating the brake in the SawStop since a screw by itself is too small to activate the safety system. I mainly didn’t want to mess up the carbides on my dado stack. I positioned the fence at the 6″ mark.

I applied some blue painters tape to help prevent chipping and scratching the laminate on the edges of the dado. In keeping with tradition, I miscalculated where I should put the tape. You’ll see what I mean in a second.

Taping where I'll be cutting. — Taping where I’ll be cutting.

I clamped some scrap wood on the side of the table to help prevent tear-out. I made sure the clamps were positioned where they wouldn’t get hit by the blades.

Clamping some scrap wood to help prevent tearout.

I lowered the dado stack so it would make a scoring cut first. This is another step that can really help prevent the edge of the laminate from chipping.

Lowering the dado stack so it''ll just cut through the laminate. — Lowering the dado stack so it”ll just cut through the laminate.

I made my first pass. As you can see, the blue tape wasn’t positioned correctly so my first cut didn’t have tape on each edge. As it turns out this wasn’t a big deal. The laminate that SawStop recently switched to for use on their extension tables is some high-quality stuff and didn’t tear out at all. I didn’t have similar luck with the laminate for their older extension tables.

Didn't position the tape correctly but it didn't matter in the end. — Didn’t position the tape correctly but it didn’t matter in the end.

Here you’ll see one of the areas where I screwed up. Remember when I said I did a “quick fence alignment”? Well, I should have taken my time. If I had, I would have noticed that in aligning my fence I also slightly loosened the clamping pressure of the fence on the front tube. This caused my fence to slide a little bit as I was cutting and caused a slight unevenness in the dado.

As you can see, the scrap wood kept the laminate from chipping on the edge.

I reattached the legs and temporarily clamped the extension table to the rails and the right wing, making sure it was flush. Then I drilled new holes through the sides of the wooden extension table for the bolts to attach it to the rails.

Lined up the table and drilled holes for the mounting bolts.

I then did the same thing on the back. After the holes were drilled, I reattached the table to the rails using the appropriate bolts, washers, and nuts.

Drilled the mounting holes on the back of the extension table.

I then reattached my outfeed table to the rear rail.

Now it’s time to mark the opening that I’ll be removing. I’m going to remove most of it with my jigsaw then clean up the rest with my trim router and a pattern bit.

Using the old router table as a template.

I laid the pattern on the tabletop in the spot where I am going to remove the material. Absolute precision is not critical at this point. I used a few pieces of painters tape to mark the inner edges of the opening.

Temporarily marking the inner edges of the template.

I then took the template off and ran some strips of painters tape over where the edges will be. The actual edges should be somewhat centered in the strips of tape.

Applied blue painters tape over the edges where I will cut out the insert opening.

Then I put the template back in place. Again, absolute precision isn’t critical at this point.

I used a red Sharpie to trace the opening on the blue painters tape.

Traced the outline of the opening with a red Sharpie.

I then removed the template yet again so I can see the outline I just traced.

Removed the template after tracing the outline.

I drilled 1/2″ holes near the inner corners.

I’m using a jigsaw to remove the bulk of the material, roughly cutting it out about 1/4″ inside the lines.

I'm going to rough-cut out the opening with a jigsaw. — I’m going to rough-cut out the opening with a jigsaw.

Nice and sloppy. The critical thing is not crossing over the line.

I reapplied the painters tape since it got a bit chewed up then laid out the template. This time positioning is critical so I took my time. I got one end clamped down…

Carefully positioned the left edge of the template and clamped that side in place.

…then used a try square to make sure the template was square with the table.

Using a try square to ensure the template is square with the table.

Once I was satisfied that it was square, I clamped down the opposite end then applied one more clamp to each edge just for good measure.

Carefully clamped the other end in place and secured with additional clamps.

I outfitted my trim router with a 1/2″ pattern bit.

Positioning the router to cut out the opening.

It was throwing up quite a bit of dust so I set up a dust collection hood to grab most of it out of the air.

Getting pretty dusty so I set up my dust shroud.

I had a problem with the bearing on this pattern bit coming loose and the whole bit slipping. This caused a little gouge on the inner-right edge of the opening.

Chewed up the opening a bit when the bearing came loose. Otherwise, it looks okay.

I removed the template and the painters tape so I could inspect the edge. There was a little divot where the bearing came loose but other than that, it wasn’t bad.

Removed the painters tape. Other than the small goober on the right, it didn't turn out bad at all. — Removed the painters tape. Other than the small goober on the right, it didn’t turn out bad at all.

I used a file to break the edge a bit.

This particular extension table has some support bars underneath. They are only screwed in and are easy to remove.

The table braces are going to get in the way so I'm going to move them. — The table braces are going to get in the way so I’m going to move them.

I removed the support bars so I would have room for the Kreg PRS3040 Precision Router Table Insert Plate Levelers which installed easily from underneath the table.

Installed the Kreg PRS3040 Precision Router Table Insert Plate Levelers.

Each leveler has two set screws that are used for leveling the router insert.

I reinstalled the support bars. I had to move them by about 1/4″ from their usual spot.

I reattached the supports under the table.

The next step was to start hooking things up. I installed a 4-outlet electical box that was wired to a motor power switch.

I hooked up an electrical outlet and a knee switch under the table.

Then it was simply a matter of dropping the Rockler router lift in place and plugging in the router.

The router lift has been placed in the table and the router plugged into the outlet.

A little bit of leveling and I’m all done.

I can use the table saw fence with the router table. This photo shows how close I can get it to the router bit. I will be making an auxiliary router table fence with built-in dust collection that I can attach to my table saw fence, but that’s a project for another day.

I can use the table saw fence with the router table as well.

That’s it! Up next is an enclosure for the router and maybe some drawers for storing router bits. For now, I’ve got some other projects that require my attention.

If any of this has been helpful to you, or if you have any suggestions or questions, please take a minute to post a comment below. I’d especially like to hear any suggestions for projects that you’d like to see me tackle.

Table Saw Enhancement – Attaching Sliding Crosscut Table Without Cutting Down the Rails.

Table Saw Enhancement – Attaching Extra Cast-Iron Extension Wing.

Table Saw Enhancement – Attaching Extra Cast-Iron Extension Wing.

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisJanuary 27, 2017December 10, 20213 Comments

SawStop Industrial Cabinet Saw with an extra cast iron wing.

This is a continuation of Table Saw Enhancement – Attaching Sliding Crosscut Table Without Cutting Down the Rails.

Now that I’d removed my existing router table, I needed to relocate it to the right edge of my table saw. Since I use a miter slot on my router table and I wanted to avoid cutting notches in my front and rear fence rails, I decided to add an additional cast-iron extension wing to the right of my main saw table.

Installing an extra cast iron wing.

I had to remove the wooden extension table in order to attach the new cast-iron wing. As a result, I needed access to the bolts in the rear rail so I took off my outfeed table. This is giving me a good opportunity to clean some neglected areas of my saw as well.

Removed the outfeed table so I could access the rear bolts.

I then removed my wooden extension table.

I used some magnetic tool holders and attached them to the inside of the front and rear rails. These will help hold up the cast iron extension wing while I get it bolted to the table.

Magnetic tool holders help to support the new cast-iron wing.

I temporarily attached the new wing to the existing wing using three bolts along with washers and lock nuts. I was very careful to get the seam between the two cast iron wings nice and flush. There wasn’t anything holding the new wing to the front and rear rails yet. That was my next step. I marked the holes in the new wing on the inside of the rails using a silver Sharpie. Then I took this new wing back off.

Temporarily attaching the new wing to the existing wing.

I used a small drill bit (somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/8″ in diameter) to drill a starter hole. You will want to take your time and use plenty of cutting oil when drilling through powder-coated steel.

Drilling the ~1/8" starter hole. — Drilling the ~1/8″ starter hole.

I then moved up to a step bit once the starter hole was drilled. I believe I drilled this to be 3/8″ in diameter. Again, take your time.

I added a countersink to the front of the hole once the hole was the correct diameter. The bolts that are used for attaching the cast-iron wing to the rails are countersunk allen bolts.

Adding a countersink to the front of the hole.

This took a long time to do. The steel on the SawStop rails is pretty tough stuff and I wanted to avoid having the powder-coating start to chip off.

Take your time with this so you don't chip the powder-coating. — Take your time with this so you don’t chip the powder-coating.

It took a while but finally the countersink was deep enough so the bolts didn’t stick out at all. This is important so they don’t interfere with moving the fence back and forth.

Took a while but I'm done. — Took a while but I’m done.

I loosely reattached the wing and started tightening up the bolts. The holes in the cast iron wing are over-sized and not threaded so I had a little bit of wiggle room to help with alignment.

I got the wing all tightened up and aligned properly.

The additional cast-iron has been nice to work on. Drilling through the powder-coating wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. I’ll most likely add one or two more cast-iron wings in the future. I know that there is a limit to how much I can add before the saw starts to tip when I try to move it but the sliding crosscut table may help offset the weight of all the cast iron.

If this has been helpful or if you have any questions that I failed to answer, please leave a comment below.

Up next, I’m adding a router table to the right end of my table saw extension table.

Table Saw Enhancement – Attaching Sliding Crosscut Table Without Cutting Down the Rails.

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisJanuary 27, 2017December 10, 20215 Comments

SawStop Sliding Crosscut Table installed without having to cut down the front or rear rails.

My table saw is fairly decked out and I’ve made some modifications to it in the past but some of them weren’t working that well for me.

My saw is a SawStop Industrial Cabinet Saw 3 HP single-phase, 230 VAC machine (ICS31230) with a 52″ fence system and the sliding crosscut table. As an experiment, I had previously taken the left cast-iron wing off and replaced it with a custom router table. The reason behind having the router table in that spot is because I didn’t have any room on the far-right edge of the saw the way my shop was set up previously. I needed to have it on the left but I wasn’t sure if it would work with the sliding crosscut table or if that would be in the way.

As it turns out, it wasn’t too awkward having the router table there. It did, however, affect the accuracy of the sliding crosscut table since it wasn’t supported by anything but a wooden table.

After I rearranged my shop I decided to move the router table to the far right edge of the table saw and reattach the sliding crosscut table to the left cast-iron wing as originally intended. In order to accommodate the router table miter slot without having to cut notches in the front and rear rails, I decided to add another cast-iron wing to my saw thereby pushing the extension table out another ten inches.

I also decided to use this opportunity to document how I attach the sliding crosscut table to the left cast-iron wing without having to cut my rails down. Since this is a fairly long post, I decided to break it up into individual posts. The links to the other modifications are at the end if this article.

Removing the router table and installing the Sliding Crosscut Table.

This is how my sliding crosscut table was attached previously. Notice that the cast-iron wing on the left of the main saw table has been removed and replaced with a wooden router table.

Time to undo this mess.

The sliding crosscut table mounted to a router table on the left of the saw.

I started by removing the router lift from my existing router table as well as the sliding crosscut table. I also removed the front tube that the fence clamps to.

Then I removed the old router table. I’m using this as my routing template on my new table so I’m not getting rid of it just yet.

I reattached the cast iron wing. The problem with adding a sliding crosscut table to a table saw is that you will typically have to cut your rails and tube down since they will usually stick out past the cast iron.

I got some 3/4″ thick HDPE and cut it to the dimensions for the side of my saw, which is 1-1/2″ thick and 30″ deep. After cutting this down I drilled holes to match the side of the table.

HDPE spacer for attaching the sliding crosscut table to the left wing.

Once it’s drilled, you can hold it in place on the side of the cast iron wing and attach the sliding crosscut table to it.

You’ll most likely need to get longer bolts for this. With the SawStop sliding crosscut table, the bolt type and size isn’t too critical. You just need to make sure they don’t interfere with the sliding mechanism.

Loosely fitting the sliding crosscut table and the HDPE spacer to the left cast-iron wing.

Get it all tightened up and flush and you are good to go. I recommend using a pretty dense material for this spacer. You could probably use some sort of hardwood but you really want to be particular with how you cut it since any discrepancies can cause your table to be out of alignment.

Tighten it up and you're done — Tighten it up and you’re done

This is the first of three table saw enhancements that I implemented this time. Check out the next two below. Did this help you? Do you have any suggestions or a completely different way of attaching a sliding crosscut table to your saw? If so, please leave a comment.

All done with two slabs cut to 5' and 2' in length.

Workbench: Part 5 – Cutting the benchtop to size

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisJanuary 22, 2017December 10, 2021One Comment

This is a continuation of Workbench: Part 4 – Gluing up the new top.

The top is all glued up so now I need to strengthen it by attaching 1/2″ plywood to the underside. I can then cut it down to the final size to prepare it for finishing.

Looking at the underside of the glued up benchtop.

There were a few spots of glue squeeze-out that I decided to remove so they don’t interfere with attaching the benchtop to the plywood. I just scraped them flat with a chisel.

Removing the glue squeeze-out with a chisel.

I am attaching two sheets of 1/2″ plywood cut to 2′ X 4′ pieces. I laid them out to see which would be the best placement for them. The benchtop so far is about 25″ deep so there will be a lip overhanging the plywood at both the front and back. My initial plan was to cut the front and back edges flat then attach a border, but that plan changed, as you’ll see in a moment.

Laying out the 1/2" plywood. — Laying out the 1/2″ plywood.

I am using Loctite PL 510 construction adhesive to attach the plywood to the benchtop.

LocTite PL 510 construction adhesive for attaching the plywood.

I ran a bead of the construction adhesive down the length of each strip of flooring. This is, of course, working on the underside of the benchtop. Then I placed the plywood sheets on top of that. I tried to get it relatively centered.

Attaching the plywood with the construction adhesive.

I clamped and cauled the plywood sheets to the benchtop and let it dry for 24 hours.

My original plan was to mill down some more of the flooring scraps and make a border along the front and back of the benchtop that was 1-1/4″ tall and 1/2″ deep. This was mostly to cover the plywood that is being attached to the underside of the benchtop. I started by cutting the tongue off the side of the flooring pieces.

Cutting the tongue off several pieces of flooring.

After that I cut off the groove on the opposite side.

Removing the groove from several pieces of flooring.

Then I trimmed the tongues and grooves off each of the ends.

Using the miter gauge to remove the tongues and grooves from the ends.

Finally I trimmed off the grooves along the bottom of the flooring pieces. I also ended up shaving a bit off the tops just to clean them up.

Cutting the grooves off the bottoms of the flooring pieces.

This left me with some nice oak stock to use for the front and rear trim.

Now this gives me some nice usable stock to work with.

The final width of each piece was a little over 1-7/8″ wide…

This leaves me with ~1-7/8" of material to work with. — This leaves me with ~1-7/8″ of material to work with.

…and 5/8″ thick.

This gives me some nice 5/8" stock. — This gives me some nice 5/8″ stock.

I removed the clamps and cauls and decided to get my wife’s opinion on the front and rear trim idea. I’m glad I did. She had the idea of just cutting the milled stock into strips and gluing them to the lip, therefore just covering the plywood and not the edges of the oak flooring.

The lip runs the whole length of the benchtop on both the front and back.

I cut some of the milled oak stock down to usuable pieces. I decided to just make them 5/8″ X 5/8″.

Cutting the oak stock into 5/8" X 5/8" strips. — Cutting the oak stock into 5/8″ X 5/8″ strips.

I was able to get enough strips by cutting down just 4 of the milled oak pieces. This leaves me with some more milled oak stock to use for other projects.

I laid out the pieces and applied a bead of Titebond 2 to the lip.

Applied a bead of Titebond 2 to the lip on the underside of the workbench.

I attached the oak strips and clamped them in place with small quick-release clamps.

Holding the strip in place with some small clamps.

The strips wanted to pull away from the plywood in a few spots so I used some larger clamps to apply lateral pressure. I don’t have a lot of clamps that are over 24″ so I had to get creative with some of them, but it all worked fine in the end.

Getting creative with some clamps that are just a bit too short.

After the glue dried I did the same thing for the back of the bench.

Applying some lateral pressure with some larger clamps.

There was some glue squeeze-out on the underside of the benchtop.

I used a random orbital sander on the entire surface of the underside and…

Sanding the bottom smooth to get rid of the glue squeeze-out.

…it looks a lot better now.

Now it was time to cut everything down to size. I took the glued up benchtop to my SawStop table saw so I could trim off one end.

Trimming off the edges of the benchtop at the SawStop table saw using my sliding crosscut table.

The ends of the workbench will be covered in metal. I’ll get to that in a future article. All I need now is for them to be flat.

I then trimmed off the opposite end.

Trimming off the opposite edge at the table saw.

It looks so much better now that I have trimmed off the excess on the ends.

I then trimmed the excess material off the front and the back.

Trimming the front edge at the table saw.

This was the look I was going for.

The benchtop was pretty unwieldy since it was so huge. As a result, the table saw left some burning on the edges.

The table saw caused a little burning on the edges.

The random orbital sander easily removed the burn marks.

The burning is easily removed with a random orbital sander.

The plan was to turn this into a 5′ long workbench with a 2′ long flip-down wing. I marked the benchtop at 5′.

Marking the benchtop at 5'. — Marking the benchtop at 5′.

I used my SawStop sliding crosscut table to cut the workbench at the 5′ mark.

Cutting the benchtop to length using the SawStop sliding crosscut table.

The sliding crosscut table makes it very easy to perform this type of cut.

Cutting it down at 5'. — Cutting it down at 5′.

It cut cleanly and didn’t really burn it except for where I stopped pushing the material so I could take the picture above. A little sanding and it disappeared.

The workbench is now cut to the final size and is ready to be finished.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I’d love to hear from you.

Back to Workbench: Part 4 – Gluing up the new top

Back to Workbench: Part 3 – Change of plans

Back to Workbench: Part 2 – Gluing up the top

Back to Workbench: Part 1 – Milling down some 2 x 4s

Dado information

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisAugust 31, 2016July 19, 202215 Comments

The following is a training document that I put together for my coworkers. I have decided to share it here in case it helps anyone.

What are dadoes

Dadoes are slots, or non-through cuts, in material. They are “non-through” meaning that the blade doesn’t actually cut the material in two.

Dadoes are defined as being across the grain.

Through dadoes go all the way across the work-piece from edge to edge and are the most common type of dado. They are common when putting together shelves or cabinetry.

Fig. 1.1: Through Dado

Stopped (or “blind”) dadoes end before the edge of the work-piece. They are called “blind” because they are not visible from the front of the piece. When cutting blind dadoes, you run the material over the blade but stop short of the trailing edge. Due to the curve of the blade, this leaves some extra material that can be removed with a chisel.

Fig. 1.2: Stopped Dado

Grooves are essentially dadoes that run with – or parallel to – the grain. Other than that, there isn’t any real difference and as such, grooves are usually referred to as dadoes as well.

Fig. 1.3: Groove

Rabbets (sometimes referred to as rebates) are dadoes at the edge of a work-piece. Where a dado would have three edges – two sides and a bottom -, a rabbet only has two – one side and a bottom. Rabbets are usually implemented when attaching the top to a cabinet or a set of shelves.

Fig. 1.4: Rabbet

Dado stacks

Dado stacks consist of three main components;

The outer blades cut the walls of the dado.These are full blades with usually around 24 teeth.

Fig. 2.1: Outer blades

The chippers remove the waste between the outer blades. A dado stack will come with several of these, usually of varying thicknesses that can be combined with the outer blades to make a dado of a specific width. They will typically be available in three different styles. Full-plate chippers are circular blades and are not recommended on a SawStop because, due to their mass, they can damage the arbor shaft if the brake activates. Plus-style chippers, sometimes called 4-tooth chippers, are just how they sound; plus-shaped with 4-teeth. These work fine on a SawStop. Probably the most common style is the wing-style chippers. These are roughly rectangular in shape with usually just one tooth on each end.

Fig. 2.2: Chippers

Most dado stacks come with shims of varying thicknesses that can be used for fine tuning the thickness of the dado stack. These will be inserted in between the blades and/or chippers. This is a common technique when cutting dadoes for shelves since plywood is commonly slightly undersized.

Fig. 2.3: Shims

Using A Dado Stack

To install a dado stack, you will start with the left-outer blade.

Note: The outer blades should be labeled as left or right. If not, it may help to look at the carbides. When examining them from the front, the carbides will typically stick out past the edge of the blade on the side that would be considered to be the “outside” of the dado stack. The side of the carbide that is on the inside will probably be flush with the surface of the blade.

Fig. 3.1: Dado blade carbides

After installing the left outer blade, you will follow the directions in the dado stack for setting it to the correct thickness. Some dado stacks come with a chart that shows you what combination of blades, chippers, and shims need to be installed in order to achieve the desired thickness. For example, to make a simple ¼” dado, you will need to only install the two outer blades. To make a ¾” dado, you will need to use both outer blades and all of the chippers. The only thing to be careful of is that you want to make sure that you stagger the teeth so the carbides aren’t touching.

Fig. 3.2: Staggering the blades

Other notes on using dado stacks:

When making cuts that are ⅜” or thicker, there is no need to use the arbor flange. You may find that once you install a ¾” dado stack, there is no room for the arbor flange and the arbor nut. This is fairly standard with 10” table saws, although there are exceptions.

When using an 8” dado stack, you will not use the riving knife since it will stick up higher than the top of the blade. This would prevent you from making a non-through cut.

You can use a standard 10” blade and brake to make a ⅛” wide dado, which will allow you to use the riving knife. This is like making a regular cut except the blade is lowered so it isn’t cutting all the way through the material.

You will never use the blade guard when cutting dadoes of any diameter as it will completely prevent you from making a non-through cut.

Recommended dado stacks

Dado stacks are typically found in 6” or 8” diameters, with 8” being the most common. Although you may run across 10” or 12” sets, they are pretty rare. It takes a lot of power to get a dado stack spinning, so some saw users with weaker machines may find themselves wanting to use a 6” set. The larger the diameter, the faster the outer edge of the blade will spin, which results in cleaner cuts. Only 8” dado stacks will work on a SawStop.

Some blades are equipped with anti-kickback shoulders (sometimes referred to as depth-limiting shoulders). This is a feature that is supposed to help prevent kickback and is common on Freud blades. They consist of points or bumps on the saw tooth immediately following the carbide. These are not recommended for use with a SawStop as they can cause it to take significantly longer to stop the blade if the brake activates.

Fig. 4.1: Anti-kickback shoulders

As stated previously, full blade chippers are not recommended on a SawStop due to the amount of mass involved. The types of chippers that we recommend are the “plus-style” or the more common “wing-style” chippers.

Fig. 4.2: Dado set with full-blade chippers

A popular choice for dado stacks is the DeWalt DW7670, which has plus-style chippers and excellent carbides.

Important note: DeWalt has recently changed this dado stack and it now has a diameter of 8 1/8″. It should still work with a CNS, PCS, or ICS, but it’ll be a bit tight. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this to anyone with a JSS or JSS Pro.

Fig. 4.3: The DeWalt DW7670 Dado Set

Wobble Dadoes

You may occasionally hear about wobble dado stacks which consist of a single blade with a central hub that it attaches to, allowing it to be adjusted to ride at an angle. The greater the angle, the wider the dado. These are pretty old-school and not that common.

Wobble dadoes have many disadvantages. They are fairly unsafe and don’t give as nice of a cut due to the vibration from the blade and the difficulty in getting it adjusted correctly. Also, the bottom of the dado isn’t flat since the blade rests at an angle.

Fig. 5.1: Wobble dado

Molding Heads

Another type of blade that you may encounter is called a molding head. This consists of a number of interchangeable profiled blades, typically three, that attach to a central hub. You pass the wood across the molding head blade similarly to how you would cut a dado. These are not compatible with a SawStop since there are too few teeth. The minimum tooth count that is recommended is 24.

Fig. 4.3: Molding head

TSDC-8R2 vs. TSBC-10R2

The SawStop dado cartridge (TSDC-8R2) and the standard brake cartridge (TSBC-10R2) have some significant differences. The dado brakes aluminium pawl is both deeper and wider, allowing it to work with a blade that is smaller in diameter and up to 13/16” thick.

There are software differences as well, including having the cartridge allow more time for the blade to get up to speed.

Tag: wood

Workbench: Part 6 – Finishing the benchtop

Adding a shallow rabbet on the ends of each piece.

Applying a stain to the tops and sides.

Protecting it all with polyurethane.

Previous articles in this series…

Pen-making on my lathe – Christmas 2016

For Christmas 2016, I decided to make some pens for my co-workers.

Here are some photos of the finished pens.

Table Saw Enhancement – Converting Extension Table Into Router Table.

Converting the extension table into a router table.

Table Saw Enhancement – Attaching Extra Cast-Iron Extension Wing.

Installing an extra cast iron wing.

Table Saw Enhancement – Attaching Sliding Crosscut Table Without Cutting Down the Rails.

Removing the router table and installing the Sliding Crosscut Table.

Workbench: Part 5 – Cutting the benchtop to size

Dado information

What are dadoes

Dado stacks

Using A Dado Stack

Recommended dado stacks

Wobble Dadoes

Molding Heads

TSDC-8R2 vs. TSBC-10R2