Wheels
December 30th, 2008My Portable 700-Pound Saw
I have to break down and get a wheeled base for the Powermatic 66. I can’t put the rails on, add a router insert, connect a shop-vac, or do anything at all of value until I can roll this baby around the garage.
Problem: the nearest available mobile base is in Pompano Beach, and they want $35 more for it than Amazon, which will also deliver it for nothing. My cheapness gene is shrieking.
I know what you’re going to say. “Weld one up!” That’s a fine idea, except that it wouldn’t be all that much cheaper than buying one. I don’t have enough steel. Maybe if I could scrounge up an old bed frame I could do it, but they are never around when you need one. And the main problem, really, is that I have no idea how to make one that will do what an HTC mobile base will do. An HTC 3000 will hold the saw a scant 3/4″ off the floor, and it will lower it when I get it where I want it.
I could buy a piece of thick plywood and add wheels, but the saw would be maybe 4″ taller than it is now.
I’m all excited about the idea of making a sled for a planer, to obviate the need for a jointer. My hope is to start out with very small wood projects, so I should be able to get by with a pretty small sled I can story without too much hassle. Boy, would that beat a huge machine taking up tons of real estate. And with over 11″ of capacity, I wouldn’t have the small-jointer blues.
The cabinet saw has a design feature I don’t understand. The bottom is wide open. So if you hook a vacuum up to it, most of the dust will bypass it and land on the ground. I wonder why it’s made that way. You would think they would have stuck a sheet of metal or something in the bottom. I suppose I can make something from hardboard. Hopefully the vacuum won’t suck it out of place.
I also have to make a motor cover. I can get one from Powermatic, but everyone says they’re awful, so I think quarter-inch plywood is the way to go.
There must be something I can do right now. I guess the motor cover and some throat plate inserts are within my reach.
I talked with my sister today. She swears she’s quitting smoking. Man, what a relief. My mother died from lung cancer. My aunt. Two great-grandmothers. My uncle died from stomach cancer which may have been caused by smoking and snuff. Enough is enough.
We both have the feeling that this family is walking out of a dark tunnel together. How strange it is, talking to her about things like this. A year ago, I thought there was no hope for our relationship. Now we go to church together and buy each other Bibles and Bible software. It gives me hope that we will eventually get my dad into church, and maybe we’ll be able to help other members of our family who are not as close to God as they should be.
There is nothing like taking a negative relationship and turning it into a positive one. You lose a spiritual and emotional drain, and you turn it into a source of strength and faith. It puts you two ahead on the ratio of positive to negative relationships, because you lose a bad relationship and gain a good one. Mathematically, it’s far better than just forming a new bond with a new person.
These days I look forward to hearing from her. In the past, I did not, because it usually meant there was going to be friction. When she kept to herself, I was happy. That was all I asked of her. Now we go places together, and we talk about our hopes for the future. An enormous source of stress is gone from my life, and presumably, from hers. Only God could do something like this.
Guess I better make a decision about that mobile base.
December 30th, 2008 at 4:19 PM
IIRC, Delta sells a DIY mobile base. They provide the wheeled corners, and you provide the wood (stretchers) for support. Can be made any size. I don’t know how far it would elevate the saw, but the last time I saw one, they were only about $50.00.
December 30th, 2008 at 4:56 PM
Yeah, but for 80 I get the whole shooting match. God bless the Chinese.
December 30th, 2008 at 5:21 PM
You know, with the conversion rates in China (souls, not currency), it might be proper to “God bless the Chinese”.
December 30th, 2008 at 7:22 PM
Steve,
Take a look at the pictures of the Electric Carpenter:
http://www.oldengine.org/members/jdunmyer/woodshop/index.htm
We used 3″ X 3″ X 1/4″ angle iron and casters that are 4″ high overall; this raises the machine only 1″. Casters came from Harbor Freight, they’re pretty cheap there. I’m going to duplicate this for my wife’s router table and oscillating spindle sander.
This isn’t necessarily the cheapest way to go, but the stand is very sturdy and quick to build. I get the steel from the local fab shop if I can’t find it at the scrapyard.
You will, of course, have to have a bottom under the saw, it’s really meant to sit in one location, bolted to the floor.
December 30th, 2008 at 8:07 PM
I’m glad you and your sister are developing a nice family bond. And I’m glad to hear her talking about quitting smoking. I’d listened to the propaganda for years (I’m 64) that says that as a smoker I’m a victim, it’s ok to fail at quitting, it’s more addictive than heroine (whatever that means), you need help from medical profession, etc.
Finally, I decided to look on the internet and see if I could find out the actual effects of withdrawal, quitting, etc. Instead of all the hype.l found whyquit.com and was wonderful. I read it on & off for a month or two and got really familiar with smoking/nicotine/addiction/withdrawal/psych&physiological effects, etc. Also some funny stuff.
For example, they explain how to experience withdrawal and it’s blindingly simple. In the morning, instead of having your 1st cigarette, sit in front of a clock for 5 min and be aware of the physical withdrawal syptoms. They are not that bad and they don’t last anywhere near 5 minutes…less than 2 I suspect. And looking at that clock becomes remarkably boring.
So…now you know what it feels like and and how long the urge lasts. You will experience 10-20 (I forget the numbers, actually) per day for 3 days while the nicotine leaves your body. Then the episodes become less frequent. I’ve been off 3 plus years and I still get an occasional twinge, So, devote a long weekend to quitting, and then do it.
And here’s the kicker…you can’t smoke any more. And that’s the really hard part. Sounds silly, but it’s almost easy enough quitting to make up an excuse to start again cuz you can just quit. Anyway, one of the rules of the site…you can browse forever (I did for a month or 2) but can’t join in the chat until you’re clean for 3 days, and if you fail, you can’t come back. At first, I thought that was Draconian and judgemental and I was rightously angry. Until I read their reasoning…they said they took not-smoking very seriously and they needed to do that for themselves or they were likely to go back to it. That whole idea that you don’t really have to succeed is so pervasive, to see a group say, essentially, we can’t succeed that way. Really, do go to the site and read their reasoning. It was wonderfully helpful to me. And they do not in any was say that smokers are horrible.
And getting concrete data on physiological & psychological effects was also a big help.
I really feel better physically from not smoking. And I gained a lot of self awareness and self respect. Also saved gobs of money.
As I said, I took a couple of months of reading and thinking about things before I quit. I did not hurry, cuz I knew it was forever.
whyquit.com
best regards
December 31st, 2008 at 6:02 AM
the bed frame idea won`t work. bedframes are made of spring steel, which will take a weld- for about a minute. as soon as it cools, it cracks. drilling is possible- but spring steel is harder than wood pecker lips, so you`ll go through all your bits. if you can figure out how to take the temper out of it you might be able to make it work, but i just go buy mild steel. try the bone yard- scraps cheap right now.
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:31 AM
I hope your sister is successful in quiting.
My mom was diagnosed this week with cervical cancer.