If I’m going to have to clear out my workshop at some point this year then, I’m going to need to ensure that all of my machines can be moved easily, even if they only end up going in to the back of someone else’s car or van. Most of my machinery is already catered for in that respect. My mortiser will need looking at (that’s got to be close to 200kg in weight) but first, I’m turning my attention to the Scheppach TKU Site Saw I was given a few months ago.
Mobile Base for the Site Saw.
As soon as we slid (and scraped) it inside the door, I wanted to come up with a design for a mobile base that would allow me to easily lock it in position for cutting. I struggled on my own and so, have procrastinated until now. It’s thanks to a YouTube video (which you can watch below) that I’ve found my inspiration for this one.
It’s a simple frame construction with half-lap joints in each corner.
Half-lap Joints.
You’ve seen me do this sort of thing before (I think my planer/jointer stand was the last one). I mark out the waste on each end to reduce the risk of mistakes, setup a stop block to the right of the blade and cut away, with the depth stop pre-set on my SCMS. I then ripped the cheeks on my bandsaw but, after cutting through some chipboard for something else recently, that blade’s almost reached the end of its life. Two screws are carefully fitted in to each joint and I blunted the tips to prevent the wood from splitting.
When I found this video last week and thought about how I would begin, I was part-planning a trip to a local timber merchants to buy some 2x2in… Suddenly, I remembered that I still have all these long lengths up in the loft space, which may well be get left behind when we do move. Or, I might literally give it all away to the first taker.
The ever-lasting Wood Store!
(For those of you who follow me on Twitter, I did only use a handsaw – at the expense of a face-full of sawdust!
If I need to, I can scrounge some plywood offcuts from work. I should have enough timber left to complete the rest. Once this is done, I might be able to wheel it outside and in to a space where I can look at cleaning and maintaining the saw properly. I’d like to use it at least once before it does go. A couple of months ago, I did spend £40 on a brand new blade for it!
Making a new rise-and-fall handle is also on the agenda.
Thanks for reading and all the very best to you in 2013!
