I’ve received quite a few messages with questions related to my new woodworking bench with a table saw and a router table. Among them, whether it’s possible to install other bench saw models, or if it’s possible to build the frame, cabinets and bench top using other materials. In this article, I’ll try to address all of these questions as much as possible.
Update: I wrote two more articles you should also read if you’re interested in altering this design so it can be used with a different type of bench table saw:
How to install a cast iron saw on a workbench:
Jobsite VS Cast Iron Table Saw:
Boards to make the Mobile Workbench with bench table saw
In principle, you can use almost any kind of board to make the workbench, but logically, the results will be different, and not just when it comes to its appearance.
Its robustness, weight and stability can also vary. What you shouldn’t use to make the frames is non-porous boards, like boards with melamine on both sides, as you wouldn’t be able to glue the parts together.
In section N.5 of this article, you’ll find more information on the advantages and disadvantages of using certain types of boards for making woodworking workbenches or machines.
For the bench frames and cabinets, you can use MDF or light plywood such as poplar, okumen, pine or sprunce.
Also hard plywood like birch, which is what I’ve used. Even chipboard. Regardless of your choice of board, make sure it’s the same thickness as the original design, 18mm.
To make the bench drawers, it wouldn’t make sense to use a very heavy board, so light plywood will be the perfect choice. For example, a 15mm board for the drawer boxes and 9mm for the bottom.
If you have 18mm plywood scraps in your workshop, you can use it to make the drawers.
To make the bench tops, you can use almost any kind of board. Unlike in the case above, it’s best to use a board with melamine on both sides. The workpieces will slide more smoothly and so will the sliding carriage and the table saw sled.
Ideally you should use 18mm MDF with melamine or HPL on both sides. Hard plywood with melamine or HPL would work perfectly, too.
A slightly less advisable, but also valid, choice would be some kind of chipboard with melamine or HPL on both sides. To make the tops you can use a board that’s thicker than 18mm. 22 or 25mm would be great.
I’ve used a 13mm board with melamine on both sides called Compacmel. It’s similar to MDF, but more compact and tougher. Compacmel is a fairly expensive kind of board which can be hard to obtain in some countries, but it’s not indispensable for this purpose.
I’ve screwed it to another 9mm hard birch plywood board. By using two boards, I no longer have to make grooves for some of the miter channels, as you can see in the picture above.
Be careful with the expansion of the board you’re going to use as benchtop due to moisture. If you use boards that are very susceptible to changing size, such as MDF, you will need to make the holes for the screws holding the top to the cabinet a little bigger.
Also avoid tightening them too much to allow for wood movement. If you use plywood, you won’t have that problem.
Following the same method as me, screwing the two boards together for added thickness you won’t have any problems as long as they’re the same kind of board and keeping in mind what I explained above.
If they’re two different types and behave differently when exposed to moisture, you may have problems getting smooth, straight worktops. In my case, both the plywood and this MDF-like board barely change size in response to moisture and I haven’t had any problems. If it was normal MDF, I’m sure there would have been
Inverted circular saw for the Mobile Workbench
Now I’d like to talk to you about all the different kinds of saws we can and can’t install in this workbench. Of course, if you find the same bench table saw model I’ve used you won’t have to make any changes in the original design. I’ve used a Dewalt DWE7492-QS.
The first and most simple and cheapest option is to install an inverted circular saw. To do that, you’ll have to use a piece of a board as a top, and reinforce it below with a frame. You must screw the inverted circular saw to the bottom of the board.
This is the method I used in my first two table saws, the Portable Workshop and the Router and Saw Table. You can reverse this at any time if you wish.
If some day you’d like to modify or improve your mobile workbench table saw, you need only detach this board and replace it with a bench table saw that fits in the recess.
Remember you’ll need to make additional miter channels to install the top and some pieces of a board to make the saw fence. It wouldn’t hurt to install a door on the front or back of the bench to adjust the height or tilt of the circular saw.
In this other article you’ll find much more information on what circular hand saw you should use and how to install it.
Homemade table saw for the Woodworking Workbench
I bet you weren’t expecting this second option: making a new table saw with an induction motor adapted to the recess in the mobile workbench. This is actually an upcoming project of mine.
In a few months I’d like to design and make a new table saw—one that’s more powerful and accurate than regular ones, and equipped with an induction motor, like in the picture.
Saws with induction motors are more powerful, precise and quieter. In this case, you’ll need some more board to make the saw top and fence. You’ll also need more miter channels.
Bench table saw for the Mobile Workbench
The third option is to install a bench table saw other than the Dewalt I’ve used. In order to do this, you’ll probably have to modify the size of some parts. In the next few lines I’m going to help you achieve this.
How to modify the Workbench plans
First off, you should become thoroughly acquainted with the workbench. Check out all of the videos and read all the files in the instructions and support articles included in the plans.
Next, you should print out the cutting list in the plans, which includes all the parts and their reference numbers, as well as their position in the workbench. In this article, you’ll find a great deal of information on how to use the plans on this site.
Now I’m going to describe the three possibilities that can come up when using a table saw other than what I’ve used. In the picture above you can see the measurements of the gap for the bench table saw in the original design.
If the height of your saw isn’t 330mm, you’ll have to lower or raise the mid rail supporting the saw.
If it’s higher, you’ll have to subtract the difference to the four bottom pieces with reference number 7B, corresponding with the four middle legs. You’ll also have to add this same difference to the other four upper parts marked as 7B.
If it’s lower, you’ll have to do the same in reverse, add the difference to the bottom parts and subtract it from the ones on top.
If your table saw is broader than the one I’ve used for this design, you’ll have to add or subtract the difference from all the parts which intersect with the cut line in the picture above:
Long bottom rail parts. Reference: 1, 3, 4 and 36
Mid rail parts. Reference: 22, 23 and 24
Outfeed folding table parts. Reference: 26 and 27
It’s not advisable to reduce the depth of the workbench too much—at most you can reduce the depth by up to 80mm. In the event that your bench table saw has more or less depth than the one I’ve used for the design, there are two possibilities.
If the bench table saw is less deep and you won’t be using the fence that comes with it, or if said fence has an aluminum bar to extend it only on the front of the saw, you can leave the design as is and add a piece of a board to fill in or cover the gap behind the saw.
If it has two extension arms, such as my Dewalt, and you want to keep the fence, you’ll need to make the bench depth about 5mm shallower than the length between both arms or extension bars in your saw table (pieces “B” in the photo below).
To do that, you’ll have to add or subtract the difference from all the pieces which intersect with the cut line in the picture above:
Bench top parts. Reference: 15, 15B, 15C and 22
Side folding table parts. Reference: 16, 18, 20, 21
Inner cabinet parts. Reference: 12, 13, 22, 29, 34, 35 and 36
Drawer parts. Reference: DR2, DR4, DR5, DR7, DR9
Other option to avoid having to modify the depth of the Mobile Workbench is to extend the depth of the saw worktable. Here you will find an example made by a web user.
Your table saw might be different in more than one direction. If that’s the case, you’ll have to make the changes that result from adding each of the directions.
Finally, I’d like to clear up another important point. Some table saws come with an extendable table for the fence, as you can see in the picture above marked “A”.
This part of the saw will collide with the the router table top when you try to extend it. In these cases, there are two options:
First, you can get rid of this part of the saw and make a new fence “C”. These saws usually come with an unreliable, unsteady fence, so it wouldn’t hurt to make a new one.
The idea is to screw a small iron or aluminum square to the front of the workbench that’s fairly robust. This square would allow the fence to slide and be locked. This option would save us having to modify the depth of the workbench to adapt it to this saw.
Another option would be to extend the table that comes with the table saw as much as possible on the bench table or router table, and lock it in place there forever. You’d have to cut the router table top in two pieces, one for each side of the extendable fence marked “A”.
This option would force you to modify the depth of the workbench to adapt it to the recess that this saw has between the two extenstion bars labelled “B”.
In my opinion, the fence that comes with these kinds of table saws is not good enough to go through all the trouble to adapt the workbench to them. In these cases, I’d choose to make a new and improved fence.
Woodworking Workbenches made by our users:
Mobile Workbench with table saw and router table in the forum:
Hello, I’m interest buy these plan but can we make it with the DWE7491 sold in canada ?
I think so because that bench saw is almost the same. Anyway, check the dimensions of your saw and check if they match the dimensions you can see in this article.
As for my research on the web it looks like DWE7491 suppose to fit just perfect. According to dimensions it’s 20mm deeper because of the bolted on piece which can be easily removed
Which ‘bolted-on piece’ are you referring to?
Hi! My name Is Enrico from Italy. It’s possible ti receive the plans in italian?
Hi Enrico, all my plans are in English and Spanish, so sorry.
Hi, may be I can make the italian version…
bom dia. sou Manoel do Brasil , tenho uma DW745B2 o projeto comporta esse modelo de maquina ? tenho interesse no projeto, amei a bancada, pois já faço alguns moveis.
Hey Suso, Jason here from the U.S. – the price of sheet goods (or even all wood for that matter) is extremely high at the moment. I was just quoted $123 US for a 3/4″ 4×8 sheet of premium birch which is basically 9 plys. The supplier said that Baltic Birch (which is 15-ply) would be in excess of $200 a sheet.
I say all that to suggest that maybe you could list how much wood it will take to complete each project on the plans purchasing page?
I love your table-saw/router table plan and am thinking of building it – but need to know what my wood costs are going to be before I commit to buying your plans.
Thank you and keep up the great videos and tool creation ingenuity!
3 x 18mm Hard plywood
1 x 15mm Soft Plywood
1/2 x 9mm Soft Plywood
Hi, I purchased the plans and I’m excited to build this. I’m also in the United States. Could you upload another cut list for 4’x8′ board for US builders? It would be great to not have to download Maxcut and learn that software. Thanks for the awesome plans and videos!
Would be appreciated for it too.
Thank you for adding to his.
Hello Suso, I bought your plans and I’m eager to get going (I even bought a couple metric layout tools to ease the process). What I’m wondering is if I use the ply available to me in the US, would I need to make adjustments in any of the measurements to account for the slight differences in the ply thickness? Sorry for asking what I suspect is a stupid question but I don’t want to make any expensive mistakes. Thanks for any advice you can offer.
hi Jon, I think there are quite similar equivalents with which you will not have problems. Look at the end of this article:
Hello Suso,
I’m very interested in your plans for the mobile saw bench and sliding table. I have a question. How do you re-zero the fence of the sliding table after using it to make a miter cut? I thought I saw where you used a stop block, to align it with the front of the carriage, but there was no explanation as to how to perfectly align the carriage.
hi Morgan, I have to reuse the same stop block of plywood and in the same way you have seen. I have in mind to develop a new and improved system, although so far I have not had problems in this way!
Hi Suso – I have your plans and am amending them to take a Dewalt DWE7485 which is smaller than your saw (same height but 605 x 605mm). Your instructions to deal with a saw that is less wide are very clear, but I am not sure I understand your comment about reducing the depth. You say “If it has two extension arms, such as my Dewalt, and you want to keep the fence (I do), you’ll need to make the bench depth about 5mm lower than the length between both arms or extension bars in your saw table”. Are you able to say this differently, or give a visual example, please?
Thanks
hi Julian, I have modified the text, tell me if you now understand the process
Thanks Suso, that is what I thought, but it is more clear now.
Best
Julian
I also have the DWE7485 table saw and would be curious to know, if you made this project, what alterations you made and how it turned out. Also, if you have any advice to offer as a result.
Thanks!
Hi Suso,
Where do you get your fence aluminum extrusions?
hi Aidan, check out this post:
Bonjour, j’ai acheté vos plans et je commence la réalisation de l’établi. Je dois juste modifier certaines dimensions car ma scie sous table est un peut plus petite que la vôtre (Dewalt également) je vais utiliser du MDF pour la fabrication.
j’aimerais bien voir des photos de ton évolution!
Pas de problème, je te montre cela des que je commence les assemblages et une fois qu’il sera terminé
Hi,
I think the list of cuts that need to be modified for a broader table is missing Piece 22 – the base that the saw sits on.
Thanks for everything!
you’re right Ben! thanks for letting me know
FYI: The left hand cabinet, Piece 9 at the rear is cut out in the images, but the pieces PDF doesn’t include this modification.
hi Ben, it is like this because it is a cut that must be made after assembling the frame. I hope this doesn’t cause you problems
Hi Suso
New follower here
Love the workbench and think it would be ideal for me starting off in a very small garage workshop (8ft x 17ft) but space outside weather permitting
Just a couple of quick questions before I commit to purchasing these plans
Firstly – You have a measurement of 570mm for the depth of your saw, is this the measurement of the gap between the guides of the saw fence runners?
Secondly – The cut lines you mention, are these for the saw blade and router spindle centres?
hi Bob, more or less… you should leave a little free space. The distance between the guides of my saw fence is 575mm.
If you are going to modify the dimensions of the bench, it is best to try to leave the blade and the router spindle centres in the same position as in my design, but nothing serious will happen if it is not possible in your case.
Hi there 🙂
I’m just wondering what the dimensions are when sidetables are folded and up? I don’t have a lot of space, so befor buying your plans i would like to see if i have the space 😉 Thanks in advance
hi Eli, in this other article you’ll find that info:
Hi Suso, I’m new to digital plans and recently started to learn and use Fusion 360 instead of Sketch Up. Will I be able to load your plans into Fusion 360? Also, I have a different saw, a SawStop JSS Pro. Based on what I’ve been able to see and do with Fusion 360, am I right to assume that it shouldn’t be too complicated to adapt the size of the saw base to fit my saw?
Best regards, Daniel
hi Daniel, I think you can import the Autocad DWG file that includes the plans in Fusion 360. Make sure you check it before you buy.
You will not have problems to adapt the design if you have a some knowledge in CAD programs!
Hi Suso,
I already bought your plans, and they’re fantastic, so far I could check them.
At the moment wood is so expensive. So at the moment 18mm beech finger joint board is cheaper than the plywood (Birch). Wuld it be possible to build the whole bench with beech finger joint board? Some people say it wouldn’t be the best idea because the wood is changing its size.
Do you have any experiences?
I already built a huge bunk bed with oak finger joint board and there it was no problem.
Hi Tom, plywood boards are better at withstanding changes in size due to moisture, but I think you’ll have no problem using beech finger joint board if you do not live in a place with sudden changes in humidity.
Tip: after cutting the pieces, leave them for a couple of weeks in your workshop before assembling the bench, so that they adapt to the humidity of the environment. Send me some photos please!
I just bought the plans for this great workbench. Well done Paoson!
Now, I have to adapt it for a Bosch GTS10-XC saw. If any of you have done this before, I’m interested in your advice!
Bruno
hi Bruno,
here you can see that some users has already made the bench to use with that saw.
Thank you.
What kind of glue did you use for the workbench?
hi Bruno, white glue for wood
Thanks.
Hi Suso, I’m making this for a SawStop JSS and can make the fence fit by removing the end table saw panel, but am more interested in making a new fence on a fixed rail. Have you built yours yet and have details to share?
I have built one Modular Workbench plus a modified version as a saw stand. Both great but I’ll replace the saw stand with this more capable table.
hi Mark,
I haven’t been able to make the fence yet, I’m working on another project. Remember that in the US there are some great fences for sale.
I would love to see photos of those projects, can you email me some?
Hallo Suso,
Kompliment zu Deiner Arbeit und diesen tollen Arbeitstisch.
Kann ich die DeWalt 7492 hierfür auch nutzen? Würde gerne deine Pläne hierfür nutzen wollen.
Vielen Dank für Deine Rückinfo.
Viele Grüße
Wolfgang
hi Wolfgang, I have used that bench saw!
Hi Suso, I’m going to the trouble of converting to imperial AND adjusting for my Bosch 4100. I’ve noted that Piece 2 should also be included in the board lengths to be adjusted in addition to 1, 3, 4 and 36 on the long bottom rail. Correct? Because the mortise for the vertical face frame will need the material of Piece 2 reduced when Piece 3 is elongated – and vice versa.
hi Stewart, I don’t think so, but it depends on what you want to do! f you want the two modules on the left and right to continue measuring the same, you should not modify that piece 2. If you are going to modify the size of the gap for the bench saw and you also want the workbench to have the same total size, then you must modify that piece 2. I think it is easier to change the total measure of the workbench
Hi,
Did you modify the plans for the Axminster saw ? I have one such saw and would like to purchase the plans for the workbench if the plans are available for the axminster .
Thanks!