This is the second in a series of eight articles about my new woodworking bench with a table saw and router table. I’ll start by showing you how to use the sliding carriage to make crosscuts in a more comfortable and precise way with the bench table saw.
Workbench Plans
Specs of the sliding carriage for a bench table saw
The first advantage of the carriage is that it gives me more working space to cut large pieces with the bench table saw. I’ve fixed the carriage with four screws, for when I’m not using it. Once unscrewed, the carriage slides with relative ease.
For the carriage’s linear motion, I thought about using linear bearings, but since I wanted a robust benchtop to work on, not just for cutting, in the end I decided to use aluminum miter channels.
The other prerequisite I had was to have everything on the front of the workbench, without anything sticking out. In this way, I find the design more comfortable for using the sliding carriage or the table saw fence, as well as for working on top of it.
I’m going to place the carriage fence to make some cuts. It’s very easy. You only need to use a block of wood as a stop and tighten both adjustable handles. This is the miter track stop I’ll be using with the fence (third picture).
I’m going to cut a piece of pinewood down to a length of 90cm. I adjust the miter track stop accordingly and now I only have to slide the carriage to achieve a clean cut.
The fence can be turned like this for angular cuts. Of course, the T-track profiles I’ve used to secure the fence can also be used to hold the workpieces, as I show in the picture above.
How to use a sliding carriage for a bench table saw
The carriage has a cutting depth of about 40cm without the need for supports on the front, but to cut deeper, I have to use this drawer I installed under the carriage.
It’s very easy to operate, you only need to prop your left leg up against it and move the rest of your body along with it.
Using this system, I can achieve a cutting depth of approximately 73cm. The drawer slides support about 80kg, so I will have no problems cutting all types of boards or wood.
DIY extendable fence for a bench table saw
And that’s not all – the carriage fence is extendable, allowing us to cut longer pieces.
In its most open configuration it allows cutting pieces up to 165cm long, which is not bad at all!
This is the 3D CAD file included in the plans for sale on my website. Also, you can see what the workbench will look like once finished.
Here you will find the following article about this mobile workbench where I will show how I made the router table.
That is one of the best ideas I have seen in a long time. Maybe add a magnet to the top of the drawer and one to the sliding carriage. It may prevent you from needing to use your foot when fully extending the sliding table.
that’s a good idea, thanks!
Hey…good god that’s gorgeous…love the precision 👏.
Pls could you let me/us know the name of that melamine faced board – thx
It’s a kind of MDF board, but harder and with melamine on both sides(Compacmel). You could use other kinds of boards such as standard MDF, plastic boards or plywood.
Where can I get carriage fence parts in the USA? GREAT DESIGN!!
hi, check this out:
THANX!!
hi, great job!
does it change the precision of the cuts if we use normal T-Track instead of the 2 yellow Incra?
thanks! maybe not the precision, but the slide of the table
What is the thickness of the white melamine Compacmel and the plywood underneath for the sliding carriage?
hi Simon, 13mm. In this article you’ll find more info.
Suso, I notice that by building the sliding carriage, the base piece limits the back track of the Dewalt fence from full movement. Using my DW4791 as a guide I guess that the fence would then stop about 90mm short of the blade, which is no good. I did notice that, in minute 12:06 of your video, you had the fence mounted back ward on the left hand mounts, I assume to get over this. However, the only way I can do this on my Dewalt (which I believe has the same arrangement as yours) is if I remove the clear plastic tape cursor (see minute 2:52 to see this item) on the front rail as this stops the fence from locking in place on that side. Am I missing some clever solution? Having to take this cursor plate off and then reinstall and reset it for accuracy would be an issue.
hi John, in this post I talk about that problem:
Thanks Suso but that does not quite address the issue. I get that if you use the left most bolt to fix the fence to (in the reverse position that Dewalt intended, i.e. same orientation as for the other two bolt locations to the right of the saw) then the issue goes away, or at least it would if the front fence locking mechanism was not prevented from locking down by the plastic cursor to the measuring tape. If you have a solution to this I would much appreciate it. Have you simply removed that cursor? That would reduce normal functionality though.
hi John, I’m not sure I understand you, could you ask your question by attaching a photo to the post that I mentioned in the previous comment?
Suso,
We have covered this off in our recent discussions in the post you refer to above.
Hey Suso.
Nice job!
Where did you find the miter bars?
The ones that go into the incra miter channels?
They seem smooth and solid.
Thanks
Cheers
HI Benjamin, they are homemade and made with HPL. You can also use Teflon or hardwood.
Ok thanks!
Compacmel waste parts should do fine then.
Cheers
Hi Suso,
Where did you buy the Sliding Carriage Fence
hi Russ, check this out:
Hi! what kind of varnish do you use to improve the sliding of the sliding Carriage ?
Thanks!!
hi Kevin, I have not used varnish, you can use grease or beeswax