DIY Mobile Workbench by Valerio

[Suso]

DIY Mobile Workbench made by Valerio. Here you can also see the interesting website of Valerio, about audio antiquary:

[Suso]

Incra TS-LS Table Saw Fence:

[Suso]

Folding Table:

[Suso]

Router Table:

[Djjvb]

Wow!! This is a great idea! I've got 3 questions:

1) Does it require any changes to the original plans?
2) Are this the original 72" / 183cm tracks? Or did you shorten them?
3) What is the routing cutting capacity? It seems a bit 'limited' in this setup? I

I'm asking this, because sometimes I neet to make grooves with my router 70mm from the edge of a board. Placing the router a bit closer to the table saw could help somewhat.
Options could be lose the sliding carriage or buy the longer kit (and extend the design to say 240, if you haven't cut them shorter). Or do you have another suggestion? But all is fair... great solution!

[Suso]

hi Djjvb,

this is what Valerio (author of the bench) has answered me:

1) No, you just have to pay close attention to the leveling of the various levels (top of the saw, top of the router and of the various additional shelves) unfortunately the edges of the Dewalt saw are not perfectly at 90 degrees with the top, and it is quite complicated to fix the two long bars so that they are perfectly at 90 degrees with the top, you need to add different thicknesses.
The Incra system is amazing but only works correctly if the support bars are perfectly fitted and have the same distance between them from start to finish.

2) I cut about 30 cm of the tracks to be able to also use the T-track mounted above the drawers on the right, but if you don't care about that function you can leave the bars whole.
Another thing you have to do if you decide to use the Jessem top, the one I used, another thing you have to do if you decide to use the Jessem top, the one I used, https://jessem.com/products/mast-r-lift-excel-ii
It is necessary to cut it by about 15 cm because otherwise the router lift goes too far outside and does not enter the compartment that was designed to accommodate it.

3) It is not a problem because the Incra "bridge" can be reversed easily in two minuts if the tracks are well septed)




I just cut 390 mm of the tracks and 116 mm of the router plane








Here you can see what i mean about the saw problem plane-edges.





Since the tracks are free over the Dewalt saw it is important create a support close to the end of the tracks, this what i done but it is possible make different solutions as well.

[Suso]

more photos of the Mobile Workbench:

[Djjvb]

Thank you for your answers and photo's it helps a lot! With the Incra system I tink you can take cutting & routing to a next level in terms of accuracy and repeatability. And as I understand you could start with the original design and fence and upgrade to the incra system later with minor adjustments. At first I thought about using dogholes and the LS positioner. But this is a much better solution.

But with all this information I have some additional questions:

1) You showed that getting the Incra system bars level at 90 degrees is a bit difficult, due to the sawtable. If you would build the workbench again, would you consider to make the whole bench (a little) deeper? And not use the mounting points of the saw but extend the frame (and mount it to that)? Because the original design is has a maximum depth, because of using the rack&pinion system of the DeWalt. But with the incra system you could make the inside as deep as 71,1cm (or even 83,8 with the XL version you could then also make a bit more in- or outfeed) Or doesn't it work this way?

2) You said that you have cut the bars, because you wanted to use the t-track on the front. I thought you did it, because they would hit the sliding carriage and therefore you would lose this function? But does that mean that the sliding carriage is still usable if the Incra tracks would be mounted in front of them?

3) I did not know that the Incra system could be reversed that easily! I don't own a system yet. But how does that work with 'zero-ing / calibrating' the LS positioner? Do you need to do this every time you flip it around? Or do you have to do it anyway for switching between the saw and router (even on the same side)?

Sorry for all the questions. It is an expensive system. So I want to make the right choice in combination with this bench. So I would like to benefit from your experience.

[Suso]

hi Djjvb,

this is what Valerio (author of the bench) has answered me:


1) No, I think it is not correct to mount the rails on the wood frame, they must necessarily be joined directly to the plane of the saw, it would be very difficult to respect all the planes if they were "untied" from the saw.

Apart from the greater cutting width, the Incra system is really very precise and with the various accessories it allows you to really do all the most important operations, as well as to combine a single structure for the saw and for the router

2) Sorry but I'm not sure I understand this question correctly: if you look at Suso's good videos you can see that the T-track above the drawers can actually be useful and I didn't want to miss this feature, so I preferred to cut the tracks. You might not even do this by simply sliding the rails past the T-track but the overhang on the opposite side would be too much, or you might decide to sacrifice the T-track's function.

3) The zeroing and calibration of the Incra bridge is a very quick operation (but I still insist: the guide system must be assembled in a workmanlike manner: parallel and squared) if you do not invert the bridge you do not have to do any calibration but the distance between the fence and router may not be enough for your needs. If you think you have to invert the bridge often, I think it is possible to buy a second set of inserts for fixing in order to position them on both sides of the tracks.

[Suso]

A way to screw the T track profile to thin boards: