Mounting of Table Boards The Formica table boards on my Jet contractors saw were made from a Delta Unisaw 52" table board and lower shelf set which I found on the bargains table at the local Woodcraft retail store. The Delta mounting brackets and hardware were missing and the price had been reduced from $135 to $40. The Formica covered particle board tables were in excellent condition and 27" deep (standard depth) so I bought them. The Unisaw mounting brackets would have been of no use anyway.
I made my mounting brackets from 1 1/2" wide, 1/8" thick aluminum angle. I had to drill another hole in the front extruded aluminum fence rail and the rear square tube support near the ends. I located some bolts and socket head screws at a local hardware store which matched the existing hardware. The aluminum angle which is bolted to the front and back of the fence supports is oriented with the lip of the angle at the top; in other words the Formica boards simply rest on top of the aluminum angle and are held in place with a few sheet metal screws from below. The holes had to be drilled pretty close to the top lip, but there was room for the nuts after I relieved the inside of the support with a rat-tail file to provide clearance for the bolts.
The two outside edges of the table boards are aluminum angle which is screwed to the bottom of the board to keep it rigid, but are not supported by the saw -- you probably could omit these, but it looks better with them installed. The inside edges could not rest on top of the aluminum angle because the holes in the cast iron table are too near the top, so I had to reverse the angle with the lip down -- this would look like the letter "L". The bottom edge of the Formica board rests on a hardwood strip which sits on the bottom lip, sort of like a shelf support. I routed three recessed clearance holes in the bottom edge of the Formica board to provide clearance for the heads of the bolts which support the aluminum angle. All bolt holes were drilled oversize to allow for adjustment.Return to Table Saws
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