Popular Woodworking Editors' Blog

If you didn’t get a chance to read my earlier entry about the Unisaw arriving at our shop, click here to do so.

Ahhhh! The sweet sound of a table saw running. Come on. Admit it. Some of you thought you might never hear the Unisaw running, didn’t you? I have to admit that I had questions myself. In fact, I had a running joke with the Delta account reps – and I assume the folks at Delta through transference – that the saw has yet to be fired up. Even during the Editors’ Event held in Jackson, Tenn. (to read about it, click here), no saw was available for us to use.

Other than the very first e-mail about the Unisaw redesign (which I received prior to the beginning of the Presidential primaries), no one who I knew of had heard a redesigned Unisaw run, except for the one saw that Scott Phillips demonstrated at the IWF show in Atlanta. Well, now you can rest assured. The saw does run and it sounds great!

Assembly was fairly easy. I was frustrated when I couldn’t find the instructions for assembling the extension table. I scampered into the office to watch the included DVD (although it wouldn’t take a master's degree to figure out what went where). After opening all the boxes, I did find a guide that detailed the installation of the table, fence and rails boxed with the Biesemeyer fence. (I was like a kid in a candy store – anxious to get this saw powered up, so I kind of skipped a few steps here and there – like unpacking all the boxes before I got started with assembly.)

As I worked toward the end of the assembly process, I found an innovative installation for the front tube of the fence system. On all the other table saw fence systems I've assembled, I've had to position the front tube, then reach up from the tube’s underside to install the bolts that hold things secure. On the Unisaw, you insert the bolts through the front rail from the top side, then turn a serrated flange nut just onto the bolt. From there, you remove an end cap from the tube and slide the tube over the bolt heads. Once the tube is aligned, it’s a matter of tightening the bolts. It's very easy to do, but you have to have the room to complete the task.

Additionally, I had to tweak the settings on the fence system to get the unit sliding smooth and locking tight. My first impression is that there is a fine line between achieving both. I’ll look more closely at that in the future.

I couldn’t help but make a few cuts with this saw when I had the assembly complete. I ran a piece of maple – tiger maple, of course – and it felt like a hot knife going through butter. (Yes, your old beater feels great when you install a new sharp blade, but this felt better than that.) Over the next few months, we will get the chance to work day-in and day-out on this saw and we’ll share our findings (good and bad) in the August 2009 issue of Popular Woodworking. Look for it!

— Glen D. Huey

We received our new Delta Unisaw this afternoon. The boxes are unpacked, and I've watched some of both Scott Phillips' and Unisaw Product Manager Michael Boie's presentations on the included DVD.

If you're interested in this new table saw design, you've probably sifted through most of the information that’s been written about it. It’s exciting for us to finally get the machine in house so we can get a first-hand look at it.

So far, I can say that I have never turned handles to raise or lower a blade, or to control blade tilt, that work as smoothly as the ones on this saw.

Also, being the snoop that I am, I pulled the table saw top loose from the base – after I checked for run out (and found the measurement dead on). I wanted to get a closer look at the machine’s guts. Easier said than done. Once the four bolts were out, the top lifted, but I would have had to remove other parts to have the top come free. Oh well; I’ll save that for down the road. There’s no sense in dismantling a machine before we get it plugged in and running.

Lucky for me that reversing the process was just as simple! The Unisaw has a small pin located at the back center of the cabinet. Just hook that pin in the appropriate spot in the top, then finger-tighten the four bolts before checking and setting the top according to the blade. When all was set, I snugged down the bolts. It was easy.

One of Delta's most unadorned but fascinating redesigns was with the arbor nut and washer – this is now a single unit instead of the two pieces we're used to seeing. When you turn the nut loose from the arbor, the unit stays in place so you can reposition your hand and pull the nut out instead of dropping it into the saw. It’s a little thing that makes life in the shop better. I’ll have more details during the next few days as I actually make some cuts. Stay tuned.

The complete review will appear in the August 2009 issue of Popular Woodworking.

— Glen D. Huey

After I said I would tell you how to make or purchase the top for my router table, I didn’t! Sorry about that. I will tell you how now (brown cow).

To make a router tabletop to go with my router table, use two pieces of 5/8” x 24 x 32 MDF. (This will make a 1-1/4”-thick top, which is a good size.) Glue them together in a sandwich. You can do this working on a flat surface. First, find some heavy stuff — a toolbox full of tools, an old electric motor, bricks, a five-gallon bucket full of water, an old engine block or what-have-you.

Now, place one sheet on the worksurface and apply a film of wood glue. Then place the other sheet on top and put the heavy stuff on top of this sandwich. I once used the jack from my truck. I put it on top of a laminated sandwich, put a board on top of the jack long enough to reach my floor joists (I had a basement shop) and raised the jack until there was enough pressure to hold the parts in place until the glue dried.

After the glue in the sandwich (I’ll now call it the top) has dried (usually overnight), scrape any glue squeezeout off and trim the edges so they are flush using your table saw. You can also use a router or circular saw with a straightedge guide.

Next, if you like, cut a groove to fit your table saw miter gauge. This is usually about 3/8” deep and ¾” wide, but measure your miter gauge’s guide bar to be sure. Use your table saw with a dado-head cutter or your router and a straightedge guide. You can purchase an aluminum U-shaped track (available at Rockler) and install it in a groove if you like. Just be sure the track will accommodate your miter gauge guide bar.

Purchase the plate and inserts first. You can find them at Rockler, Kreg and a number of other sellers. Type “router table insert” into your internet search engine and boom!, you’ll find lots of sources. If you want to make your inserts, go for it. I made one because I needed a larger opening for my largest panel-raising cutter.

To cut the hole to fit your insert, view Bob Lang’s video at: http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/router_base_plate_video.

Some folks like to apply high-pressure laminate to their router tabletops. Feel free to do this. Remember to laminate both the top and bottom. You can also install T-molding around the edges to finish it off. Or, you can break the sharp edges of the top and apply two coats of polyurethane, which I’ve done on other tops. The polyurethane is just as good as high-pressure laminate. Be sure to sand between coats. You want this surface as smooth as possible.

Install the top on your router table and your ready to start making some sawdust. Or should I say routerdust.

If you prefer to purchase a router tabletop, type in “router tabletop” in your search engine and you’ll find several sellers. Rocker, Harville Tool and ttrackuse.com each have very nice tops for sale.

Jim Stack, jim.stack@fwmedia.com

There are a few things that have been kicking around our shop forever. Now and then we come across them, recognize them as valuable, and move them out of the way. Some are small, such as an ash panel glued up by a former editor, and some are big like the life size photo of Bob Vila that used to live on the top shelf of the lumber rack. One of these items is the face frame for my backbench. This face frame has appeared in the background of many photos, most recently the cover of the April issue, and in this photo from last summer taken while I worked on my bench.

The backbench cabinet, referred to around the shop as “Bob’s Credenza” will sit under the window, behind my workbench. It’s about eight feet long with four sections of storage space for tools and miscellany. I like my main workbench away from the wall, and a separate storage bench behind me. The backbench is a staging area for tools and parts, leaving the main bench free for work in progress. When it’s complete I will be much more organized, and the piles of junk that sometimes show in the background of step photos will become a memory of days gone by.

As sometimes happens, I started a project, got part way through and then set it aside. When I paused, I had no intention of leaving the project for as long as I did. But things happened, events beyond my control took over and time marched on. I got back to it a couple of weeks ago, found the door parts and drawer fronts I had set aside, and made the plywood boxes. As I planed the doors, I realized that the cherry had developed the patina that comes after a year or more. I wondered how long I had left this sitting.

I blogged about my methods at the beginning of the project, so it was easy to check back to see when I had left off. It’s been a while, but I’ve made progress recently and will be posting soon about building the cabinets, joining the face frame to the boxes and hanging the doors. I still have a ways to go; drawers to build and a top to make. The drawer fronts were milled long ago and I was a little surprised to find that they were all still there.
So I’m hoping you readers can help me to feel better. What’s the longest period of time that you’ve let a project sit without working on it? Leave a comment below. I’m heading back to the shop to get to work, although I’m curious to see who or what is on top of the lumber rack. And I'll have to track down the pleonastic editor who left half a bibliothques's worth of parts on my bench.

--Robert W. Lang


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I’m at Bosch in Mount Prospect, Ill., (just outside Chicago) where I and other magazine editors are getting a look at some of the new tools the company will be unveiling in the upcoming months. We’re seeing a lot of interesting drill and battery innovations (among other things) that we’re not yet allowed to talk about, but one thing we are allowed to announce is Bosch’s entrance into pneumatic fastening with its Full Force Technology line.

“Full Force” refers to the nailers’ patented design that allows 100 percent use of the air from a compressor, rather than the traditional design that reserves some air to reset the tool for each use. These new tools are also noticeably smaller, and, according to the Bosch press release, 10 percent more powerful. Already on the market are a couple framing nailers; but for woodworkers, there are new 16-gauge nailers and 18-gauge brad nailers and staplers that will soon be available. I got to play with the brad nailer, and it’s easy to adjust the drive depth, and easy to clear if it jams. I’m looking forward to trying that one out in the shop.
 
— Megan Fitzpatrick