RAS, chop and router in one table
 

I apologize for the messiness and lack of quality in these photos.
They were made to document items for inventory and insurance
purposes and not to show how things were made. Once or twice, my
shop was actually clean and straightened up, but that was when we
were expecting house guests. Grin

The photos are of a portion of the north wall of my shop, which
includes a 3-part base cabinet with shelving above. The base
cabinet is set out from the wall 6" to allow for a hidden V-shaped
trough behind. At the bottom of the V is a 6" dust collector
inlet with blast gate controlled by a stiff wire running through a
style in the cabinet. The RAS and chop saw table are on the same
plane, though the chop saw is on lowered glides so it can be used
elsewhere or pushed back out of the way.

To the left is a base cabinet with routed hole to hold a Makita
1/2" router. In the photo, the router was removed and placed to
the back so it could be photographed. The location of the RAS
permits cutting a 12' length of board. The shelving behind the
RAS not only holds supplies, it also helps to trap and direct
cuttings from the blade to fall downward, into the V-shaped
collection area.

--
Nonny

You cannot make a stupid kid smart by
handing him a diploma. Schools need standards
to measure the amount of education actually
absorbed by children. Don't sacrifice the smart
kids to make the dumb ones feel good about themselves.

RAS, chop and router in one table
 

On 11/10/09 1:15 AM, "Nonny" wrote:

I apologize for the messiness and lack of quality in these photos.
They were made to document items for inventory and insurance
purposes and not to show how things were made. Once or twice, my
shop was actually clean and straightened up, but that was when we
were expecting house guests.

No need to apologize. I like to see shops in their native habitat - ookign
used.

I finally got around to taking some pictures o my shop and thought I would
share my arrangement for a built in RAS. Like many others, I started with a
Sears RAS. But when I added a table saw, I relegated it to right angle cuts
so I didn't have to fiddle with adjustments as much. Add in support beams,
stairway, HVAC runs, and plumbing and it got pretty crazy.

My shop is an 'L' shaped space in the basement, so I was constrained by
that. I built in a eight foot long rough bench/lower cabinet arrangement. I
added a lower cabinet to support the RAS, with the table at the same height
as the workbench top. This lets me cut boards up to ten feet.

I replaced the RAS fence with a six foot board with a notch to extend over
the bench top.

My table saw sits at the apex of the inner corner of the 'L' and is on a
roll-around base so I can orient it as needed. I can manage 8' boards easily
and 10' with a bit of fiddling. It helps that al my major pieces are at the
same height.