A circular saw is a tool that no craftsman can do without. Such a unit is especially necessary in a country house or country house. But working with hand tools is not always convenient, and branded machines are quite expensive. A way out of the situation may be to independently manufacture such a device. The basis of such a home machine can be not only a hand-held circular saw, but also a grinder or even a drill.
Making a table for a circular saw with your own hands will cost much less than a ready-made store-bought version.
It’s not at all difficult to assemble a frame for a circular saw that is quite simple in design with your own hands. To make it you will need the simplest lumber and very little time.
Saw frame design
Before considering the design of the future machine, it is necessary to calculate the load that will fall on it. Because the main thing in such a frame is stability and reliability. For powerful industrial saws, the base is a reinforced welded steel structure. But such a unit is not needed for a home workshop. If you are just planning to assemble your own woodworking machine, then you should take into account the basic parameters of the tool itself. After all, saws are different, and, accordingly, the design of the table should be different.
First of all, you need to consider the power of the tool. Typically, for a home workshop, a unit is chosen whose parameters do not exceed 800 W. But, for example, when building a house or cottage, a fairly large volume of wood has to be cut. At the same time, the power of the circular saw should be greater. But experts do not recommend purchasing saws whose characteristics are higher than 1200 W. There is no justification for installing such a tool in a private workshop. And working on it will only increase energy costs.
Remember: the higher the productivity of your machine, the more stable the base for it should be. For professional circular saws, a base assembled from a metal profile is usually installed. Sometimes such frames are even built into the floor. Because vibration of the machine can lead to situations dangerous to life and health.
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Nuances to consider
The second parameter for choosing a saw is the depth of the intended cut. The thickness of the lumber processed on your machine depends on it. This parameter of professional and semi-professional models ranges from 4 to 7 cm. This is enough for sawing boards and even fairly thick plywood. But it will be inconvenient to process logs on such a machine. In addition, it is worth considering that this characteristic of a saw built into the frame with your own hands is reduced. The depth of the cut becomes smaller by about 1 cm. But this can be changed if the design of the table includes the ability to raise or lower the disk.
When choosing a tool, it is necessary to take into account its rotation frequency. If you need a circular saw to prepare building material, then this parameter may be lower. When an even and clean cut is needed, the rotation speed must be quite high. This is necessary, for example, for making furniture. But even this situation has its own nuances. This saw is not suitable for processing plastic materials. Due to too high tool speeds, the disc heats up and the plastic melts. Therefore, it is worth choosing a unit whose rotation speed does not exceed 4000 rpm; in this case, the table for a circular saw can be assembled from wood. The vibration of such a machine is insignificant and additional reinforcement of the frame is not required.
The last thing you need to consider when making your own woodworking machine is the location of the buttons and other controls. When assembling a circular saw with your own hands, remember that access to the controls must be safe. This rule is especially relevant if the tool is installed at the bottom of the tabletop. In this case, it makes more sense to install the panel with switches on the outside of the machine. Or provide a rising tabletop. This design will also help in servicing the unit. After you have taken into account all the little details and nuances, you can proceed directly to making the table.
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Preparatory stage of work
The simplest version of a table for a circular saw is a structure assembled from boards and fairly thick plywood from which the tabletop is made. In this case, the tool itself is fixed at the bottom of a stationary (non-rising) tabletop. There is a special slot in the frame cover for the disk. A drawing of such a machine is shown in Fig. 1.
The dimensions for the bed can be changed so that it is convenient for you to work. The average table height is taken as an example. It is 100-115 cm. But much depends on the height of the person who will work with the tool. In addition, the length of the tabletop can also be changed as desired. If you plan to work with boards whose length exceeds 2.5 m, then the table top should be larger. Then it is necessary to make changes to the structure itself and add an additional pair of supports (legs). Otherwise the bed will vibrate too much.
For the countertop, you can take plywood, whose thickness should be at least 50 mm. But you can also use fiberglass slabs and plexiglass. But experts do not recommend using chipboard, since this material is not strong enough.
The table top can be polished and coated with several layers of varnish. This will ensure sufficient sliding of the sawn materials. But it is much wiser to strengthen a sheet of iron on the tabletop. Then the surface of the bed will be much more reliable, and the machine will last you longer.
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Required materials and tools
For a woodworking machine, it is necessary to provide guides. They will help you cut the material accurately. This structure is welded from a metal corner and secured to the tabletop with clamps.
It is not recommended to install stationary guides, because in the future you will not be able to change their position.
To make a table you will need the following materials:
- sheet of plywood (countertop made of another material);
- sheet of iron;
- board with a section of 5*10 cm;
- timber with a section of 5*5 cm;
- clamps – 2 pcs;
- metal corner for guides;
- hand circular saw.
In addition, it is wiser to prepare in advance all the tools that will be needed to make the table:
- jigsaw or hacksaw;
- electric drill, screwdriver;
- milling machine or hand cutter (you can do without this tool);
- measuring instruments (ruler, square, tape measure).
When everything you need is ready, you can proceed directly to assembling the table. Some craftsmen make frames from old kitchen or dining tables. But such a design is unlikely to last long enough. Therefore, it is much more reasonable to make all the parts yourself. At the same time, you can take into account your individual needs.
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Assembling the saw table
The manufacture of the frame begins with the formation of the tabletop. The plywood sheet is marked so that 2 edges of the cover coincide with the edges of the sheet. The workpiece is cut out using a jigsaw or hacksaw. If desired, the edge of the cut can be processed with a milling cutter. But this operation is not mandatory. Because the main parameter in a table for a circular saw is its reliability, not its beauty. The table top is roughened with sandpaper.
A slot for the disk is marked on the underside of the tabletop. To do this, you first need to measure the dimensions of the unit’s sole. The easiest way to do this is to remove the blade from the tool and simply trace the required part of the saw. These parameters are necessary to form the seat.
Using a hand cutter, wood is selected to a depth of approximately 0.8-1 cm. If you do not have such a tool, then the work can be done using a chisel, but it will take much more time.
After the seat is ready, be sure to try on the saw, adjusting the recess if necessary. Mark the locations for fixing the fasteners and the slots for the disk. If you want the saw blade to lower and rise at your request, then you need to build a pendulum mechanism for the table. In this case, the slot should have the shape of a truncated pyramid. Moreover, the hypothetical top of this figure is directed downward. An example of a drawing of such a design with a belt drive is shown in Fig. 2. It makes more sense to make the frame itself for the lifting mechanism from metal corners that are welded together.
Most people who work professionally with wood would like to have all the necessary machines at their disposal. But unfortunately, this is not always possible. Some people don't have the space to do it, others, and I think the majority, it's money. Any, even the most primitive machine is quite expensive.
But what’s stopping you from just doing it yourself? Nothing is impossible for a person with intelligence. For every carpenter, a circular saw is the main tool. But it happens that only a hand saw is available, and this is not always convenient for large volumes of work. In order not to purchase a separate tool, you can make a stationary mini saw yourself for ease of work - make a sawing table (stand) for it.
Table saw
When choosing a circular saw, you need to be guided by the following characteristics:
- Saw power. If the amount of work is quite large, it is advisable to take a tool with a power of at least 1.2 kW.
- Cutting depth. The thickness of the material to be processed depends on this parameter. For hand saws it is 40–70 mm. But when installing it in a table there will be a decrease of around 10 mm.
- Button placement. The design of the sawing table must provide free and safe access to all control buttons, otherwise it will be necessary to modify the control system yourself.
- Rotational speed. For cutting wood, high rotation speed is preferred. This affects the cutting quality. For plastic, for example, this is not very good. Due to the high rotation speed of the circle, the plastic heats up. You need to choose average characteristics. 3-4 thousand rpm will be enough.
Do-it-yourself table for a circular saw, installation, fastening
To make the saw table itself, you will need to acquire materials that are sold at any hardware store.
We will need:
- plywood 15–20 mm thick;
- timber 50*50 mm;
- boards, approximately 50*100 mm;
- switch;
- socket;
- self-tapping screws;
- PVA glue;
- rollers;
- metal corners.
Making a workbench
- Mark and cut a tabletop of the required size from plywood. Clean the surface with sandpaper.
- At the bottom of the tabletop we mark places for holes for attaching the saw. To do this, you need to remove the blade and install the saw in the right place, making notes. The holes for the bolts are countersunk on the surface, and the heads of the bolts need to be sanded.
- If the material will be cut at different angles, the hole for the disk should be made in the shape of an inverted trapezoid.
- Mark the places where the stiffening ribs are attached to the tabletop (from below, at a distance of about 8 cm from the edge). The legs need to be secured to the ribs. The ribs are screwed on with self-tapping screws at intervals of 25 cm and glued with PVA.
- The legs are made from timber 100 cm long. Then a screed is made from timber for additional strength.
- To be able to adjust the height of the table legs, nuts and M14 bolts are attached from below.
- We fix the saw from below.
- We attach the socket to the inside of the table. From it we pull the wire to the switch.
- We make a parallel emphasis. We cut two strips of plywood, the same length as the width of the table. The width of the stripes is 10 cm. We make the corners round. We sand both strips and fasten them with self-tapping screws. Then we cut two strips of the same length, but three times wider. We fasten them. This will be the guide. We fasten the stop and guide. We set a right angle relative to the disk. We attach the rollers.
Table drawings for a circular saw
There are other ways to make a stand for a hand-held circular saw with your own hands. Here are two more examples.
Table for hand-held circular saw with lifting mechanism
To change the depth of the cut, you can additionally install a lifting mechanism (elevator).
The lifting mechanism itself is mounted from a metal sheet that is attached to the frame on the machine. Lifting will take place along the guides by tightening the bolts.
One way is to install the adjusting rod with fixation nuts. Instead of rods, we use studs. The adjustment handle is made from a plate welded to the end of the stud. At a distance of 4–5 mm from the center we make holes for self-tapping screws. We weld a rod to the edge of the plate, which we will use to rotate the structure.
Conclusion
From the experience of many people, we can say that although such machines do not look very attractive, with the right and diligent approach, they are no worse than factory ones, such as Interskol, and have no less service life. The big advantage is that the cost of such a machine will be three times lower. In addition, you can make a machine “to suit yourself,” which will greatly increase labor productivity.
When purchasing a circular saw, the future master does not always imagine the amount of work that he will have to perform with this equipment. This is one side of the problem. On the other hand, the master understands that it is better for him to immediately purchase a circular saw, but it is very difficult to choose a convenient table that would meet all the requirements.
A circular table allows you to make a more accurate and even cut.
Thus, the idea is born to make a table for a hand-held circular saw with your own hands. In this area, real craftsmen have no restrictions.
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General requirements for a table for a circular saw
A table for a working saw must meet several basic requirements:
- support rigidity;
- sustainability;
- evenness.
In addition to these requirements, there are several necessary conditions that must be taken into account when creating a machine for a circular saw.
- Safety and reliability of saw fastening.
- Guarding for the saw blade, which very often remains unfulfilled.
- Free access to the on and off button.
The additional set of functions of the devices depends on the requirements of the master himself and his qualifications. This set includes accessories that:
- help to perform an even longitudinal cut;
- same quality cross cut.
The standard table that can be purchased with a circular saw is usually made of stainless steel. The sawing device itself is mounted upside down; an incision or slot is made approximately in the middle to place the saw blade itself into it. Its width must correspond to the width of the saw blades used. This gap should not be allowed to be too wide. In this case, chips and other working debris will often clog the device, rendering it inoperable.
As for the technical parameters of the saw that will be used for machine sawing, its engine power may be greater than that of a conventional hand saw. But still do not exceed 1200 W; experts consider such a risk unjustified. After all, the more powerful the saw, the more durable and reliable the table is needed.
Industrial machines are made, as already mentioned, exclusively from metal, but their support is often filled with cement for more reliable fastening of the device.
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Required material and table assembly for a hand-held circular saw
To make a table, you can take the following materials:
- plywood 20-50 mm thick;
- plexiglass;
- fiberglass slabs.
When choosing saws in a store, the buyer often pays attention to the immersion depth of the device, which means the maximum thickness of the material being processed. It must be assumed that using a hand saw for other purposes will remove approximately 1 cm of the cutting thickness.
Table parameters largely depend on the surfaces being processed.
If the products are expected to be bulky, for example, more than 2.5 m long, then the table will have to be strengthened with additional legs.
The circular table has several features in its assembly. The blank for the table top must be described in a separate paragraph.
So, the legs for the tabletop are made from the same plywood, but of greater thickness. To secure it, clamps are made along the table or crosswise. This will allow the table to be more rigid. The stability will be affected by the correctly selected length of the legs and installation location.
The table can have different sizes; the master determines these parameters independently. For example:
- cover 70x80 cm;
- height 110 cm.
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Table cover: how many useful things can it have?
For the saw itself, depending on the selected thickness of the table top, a cut is made with a depth of about 1 cm. The cut is made to secure the working table of the device itself around the perimeter. In order to make it, using a ruler, a simple pencil and the handsaw itself, mark the place where the device will be located.
There are several options for attaching the saw to the table. It all depends on what goal is set. If a person wants the saw to be freely dismantled if necessary, the mount must allow this, but at the same time be reliable.
To do this, limit bars with grooves are installed around the marked perimeter of the working surface of the saw, without forming a closed frame. This secures the hand saw. But this installation is applicable for small volumes of work and low disk speeds.
A more reliable fastening looks similar, but with this fastening the bars are smaller: there are not 4, but 6 or 8, each is fixed near a specific section of the frame, and if necessary, the master will have to unscrew the bolts near each such bar. Some people attach the circular table without wooden beams, screwing it directly to the table, making holes in the frame.
Turning the table cover over, you can see a slot with a saw blade sticking out of it. During installation, the disc platform locking function is used.
You can make a slot on the sawing table for a removable riving knife, which will be attached with a clamp next to the saw on the underside.
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Guides for longitudinal and transverse cuts
The table must have guides; aluminum construction U-shaped slats are used for their manufacture. With the open edge they cling to the table. Subsequently, auxiliary fastening parts will move along them, allowing more precise cuts to be made.
The first to be built-in is a guide running along the saw. The parallel rails will run along the edges of the table, perpendicular to the saw itself. The guides themselves are also made of plywood.
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How to make cross cuts?
To make cross cuts, a plank that looks like a small table is most often used. It is upside down, has 2 parallel bases and a slot through which the saw blade can pass. If all angles have been observed, the cut will be strictly perpendicular.
Another interesting option could be a solution for the transverse sawing direction. The bars are attached to the plywood (slightly larger than the table) from the bottom side. They should be positioned clearly across the width of the table. 2 parallel plates are attached to the top of the board, which are higher than the saw blade and have slots for its passage. The result is the same, but this solution is easier to implement.
In addition, the table top can be equipped with rulers along both guides.
A circular saw is a very popular tool due to its combination of convenience and high performance; people simply call it a circular saw.
You can do a lot of carpentry work with this saw. Those who already own such a tool or are planning to purchase one may know that sawing material in large batches with this device is very hard work.
To make the process easier, it is recommended to use a special sawing table, especially since you can make it yourself. Moreover, this idea is easier to implement than it might seem at first glance. First you need to prepare the working material - boards and plywood.
In this case, the hand saw will be located below the working surface, while the working blade will be located in the slot. When we turn on the saw, the disk begins to rotate, and when the material is fed, the process of cutting it occurs. The choice of the thickness of the workpieces that you plan to process depends on the power of the saw and the size of the blade installed on it. When choosing a tool, you should pay attention to the thickness of the tabletop on which it will be installed.
Manufacturing process of a wood sawing machine
Before this DIY circular saw table appeared, three different options were tried, but for various reasons they were not suitable for the job.
The following ideas were implemented:
1) so that the saw can be easily installed in the table and so easily removed to use it as a hand tool.
2) so that you can lock the saw button in the pressed position.
3) so that you can work comfortably thanks to a simple rip fence that is simply and securely fixed.
Do-it-yourself table for a hand-held circular saw: video
Contents:
In a well-equipped carpentry workshop, set up in a country house or in a private house, it is necessary to have a circular disk mechanism that allows processing wood blanks.
Very often, a homemade machine made on the basis of a hand-held circular saw or a cutting tool with an independent electric drive is used as household woodworking equipment.
To place any of these mechanisms, you need a specially equipped table with a surface that makes it easy to work with wood workpieces.
Depending on the type of cutting tool, as well as on the material used to manufacture the frame, the table for a circular saw can have the following designs:
- firstly, it can be made in the form of a workbench with legs and with a hand-held circular saw attached to it (a lightweight version);
- secondly, it can be a structure equipped with a cutting disk and mounted on a metal frame. The drive part of such a machine, consisting of an electric motor and control circuits, is located in the lower part of the frame (capital version).
Making a table for a circular saw is within the capabilities of every craftsman.
Design selection
Before you make a table for a circular saw with your own hands, first of all, you need to decide on its design. Thus, a lightweight version based on plywood and beams must contain the following mandatory elements:
tabletop directly;
plywood body;
Support legs provide good stability
The capital structure must include the following components:
frame based on metal profiles or corners;
upper and lower brackets necessary to accommodate the cutting blade with shaft and drive equipment, respectively;
the table itself with a slot for the cutting blade, mounted directly on a metal frame.
The most affordable for manufacturing at home is a wooden table for a circular saw (i.e., lightweight design).
A lightweight version of a circular saw table would look something like this
Preparation of sketch, material and tools
As an example, consider the procedure for making a wooden workbench approximately 100 - 120 cm high. Before making such a table with your own hands, it is advisable to prepare a small sketch, which will display the structure of the future structure, indicating the dimensions of its main elements.
The exact height of the table is set taking into account the height of the master working on the machine (the location of the working plane at the level of the person’s hips is considered comfortable).
At the preparatory stage, you should also decide on the material for the manufacture of the future structure, which, as a rule, is made from beams and multi-layer plywood 28 mm thick.
In order to make such a table with your own hands you will need the following blanks:
- metal sheet of suitable size;
- standard sheet of thick plywood;
- metal square pipe from which the guides are made;
- a set of clamps in the amount of two pieces.
To assemble the table, you also need a tool set of the following items:
- screwdriver and electric drill;
- jigsaw or regular wood saw;
- square, tape measure, ruler (for current measurements);
- manual frezer
Video: Making a table for a circular saw
Making a table cover
The manufacturing procedure for this structural element involves the following operations:
Work begins with marking and cutting out a piece of plywood, the dimensions of which must correspond to the dimensions of the prepared iron sheet.
After adjusting to size, the surface of the workpiece is carefully sanded using emery cloth.
Then, on the lower surface of the plywood sheet, fixation points for the actuator are marked while simultaneously marking the slot for the cutting disc.
To do this, you should first try on the soleplate of the circular saw you are using at the installation site. In this case, it is most convenient to simply remove the disk from it and determine the exact location of the landing points.
Before installing it at the mounting location, an additional check is made to ensure that the slot for the cutting blade is correctly marked.
Marking the table top is done directly along the sole of the circular saw
At the final stage, the working surface is covered with a steel sheet with two guides, which is then fixed with ordinary self-tapping screws.
Subsequently, along the guides, it will be possible to make special markings from the corners, increasing the convenience of processing wood material.
Additional information: To arrange the operating surface of the table, in addition to plywood, plexiglass or fiberglass can be used.
Assembling the frame with legs
The base or frame of the table is assembled from a set of transverse and longitudinal wooden beams, which are attached to the bottom of its lid, increasing the rigidity of the entire structure as a whole. For this, four bars with a cross section of 50x50 mm, placed at a distance of about 7-9 cm from the edge of the table, are sufficient.
They are fixed on the bottom of the lid with self-tapping screws of suitable size in increments of approximately 23-25 cm. On its front side, the fastening elements are recessed into a material that completely hides their caps.
The frame can be made stronger by pre-treating the mating surface of the bars with a layer of wood glue, carried out immediately before attaching them. After joining the glue-coated workpieces, the latter are securely fixed with clamps, which are removed immediately after the adhesive has dried. The legs of the structure can be made from bars of the same cross-section as the blanks for the frame (50x50 mm).
The structure of the table must be strong and rigid
The shape of the legs is chosen so that they provide maximum support area for the frame part of the base and have a shape that tapers towards the flooring. On one of these legs, controls for turning the circular saw on and off are subsequently placed, duplicating the buttons located on its body.
You will be able to further increase the rigidity and stability of the entire structure with the help of a set of steel angles mounted in the area of its butt joints. To secure them, it is recommended to use standard bolts with washers, which should preferably be installed with their heads facing outward.
Features of manufacturing a metal frame (bed)
The upper part of the metal base is a welded frame measuring 800x800 mm with legs made of pipes 220 mm long and a cross-section of approximately 17-20 mm welded at the corners.
Two longitudinal profiles are mounted on a frame made of 25 mm angles, used to install the shaft on bearings.
To ensure greater stability of the structure, the lower part of the frame is welded from larger corners (40 mm) and has two jumpers intended for mounting the electric motor with starting equipment circuits. Pipes are also welded at its corners, having the same length as on the upper frame, but slightly larger in diameter (23-25mm).
Closer to the edge of such pipe legs, threaded holes are prepared in which special holders are located (they are also called “lambs”). With the help of these wings it will be possible to fix the position of the pipes of the upper part of the frame, which is moved to regulate the tension of the drive belt.
Expansion of functionality
In conclusion, let’s touch on the topic of expanding the functionality of the working structure you are making. If there is free space on the operating surface, additional woodworking equipment (an electric plane or router, for example) can be mounted. Having a plane and a wood router will allow you to expand the functionality of the machine and turn it into a full-fledged woodworking center.
In addition to this, such a milling cutter can be equipped with a special mechanism for adjusting the position of its working part, which can be changed within specified limits (the so-called elevator).
