chefmagnus@grics.net Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 Hi there, I printed out the pattern for the laminated sides and made a cardboard template. I found that I had made a mistake in the placement of th end rail and had shortened the base by 1-1/2". The base of my saw would not have fit. I have fixed the problem and now the sides are going to be 48"x6". Attached is a image of the final template for the inner rails and it can also be used for the outer rail just without the holes. Also I found out by reading my shipping invoice that Rockler had sent me the 3" wheel castors not the 4" because they believe that the smaller wheel is stronger. We will see. And if they fail Rockler is going to refund my money and ship me the 4" wheels. I went to Lowe's to get a countersink drill bit which they were out of at the time. I looked at he 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood and found a piece that was missing a 3"x2" bit at a corner. I had seen the department manager just minutes before going to the panel goods aisle. As I was going towards him I also saw 1-side sanded maple 3/4" that was missing a Dutchman near one end standing up in the aisle so I loaded it up onto the cart. I got the department manager's attention. He came up the aisle and met me and I pointed out the flaws to him. I asked him if he would get me a deal on them if I took them both. I told him that I had a project that would allow me to work around them. He said that he could do around $30 for them. I asked if he could do $25 since they were out of the countersink bits that I came in for or would he just cut them up for smaller panels. He said that the smaller panels didn't sale well and they he could do $25. I ended up having them cut into 4 4'x4' panels so they would fit into my van. I even got a can of spray paint that is suppose to match my DeWalt tablesaw's yellow. All in all a good trip to the Grey and Blue Big Box Store. Hopefully tomorrow I can get a panel of the maple cut into 8-48'x 5-7/8" strips and cut the mortises decking and the end rail. I had thought about using the router to connect the decking mortises after making starter holes with the hollow chisel mortiser but now think that I will use the mortiser to make all of the mortises. I plan on using the dado stack to make the rabbit in the end rails. My plan is to glue up the inner rails and outer rails separate then glue them together. Then true up my mortises. Next glue in the end rails and the decking. Finally add the wheels with through bolts. Should I put carriage bolts with fender washers through the base or countersunk screws? Chef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 That vertical mortice looks Iike a weak spot to me. It might be better placed farther out towards the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 I agree about the mortise. That curve is the critical part to the whole base and the most likely to fail. I would not only not put the mortise there but make the whole thing thicker at that location. Consider skipping the mortise and use a simple but joint on the end to attach your side rails. You will have edge grain to edge grain so it would be strong enough. But it would require getting rid of the curve on the underside and just going with 90 degree cut. There is also the possibility that you won't get a break but the wood will bend the 1" or so that is needed for your machine to touch the ground. That can happen as well and is one reason why a lot of folks stick with metal for bases, especially ones where the machine is going to be suspended all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 I will go contrarian. Since you are laminating ply for these rails, just be very careful with the tenon to leave enough ply to satisfy the load requirement. Consider a third layer of ply (I did read this and am not imagining things, right? Multiple threads?) just to have enough thickness to receive the tenon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefmagnus@grics.net Posted October 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 I gave this to my engineer buddy who works at CAT. If we make it a but joint with three screws. It will have 97% the load carrying of the mortise and tenon. So I will be changing. Thank you all for your input. The point of failure when every the base was racked by a force was the tenon busting out he front of the laminated rails. I am getting ready to cut my first inner rail out tonight. How would you cut the mortises for the bottom decking? I have both a hollow chisel mortiser and a router with a 1/2" spiral bit. I was going to use the router with an edge guide and clamp on a jig to limit the size of th routed hole. Or just make all of the mortise with the mortiser? Chef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 With screws into end grain or ply edges I would reinforce with epoxy. Failure here is the number one failure I see with racking forces and is fairly easy to prevent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefmagnus@grics.net Posted October 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 I got the first of the copies of the laminations cut on the bandsaw. I lover how the big motor just plows through the wood. The bandsaw thought of the plywood as cardboard. It jud zipped right along. I am finally getting tired so I will head off to bed. See you tomorrow. Chef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 I got the first inner rail marked up. I found that I could not see the pencil lines and had to go back over them with a Sharpie. So I guess that I need to put some more lights in my garage shop. I have to two t-5 46" lights over the front of the garage. How many lights do I need to add. Chef. I found my problem not only being the lighting but needed a stronger pair of Walgreens reading glasses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefmagnus@grics.net Posted October 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 I had a profession light my kitchen and am getting tired of going to the kitchen to read the tape measure... chef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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