Table Saw Station with Biesemeyer Fence

I used to have a small craftsman table saw something akin to this one.  I like that it had extensions to make the table bigger, an ok fence and I think I paid about $250 for it new from Sears.  Basically I bought at the high end of the low end saws and it served me well for 9 years, multiple moves and lots of projects.  It also had it’s drawbacks….

Like having to add weights to the base when cutting full 4×8 sheets of plywood, or holding it down with your foot while trying to push the end of a big sheet through. The fence wasn’t rock solid etc.  It was time to find something a little better.  After reading and reading about what I wanted, I came to two conclusions:

1.  Compared to what I had before, the kind of saw I wanted was very, very, expensive.
2.  To get around that expense a lot of people build their own table saw station to fit their needs.

Found the Right Saw

I felt really lucky when I found the remains of a cabinet shop for sale and it included a table saw with a Biesemeyer fence.

The cabinet it was built into wasn’t anything special, worn out particle board to be precise, so it did not make it out of the u-haul upon arriving at my house ;0). Therefore my saw sat on the garage floor for about a month while I sorted through everything.  This saw isn’t top quality, it’s another craftsman, it has a lot of the same features as top quality table saws.

I knew what I wanted at this point, but didn’t quite know how to go about getting it built, lucky for me my friend was able to come down and help me get something together that was mobile, had both a table saw and a router lift in the same place so the Biesemeyer Fence could be used for both operations.  My rail is 84″ long….I couldn’t find it readily available other than attached to the saws on eBay.  This fence is a beast, it does not budge at all once it is set. There is a ruler attached along the rail that allows you to adjust in very small increments.

Building the Work Station

Frame top and bottom is made of 2×6’s, with double 2×4 posts as legs.  This table is 32″ tall, perfect for me to easily use, but short for my 6’2″ husband.  We made it 84″ long, to match the fence.  Space was tight and that is still plenty big to handle a full sheet of plywood.

Construction detail

2×6 frame with double 2×4 legs

supports under table top

Castor mounted to bottom of table

safety switch I can hit with my knee

The bottom plywood was put directly on the frame and we attached the legs with pocket hole screws.  The top has two layers of plywood for added stability.  We had to add in a short length of 2×6 to the base at each corner in order to attach the casters.

The finished table has a set of t-tracks on either side of the table saw, these are for attaching stationary jigs and feather boards.

Best Part!  I can cut sheet goods myself!

I really like that I can rip a full sheet of plywood by myself if I need to.  It’s a chore and if my husband is handy I’ll ask him, but I can do it myself, which is really nice.   The stop button is right by my knee, so I can nudge the saw off as I complete the cut.

4×8 sheet ready to cut

After the cut

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