Saw Till Pics or Plans?

[Brian Kent]

I am about to make the back panel of the saw till. Are your panels glued into the dadoes in the back or are they somehow floating for wood movement?

Later note - I decided on frame and panel just to be safe, and for practice since I've never made them before.

[Bill Houghton]

which is a short-term solution that I've only been living with for about seven-eight years now.

I can testify that tools that come down to you from the family are especially nice - you get that extra "hit" of tradition as you work - but those are also beautiful and well-maintained tools in their own right.

I note a jeweler's saw there in the box - looks like a coping saw, but the frame is adjustable in length. You can get an assortment of jeweler's saw blades from Lee Valley.

[Brian Kent]

Bill, it looks like you have them sorted chronologically by depth. The one you used last is always at the end of the nail.

I did not know that was a jeweler's saw. I'll check out the blades.

[Brian Kent]

I finished the casework for the Saw Till.

Before I add the second half-row saw "notches", the additional platform, pegs, etc., I need to find out how I want to arrange the miscellaneous saws.

A couple of Japanese saws, fret saws, hack saw, 2 keyhole saws, 2 back saws, and a frame saw.

There are spaces for more in the future, but what I am planning is one more wide-toothed rip saw and 2-3 more back saws.

So I'll try different arrangements while I make the drawers.

The case is quarter-sawn white oak with red oak panels - because that is what I had on hand.

[David Keller NC]

BTW, Bill - Open wire nuts on a 120V circuit is a major no-no in residential code. I'm not saying you're going to burn your shop down with that arrangement, but you sure don't want a city inspector to ever see that - they'll have a conniption fit.

If you care to make it code-compliant, you can either 1) add a grounded cord and plug to the light and do away with the wire nut connection, or 2) Enclose the wire nut connection in an electrical box (either metal or the fire-resistant plastic ones sold in the big box stores). The wire nuts, by the way, need to have electrician's tape wrapped around the wire nut's base and the romex for code purposes, even though they're inside an electrical junction box.

[Bill Houghton]

BTW, Bill - Open wire nuts on a 120V circuit is a major no-no in residential code. I'm not saying you're going to burn your shop down with that arrangement, but you sure don't want a city inspector to ever see that - they'll have a conniption fit.

If you care to make it code-compliant, you can either 1) add a grounded cord and plug to the light and do away with the wire nut connection, or 2) Enclose the wire nut connection in an electrical box (either metal or the fire-resistant plastic ones sold in the big box stores). The wire nuts, by the way, need to have electrician's tape wrapped around the wire nut's base and the romex for code purposes, even though they're inside an electrical junction box.

That's the last remaining old (electrical) work on our property (if you don't count the barn - we removed the overhead lines going to the barn [no longer in use as a barn, just a storage place] because the wiring was so frightening there), and what you see there is typical. One of this summer's projects is rewiring the shop, using BX or whatever the current term for metal shielded cable is. I've already got a separate, grounded subpanel for the building, which is the original tankhouse [watertower in some parts of the country, also no longer in its original use], with power run through buried conduit, so we'll be able to remove the overhead wires from the house to the tankhouse, where the shop is.

[David Keller NC]

Bill - As a former electrician, I would strongly advise that you not relocate wire for a new application, if I understand you correctly. Wring and insulation do break down with age, but there's usually no reason to rip it out of an existing installation and install new unless new appliances exceed the safe limits of amperage.

However, when wire is subjected to shock forces and bending (i.e., by removing it from one install to another), then it often develops cracks in the insulation, making it quite dangerous.

Outdoor romex is cheap. Do yourself a favor and use new wire.

[Dan Carroll]

I am in the process of making till myself and I was thinking of putting doors on it to keep as much dust out as possible. Is my thinking flawed or should I go forward with the doors?

[Brian Kent]

There's nothing wrong with having a saw till door. I didn't include one because I don't know what I am doing, so I'm starting with other common plans and assuming I'll learn from it.

The only drawbacks I can imagine are 3 second time lost opening a door and you can't see the pretty saw display.

When I build a tool cabinet, it will have two doors which will be open when I work to make tools accessible.

This one has a glass door (not mine):
http://www.shoptours.org/member3/kf-saw-till-open.jpg

Brian

[Joe Close]

Question. How are you guys cutting the slots for the saw blades? I would assume it is larger than just the saw kurf itself. But it does not appear to be much larger.