Getting more out of a Bosch 4000 TS

[Keith Nordyke]

I have a 3 year old Bosch 4000 series that is currently on the gravity rise stand. I am about to move to a new house and will have a little more flexibility as to shop layout but probably not sufficient funds to get a new saw for a while. The Bosch is limited in it's ability to handle large sheet goods. Has anyone found a good solution for a different fence and "expanded" table for this saw? I can see un-mating from the stand and building a stand with a much larger table area. Has anyone done this? What fence? Plans or photos? Ideas welcome. Thanks

[Todd Pretty]

Bosch sells an out feed and a left hand extension kit which bolts onto the 4000. I have it on mine and it really increases its' versatility, without hurting its' portability. I've ripped full sheets of ply with them, it aint fun, but atleast it's manageable.

[Dean Karavite]

Hi Keith. I had the same exact saw and had the same ideas. However, two weeks ago from a Craig's list ad, I picked up a used Delta contractor saw on a mobile base with two iron wings and a formica extension giving me nearly a nearly 70" wide table and a decent T2 fence. I built an outfeed table for it for $50. I paid $350 for the used Delta (350+50 = $400). Now get this, I just sold the Bosch for $400 to a carpenter who does lots of site work (I did have the extension wings and it was in perfect condition).

I don't mean to be a downer on your idea, but this was absolutely the best decision for me. I broke even and have a superior set up. I really liked the Bosch, but it simply can't compete with the new (used) contractor saw. I have a book, Building Woodshop Workstations by Danny Proulx, that has the exact kind of table you describe (it is on the cover) and I thought about it a long time, but I am very glad I did not do this and bought the bigger saw instead. Your situation may be different, but I'd ask you to consider upgrading vs. doing all that work. Like me, it may not cost you a thing or not much at all! Then again, the price of all that plywood, a fence, good castors... would all add up. Your Bosch is very sellable.

Okay, sorry for the "hard sell" here, but from a pure cost perspective replacing it with a used contractor saw is a better deal.

Thanks,

Dean

[Nathan Callender]

I'm working on a design similar to the one in popular woodworking printed a while ago called 'the little shop that could'. I had to google for it for a while to find it, but it is essentially an expanded table that you can install a saw and router into. Very neat idea. Of course, I wasn't satisfied with the original plans and so I've pretty much redesigned it, but the concepts are similar. It will be my workbench, assembly table, power tools station that can be stowed against a wall in the garage when not in use.

Hope this helps.

[Michael Schwartz]

Build a good smooth crosscut sled.


Nothing like being able to just drop your sled down on the table and cut perfect 90 degree cuts with zero setup. While your at it build a dedicated sled for 45 degree miters too. Both can be made in an afternoon.

[Carl Babel]

ShopNotes magazine has plans for a great Table Saw workcenter:
http://www.shopnotes.com/plans/table-saw-workcenter/

It is made from MDF and a bit of dimensional lumber. If you can get the back issue, it also has plans for a matching outfeed table.

They have cutting diagrams online (second shows a picture of the outfeed table):
http://www.shopnotes.com/files/issue...workcenter.pdf
http://www.shopnotes.com/issues/089/...outfeed-stand/
http://www.shopnotes.com/files/issue...feed-stand.pdf

[Larry Rasmussen]

Sold the rising stand, went right away on Craig's list. Can't remember if I set it for $100 or $150. I mainly wanted a better fence. Put an aftermarket fence on it from mule cabinet works- their Accufence comes in a slightly shorter length for the various work site saws. I moved it to the right when installing so my rip capacity is 30" to the right. I just looked them up and that model with rails is $169. Hopefully here is a link for you-

http://www.mulecab.com/M1025Rip.html

I find the Russian Birch ply that I made the right extension table out of to be very stable. You can see my little Rigid planer at the other end of the outfeed table. I just leveled it so the outfeed on the planer matches that of the saw. I have to move the planer once in a while but usually whatever I'm ripping will go right through the opening on the planer if it's that long. I daydream about putting a spiral head on the planer and setting up a flip top base but it takes me a long time to actually get to shop improvements.

I will offer another view of getting a used contractor's saw instead- I've had several and the Bosch is much quieter, smoother and just nicer to work with than my nicest contractor saw, the last one I owned about 3-4 yrs ago, a Grizzly. If you are mostly going to cut full sheets of plywood on the saw then sure, the heavier the better. I haven't done it that way for a long time. Even before I owned the smaller Festool circular saw I have now I used a 6 1/2" Porter Cable Saw Boss circular saw and plywood guide on a dedicated grid out of 2X framing wood on sawhorses.

So coincidentally I am buying a Jet Pro Shop contractor/hybid saw, motor inside and a reputation for being fairly quiet. You see I picked up a Jessem sliding table on close out at Rockler and am going to put it on the Jet. Don't think I didn't consider surgically attaching the table to the little Bosch but good sense intervened. I didn't look but chances are you don't live down the road somewhere in Seattle. I'll be selling the set up when the Jet I ordered arrives.

Either way you go you'll have fun. If you build up the Bosch and are willing to sell the riser stand that would go quite a ways towards the moderate materials cost for the improvements. It was an easy project but I never finished doing the enclosed cabinet I had planned.

Regards,
Larry R.
Seattle