[JoinerCP]

This is DIY but I don't know if it'll get moved somewhere else. Since I'm not building any of the saw arbor internals and it's mostly using components used in CNC router table builds, I thought this was the appropriate venue.

I've bounced this idea around sporadically from time to time and I need a place to post my thoughts and get feedback before wasting time, energy and money.

I've restored a few woodworking machines but I've done nothing near what I see on this site. I'm in the process of designing a retrofit sliding table, mostly for hardwood cutting operations. I have a Powermatic 65 (10" cabinet saw) and a Powermatic 68 (12" cabinet saw) in need of restoration and thus, suitable candidates for the build. What I'd like to do is remove the cast iron top, build up a supporting base that will support linear rails and an aluminum sliding table. The goal is to machine a sliding table that can have a sacrificial hardwood strip "lip" screwed/bolted into the sliding edge passing the blade for a clean cut. I'd like to augment the table with a number of fixtures for accurate and fast processing of cuts needed. Crosscuts at 90 and other angles, tenons and angled tenons with stock held upright, miters, etc, etc.

I'm considering 2200mm to 2500mm rails, that's a lot of travel and perhaps it's a bad idea to build for the primary purpose (hardwood cuts/joinery) and the secondary purpose (cutting plywood up to 4' wide in front of blade). I rarely use sheet goods but they are incorporated for one-off projects at times. Anyone who can tell me what kind of headaches I'm creating by designing for both is welcome to speak up.

The last picture shows an example of a nice Wadkin with the rabbeted ledge machined in the table for attaching the sacrificial lips.


Right now, I'm looking for suggestions on creating the supporting structure for the rails connecting to the saw cabinet. 80/20? something else?
Thoughts on rail lengths and size of components? HGR-style rails? 25 or 30?
Aluminum plate thickness for the sliding table keeping in mind fixturing/drilling/tapping/etc. This is the part that has stayed a blackbox in my mind because there are so many possibilities.

[routalot]

I don't think you need anything close to the accuracy of linear rails for the job.Take a look at these to see different ways of getting the job done. TA315 Table Saw | M. Sedgwick & Co. Ltd

https://robland.com/en/products/pane...eries/#product
Note that they both have a sliding or telescoping support arm for the sliding table and only one piece of rail or rod.Note also that the sliding table runs close to the blade.Conceptually it isn't a particularly big step but achieving accuracy over a long cut requires quite a bit of care and a rigid enough structure for the pivoting arm.It would be too easy to introduce a stress raiser and crack the casting so a lot of thought and care about location is required as the machine wasn't intended to receive loads in that location.Perhaps internal bracing will need to be added.