Earlier this spring we received some good feedback about the “Fold-down Outfeed Table” project that ran in the February 2009 issue (p. 50). Glad you folks like it! But, if you’re planning to build one for your table saw (or if you’ve already completed it), be sure to add a simple modification sent in by fellow reader Doug Green from Wellington, Colorado. Doug installed a couple of screw eyes and a wire cable between the bottom of the table and the leg to keep the leg from swinging free when setting the table up. In case you missed it, he sent in a few photos of his version of the project, and they appear on p. 12 of the June 2009 print issue in “Letters.”
I just retrofitted my table with Doug’s cable, and he’s right on the mark here. That cable really helps. It holds the leg nicely in position for engaging with the Leg Stop on the saw. The supplies—a length of 3/32” diameter wire cable, a package of cable ferrules and two #206 screws eyes—cost me all of three bucks at my local BORG.
Wish I had thought of this five years ago…
The exact position of the screw eyes isn’t critical. Just make sure to keep them in line with one another but not in the same place so they stay clear one another when you fold the table down. Mount one screw to the Leg Back Panel (piece 11) and the other to the bottom face of the table. I adjusted my cable a little tighter than necessary, because I suspect it will stretch a bit over time.
Nice improvement Doug!
Catch you in the shop,
Chris Marshall, Field Editor
