FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Subscribe
SUBSCRIBE TODAY

Save up to

70% off

the cover price

In-depth articles, up-close photography, and detailed illustrations in every issue.

Subscribe Now!
Subscribe
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
  • Join
  • Log In
Subscribe
Tips & Techniques

A Big Table for a Portable Tablesaw

Issue 197

Portable tablesaws are great when it’s time to set up a job-site shop, then break it down again for transport. The problem is that they’re not so great in between for some important tasks, such as cutting a sheet of plywood. The table is just too small for cumbersome workpieces.

The drawing below shows my solution to this problem. I hinge together a pair of doors from below, lay them atop a pair of sawhorses, and make equal cutouts in each door to create a notch for the saw. The finished notch should allow a 1/4-in. gap on the sides and a 1-in. gap at the back. The saw is supported by a pair of 3/4-in. cleats screwed to the doors from below. Provide blocking as needed around the notch to anchor the cleats, and shim as necessary to get the saw’s table flush with the doors. Screw the doors to the sawhorses, and you’re ready to rip.

The weight of the doors and the far sawhorse typically carry the cantilevered weight of the saw. But if you start ripping heavy sheet goods like MDF or if you stack tools on the saw end of the table, add a couple of temporary legs to each side of the saw.

When you’re not using the saw, you’ll appreciate the playing-field-size table for assembling cabinets, window casings, and door jambs.

David Kalin, Kaneohe, HI

Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller

From Fine Homebuilding #197

Sign up for the Fine Homebuilding Tip of the Day and get daily tips and special offers delivered to your inbox.

Sign Up

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

×
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

New Feature

Fine Homebuilding Forums

Ask questions, offer advice, and share your work

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Sign up Log in

Become a member and get full access to FineHomebuilding.com

More Tips & Techniques

View All
  • Boozy Brush Cleaner
  • Reuse Spray-Foam Cans
  • Organize Tools on the Job
  • Cut Foam with Less Mess
View All

Up Next

Video Shorts

Featured Story

Getting Shed Dormer Elevation Right

Drawing a full-scale picture on a scrap of plywood can help get the ridge looking straight.

Featured Video

SawStop's Portable Tablesaw is Bigger and Better Than Before

The 10-in. Jobsite Saw PRO has a wider table, a new dust-control port, and a more versatile fence, along with the same reliable safety mechanism included in all SawStop tablesaws.

Related Stories

  • Systems and Products for an All-Electric Small Home
  • Exterior Fiberglass Doors Offer Durability and Customization
  • Bypass Pocket Doors Make Open Floor Plans Work Harder
  • Getting Casing Miters Tight

Discussion Forum

Recent Posts and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
View More Create Post

Highlights

Fine Homebuilding All Access
Fine Homebuilding Podcast
Tool Tech
Plus, get an extra 20% off with code GIFT20

"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Video

View All
  • Podcast 380: 40th FHB-Anniversary-Edition Interview With Gary Katz
  • Podcast Short: Hurricane-Resistant Housing
  • Cutting Out Drywall for Doorways
  • Podcast 193: Understanding Permeability, Insulating Behind Fiberboard Sheathing, and Building a Patio Door
View All

Tablesaws

View All Tablesaws Articles
  • Freud 8-in. Box Joint Cutter Set
    Create Precise, Fast Joinery With a Box Joint Cutter
  • Patrick demonstrating use of the Rigid sawhorse
    Lumberjack Sawhorse From Rigid is Worth the Price Tag
  • Make Any Tablesaw Safer
  • EditorPicks
    Gift Guide: Editor Top Picks
View All Tablesaws Articles

BOOKS, DVDs, & MERCH

Shop the Store
  • 2021 Fine Homebuilding Archive
    Buy Now
  • Code Check Building 4th Edition
    Buy Now
  • Outdoor Projects
    Buy Now
  • Pretty Good House
    Buy Now
  • Shop the Store

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 308 - July 2022
    • Pretty Good House Book Excerpt: Copper Farmhouse
    • 10 Dos and Don'ts for Electric In-Floor Heat
    • A Sturdy Rail for Outdoor Stairs
  • Issue 307 - June 2022
    • How to Raise a Post-Frame Home
    • Trimming Deck Stairs
    • Evolving an Energy-Efficient Envelope
  • Issue 306 - April/May 2022
    • Framing Stairs to an Out-of-Level Landing
    • Building a Zero-Energy Home for Less
    • Good-Looking and Long-Lasting Traditional Gutters
  • Issue 305 - Feb/March 2022
    • The Steady Surge in Residential Solar
    • The Fine Homebuilding Interview: William B. Rose
    • How Good Is Your Air Barrier?
  • Issue 304 - Dec 2021/Jan 2022
    • Why You Need Blower-Door Testing
    • Passive-House Standards for Everyone
    • Window Replacement With a Side of Rot Repair

Fine Homebuilding

Follow

  • twitter
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Privacy Preferences

Taunton Network

  • Green Building Advisor
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Fine Gardening
  • Threads
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • Do not sell my information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • California Privacy Rights

© 2022 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

X
X
This is a dialog window which overlays the main content of the page. The modal window is a 'site map' of the most critical areas of the site. Pressing the Escape (ESC) button will close the modal and bring you back to where you were on the page.

Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

Shop the Store

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • Taunton Workshops

More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast
  • Customer Support

Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Follow

  • twitter
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 70%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in