DW745 Mobile Stand

[dragoneggs]

Not to steal this thread.... but: The DWS780, along with the DWS726 cart are high on my list to replace the Hitachi units I sold before moving. I read a lot of reviews complaining about the lack of smoothness in the carriage assembly when using this saw. I checked one on display at Lowes the other day and it seemed okay to me; not buttery smooth like the Hitachi I had but certainly OK. The bearings do seem a bit rougher. How well does your saw slide on its arm?

Beautifully! No issues with my saw or stand... or than I would like to make a dolly of some sort for it so I can quickly move it around in my cramped shop. I gave my old Makita 10in compound miter saw to my son after convincing myself I didn't need a second.

 

[shadetree]

AS an ENGINEER my thoughts are

NOT ME but if you are or just know the answer would you answer a couple of questions?




In the picture on the right is where I thought I'd be at this stage when I first got started.
On the left is what I have built so far with the exception of the 8 bottom braces.
The top ones I did because my metal supplier was out of 1 1/2 square tube so I bought 1 1/4.
I used the 1 1/4 for the 4 risers then decided 1 1/2 would work better for the rest. I wanted
To cut some 45's with my band saw and thought they would help the look of wider top section.

My first question. Someone mentioned tipping over and I wondered just how strong the
risers would be for twisting and bending. Will the 8 braces at the bottom be needed?

My second. The base is 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 3/16 angle iron. When I widen the frame I spliced a
piece in rather than having to weld more nuts. Thinking I should weld another piece to the
whole length kinda making a square tube and adding strength. Should I do this for the sides
as well?


Not having a shop with a roof and all sorts of things butting in have ruined my schedule.
I was sure I would be finished with this long ago. But now I just hope to be able to get the
saw mounted. That will allow me to test the stability and should be better than what I have
as far as moving it around.

 

[BukitCase]

1 - since you're going "offroad" with this, I would definitely keep the gussets you have shown - also, I see ZERO gussets on either upper or lower rectangle, I'd add at least two more gussets on each - longer would be better, that makes each "triangle" section more likely to keep the two NON-gusseted corners from moving.

2 - boxing the angle would stiffen it - just do NOT try to full-length weld, since it doesn't sound like you have a 1" thick large weld table to clamp everything HARD to, so it won't twist up like a pretzel - if you have a few heavy clamps, you COULD take your largest/thickest piece of square tube and clamp THAT across your lower rectangle, thereby making it into two TRIANGLES, THEN box in the angle - more clamps, and just TACK it at first - then add 2 or 3 STITCH welds in different places (maybe 1" long), take a BREAK, do a couple more, til you have 1" welds about every 4-5" - it won't be quite as strong (anti-twist) as actual square tube but it'll beat the socks off of just angle.

The "more is better" part of my brain says you might wanna add some pinned on, tip-up sides that form a frame for in/outfeed tables - you still might need outboard ones for doing long rips, but probably NOT for most cross-cuts -

if so, I'd make the outriggers pin-on, bringing uprights to nearly the saw table height, so that their plywood tops come out about 1/32" lower than the saw table - they would pin onto the tops of the uprights (think "pin hitch for a towable garden cart" - they could have swing-up support legs with the bottom few inches of each leg using welded-on coupler nuts and allthread, to accommodate uneven ground. This would give them better stability than just bearing on your mobile frame.

If you've ever tried to break down full sheets of 3/4 ply, you'd REALLY appreciate that mod - I have a full-tabled Powermatic cabinet saw and STILL will be happy when MY version of this finally gets to the top of the self-imposed "********* list" :laughing:

OK, I'll stop now, hopefully BEFORE I help you become as insane as I am - I HATE competition ...Steve

 

[BukitCase]

OK, I lied (again :=) Please excuse the super-crude Paint markups of your drawings, hope this clarifies some of my comments - first one only shows where I'd gusset your frame, second is a REALLY rough idea of my other comments... Steve

 

[shadetree]

BukitCase Thank you for your guidance, I need all the help I can get. Don't concern yourself with any competition from me. I generate very little and am on the east coast, you will not even notice me. All the pictures before today were just sketches no scale. I am trying to teach myself how to weld sooooo only drawings. The right hand picture was early posted to show the changes in concept and to show that the saw would be mounted on top not to be confused with the top as shown in the pictures of post 15 on page 2 of the thread.

The picture on the left is scale and until today only had what is actually assembled. A boring rainy day and I added the 8 gussets. I think better looking at pictures... Even then I often need someone to explain what I'm seeing. You are right on about my large 1 inch thick top welding table. But I do what I can with my HF model



I'm out of electrical tape. I've found if I place scrips of it over my welds my projects look much better.

I understand pinning a cart to a garden tractor. I haven't grasped how it would work with this, maybe in the morning.

 

[BukitCase]

On the pin hitch, you'll need to think of it more as a HINGE - here's a few pix of an "offroad" stand for the HF 4x6 metal cutting bandsaw I built a while back, it's set up to be either towed by a lawnmower or "wheelbarrowed" with handles, BOTH of which stow out of the way when not in use (I don't like barked shins :=)

The stowable handles are sort of what I meant for your in/outfeed addition, of course they would be aimed differently for you, so the hinge wouldn't stick up above the table part - but that should be doable with a bit of head-scratching... Steve

 

[shadetree]

What a day - Just Pay the Light Bill

Nice saw stand, I'll start the head scratching. Today has been one of those you remember for a long time. Yesterday afternoon I added angle iron to the two short sides. I did not have enough to do the longer two. So I called my metal supply and the lady said the only person she had in the shop had taken off for South Carolina for some reason and if I had to have it today she couldn't help me. I told her I'd call her tomorrow. I cut the first saw support and unwrapped the tarp from the saw to see how it would connect. I knew my saw was old and different from the model I had borrowed from SketchUp but had forgotten how close the bottom edge of mine aligned with the top. So, I figured I might could get by with the one support and just use the end for the other.

My 'Welding Instructor' said he was going home for a bit. It was already 10 o'clock and he hadn't done anything anyway so I said sure. I clamped the support into the stand and thought it looked about right. Got the saw unbolted, picked it up and carried it to the new location. Of course I had to go to the other side and was just about there when I got spun around. The darn electric cord had gotten hung on something. Couldn't put it down and had to carry it back to where it was. Got the cord freed up and placed it on the table. Still not smart enough to pick it up from the back side so I had to walk around the wagon again. Placed the left side of the saw on the clamped support and the right side on the back. Slapped a straight edge on the axle and back and the table needed to be moved a little to the left. The bolt holes were now on the edge. No problem I thought I'll just weld a block there. Undid the clamps and moved the other support so those bolt holes lined up and clamped it in place.

Twelve-thirty so I went in for a sandwich. The phone was ringing and it was the 'Welding Instructor's wife. She wanted to know if he was coming home for lunch. I told her that he had left around ten and should be there. She said, "Okay, thanks". I went back out with a piece of square tube and checked the fit. Perfect. Well for me it was pretty darn good. That is until I got to the right corner. The fence lock and that corner wanted to be in the same place. I needed to go back inside, get something to drink, sit for awhile and just think. The phone awakened me, the 'Welding Instructor's wife again. She said she had found him, under the bed saying "The sky is falling and I'm not coming out til it gets fixed". While he's out of action I'm going to post a quick shot. Don't look at my welds the electrical tape hasn't gotten here yet.



If anyone says anything to him we will probably have to wait for another eclipse or for me to get better for anymore pictures or the electrical tape to arrive. :ashamed:



Some of this really happened :dance1:

 

[shadetree]

Engineering advice Needed

I've gotten all the angle iron boxed. I have the 8 bottom gussets in place. I have the location for the two saw support cross-members.

These cross-members interfere with the location of the two long gussets. What to do? Still two, long as possible? What position? Four, six, eight shorter gussets? What would be best?

Are the two long ones for the bottom still the way to go?



Thank you for any Engineering or other advice. :confused3: I really have NO CLUE

 

[BukitCase]

Keeping in mind that I'm kind of an "overkill specialist" :laughing: here are my thoughts -

First off I really like your steering/suspension setup; without having the entire axle pivoted at center you'll have much better stability while turning, since the two steering wheels NEVER can get far enough out of line to make it effectively a "tricycle", which can be quite a bit less stable in "offroad" conditions - I also discovered (on my bandsaw stand) that I should have done the "tractor front end" setup like yours for the two non-wheeled legs - without that, I either have to find a SHIM for one leg or the other, or inflate/deflate one rear tire to take out the wobble

If your latest drawing is where the saw mounts will actually go, I might be tempted to NOT put gussets on the UPPER rectangle - it looks like your saw itself has a 1-piece molded "frame" that could help stiffen the upper level.

Otherwise, I'd put a SINGLE long gusset INSIDE the square area the saw mounts on - this would effectively make MOST of that upper level into 2 triangles.

The LOWER level would be (I think) MORE likely to "rack" when moving around - things like one wheel or another catching on a root or rock could conceivably cause the lower frame to get "tweaked", after which it would NEVER sit right.

Nearly anything you do on that lower level would lessen that possibility, even a single corner-to-corner gusset that would turn that rectangle into two large triangles - in fact that way might be strongest - if I used that method though, I would use ACTUAL SQUARE TUBING. This is because angle is quite a bit more likely to bend/twist, and that diagonal member could end up in either compression or tension, depending on WHICH rear wheel gets caught on that (hopefully mythical) root or rock.

I don't remember you mentioning WHAT that lower level will get used for; I would probably use it for a shelf to hold whatever OTHER tools I might need for the "project du jour", maybe even something like one of those "middle box" add-ons for a rollaway set, so smaller things could live in an actual drawer.

If not that, I'd put some low side-boards around that lower shelf so everything actually GOT where I was going

Did I mention that very FEW of my "projects" are still at "version 1.0" ??

 

[shadetree]

My shop is usually in the shade of a tree in the yard. All tools are carried to and fro so I truly understand so everything actually GOT where I was going. Not knowing how the "wings" I have envisioned will turn out I had not thought much about the space under the saw... the thoughts had been there from time to time thus the small gussets to keep the area as open as possible but ... in my old age I have developed the inability to bend down. Getting under the wing to open a drawer or reach a low shelf could be a real challenge. I find myself on my knees too often.



I cut the gussets for the bottom this afternoon. I had planned to attach them short side to long side, but think I could slide to the corner if that would be stronger?

For the top (saw bottom) I will try for corner to corner. The saw sides are plastic.