An outfeed support should
be stable enough and large
enough to catch a workpiece
as it slides off the saw. And
this design fills the bill on both
counts. The folding leg assem-
bly and solid connection to the
saw provide a strong base. And
with the 18" by 36" top, you’ll
have plenty of worksurface.
Table Top. I used
3
⁄
4
" plywood
for the top because it’s flat,
inexpensive, and resists warp-
ing. And by adding laminate,
you get the extra benefit of a
durable, low-friction surface.
You can start by cutting the
top to size and rounding off
the back corners. I also cut a
notch on the front edge of the
table for the blade guard (see
the box below). Then I glued on
an oversized piece of laminate
and trimmed the edges with a
router and a flush trim bit.
Top DaDoes. To complete the
tabletop, cut a couple oversize dadoes. Align them to
match the miter slots on your table saw, so the miter
gauge has clearance as you make a cut (photo at left).
leg sTop. Now you can turn the top over and
add a couple hardwood support pieces that will
hold the legs. I started by attaching a leg stop to
There are a couple things that can
make adding an outfeed support
tricky. First, you’ll need to provide
clearance for the blade guard/split-
ter assembly. I cut a 2"-wide slot 4"
deep to accommodate the splitter
angled to 45° (right photo).
The second challenge is mount-
ing the support. Often, there’s a
steel fence rail running along the
back edge. In this case, it’s just a
matter of drilling a few holes in the
rail and attaching a wood rail.
The drawings at right show how
the cleats on the outfeed support
Clearance Notch.
A wide notch in the
top provides plenty
of clearance for the
splitter assembly.
Miter Bar Slot.
A dado slightly
wider than the
miter slot provides
clearance for the
miter gauge bar.
fit over the rail to hold the
support in place. You can
simply adjust the width of the rail
until the top is level.
If your saw has tube-style fence
rails, see the next page for an
alternate mounting method.
Building the Support
stabilize the legs and keep them properly positioned
while the table is being used. This stop is just a piece
of
3
⁄
4
"-thick hardwood that’s screwed to the top.
Hinge plaTe. Next, add a mounting plate for the legs.
Simply center the hinge plate along the inside edge
of the leg stop and attach it with screws (Figure 2).
Notch & Attachment
1
2
FIGURE
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