Mini-Tablesaw / Router / Shaper for Dremel rotary tool

Mini - Table Saw / Router / Shaper
for Dremel rotary tool.

Now that the Dremel contest voting is over I guess it's ok to update this instructable. Here is a "supplement" video showing the table saw extension in action. :)

Step 1: Get templates here!

I am attaching a PDF that includes the templates I made for this project.  Open the PDF and save it to your computer.

Print out the templates (I suggest using 100 pound card stock for the templates).

MAKE SURE... that you select None in the Page Scaling option when printing!

If you fail to do this the printer will scale the pages to a different size and the templates will not be correct.

Comments

[journeyman77]

Hi, great project and i am about to start building it.
I saw your response for metric system dimensions. I want to make the whole project a bit bigger eg 1,5x times the original. What dimensions do i have to change?
Another question is what about using it as a router, how we change the height of the dremel tool while in vertical position?

[SolarPoweredGardener]

Thank you for this design. I built it about a year ago and it's worked great. I did manage burn out the saw attachment though. I use it mainly for model making, ripping balsa sheets. I tried some MDF that was a little much for it and the saw attachment fell apart. I bought a new one and will be more carefull...

With my acyllic top I only get about 3mm cutting depth. I can rip 5mm balsa with two passes. I was going to try 1mm carbon fibre sheet but it is a bit pricey. What I did was found a 40mm blade on ebay. With a bit of DIY I managed to fit it in the saw attachment. I had to remove the spring loaded safety cover to make it fit. I can now cut around 6 - 7mm. Remembering to take it easy....

[sdudley]

I am glad your enjoying the saw. I use mine quite often to cut 1/4" acylic sheets that are actually 0.22" thick. It barely clears the top of the sheet and if I try to cut something that is 0.24" thick, I need to make a second pass by flipping the piece over.

I had planned to redesign it using the flex shaft and some larger saw blades I found at Harbor Freight Tools: http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=rotory+tool+saw+blades

This would omit the need for the saw attachment and give me a little more hieght from the blade. However, I am designing several other tools which use the Dremel as the power source, one of which will be a new table saw, but I have a long way to go before I finish everything.

[hovnosmakom]

Everything went smooth, up to the part with the acrylic top. I don't have a countersink drill bit and the screws always stick from the acrylic, making me furious. Do you have any ideas as to how to do it properly without the countersink bits?

[sdudley]

You will need to countersink the holes in order to get them flat with the surface of the top. I don't have a countersink bit either, but what I do is use a larger drill bit that is about the size of the screw head. If you try this, be VERY careful not to drill all the way through and make the hole too large for the screw. You will definitely want some type of drill press with a stop on it to prevent you from drilling too far.

One thing I want to do, is get rid of the acrylic top and use a thin piece of aluminum or stainless steel sheet instead. I have not done so yet, but I think it would work much better. You just need the proper tools to work with that type of material which I don't have.

Stacy

[Bradinsc]

Just finished making two of these mini saws. They work very well, I was really pleased with the plans! Made making the tables a real breeze. I did a few small modifications, I made the tops out of Lexan, and added the same on the extension tables. I also mounted the extension table permanently to the extension arms, so all I need to do is remove the bolts on the table and swing the extension around to use it on the other side, eliminating the need for clamping it down, works well! Added a pic of them, one matches my Model RR setup, the other matches my dads, he will be getting this a new Dremel 4000 for Christmas! Thanks so much for the plans! I really enjoyed building them.

[sdudley]

Awesome! It's always nice to see modifications people add or change to make projects better. I like the way you made the swing arm for the extension table.

I am currently in the process of designing a modular bench for all my Dremel tools and accessories. It is a 2'x2' cube that expands to 6' long x 2' deep with an interchangeable center work area. I plan to use it as a tablesaw, router, drill press (using the Dremel work station), small manual milling machine, and a few other things that come to mind.

I am drawing it up in Google Sketchup, and started putting together the basic structure this past weekend. I still have a LONG way to go and many modifications before I think about making it an Instructable though!

If you have any suggestions, I am open to any thoughts.

Stacy

[nduetime]

Great job!
Any thoughts about making a drill press/router table unit?

[Bradinsc]

I do have the Dremel brand Work Station, I think that is what you are talking about. It works as a drill press and also holds the Dremel horizontally as well for sanding. It does a great job! Has a hook to hold the Dremel by the bale to use the flex wand as well. I clamp mine down with toggle clamps and use it quite a bit. I have a big floor model drill press, but its too much machine for small jobs. I got mine on Amazon for about $40 I think.

[sdudley]

Yes that is something I have thought about quite often but I already own a separate table top drill press so it's low on the list of projects.

Stacy

[Bradinsc]

I got (2) Dremel 4000s from Amazon, and went to Lowes the other day and got all the parts to build two of these along with the extension tables. One is for me and one is for my dad for Christmas. We both do model RRing and I think this will be a great tool for working on the buildings etc. Thanks for the plans! I will post when I am done. Also another tip, When I was shopping my list at Lowes, I found for a few $ more I could get pre-cut 8x10 sheets of Lexan for the tops. Pretty much bullet proof and worth the extra $ for the wear and tear I am sure the top will sustain! It was about $3.50 per piece. Worth it in my book.

[sdudley]

Sounds great! I was also thinking of using an aluminum plate instead of plexiglass or Lexan, but haven't bothered taking the time to do it.

Enjoy!

Stacy

[Bradinsc]

I will let you know how it works! Thought I would be able to see the rulers through the Lexan. :) Thanks for the plans!

[WroblewskiWrocketry]

Has anyone used the dremel brand router table, #231? Is it a sturdy piece?

[jeditanker72]

Truly awesome design. Thanks for giving me some inspiration to get back into the garage and make something.

[dmanmoka]

Really good plans and design! love it.
I will post pictures along the way :)

[bricabracwizard]

I will be making one of these from my triton mini drill! I have a question not related to the Mini-Tablesaw but your video. Did you use iMovie? And if so how did you manage to slow down the titles in your 'Star Wars' exiting credits? My shoot past like there's no tomorrow - otherwise I may have to get a more professional video editing suite. Sorry this isn't a question about your build, but in that you've covered everything!

[davidneth]

Good plans and design, I built this in a day, and enjoyed using it!

[CNYAP]

Did you make sure the Dremel bit is "perfectly" (or close enough) to perpendicular to the table? I figure a long rod and a square would be the way to check squareness.
Also, instead of mounting the Dremal horizontally, maybe the Dremal right-angle attachment would work? Would need a second hole in the table or course. Maybe this method would allow the tool to stay below the table while at the same time keeping the bit perpendicular or parallel to the table.

[elbardalet]

Excellent instructable. Thanks.
Just a tip for next time you will saw an acrylic sheet. Cover all the line where you are going to cut with box sealing tape. The box sealing tape will work like lubricant.

[sdudley]

Thanks for the information. I usually find that masking tape works well, but will definitely give the sealing tape a try. I assume you mean the clear tape correct?

[elbardalet]

Yes, it works perfect with clear or brown. Next time I will try also with masking, to check which one works better.
Again thanks for you excellent ideas.

[hms1018]

BRAVO! You are sweet with this project. TTYL gotta go make me one now!!!

[Geosync]

5 stars! Amazing concept, design and construction. Thank you for posting. The video is also top-notch. What do you use for editing? And are you using some custom music, too? Excellent all-around production!

[sdudley]

Well thank you for the kind comments. I use an old version of Adobe premiere elements. It's a great video editing software if you are on a budget.

I also use Sonicfire Pro by SmartSound for the music. It's kind of expensive but you pay once for the music and you can use it anytime and as much as you like. You can also remix each song many different ways to fit many different moods. It's a great production tool for any amateur (or professional) videographer.

[imajem]

Hi...I've tried three times to download your templates but the message is that the content is damaged and can't be repaired.
I would so like to build this table. Could the link be fixed or could you send me the templates in an email. Thanks

[sdudley]

I am at work and just tried it. It works fine for me. Do you have Adobe acrobat reader on your computer? If you still need it, send an email to [e-mail] and I'll send you the PDF directly.

[Sfcatlvr224]

Omg ive been trying dozens of techniques and soo many dremel bits wasted, just to cut a clean line in my plexiglass. But it never feels, or looks good enough. I found this instructable and instantly ran to my local hardware store. I'm currently making it now. Just stopped to look at more pics. So I can get it right. These templates and list of supplies are amazing man. And I actually spent that exact amount,crazy. Less then 20 bucks. (to make). Thanks for the instructable .... I'll post pics when complete.

[sdudley]

Great, can't wait to see it. I still use mine all the time and it has come in quite handy for several small projects where a big table saw is too much.

[rclotworthy]

Hi you have listed the timber used as 8 x 4 and 2 x 4 is that 8inch x 4 inch but it looks smaller than that to me. I live in the uk so you might list your timber sizes differently. If possible could you convert these timber sizes to metric for us brits
Thanks
Rosko1964

[sdudley]

Scroll down through the comments and you will find this question has been answered (including conversion to metric).

I believe it is on page two of these comments (between 41 - 80) so you will need to click the "next" button.

Let me know if that helps.

[wilb]

Thanks. That certainly sounds easier than what I was proposing.

[sdudley]

Here are a few pictures mounted to my bench vice (hope it helps):

[markgtz]

sdudley,

I'm making mine today for a Black and Decker RTX. I'll post some pictures when I'm done with it!

Great tutorial! Thanks!

[markgtz]

sdudley, I got my Black & Decker RTX today from Amazon, and yesterday I bought all the material so that I could start as soon as I got it today. Well, needless to say I got it kinda late but this is what I did. I should be able to finish it tomorrow. There are a few differences. The top is very contour for easier holding, so I had to sand it to that specific shape.

[sdudley]

Dude that looks great! I hope you find it as useful as I do. I still use mine all the time.

Enjoy

[wilb]

First, excellent instructable plus docs.

One thing I guess I have missed,when the Dremel is in the vertical position, what provision is made to attach it to a table-since the Dremel extends below the sides? Do I just add length to the sides and back and put a 1X2 along the bottom edge of the sides to either bolt/screw or clamp it to bench? (Seems reasonable)

I tried to see how you had connected yours but I didn't a clear enough photo to tell.

Again excellent instructable with both video and pdf docs.

[sdudley]

I use a standard 4" bench vice. Mine is mounted on the corner of my bench and the mini-table saw/router is designed to be clamped in the vice by the back plate.

In the second of the two imbedded videos on this page, you can see the vice is at the edge of the bench and the mini-table saw/router is some what off the edge of the bench.

I realize that is a poor explanation so I will try and get you a picture when I have time this weekend.

[j8g8j]

This is a great idea!

I have not been a big fan of rotary tools. (Bad experience with my first: a RotoZip tool... too damn noisy and hard to control, not to mention the dust!) But, I recently decided to try again and bought a Dremel tool. I like it much more than the RotoZip and I love this idea of a versatile and small form factor table-tool that I can use on small pieces of wood where a table saw or table router is overkill and sometimes just too powerful to use safely. I'd like to see how the flex cable-based setup that TheGeekFather puts together since I was thinking of buying one of those for my Dremel tool anyway.

[fanatimovi]

your amazing, thanks for the instructable.