Easy Steps to Making Your Own Tabletop On a Radial Arm Saw

If you you are the handy type who likes to do-it-yourself on projects around the house, this tabletop project is for you. Making most anything on a radial arm saw is easy if you follow careful plans. To make a round tabletop for an accent table follow these simple directions.

Step 1:
Make a locating pin out of a sharpened bolt of any sort by welding a wing nut onto the opposite end.

Step 2:
Drill a hole in the radial arm saw tabletop in line with the middle of the ripping position of the blade and insert the locating pin.

Step 3:
Make sure the work piece is square and mark the center on the bottom side.

Step 4:
Make the hole through the mark for the locating pin.

Step 5:
Now, lock the blade assembly at the edge of the work piece, making sure it is not in contact with the wood.

Step 6:
Power up the saw and press the work piece down onto the locating pin with your left hand. Turning the elevating handle 11/2 turns, lower the blade onto the work piece.

Step 7:
Turn the work piece slowly in the opposite direction of the rotation of the saw blade, just like you would normally do for ripping.

Step 8:
After each complete rotation, lower the saw blade another 1 1/2 turns.

Keep up this process until you have completed cutting your tabletop. Be careful not to lower the saw blade more than 1 1/2 turns at a time because it will put too much stress on the blade.

As long as your arms are long enough to reach, you can cut any diameter tabletop. If you want a larger tabletop, you can add extensions to support the material, but make sure that you take accurate readings with your measuring tape, before cutting out this extension.

Making your tabletop can be a fun and satisfying project using your radial arm saw. Always use your safety precautions to ensure that you do not accidentally injure yourself.