: Hello all,

: I lucked across a disassembled Ridgid contractor saw. Basically I
: can get the top, fence, Arbor, motor, and all for really cheap.
: I want to take all this and make my own cabinet for the saw.
: Basically it would be a table saw top mounted to a wood cabinet.
: I would not try to have an accurate angle gauge on the side of
: the saw because I measure the angle at the blade anyway. Even
: the best angle gauge although maybe accurate I don't trust and I
: still always measure at the blade. The main thing this saw would
: be used for is ripping.

: Anyway, does anyone see a problem with taking parts of a saw and
: building a cabinet around it? To me it sounds pretty basic. All
: the actual saw workings are factory. I'm just mounting it to my
: own cabinet. I can probably get all the parts for around 50
: bucks and already have wood suitable for a cabinet that would be
: way more sturdy than a factory cabinet. This particular saw is a
: direct-drive. It makes my idea easier because the arbor assembly
: ("blade-holding thingy" or whatever you call it) has
: the motor directly mounted and just bolts up to the top. Maybe
: it's no fancy 3HP belt-driven saw, but it is simple and will do
: the job fine I think.

: Your thoughts?

With a contractor saw everything is mounted to the table, so the box is just a box, holds the saw in position only. Should be no problem at all doing it the way you suggest. Building the box yourself would likely weigh more than the stock design so should be more stable than it would be if you just bought it put together.

You will have to use some care to insure the box you build is strong, having the saw start coming apart in use would be material for a horror movie ;)

Bill H.