Why Does Cosmos Build a Big Table Saw?

Because he can!
Aug. 26, 2017
3 min read

Because he can!

Given what it costs to buy a table saw there is no good reason to build your own. And yet watching this video by Cosmas Bauer makes me want to make one, even though I already have two. Why? Because there is something very satisfying about building your gear—be it a workbench, router jig, or any machine of your own design.

Bauer lives in Germany and has been producing these videos for years. You’ll see him use a couple of his earlier creations to build the saw in this video. He begins by showing what the saw can do; the build happens later in the video.

Here are some of the highlights:

(0:40) This machine is built around the guts of an old direct-drive Sheppach jobsite table saw, so Bauer does not have to fabricate an arbor or drive system. Sheppach is a brand of tools sold mostly in Europe.

(1:09) I like the looks of the homemade fence—slides very nicely. Note the metal top. More on it later.

(2:21) I like how the router fence keys into one of the miter slots.

(2:53) The build begins here…

(3:11) Screwing into captured dowels is a clever way to increase the holding power in plywood. I’d have probably used biscuits and/or pocket screws to assemble these joints.

(3:34) Bauer rips pieces for the big saw on a small saw he built some years back.

(5:12) The mechanism pivots on pins that land on a metal trunnion piece fabricated earlier in the video.

(7:33) If you’re wondering why the plywood top has such a big hole in it, it’s because a steel plate will cover the plywood.

(8:42) Installing the steel tops. Note how he gaps the plates to create the miter slot.

(9:12) Bauer uses a track saw and metal cutting blade to trim the steel top flush to the wood below. It’s a strain for such a small saw, so he switches to the home-made metal cutting saw he built in an earlier video.

—David Frane is a freelance editor and a good buddy of ours. Formerly, he was editor of Tools of the Trade magazine and website. He lives in Northern California.

About the Author

David Frane

David Frane is a freelance editor and a good buddy of ours. Formerly, he was the editor of Tools of the Trade magazine and website. He lives in Northern California.

Show more
Sign up for ProTradeCraft Newsletters
Get all the latest news and updates.