I'm considering building a motor enclosure to replace the stock metal one that came with my saw. The stock enclosure is held onto the saw's base with 6 small sheet metal screws and it is a PITA to remove/replace these screws every time you want to gain access to the inside of the saw.....you have to hold/support/position the enclosure with one hand and fight the small sheet metal screws with the other the entire time praying that you don't drop the screw as it may go to a place that only an hour of searching will discover.
I'll build it out of 1/4" Baltic Birch ply....paint it to match the saw.....and (most importantly) have a large door on this enclosure that will give easy access.
I'm lazy and the the first two things that come to mind are..1 How about adding better locators and screws to this one. 2 Can you hinge this one to swing out of the way or down maybe?
Edit. Swinging down looks out of the question upon further review.
I'm just beginning to consider possibilities. I didn't want to drill more holes in the cabinet.....I thought I could use existing screw holes......attaching a frame to the saw would be simple and I could use that frame for a hinge or other enclosure. Getting a better tool to hold the screws when trying to attach/remove them is a real possibility......a trip to the local hardware might give me better screws. We'll see.
At some point in time Delta did come out with an enclosure with a door.....but, that was well after I got this saw.....such easy access is now the norm I guess.
Its like a pop rivet that has machine screw threads internally. Great for jobs like this. These days you can get the tool and a selection of rivnuts for under $100 (China, of course) on Amazon. The installation tool isn't the greatest, but for occasional use it's fine.
roger, what kind of latch do you plan to have on this door ? ..And why couldn't you upgrade the existing metal door with the same kind of latch ?
The door on my Jet cabinet saw, which I must access often to clean out the sawdust and to lube the gears and slides, has a kind of spring-loaded catch to hold it closed.
Roger I'm in the same camp as Yonak. I own a Jet cabinet saw that has a swing-open door that's easy to use. In an effort to keep the saw as original as possible, if it were mine, I would add a continuous hinge on one side and either use the spring latch Jet uses or simple magnets to hold it closed.
We must have Unisaws of different generations as your cabinet has access via a door while mine doesn't.....
This is sorta good news as I was beginning to believe that one of us was nuts.....smoking wacky tebackie.....taking excursions over to Kentucky for some backwoods bourbon.....
About half the time I drop the arbor nut into the abyss and need to fetch it. Just open the door. Not in your case. Geese, what a pain! I would be sawing a door into the front where it mine, or buying an old one.
Mount threaded studs to the cabinet and slip the cover over them...an option?
If you look for the right type, you can turn the hook catch 90° which is what you'd need with the lever catches mounted on the sides of the cover. Some studs would help too, just for alignment. I'd still do the rivet nuts myself, and then use them with thumbscrews for easy removal.
The magnet I used is the kind that you attach with a screw through the center of the magnet.....probably got it from LV.
I've not had any problem with that screw loosening even though its in the end grain of the dowel.....probably used a longer screw and maybe a little epoxy.
My Industrial Sawstop also has easy open doors with latches. The latches also have interlocks, so the saw won't start unless they are closed and latched. For ideas, you should be able to check out the mechanism at your nearest Woodcraft, or even look up the user's manual online.
