Harbor Freight table saw is terrible

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

pics man pics!!

 

[Based]

This is the jist of it lol. I'll take a video tomorrow of it playing. I hope it sounds good dude.

https://ibb.co/jgvVfa

https://ibb.co/nA2nRF

https://ibb.co/jDPZ6F

And yes the ports are uneven. The first hole I cut for a port was perfect, but for some reason the second port hole was too small so I sanded it for a while and just pushed it in as much as I could. Idk how the length of aero ports work with the depth of the wood. But that's another Google search.

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

Well I have finished my box. All the cuts were within a 16th of an inch of what they were supposed to be. No 1/4" gaps like I got when Home Depot person cut it. Ports are in, bracing is in, t-nuts are in, caulk and glue is drying now.
This is the first time I've:

Cut wood myself

Actually used screws instead of waiting an hour for each panel to dry. Countersink drill bit too.

Made a ported box

Cut PVC

Used t-nuts

Used caulk

Used the Jasper circle jig and a router

Used bracing

So many first time things this weekend! I must say I'm a little burnt out... I'm not making another box for a while but I'm sure when I make another box it will be much faster/easier.

And no, this box is not perfect. The cuts could be better. And when I cut the PVC I cut it a little slanted. And even though I predrilled, the wood still split on the corners on the sides. And the inside of my box looks like a 10 person bukkake. But I feel a lot more comfortable building boxes now.

Who doesn't love a good bukkake?

 

[mrpep]

Well I have finished my box. All the cuts were within a 16th of an inch of what they were supposed to be. No 1/4" gaps like I got when Home Depot person cut it. Ports are in, bracing is in, t-nuts are in, caulk and glue is drying now.
This is the first time I've:

Cut wood myself

Actually used screws instead of waiting an hour for each panel to dry. Countersink drill bit too.

Made a ported box

Cut PVC

Used t-nuts

Used caulk

Used the Jasper circle jig and a router

Used bracing

So many first time things this weekend! I must say I'm a little burnt out... I'm not making another box for a while but I'm sure when I make another box it will be much faster/easier.

And no, this box is not perfect. The cuts could be better. And when I cut the PVC I cut it a little slanted. And even though I predrilled, the wood still split on the corners on the sides. And the inside of my box looks like a 10 person bukkake. But I feel a lot more comfortable building boxes now.

Sweet! My first was nothing to write home to ma about either but my last looked pretty **** sweetie you ask me. I got better every time and really enjoyed making them.

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[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Did you write B U T T on that piece of wood?!?!

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

I see some "split ends" This is caused by the holes not deep enough for the screw and/or too close to the edge.

 

[mrpep]

Just saw your pics - looks better than my first box , no lie , lol. Let us know how it sounds and you should ask for design here - I've had my best boxes designed right here by these forum members, very thankful for these fellas

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[Based]

Just saw your pics - looks better than my first box , no lie , lol. Let us know how it sounds and you should ask for design here - I've had my best boxes designed right here by these forum members, very thankful for these fellas

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this is actually my 3rd box. But this is my first ported box and my first box where I actually cut the wood myself //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif.
And to boomin_tahoe; yeah I was thinking the same thing about the splitting. My drill bit was only like 1/8" shorter than the screw though.

 

[HOTT_SINCE_81]

I agree ! Once you get used to it you can make it work, Now if your building a housefull of cabinets it may not be worth messing with but to make 5 or 6 cuts for a sub enclosure you should be able to make it work. Infact I made an 8' clamp on straight edge and usually just use my skill saw for most cuts as its much easier than getting table saw out and set up and finding someone to help you wrestle full sheets around on the table saw unless you set up outfeed tables to support material. How to Build a Simple Circular Saw Guide for Straighter Cuts Like these but 8' in length and I gurantee I can make just as acurate a cut as with any table saw. Now if you just wasnt to spend money this is a nice saw https://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G0715P-Hybrid-Riving-10-Inch/dp/B006SJIEG4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487527559&sr=8-1&keywords=grizzly+g0771 and as I said before the Rigid posted above is good solid saw as well but with all of them your going to have learning curve to some extent.

I agree with Chassinbass. Pick up a square like this

and a yard stick at Hone Depot and you can make square cuts all day long. I have a DEWALT and a JET cabinet saw but used a square for a few years and rarely had problems not being square unless I was in a rush. Hell if your in SoCal anywhere you can use either of my table saws for your build.

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[mrpep]

I agree with Chassinbass. Pick up a square like this

and a yard stick at Hone Depot and you can make square cuts all day long. I have a DEWALT and a JET cabinet saw but used a square for a few years and rarely had problems not being square unless I was in a rush. Hell if your in SoCal anywhere you can use either of my table saws for your build.

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That's what I use it's a metallic yard stick that I bought at harbor freight and one I get all squared up and my line is drawn I get to cutting nice and easy ...

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[Based]

Ok so how do I not have glue drip everywhere? I let it the glue drips dry for like an hour and then I scrap it off using a flat head screw driver, but it still leaves glue marks. Am I just using too much glue? I use Titebond 3.

 

[ChaseinBass]

Ok so how do I not have glue drip everywhere? I let it the glue drips dry for like an hour and then I scrap it off using a flat head screw driver, but it still leaves glue marks. Am I just using too much glue? I use Titebond 3.

Wet rag while glue is wet

 

[ChaseinBass]

And you cant use too much glue but you can use not enough //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Based]

Ok the box is in. I have been listening to it and it is definetly louder than my 15" in a 1.5 sealed box. But then again it's getting a little more power. I have it wired down to 2 ohm instead of 4.

It doesn't hit lows as well as the sealed box 15" did. And what's weird is that as it goes below tuning frequency, the excursion becomes LESS and not MORE. I think this is because of my two ports being different lengths. Oh well. New box in a couple weeks.

 

[staan]

that would indicate that your getting closer to tuning frequency maybe its really tuned lower than you planned

 

[Based]

that would indicate that your getting closer to tuning frequency maybe its really tuned lower than you planned

Maybe so... But anything lower than about 40hz just dies off... I'll play around with it tomorrow and see what I can find out about how it's tuned.

 

[ChaseinBass]

It dont look that bad. Considering you are new to using tools I would say you did pretty good and you will only get better with practice.

 

[Based]

It dont look that bad. Considering you are new to using tools I would say you did pretty good and you will only get better with practice.

Thanks man. Here's some more pics:

https://ibb.co/cx9kgF

https://ibb.co/m6kQgF

https://ibb.co/dcG98v

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

That glue can be cleaned up right away while in use. Otherwise, it just crusts off with your bare hands or lightly sand it off.

Here's a good proper square... https://www.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-Steel-Framing-Square/50431128

 

[ChaseinBass]

I was also going to suggest using a belt sander to clean up glue and also you can use it to help cut down your uneven edges if there just a little off , but got to work carefully or it could easily make it worse so practice with it before you put it on your box //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

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