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Some helpful tools for setting up a table saw.
A little over a year ago, several boxes arrived in our garage, containing the parts for what would become the most expensive piece of equipment I’ve ever invested in: the SawStop 3HP Professional Stationary Cabinet Saw.
In this and the following blog entries, I’ll share some tips on setting up this saw, which, in my opinion, is the best cabinet table saw available. I won’t cover the entire assembly process, as the manual and online videos provided by SawStop are excellent. Instead, I’ll offer a few helpful tips for those who, like me, decide to set it up solo despite the manufacturer recommending the assistance of another person.
For those new to woodworking or unfamiliar with SawStop’s technology, I encourage you to read the next section. I’m not being paid or incentivized to promote this tool; I’m advocating for it because, after using it in professional shops, manufacturing facilities, and educational settings, I firmly believe it’s the best and safest table saw on the market.
The SawStop technology has been around for over 20 years. In simple terms, it senses human flesh the moment it contacts the spinning blade, stopping and retracting the blade below the table’s surface almost instantly. This technology can save limbs, money, and a lot of pain.
But safety isn’t its only advantage. The saw itself is incredibly accurate, durable, and thoughtfully designed. The engineers have refined the operating components, simplified adjustments, and integrated features that make calibration and alignment easier compared to other cabinet saws. One standout feature is the quality of the instruction manual and the accompanying videos, which are some of the best I’ve seen. Still, I found a few extra tips I’ll share here that can make the assembly smoother. In short, it’s not just the safest machine on the market—it’s also built to the highest standards for performance and precision.
Upper Hand and Magnets
One of the trickiest parts of setting up this saw is installing the cast iron extension wings. These are heavy plates that need to be bolted onto the main cast iron tabletop. The manufacturer recommends having a second person assist in lifting, aligning, and securing the bolts. However, if you’re setting up the saw on your own, as I did, things can get challenging.
To make the job easier, I used a “Upper Hand” tool to lift, level, and support the cast iron extension wings while aligning and installing the bolts. The Upper Hand helped hold the weight of the extension wing, allowing me to focus on alignment. I positioned it under the main tabletop and raised the top platform until it made contact with the underside of the cast iron. Then, I carefully placed the extension wing alongside the tabletop and inserted the bolts.
To align the wings flush with the tabletop, I used Magswitch magnets. These magnets pulled the wings into place with minimal effort, making it much easier to achieve a seamless surface. I partially tightened the bolts, as instructed in the manual, and then installed the two long rails.
Checking for parallelism between the wing and the tabletop using a long aluminum straight edge. I pivoted up the edge of the wing until it was flush with the bottom of the straight edge, then I tightened the bolts connecting the rails and the cast iron wing and tabletop.
Once the rails were bolted on, I used a long straightedge to perfectly align the wings and tabletop. After adjusting the extension table’s pitch and verifying parallelism, I tightened all the mounting bolts connecting the rails to both the cast iron surfaces and the bolts holding the wings to the tabletop. 
At the end of the process, the wings and the tabletop were in perfect alignment.
Without the Upper Hand and magnets, this process would have taken significantly longer. If you don’t have magnets, you could use clamps to pull the surfaces together, but keep in mind that you’ll need to remove the clamps before installing the rails, which can complicate things.
If you don’t have a Upper Hand, an alternative would be using a car jack or another adjustable lifting mechanism. However, the Upper Hand’s wide base and top platform provide better stability and secure the heavy cast iron in place more effectively.
Next Steps
In the next part of this series, I’ll walk you through how I aligned the saw blade with the miter slots on the tabletop.
Useful Tools:
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
