I still smell the wax from that first afternoon.
Sunlight in the shop window.
The cast iron top looked like a calm pond and the carriage on my dewalt dw746 sliding table floated over it.
One shove with the heel of my hand, then a quiet hiss.
Half a sheet of maple ply glided past the blade.
The off-cut slid away without drama.
Square.
Clean.
No shoulder aches, no dance with a miter gauge that begged for a bigger shop.
That memory sits at the start of this long chat.
If you own the saw or hunt for one, pull up a stool.
We will talk through nuts, bolts, wax, safety, upgrades, odd tricks, and even a quick nod to ideas borrowed from brain-inspired hierarchical processing that help you dial accuracy step by step.
I promise a straight story with a few jokes and no sales pitch fluff.
Why This Older Yellow Saw Still Matters
Woodworkers juggle space, power bills, and late-night noise.
A five-horse euro slider eats room and money.
The DW746 fits the corner of a garage yet gives you sliding control on panels big enough for dressers, bookcases, or cabinet doors.
That mix keeps hobby shops and small pro studios chasing used listings even though the model left the catalog years ago.
Snapshot Specs You Actually Care About
- 10-inch blade on a five-eighths arbor
- Motor rated about one and three-quarter horsepower on a standard circuit
- Left tilt that sweeps to forty-five degrees without lifting the board off the table
- Cut depth a touch past three inches at ninety degrees
- Stock fence on round tube rails, upgrade paths wide open
- Optional cast iron slider wing known as model DW7461, fifty pounds of grey iron that bolts on the left
- Footprint small enough to park next to your bicycle and still rip a shelf
Those numbers do not win bar bets yet they guide choices in cramped shops.
Sliding Table, Sliding Brain
A plain fence makes you push stock while you dodge the spinning teeth.
A slider flips the script.
You move the iron, the board rides along, and the blade stays right where it always sat.
That swap mirrors hierarchical convergence in neural nets: move data through fixed weights, get a clear path.
In the shop that concept means consistent geometry.
Once the track is square, every ride that follows stays square.
What does that feel like.
Imagine drawing a line with a ruler taped to the bench rather than floating in air.
Less wobble, less second guessing.
Your focus shifts from Will this drift to What record album will play next.
Bolt-On Ritual: Getting the Slider Aligned
Take an hour.
Maybe two if you sip coffee and hum.
Do it once with care, and the setup holds for months.
Tools
- Long straightedgesteel or aluminum, stiff and honest
- Small square that you trust
- Set of feeler shims or common paper
- Six-millimeter hex key for the bolts
- Blue tape for pencil notes on iron
Steps
- Clean every mating surface with mineral spirits and a rag.
- Lay a glow of paste wax on the main table.
- Snug the wing bolts just enough that the iron still shifts.
- Span the joint with the straightedge, chase gaps with thin shims until flush.
- Drop the square on the carriage, slide full stroke, watch the blade gap.
- Nudge the wing by tapping a hardwood block at the far corner.
- When parallel holds across the run, lock the bolts in a star pattern.
- Cycle the carriage lock several times, verify nothing crept.
That little sequence acts like an approximate gradient descent in machining terms: each tweak cuts error until you hit the sweet spot.
Carriage Care So It Stays Sweet
Dust dulls the ride faster than rust.
After every long session, brush chips off the track.
Once a month wipe with a rag damp with mineral spirits, then add a whisper of wax.
Avoid spray lubes that turn into gummy paste.
The bearings love clean, dry glide more than they love heavy oil.
Lock the carriage for rip jobs.
It stops surprise shifts and trains muscle memory.
Unlock for crosscuts.
The simple habit keeps hands safe.
Fence Choices: Stock, Shop-Made, or Aftermarket
The round tube fence that ships with many units can work.
It clamps fine for rips shorter than two feet, though some owners chase alignment creep.
If that irks you, bolt on a T-square head from Delta or similar brands, then hang it on box-section rails cut to length.
I went that route years back, and my mornings grew calmer.
Still, the slider craves its own tall fence.
You can build one in an hour.
Quick Build, Tall Fence
- Two sticks of hardwood, three inches wide, forty-five inches long
- Plywood face, four inches tall, same length
- Carriage bolts to slip the slider slots
- Knobs for finger friendly lock
- Flip stop block with a slotted hole
Glue the sticks side by side, screw the face on, drill two slots.
Round the bottom corner near the blade.
Bolt it up, square it once, draw a pencil line across the face as a reference.
That fence lives on my saw and shows scars from a hundred projects.
Safety First, Second, Always
Blades do not forgive.
Use a splitter or riving knife every time the guard comes off.
Store push sticks in a milk crate by the switch, grab one before the board.
Stand left of the blade line for wide crosscuts so off-cuts fall clear.
Let the motor wind down before you sweep chips.
Ears and eyes belong in muffs and glasses.
Simple moves, zero drama.
Dust Control Without a Lunar Budget
Two and a half inch ports starve big dust collectors.
Drop in a reducer, run four inch hose for the short jump to your main line, and flow improves.
Seal cabinet gaps with tape that peels easy during service.
Use a zero-clear throat plate so chips do not burst upward.
An overhead hood on a swing arm ties in with a shop vac for the fine haze that hangs above the cut.
Empty bags often.
Sawdust weighs almost nothing yet it stacks quick.
Tricks That Turn You Into The Fastest Kid On The Block
Straight Line Rip Without A Jointer
- Snap a chalk line on a rough board.
- Clamp the board to the slider fence so the line hugs the blade path.
- One smooth push yields an edge fit for the fence.
Piano-Key Tenons
Set up two blades with a spacer.
Sneak up on width by shifting the fence a hair.
Slide for the cheeks.
Cut shoulders on the same slider with the tall fence.
Dry fits make you grin like a kid with fresh cookies.
Wide Face Miters
Tilt forty-five.
Keep the slider fence square.
Clamp the panel.
Glide.
No sled lift, no side sway.
Those moves pop from the same logic that drives deep supervision in modern learning models: solve one simple objective at each layer, stack them, get perfection on the final pass.
Buying Second Hand: Street Smarts
Used listings read like adventure novels.
Pictures hide dust, sellers swear by accuracy they never checked.
Show up with a straightedge, square, and extension cord.
- Plug it in, listen for squeal or rattle.
- Raise and lower the blade, feel for grit or binds.
- Rock the arbor, play spells bearing trouble.
- Slide the carriage, rough spots flag rust under wheels.
- Check the cast iron near the throat for warp with a flashlight and that straightedge.
- Make sure bolts thread without strip marks.
Prices vary by city and season.
I paid three hundred for mine, slider included, in a rainy March two counties away.
Worth every mile.
Parts Hunt: Where The Iron Hides
The slider wing, outfeed table, dado plate, even the mobile base pop up in odd corners.
Habitat stores, online classifieds, scrap yards behind closed cabinet shops.
Set email alerts.
Trade with friends.
Many carpenters yank the slider when they outgrow the saw, then toss the wing on a shelf.
Part numbers to search:
- DW7461 sliding table
- DW7463 outfeed kit
- DW7460 mobile base
- DW7466 wide throat plate
- DW7468 short rail kit
Ask sellers to weigh items so shipping quotes do not sting.
Forty pounds of cast iron costs real money to cross a state line.
Can The Slider Fit Another Saw
Short reply, yes.
Long reply, measure twice drill once.
Match table height, mark hole pattern on the new host, use a backing plate if cast edges look thin.
Track must run dead straight with the blade path.
Test with dial indicator, shim with brass stock, lock it down.
The process feels like fitting a vintage lens on a modern camera.
Doable, satisfying, but plan a Saturday.
Tune-Up Weekend: From Rusty To Ready
Saturday dawn, coffee in hand.
You and the saw, no phone buzz.
- Strip surface rust with a razor and light oil.
- Scrub with grey pad and spirits.
- Wipe dry, wax twice.
- Pull elevation gears, brush out caked sawdust, leave a thin coat of dry lube.
- Swap belts if cracks show.
- File tiny burrs on the throat.
- Cut two fresh throat plates from half inch ply.
- Level the wings with shims cut from soda can.
By dusk you run test cuts that slide without friction.
Hard to beat that glow of pride.
Shop Flow That Lets The Slider Shine
Picture a single garage bay.
Slider left.
Fence right with thirty inch rip.
Router table lives in the right side extension.
Outfeed table sits flush behind and doubles as assembly bench.
Jointer and planer roll on stands and tuck under shelves when silent.
Track saw breaks down sheet goods in the driveway on a sunny day.
That layout handles a queen bed frame on Monday and a few cutting boards on Friday.
Projects That Love This Setup
Floor To Ceiling Bookcase
- Crosscut sides square on the slider
- Dado grooves with a stack and the flip stop
- Rip face frames dead straight with the fence
Mid Century Coffee Table
- Miters around a veneered panel using the tilted blade plus slider
- Tenons on stretchers with the piano-key trick
- Edge band strips ripped narrow yet perfect
Custom Dresser
- Drawer parts sized repeatable in batches
- Wide panels squared without a sled
- Face frames ripped with feather board pressure and a calm feed rate
Every build stacks win on win because repeat cuts land the same every single time.
Troubleshooting Cheatsheet
| Problem | Quick Fix |
|---|---|
| Carriage drifts from blade line | Crack bolts loose, tap with block, tighten star pattern |
| Fence bumps out of square on lock | Shim clamp pad, polish rail, check cam wear |
| Crosscuts burn | Sharpen blade, slow feed, check alignment again |
| Dust clouds the shop | Add over-blade hood, use better bag, close cabinet gaps |
| Carriage feels rough | Clean wheels, wax track, adjust gib screws |
Print that table, tape it to the wall, thank yourself later.
FAQ Lightning Round
Will a three quarter inch miter bar fit the slider slot
Most years yes, test first, add expansion screws for zero play.
Can I add a riving knife
Aftermarket kits exist, a simple splitter still beats empty air.
Does the stock motor have enough grunt for hardwood
Yes with a sharp full kerf blade, slow feed helps on thick maple.
Why not just build a big crosscut sled
Sleds work, sliders support heavier panels and clear space when not in use.
Track saw or long rails first
Track saw for sheet breakdown solo, long rails if cabinet work fills your calendar.
How often should alignment be checked
Twice each year or after any hard move across the driveway.
A Short Digression About Learning Curves And Saw Curves
Computer scientists study deep supervision to guide each layer in a model.
Woodworkers study pencil lines left by past mistakes.
Both groups learn faster when feedback arrives early and clear.
The slider gives that feedback.
Set once, cut once, inspect the edge, adjust if need be.
The loop mirrors the training cycles in code yet smells like sawdust.
You do not need to know calculus to enjoy that link.
Still, it might make you smile.
Sentence Without A Comma Just To Prove We Can
Glide push listen grin repeat.
My Five Favorite Micro Tips
- Mark blade height on the column with sharpie for repeat cuts
- Keep a stiff brush under the front rail and sweep chips between slides
- Store extra throat plates in the saw cabinet so they warm with the iron and stay flat
- Use bright tape on the carriage lock knob so you never forget to snug it for rips
- Keep a spare square inside a drawer right of the fence, check alignment each Monday morning
Little things add up.
One Time Use Words
I promised to use some tricky words only once, so here they come before we close.
This guide aims to be unique among shop notes, and I wrote it to help you ensure your panels leave the saw square with the utmost ease.
There, done.
Moving on.
Closing Thoughts That Smell Like Pine
The dewalt dw746 sliding table is not new gear, yet it dances circles round many modern hybrids once you dial it in.
You spend less time wrestling plywood, more time fitting joints, and way more time sipping tea while finish dries.
That balance keeps hobby fun and small business work profitable.
Slide a board today, then another tomorrow, soon the motion burrows into muscle memory.
Back hurts less, mind focuses on design, friends ask how you hit deadlines without night shifts.
Point at the gray iron wing, shrug, smile.
If you bump into me at a flea market and spot another slider under my arm, do not laugh, I pick them up for friends.
The little table changed my work, it might change yours.
Let the blade hum, let the carriage glide, build something worth keeping.
I will be in the shop listening for that soft hiss that tells me life is square.