A table saw is a must-have wood-cutting tool, especially when you have a large wood workshop. Its versatility and impressive features make it the first-choice cutting equipment among woodworkers. However, we have learned that owning a table saw is not enough. Mastering useful techniques to make you derive maximum utility from it without compromising safety is essential. We have tailored the content of this article to provide you with top tips to improve your skill in table saw handling while propelling you to the next level in your craft.
Table of Contents
- 1. Choose your blade and mount it on the table saw
- 2. Applying special cutting techniques
- 3. Add special features to enhance clean and special cuts
- 4. Replacing the blade
- 5. Necessary practices to ensure safety.
- Conclusion
Figure 1: Carpenter operating table.
1. Choose your blade and mount it on the table saw
In the quest to become a pro, useful hacks for choosing the best blade for your job are vital. Once you select your preferred blade, mount it on the table, saw arbor follows. If you desire to get a blade that would work hard just as you do, you should consider the following factors enumerated below before getting that blade.
• The direction of cut, i.e., a rip cut or a cross-cut
Finding the direction of the cut is majorly due to the nature of the chips that each of these cuts produces. The rip-cut is parallel to the wood grain and produces long continuous chips, while the cross-cut, usually perpendicular to the wood grain, produces infinitely small and short chips, more like sawdust.
• Number of teeth
One thing you should remember in selecting your saw blade is that the number of teeth determines how excellent your cut will be. Blades with higher teeth per inch produce finer cuts with little or no chips, which is desirable for any job. We recommend nothing less than a 40-tooth blade for rip cuts. 60-tooth and 80 teeth are suitable for sheet and melamine cutting in either cut direction.
• Tooth Geometry
Typical tooth geometry such as the ATB (Alternate tooth blade) and TCG (Triple chip grind blade) are perfect for ripping and crosscutting. The standard positive hook angle should range from 10 to 20 degrees for this tooth geometry.
If you feel it is too stressful to get specific saw blades for your different cuts, you can purchase a combination blade to serve all-purpose.
Figure 1: Rip-cutting wood on a table saw.
2. Applying special cutting techniques
If you need to make taper, dado, or rabbet cuts. It would be best if you equipped yourself with the know-how to achieve such cuts without error. In doing this, you might need to engage some extra components to your table saw. Let’s take a look at how to make the unique cuts stated above:
Taper cuts
It is also called angled cuts, and below are the steps to cutting a taper:
a.Layout the portion to cut on the workpiece using a pencil. The left side is the finished part, while the right is the discarded part.
b.Temporarily screw a larger board than the workpiece as a guide along the discarded end of the workpiece.
c.Set the fastened piece against the fence according to its width and make your cut.
d.The finished part should drop off on the table while the discard remains attached to the larger guideboard.
Dado cuts
A dado cut is such that it allows another wood to fit into the workpiece. It is straightforward to create a dado cut. A standard blade is okay for this cut. Here are the simple steps to follow to create one:
a.Set the table saw blade to a height corresponding to the depth of the dado.
b. Mark out the width and height of the intended dado cut on the workpiece
c. Start making a series of cuts until you get the desired result.
Rabbet cut
This cut is made at the edge of the workpiece to allow another wood to flush into the corner. Also known as a rabbet joint with two varieties, namely the edge rabbets and end rabbets. A set of dado blades is suitable for this job.
a.Setup the dado blade on the arbor
b.r, using scrap wood, adjust the fence until you achieve your desired width of the dado
c.Once the width is gotten, introduce your workpiece and cut.
Mitre cut
A miter is a cut made at 45 degrees to the wood’s edge. It is especially necessary to create a piece with squared corners, e.g., a picture frame. For this purpose, we advise the use of a miter gauge alongside an extended fence longer than the workpiece is advisable.
Figure 2: A dado cut made on a workpiece.
3. Add special features to enhance clean and special cuts
Now that you know different cuts, it’s quintessential to know the tool and techniques needed to make such cuts quickly. Various guides here and there help aid your cuts and prevent errors. Below are some useful tips for improving your cut’s accuracy and precision.
• Use of long fence for longboards
Most times, keeping a longboard firmly against a short fence while cutting is no doubt a difficult task. Hence, introducing a longer strip of wood to the existing fence ensures that the workpiece is adequately guided from end to end. Using a clamp, you can always attach the long strip of wood to the fence.
Failure to introduce the long fence will leave you with a ruined cut or burn marks along the cutting edge.
• Use push sticks
We need not emphasize the need to firmly hold down your workpiece as it advances into the table saw. To avoid hand injury, take your hand off the workpiece once it comes close to the blade. Push sticks are most important for exerting downward pressure when your workpiece is short and heavy. It is mostly useful when your hand is likely within a foot of the table saw blade.
Manufacturers add two style push sticks (narrow and wide) as an accessory to the table saw. Push sticks are long for comfortable grip by the hand, notched and carved for easy grip to push the workpiece through the blade. With the help of push sticks, you get nothing but a beautiful and straight cut.
• Add a simple outfeed table/ extension table
Ripping longboards can be tough, especially if you work alone on your table saw. An extra table st be added to support the other end of the longboard. This outfeed table is pivotal to the success of your task and is built with clamps, plywood, and two 2×4s. Both 2×4 are clamped on the table in your desired configuration, so the plywood flushes with the table surface. The longboard can now slide on this temporary support for cutting.
• Use feather-board
Keeping a board aligned to the fence for a straight cut becomes uneasy, so having a feather board can save the day. Feather-boards are often referred to as a third finger owing to their shape. This device holds wood tightly to the saw fence for secure ripping. The “fingers” are a series of flexible wood that holds in place your board to avoid kickbacks. To make your feather-boards, get a 2-feet length of knot-free 1×4; mark out 45 degrees at one end to cut a series of 4 fingers for every 1/8 to 1/4 inch.
Figure 3: Picture showing a push stick.
4. Replacing the blade
Removing a blunt blade is not a conventional act; it requires some sequential steps to get it right. Above all, the saw’s switch must be off, and the cord removed from the outlet. After that, the following steps are taken to remove and replace your blade as follows:
a.Remove the blade guard
b. Loosen two fixing screws under the plate.
c.With a special wrench, remove the locknut to disengage the saw from the arbor.
d.Replace with a new blade accordingly.
e.Go over the steps from a to d above.
f. Perform the reverse steps to secure the blade.
g.Once again, confirm the alignment and fitness of the new blade on the arbor.
Figure 4: A newly replaced table saw a cross-cuts blade.
5. Necessary practices to ensure safety.
Table saws can pose significant dangers if not handled with care, mainly due to the exposed blade. In your best interest, you should do well to adhere to the following preventive measures to avoid accidents of any form:
• Use of personal protective equipment
• Pay attention to cables.
• keeping work area clean of debris
• Do not put on the table saw blade when in contact with the workpiece to avoid kickbacks
• Ensure all safety devices are working correctly.
• Be concentrated at all times.
Figure 5: Men carefully handling the table saw during cutting.
Conclusion
Once you begin to practice the techniques and tips mentioned above, you will gradually see yourself transform into a table saw expert. To further aid your understanding and give you a more practical approach, you should take a quick look at this video. At NCCuttingtools, we are here to offer you the best product and service your money can buy without compromising quality in any way.
