January 2007

PRESENTS TIPS, TRICKS & EXPERT ADVICE

ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO
TABLE SAWS
TUNE it, TWEAK it
CUT like a
PRO
19 SIMPLE
STEPS to a BONUS:
SUPERIOR COMPLETE
TABLE Saw 7-Chapter
JIM TOLPIN’s Guide to
Table Saw
MAGIC MASTERY
Rip Fence US $5.99

Cuts Tenons, Patterns, Curves!

CAN $7.99

01

0 74470 01355 6
popularwoodworking.com
cnVlZ2VyAEPHkiIEMTAuNAI4MAExBVVQ
JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo
SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL
Qy1BDDA3NDQ3MDAxMzU1NgA=
FnL1
02
01
03
04 04 0120
 Essential Guide to
ON THE COVER
We’ve collected
98 pages of the
best stories we’ve
Table Saws
published about
table saws during
CONTENTS
the last decade
and put them
all here in one
Getting Started:
information-
packed issue.
12 19-Step Tune-up
With a little elbow grease and a few dollars
worth of measuring tools, you can turn your
table saw into a powerful and precise cutting
machine.
Photo by Al Parrish
by Paul Anthony

20 Accurate & Safe User’s Guide

Armed with these techniques for clean,
accurate, and – most important – safe cuts,
you’ll be ready to cut with confidence.
by David Thiel

Woodworking Essentials:
This series of articles from a veteran woodworker
and teacher covers all the bases of table saw use.
12
From choosing and setting up your first saw to making
intricate and complex joints, this guide will give you a
good start and keep you headed in the right direction. 25 Chapter 1: Intro to the Table Saw
by Nick Engler Learn what to look for when purchasing a saw,
and how to choose the best saw to match your
needs. Plus, discover how to set up your new
saw so it runs at peak efficiency.

33 Chapter 2: Using the Saw Blade

Choosing the right blade makes a tremendous
difference in the ease and quality of your
work. Here, you’ll discover how different tooth
configurations and geometry affect the cut, as
well as the details of how to make the most
common cuts.

41 Chapter 3: Basic Joinery

Your saw is for more than just cutting material
down to size; it also excels at making joints.
Engler shows you the table saw secrets to
successful miters, rabbets, dados and grooves.

33 continued on page 6

popularwoodworking.com 
contents
continued from page 3

49 Chapter 4: Customize Your

Table Saw
Get expert advice on rip fences, feather-
boards, crosscut sleds and other must-have
saw accessories.

57 Chapter 5: Advanced Joinery

Learn pro tricks to cut compound miters,
49 plus tips for creating lock joints, finger joints
and even through dovetails.

65 Chapter 6: Special Techniques

With these smart setup tricks you can use
your saw to make mouldings, raised panels
and tapered legs.

71 Chapter 7: Advanced Techniques

Discover how to make cove mouldings and
cut odd-shaped parts, and make curved
components for furniture.

get the most

from your table saw:
81 Favorite Accessories
Our editors and contributors share their all-
time favorite ways to soup up their saws.

84 Tenon Jig
This easy-to-make jig is a terrific way to turn
out accurate tenons on your table saw.
by Bill Hylton

81 88 Universal Rip Fence

Jim Tolpin literally wrote the book on using
the table saw. Here, he shares plans for
a simple fence that greatly expands the
capacity of your saw.
by Jim Tolpin

98 What You Must Know

About Motors
The secrets manufacturers won’t tell you.
by Christopher Schwarz

102 Stop Rust Now

Fighting rust is an ongoing battle, but these
tips will help you win the fight.
by Michael Rabkin

107 What’s New in Table Saws

107 Discover the latest in table saws – what you
can get now, and what’s on the horizon.
by Popular Woodworking staff
 Popular Woodworking January 2007

from the editor
Passing it On
May the carbide circle be unbroken. Learn all
about the table saw from experts who know.
M
y father and grandfather
weren’t woodworkers, but
they knew how to work with
wood. My grandfather was a tool and
die maker, and in the 1930s, he moved a
half-completed house to a lot he owned,
and finished the interior, including the
trim, kitchen and stairs. My dad was a
chemical engineer, and in the 1950s, he
added two bedrooms and a bathroom to
our ranch house. Once we all had a
place to sleep, he added a
breakfast room and
redid the kitchen.
So in my mind,
a table saw is a stan-
dard fixture in any basement
– as important and as typical
as the furnace or the washing
machine.
I learned how to use a table saw and
other tools from my dad and granddad, as
well as in the required shop classes I took
in eighth and ninth grades. I was pretty
typical of young men of my generation:
People worked on their own houses and
cars and were familiar with tools and how
to use them. I learned to appreciate the
vast number of tasks the table saw could
perform, and in every woodshop I have
worked in, one or more table saws were
the heart of the shop.
The world today isn’t what it was then.
As we’ve gone service-based and high-
tech , we’ve lost this common connection
to cutting things up and making useful
stuff from the pieces. Those of us with
an interest in woodworking don’t always
have someone to look over our shoulder
and show us how to do things. Without
this guidance, it’s easy to fumble around,
miss simple solutions or do something
that isn’t safe. I learned from the experi-
10 Popular Woodworking January 2007
ence of those before me, and their teach-
ing kept me from learning from my own
mistakes.
With this in mind, this special issue
is focused on the table saw, and we’ve
included what we consider a great col-
lection of information both for the begin-
ning woodworker and for those with more
experience. The “Woodworking Essen-
tials” part of this publication, written by
Nick Engler, was originally
p u bl i s h e d i n
seven install-
ments, and is
printed here in
its entirety for the
first time. Nick is an experienced
woodworker, author and teacher.
He knows his subject in a practi-
cal way, and does an excellent job
of passing on his vast knowledge.
Other authors in this issue include Jim
Tolpin, whose book “Table Saw Magic”
has been a favorite for years and is now
in its second edition. Jim explains how
to make and use his special rip fence that
makes his saw safer, more accurate and
more versatile. Bill Hylton, who shares
his favorite tenon jig, is another prolific
and popular author. Paul Anthony, who
shows us how to tune a saw for maximum
performance, has edited our “Tricks of
the Trade” column for several years and
pursued his own woodworking. You may
not have grown up with an old-timer to
show you the ropes and keep you out of
trouble, but in these pages you’ll find the
combined experience of many. PW
Robert W. Lang
Senior Editor
®
January 2007
popularwoodworking.com
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Editor Christopher Schwarz
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Adam Cherubini, Nick Engler, Bob Flexner,
Don McConnell, Troy Sexton
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SAFETY NOTE
Safety is your responsibility. Manufacturers place safety
devices on their equipment for a reason. In many pho-
tos you see in Popular Woodworking, these have been
removed to provide clarity. In some cases we’ll use an
awkward body position so you can better see what’s
being demonstrated. Don’t copy us. Think about each
procedure you’re going to perform beforehand.
19-step

Tune-up
For little money down and a few easy installments of elbow grease,
you can turn your table saw into a powerful and precise cutting machine.

D
o you suspect that your
table saw isn’t produc-
ing the kind of qual-
ity of work that it should? Are
you getting rough, burned cuts
that aren’t perfectly straight or
square? Does your saw vibrate
or bog down? Do you suffer from
“kickback anxiety?”
If so, you’re not alone. The
truth is that most table saws are
not operating as well as they
should. In fact, many miscuts
and accidents are caused not by
operator error, but by poorly set-
up, ill-equipped machines. We’re
not talking about just old ones
– you can’t trust a brand-new
saw to be tuned up and aligned
properly.
But not to worry: Tuning up
your table saw isn’t difficult, and PHOTO BY AL PARRISH

it can make a world of difference

in the quality and enjoyment of
your woodworking. In just a few
simple steps, you’ll learn how to
fine-tune your saw to bring out
its maximum potential. All the
adjustments described here apply
to portable benchtop saws, con-
tractor saws and cabinet saws.
by Paul Anthony
Paul Anthony is a 10-fingered
woodworking author and teacher
living in Riegelsville, Pa.
You might not need to per-
form all the adjustments we talk
about in this article because you
may find that in some cases, no
fix is necessary. But to be on the
safe side, you should perform all
the checks to determine where
you may and may not have
problems. And please be sure
to unplug your table saw before
you start.
Arbor, Bearings & Flange
The first thing to check is the
integrity of the blade arbor and
bearings. Firmly pull up and
down on the arbor shaft, then
try to push it in and out. There
shouldn’t be any play in the shaft,
nor should there be any clunk-
ing sounds. Also, turn the arbor
slowly by hand while listening
for any grating sounds that may
indicate worn bearings.
A loose arbor or worn bear-
ings are unlikely except on old
saws. But mistakes can, of course,
happen. If your saw has this prob-
lem, you’ll have to replace the
bearings to correct it – a fairly
major repair. There’s little sense
going ahead with the tune-up
until that is fixed because you’ll
get rough cuts from the resulting

12 Popular Woodworking January 2007

slop in the mechanism.
Once the arbor is OK, check
the arbor flange for “runout”
(wobble caused by a flange that
isn’t flat). Whatever runout
exists in the flange translates to
increased runout at the blade’s
perimeter. For example, .001" of
runout at the edge of the flange
can result in several thousandths
of an inch of runout at the rim
of the blade.
No flange is perfectly flat,
but you’ll want to make sure
yours is within acceptable lim-
its. The best manufacturers aim
for less than .001" of runout. To
check the runout, you’ll need a
dial indicator and some way to
secure it in place near the flange
(See “Dial Indicators” on page
15). The easiest way to do this is
to use a magnetic base, but you
also could screw the indicator
to a length of wood clamped to
your table.
Remove the saw blade, then
crank the blade carriage to 45°.
Use steel wool to clean any crud
from the flange, then position the
dial indicator near the perimeter.
“Pre-load” the plunger by apply-
checking parallelism of blade to table slots
1 2
Mark the blade and rotate it fully forward to
pre-load the dial indicator plunger against it.
Then zero out the dial indicator.
ing enough pressure against the
flange to ensure it will maintain
contact throughout rotation, as
shown on the previous page.
To measure the runout, turn
the arbor slowly by hand while
watching the movement of the
dial needle. If the runout is exces-
sive, sorry about your luck – it’s
not a simple repair. You’ll have to
either live with it or replace the
arbor, which is a lot of work.
Align the Blade &
Table Slots
For clean, accurate crosscuts,
your workpiece must travel
exactly perpendicular to the
blade. Otherwise the front and
Step photos by the author
rear teeth attack the piece at an
angle – a condition called “heel-
ing,” which results in rough cuts
that may be out of square. To cor-
rect this, the miter gauge slots
must be aligned exactly parallel None of the tools needed to tune up your table saw are expensive. Here
to the blade. I’m checking the parallelism of the fence to the miter gauge slots using a
$13 dial indicator.
The easiest and most accu-
rate way to check the paral-
lelism is to use a dial indicator ing Parallelism of Blade to Table in the miter gauge slot with no
screwed to a simple shop-made, Slots” below). The jig consists of side-to-side play.
cross-shaped jig that rides in the a 3 ⁄ 4"-thick crossbar glued to a Wax the runner, because it
miter-gauge slots (see “Check- hardwood runner that fits snugly needs to slide to take the mea-
3
Rotate the blade mark to the rear, then slide As a low-tech alternative to a dial indicator,
the dial indicator back until the plunger rests you can use an automotive feeler gauge to
against the mark. check the gap between the blade and a screw
driven into the jig.
popularwoodworking.com 13
19 -step tune- up

INTERNAL MECHANISMS OF A
Ill

CONTRACTOR’S SAW
ustration

Regardless of the type of table saw,

by

the internal mechanisms are basi-

mary

cally the same. The blade carriage

jan
ef

consists of a pair of tilting trunnions

av
orit

and an arbor bracket that raises

e

and lowers the blade. On contrac-

surement. If you’re one of the
lucky few whose stock miter-
gauge bar fits snugly in its slot,
screw the dial indicator to a stick
clamped to the miter-gauge’s
head. Then position the dial
indicator on the crossbar so the
plunger is slightly pre-loaded
against the blade.
Raise the blade all the way.
Make a mark on the blade body
behind a tooth. Rotate the blade
so the mark is 1" above the table.
Place the plunger against the
mark and zero out the dial indi-
cator by rotating the dial face
to align the “0” increment with
the needle.
Rotate the saw blade so your
mark is 1" above the table at the
opposite end of the insert. Posi-
tion the dial indicator against
the mark there and note the dif-
ference in measurement from
the first location. The reason for
rotating the blade like this is to
eliminate any blade warp from
the equation.
A low-tech alternative to
using a dial indicator is to use a
roundhead screw and an auto-
motive feeler gauge. Drive a 11 ⁄2"
x #8 roundhead screw into the
end of the crossbar, which should
extend to within about 3 ⁄4" of the
blade. Adjust the screw in or out
so it’s about .005" from the blade.
Using the feeler gauge, measure
the gap, positioning the screw
at two points as you did before.
If the difference exceeds .003",
you should adjust your saw for
parallelism.
To make the adjustments on
a contractor saw or a benchtop
saw, you’ll need to change the
position of the trunnions, which
are bolted to the underside of the
table. Loosen all four trunnion
bolts, leaving one of the bolts in
the front trunnion snug but not
tight. This is your pivot point.
Next, use a plastic or rubber
mallet to tap the rear trunnion
bracket right or left as necessary
to bring the blade in alignment
with the miter gauge slots. Use a
dial indicator to check the align-
ment as you go.
Making the adjustment on
a cabinet saw is easier because
the trunnions are attached to
the cabinet itself. Therefore, all
you have to do is loosen the four
bolts that attach the saw table to
the corners of the cabinet, then
shift the table by tapping it with
a mallet.
When retightening the bolts,
snug them up gradually in turn.
If you fully tighten one bolt at a
time, you risk shifting the trun-
nions or the tabletop. Be sure
to recheck the parallelism after
tightening all the bolts.
This can be a fussy procedure
and it may take you a while to
make the measurements match
at the front and rear of the blade.
But be patient – it’s worth it. Your
cuts will improve and you should
only have to do this once. (If
you intend to clean the inter-
tor saws and benchtop saws, the
trunnions attach to the saw table.
On cabinet saws, they attach to the
cabinet.
nal mechanisms of a cabinet saw,
you may want to adjust for par-
allelism after cleaning the inte-
rior. Removing the top allows
for the best access to the inter-
nal mechanisms.)
Cleaning Out the
Internal Mechanisms
For the easiest and most accu-
rate operation of your saw, the
pivot points, trunnions and gears
need to be cleaned, lubricated
and kept free of oily sawdust that
can gum up the works.
Begin by blowing out the
interior of the saw using com-
pressed air if you have it. If not,
brush away the sawdust as much
as possible. To access the inter-
nal parts on a contractor’s saw,
remove the motor and lay the
saw on its side or upside-down
on a low bench.
The easiest way to get to
the guts of a cabinet saw is to

14 Popular Woodworking January 2007


A long jointed board serves as a great straightedge to help you level the extension tables.
remove the saw table. But if yours
is aligned to the blade, you may
not want to do this. Instead, it’s
probably best if you work through
the access door below. You can
temporarily remove the motor
to get it out of the way.
Use mineral spirits to clean
away dirt and grease. To clean
the gear teeth, I like to use a stiff-
bristle toothbrush, repeatedly
dipping it in mineral spirits. To
expose the trunnion brackets for
cleaning, crank the blade car-
riage all the way one direction,
then the other.
Use a thin penetrating oil,
such as WD-40, to lubricate the
arbor shaft, the arbor bracket
pivot and the points where the
handwheel shafts enter the cab-
inet walls. Don’t use oil on the
gears or trunnions, as it can col-
lect sawdust. Instead, use a sili-
cone-based lubricating spray or
similar product. Graphite also
works well. Avoid getting lubri-
cant on the belts or pulleys.
Improve Extension Tables &
The Throat Plate
Level the extension tables using
a straightedge. First flush up the
joints where the side extensions
attach to the table. Make sure the
Jam nut
Adjust the blade angle stop by loosening its jam nut,
then turning the screw in or out as necessary. After
retightening the jam nut, make a test cut.
far ends are level with the main table. If an extension droops at inside the joint near the top
table. On a typical contractor its outer edge, raise it the nec- edge.
saw, the extensions are bolted to essary amount by inserting a If you use an outfeed table
the table and the fence rails. If couple shims at the underside behind your saw, make sure it’s
necessary, loosen the bolts, level of the joint. You can make your set about 1 ⁄8" below the surface
the extension and retighten the own shims from paper, plastic or of the main table to prevent a
bolts. even from aluminum cut from workpiece from catching on it.
The solid cast-iron exten- soda cans. Use your long straightedge to
sions on cabinet saws typically If the outer edge of the table ensure that the entire surface
are bolted only to the main is too high, just insert the shims of the outfeed table is parallel
dial indicators
When it comes to checking the accuracy of your table
saw, drill press, jointer or other machines, it’s hard to
beat a dial indicator. This simple tool consists of a spring-
loaded plunger whose in-and-out movement is indi-
cated by thousandths of an inch on the face of the dial.
It can be used to determine the concentricity of shafts,
flanges, blades and drill press chucks, as well as the
height of jointer and planer knives.
To use the tool, fix it in place next to the part you’re
measuring. A lug on the back allows for attachment to
an adjustable boom arm on a magnetic base for conve-
nient use on metal surfaces. Alternatively, you can screw
through the lug hole into an appropriately sized piece
of scrap wood that you have clamped in place.
You don’t need an expensive dial indicator to mea-
sure most equipment. You can get a 21⁄4"-diameter dial
indicator with 1" of travel for $12.95 from Grizzly Indus-
trial (800-523-4777 or grizzly.com – item #G1479). You
should get a magnetic base, too, because of its con-
venience. Grizzly sells a good-quality combination kit
that has both a dial indicator and nice magnetic base
for just $22.25 (item #G9849). It’s a small price to pay
for accuracy.  — PA
popularwoodworking.com 15
19 -step tune- up

Splitter

Straightedge

Square

A 45° drafting triangle, which you can find easily and To align a splitter, place a straightedge against the teeth on the right side of the blade, then
is affordable, is a great tool for adjusting blade tilt adjust the splitter side-to-side to bring it against the straightedge. You can use a small
stops. square for vertical alignment.

Replacing the stock rubber belts on a contractor saw or cabinet saw
with a link belt (available from Woodworker’s Supply, 800-645-9292 or
woodworker.com) can reduce vibration, as can replacing die-cast pul-
leys with machined ones.
to, but below, the main table. I
drove 1 ⁄ 2"-diameter lag screws
into the bottoms of my outfeed
table legs to allow perfect level-
ing all around.
Adjust the height of your
throat plate using its leveling
screws. Lay a small ruler or other
short straightedge over the plate
opening as you make the adjust-
ments.
Better yet, make yourself a
zero-clearance throat plate. This
will minimize exit tear-out and
prevent narrow strips of wood
from falling into the saw.
Adjust the Angle Stops
Most saws include adjustable
stops for setting the blade at
90° and 45°. These stops typi-
cally consist of a bolt or screw
that is locked in position with a
jam nut. Refer to your manual for
the location of the stops on your
saw. If you don’t have a manual,
don’t worry – the stops should
be evident when you crank the
blade over.
Begin by measuring cuts made
on a piece of thick scrap about 18"
long that you’ve dressed straight
and square. This is a better initial
test than measuring the angle of
the blade to the table.
To check the 90° position,
make sure the blade is vertical
and fully cranked against its stop
without using excessive pressure.
Using your miter gauge, crosscut
about 1 ⁄4" from each end of the
test piece. Don’t simply shave a
slight bit from the end, as this can
cause the blade to deflect slightly,
yielding an inaccurate cut.
Next, check the cuts using an
accurate square. Don’t trust your
combination square; it’s likely
not very accurate. You can buy
a good 4" machinist’s square for
about $10 from many woodwork-
ing supply catalogs.
If neither of your test cuts are
square, you need to adjust the
blade stop. Loosen the jam nut
on the stop and place an accurate
square on the saw table against
the blade. Drive the stop screw in
or out as necessary to correct the
blade angle, then crank the car-
riage against the stop again and
recheck the blade angle with the
square. When the stop is set cor-
rectly, tighten the jam nut. Then
make another test cut.
To check the 45° stop, crank
the blade carriage against its
45° stop and cut a bevel on each
end of your test piece, feeding
the workpiece with your miter
gauge. If you don’t have an accu-
rate miter square to check the
cuts, you can place two bevel cuts
together and check the resulting
90° angle with a regular square.
If the bevels aren’t accurate,
adjust the 45° stop in or out in
the same manner as before. To
set the angle of the blade, I use a
45° drafting triangle, as shown
above left.
Reduce Vibration
Misalignment of the arbor and
motor pulleys on a contractor saw
can cause vibration and power
transmission loss. To check the
pulley alignment, hold a straight-
edge against the outer faces of
the pulleys to make sure they’re
in the same plane. If necessary,
adjust the motor position to bring
them in line with each other.
Don’t try to correct the problem
by simply moving the motor pul-
ley to the end of its shaft, as this
can strain the shaft.
Excessive saw vibration
often is the result of “belt slap”
continued on page 18

16 Popular Woodworking January 2007

19 -step tune- up
continued from page 16
A properly adjusted fence will result in a cut with cross-hatched tooth
marks. The board in front was cut with a 24-tooth rip blade. The board in
back was cut with a premium-quality 40-tooth blade.
caused by the rubber drive belt’s
“memory” of its oblong packaged
shape. Replacing the stock rub-
ber belts with “link” belts (shown
on page 16) greatly reduces vibra-
tion on contractor saws and cab-
inet saws. The die-cast pulleys
that are included with contractor
saws can cause vibration because
of non-concentricity. They can
be replaced by machined steel
pulleys available from most sup-
ply catalogs.
Also, if your saw isn’t stand-
ing solidly on the floor, shim it as
necessary to prevent rocking.
Align the Splitter
A properly aligned splitter is
an absolute necessity to pre-
vent kickback, which is the
primary cause of table-saw acci-
dents. Kickback is the result of
the workpiece wandering away
from the fence and into the ris-
ing rear teeth of the blade, then
being thrown upward, over the
blade. A properly aligned splitter
denies the workpiece access to
the rising rear teeth, effectively
preventing a potentially danger-
ous situation.
It’s no secret that stock split-
ters are a pain – they don’t remove
and attach easily. A variety of eas-
ily removable aftermarket split-
18 Popular Woodworking January 2007
ters are available for many saws
and are a great improvement.
Regardless of the type of
splitter you use, it needs to be
properly aligned. Place a good
straightedge against the right-
hand face of the teeth, then
align the splitter against the
straightedge. Use a small square
to ensure that the splitter is
square to the tabletop, too.
Align the Rip Fence &
Miter-gauge Stops
For clean rip cuts, the rip fence
must be adjusted parallel to the
blade. Measure this parallelism
using your dial indicator jig.
Place the jig in the left-hand
miter gauge slot, with the fence
located on the right side of the
jig. Bump the fence against the
plunger slightly to pre-load it.
Then slide the dial indicator
jig to the front of the saw table
and zero out the mechanism.
Finally, slide the jig to the rear
of the table to compare the mea-
surements.
Align the fence to the table
slots using whatever adjustment
mechanism your particular fence
incorporates. As a test, rip a
length of wood, then inspect the
cut edge under a strong sidelight.
The cut should show intersecting
arcs from the saw blade’s teeth.
If the arcs run in only one direc-
tion, that means your fence is not
in proper alignment – it’s still not
parallel to the blade.
With the fence adjusted, turn
your attention to your table saw’s
miter gauge. For accurate cross-
cutting with a miter gauge, its
bar must fit snugly in the table
slots with no side-to-side play.
The miter gauge head also must
be aligned perfectly square to
the blade.
The time-honored trick that I
use most often to correct the fit of
a loose bar is to dimple its edges
with a metal punch to expand
the metal a bit. If you pound too
aggressively, causing the bar to
stick in its slot, no worries. You
simply can file back the edges
to fit.
Once the bar fits well, just use
a drafting triangle to set the head
so that it is perpendicular to the
blade. Then adjust the 90° stop
on the miter gauge head. You also
After adjust-
ing the miter
gauge square
to the blade,
set the stop
on the gauge
for accurate
repeatability.
A sandpaper-
faced auxiliary
fence allows for
greater control
when crosscut-
ting.
can use the triangle to set the 45°
angle stops.
Work Surface Maintenance
Your saw’s table and fence rails
need to regularly cleaned for
optimum performance. Clean
the saw table and fence rails with
mineral spirits. Scrub away light
rust using fine steel wool lubri-
cated with mineral spirits. For
heavy rust, use the finest grit of
silicon carbide wet/dry paper
possible, also lubricated with
mineral spirits.
After wiping away the min-
eral spirits, apply a coat of paste
wax to the tabletop, the rails and
any areas where the fence con-
tacts the rails. Also wax the faces
of the saw’s fence.
After the wax hazes, buff it
well with a soft, clean cloth. I’ve
tried various sprays marketed as a
protectant for machine surfaces
and they seem to work fine. How-
ever, I’ve not found them to be
any better than paste wax. PW
accurate & safe

User’s Guide
The manuals don’t tell you everything. We show
you how to make difficult cuts safely and easily.

D
uring a tool demon-
stration a while back,
our staff honestly was a
little bit scared and concerned
to see an “experienced” wood-
worker rip a board by standing
to the side of the table saw and
push the board through sideways.
We realized then that while the
manuals included with table
saws give you basic safety tips,
the advice doesn’t always sink in,
which sometimes leads to disas-
trous results.
For the new woodworker, it’s
imperative to learn the correct,
safe way to use this dangerous
machine – saws with a circular
using a saw here. But we will give
you the basics on safety, and
proper procedures. Once the
basics are in place, we encour-
age you to take a look at some
of the books available to make
sure you’re getting the most out
of your machine.
10 Simple Safety Rules
I realize that no one is eager to
read a long discourse on using
your table saw safely, but is your
health (and your fingers) worth a
couple of minutes? You bet. Let’s
start with a quick list of the 10
most important rules you should
follow whenever you use your
PHOTO BY AL PARRISH

blade are the No. 1 cause of acci- table saw.

dents in U.S. woodshops. Even
for those who have been using
table saws for years, it’s best to
stop and think about the way
you’re using it, rather than risk
an injury.
Entire books have been writ-
ten on setting up and using the
table saw (see “Great Table Saw
Books” on the next page), so we
can’t tell you everything about
by david thiel
David is executive editor of Popular
Woodworking Books, and former
senior editor of Popular Woodworking.
1. Follow the machine’s setup
instructions as described by the
manufacturer.
2. Set the blade to the proper
height (1 ⁄ 8" to 1 ⁄ 4" higher than
the wood’s thickness).
3. Stand in the proper place
at the saw.
4. Keep your fingers clear of
the insert plate when the saw is
operating. In fact, some people
paint their inserts red (if they
aren’t already) to remind them
where that zone is.
5. Keep scraps, tools and loose
objects off the saw during oper-
ation.
6. Unplug the saw every time
you change the blade. It only
takes a couple seconds.
7. Make sure that the insert
plate and any table additions are
level to the saw table surface.
When your blade is spinning in
the middle of a cut, it’s a bad time
to find out that your piece is hung
up on something.
8. If you’re ripping material
less than 4" wide, always use a
push stick.
9. No loose clothing or jew-
elry near the saw.
10. Work with help within ear-
shot. If you get into trouble, can
you call for assistance?
What about guards? OK, we’ll
admit that most guards provided
with saws (a combination split-
ter/pawl/shield) meet the bare
minimums to be called a guard.
Most of these combination
guards are difficult to adjust and
keep adjusted, and perhaps half
of the cuts that can be made on
a table saw can’t be made with
the factory guard in place.

20 Popular Woodworking January 2007

Great Table
Saw Books
• The Accurate Table Saw:
Simple Jigs and Safe Set-
ups by Ian J. Kirby (Linden
Publishing)
• Cutting Edge Table Saw
Tips & Tricks by Kenneth S.
Burton (Popular Woodwork-
ing Books)
• Jim Tolpin’s Table Saw
Magic: Second Edition by
Jim Tolpin (Popular Wood-
working Books)
• The Table Saw Book,
revised ed. by Kelly Mehler
(Taunton Press)
• Tablesaw: Methods of
Work by Jim Richey (Taunton
Press)
If you can use a guard during
an operation, do so. If you can
afford to upgrade your saw to a
more user-friendly aftermarket
guard (see “Safety Tools” on page
22) it’s a great idea. In addition to
guards, use safety glasses, hear-
ing protection, push sticks and
splitters. These will add safety
to your saw operation.
Preparing Your Saw
Before making your first cut on
a new saw (or if it’s been a while
since you tuned up your saw) do
these following simple checks
to make sure everything is ready
to run:
If this photo
doesn’t turn your
stomach, you
probably need
to examine the
way you use a
saw. The blade is
too high and the
hand is too close
to the blade. The
wrong type of
blade is installed
and you never,
ever should
make a cut free-
hand.
A good example of the
wrong way to use a saw is
what is known as “the invis-
ible arrow.” When cut-
ting rabbets, the cut can be
made two ways: The cor-
rect way is to make your first
cut with the piece flat on the
table, then make the sec-
ond cut with the piece on
edge. This allows the waste
to fall to the outfeed side
of the blade. If done in the
opposite order, the waste
becomes trapped between
the blade and the fence, and
is launched backwards. If
you’re standing behind the
fence you can get a nasty
surprise just south of the
breadbasket.
• Check the blade for square stands. To be honest, while an
to the tabletop. We keep a fairly extra pair of hands can be use-
inexpensive metal machin- ful, it takes a skilled and knowl-
ist’s square near the saw at all edgeable person to assist, rather
times. When you first square the than hinder, a cut. You’re likely
blade, the set screws are adjusted better off to use any number of
to allow you to return to square roller stands available on the
easily. But after use, this adjust- market, or to build an outfeed
ment can change, and it should table that best suits your type of
be checked periodically. The woodworking.
owner’s manual will show you Finally, before you do any-
how to adjust this setting. thing on the table saw, be rested,
• You also need to check the unhurried and think carefully
blade and rip fence to make sure about the cut before you make
they’re parallel to the miter gauge it. If something feels wrong or
slots. Again, your owner’s man- makes you nervous, there’s prob-
ual provides most of the infor- ably a better (and safer) way to
mation necessary. do it. Listen to the voices in your
• My dad, God bless him, head and your gut, and you’ll
used to have a saying in the enjoy using your table saw for
shop: “It’s carbide, it doesn’t many years to come.
need sharpening yet!” Well, I
think we all know that a sharp
blade cuts more easily than a dull
one. Make sure your blade is in sources
good shape, and sharp, so you • Aftermarket Guards
don’t end up trying to force wood
Excalibur (Sommerville
through it. That’s a sure way to Design)
get hurt. 800-357-4118 or
For more ways to ensure your excaliburtools.com
saw is performing its best, see “19- Biesemeyer
step Tune-up” on page 12. 800-782-1831 or
biesemeyer.com
Using your Table Saw
So you’re ready to raise the blade • Roller Stands
and make a cut. But how high Delta
should you raise it? For the most 800-438-2486 or
deltawoodworking.com
efficient (and safest) cut, the
blade should be about 1 ⁄ 8" to Fisch
1 ⁄ 4" higher than the thickness 724-663-9072 or
fisch-woodworking.com
of the piece you’re cutting. This
allows the teeth to clear the cut HTC
800-624-2027
(for more efficient performance)
but keeps the blade low enough Lee Valley
800-871-8158 or
to be less of a hazard.
leevalley.com
The proper place to stand
Rousseau
while using your saw will depend
800-635-3416 or
on what cut you’re making. In rousseauco.com
general, standing directly behind
Shop Fox
the blade is the more hazardous 800-840-8420 or
location.
woodstockinternational.com
Speaking of standing, there Triton
are a few operations on a table 888-874-8661 or
saw that benefit greatly from tritonwoodworking.com
an extra pair of hands or roller
popularwoodworking.com 21
user's guide
safety tools
Beyond the stock guards provided
with most saws, more convenient
and user-friendly aftermarket
guards are available, for a cost.
An overarm guard can be lifted
away from the blade for “through”
cuts that are impossible with a
stock guard, but you’re still limited
in height. This guard should be used
with a splitter/pawl attachment.
The Biesemeyer splitter version
(far right) snaps
into place an d
requires no tools
for removal.
You must have a push
stick. Two homemade
versions are shown above
right. We generally prefer the
“shoe” style for added support.
setting up
First make sure the blade and fence
are parallel. (We’ll assume you’ve
already aligned the blade to the
miter slot as instructed by your own-
er’s manual.)
Simply set the fence to any eas-
ily measurable distance (9" in our
photo at right) and check the dis-
tance between the fence and blade
both at the front and rear of the
blade. If the measurements are not
Removing Falloff – Safely
22 Popular Woodworking January 2007
You’ll also note the homemade
throat insert, providing zero-clear-
ance spacing around the blade. It’s
a must to stop small scraps from
slipping through the plate and get- Shoe
ting tossed back at you.
Snake
Aftermarket
Guard
Push Sticks
Push sticks are essential for thin rip cuts.
Aftermarket
Splitters
The Biesemeyer splitter snaps in and out without tools.
equal, adjust your fence until cor-
rect. If this setup isn’t done correctly,
your material can become pinched
between the fence and blade (or
splitter guard) and either be vio-
lently kicked back at you, or make
it too hard to push the piece all the
way through.
If you have to force a piece
through a cut, you’re doing some-
thing wrong.
Setting the Fence Parallel
kickback protection
When crosscutting narrow pieces and blade, or tossed back.
on the table saw, you’ll eventually Optimally, you should stop the
encounter a situation where the fall- saw and wait until the blade has
off pieces begin to accumulate to the stopped spinning, then remove the
outfeed side of the blade. This doesn’t offending chunks. More likely than
automatically create a dangerous sit- not, it will be inconvenient to keep
uation, but one of the pieces could turning the saw off. In that case,
be pushed against the outfeed side stand out of the kickback line of fire
of the blade and be thrown back at and use a scrap piece of wood or push
you. stick to nudge the pieces out of the
Even with the guard in place, way. Don’t even think about using
a piece can be small enough to be your fingers! You can always make
kicked around between the guard a new push stick.  — DT
tenons with a dado stack
Backup
block
1 1
When cutting tenons, set the height of your dado stack equal to the
depth of your shoulder (3 ⁄16" in this case). Set the fence to equal the
length of the tenon you want (1" here). The backup block reduces tear-
out. Make the face cheek cuts first.
Face cheek
2
Cut the edge shoulders and cheeks in the same way. If you want a bigger
shoulder, increase the height of the dado stack after cutting all the face
cheeks and shoulders.
3 3
It’s a good idea to check the fit of every tenon in a test mortise. The
thickness of your tenon will vary slightly if you put less downward pres-
sure on the tenon during the cut. If the tenon is a shade too thick, try
making a second pass using more pressure. — DT
tenons with a crosscut blade
First define the shoulders on the face and cheek sides. Set the height
of the blade to the bottom of the tenon and the gauge block on the
fence to the length of your tenon at the left side of the blade.
2
With a tenoning jig on the fence, set your fence and blade height to
remove the waste from the face cheeks. Clamp the work securely in
the jig to keep your fingers away from the blade. Don’t attempt this
cut without using a tenoning jig.
Turn the piece 90° in the jig, clamp it down and reset the fence to
remove the waste from the edge cheeks. Keep your blade at the same
height from the last step. — DT
popularwoodworking.com 23
user's guide
cutting wedges
Wedges are essential in every workshop. They shim machinery so it sits flat
on the floor, shim cabinets as you install them and even can be used to shim
inset doors and drawers for the proper reveal. Making them on your table
saw is easy with this simple jig.

1 2
The jig (which you can make out of shop scraps) is essentially a push block. Cutting wedges is a ripping operation. Place your stock into the push block
One layer of the push block has an angled notch cut into it. The top layer holds and run it through the blade. Use your left hand to support the stock on the left
the work to the saw’s table. The notch on the bottom layer measures 6” long during the pass. After you cut one wedge, flip the board over and cut the next
and is 1 ⁄2" deep at the back. This jig cuts wedges that have a 4° slope. wedge from the other side. Continue this way until you run out of wood.

crosscutting with a gauge block

Gauge
block

1 2
Making long crosscuts on your table saw is easy with your fence and a Set your fence to the length of the crosscut you want to make (don’t for-
gauge block (also called stop block). First clamp the block to the fence get to add the width of your gauge block). Put the work against your
of your saw. We use a 3"-wide gauge block. Wider is better. If some- miter gauge between the fence and blade. Push the work forward into
thing goes awry during the cut, you don’t want the work to get wedged the blade. When your work clears the blade, shift it right an inch or so
between your blade and the fence. Be sure to clamp your block back far before lifting it off the saw’s table. PW  — DT
enough so that your work will clear the block before entering the cut.
This removes a lot of potential kickback problems.

24 Popular Woodworking January 2007

WOODWORKING
ESSENTIALS BY NICK ENGLER

1
CHAPTER

Intro to the Table Saw

F
ew tools have revolutionized a Babbitt as she sat at her spinning wheel She asked them, and they decided to
craft as much as table saws have at the Watervliet, N.Y., community. try it. They snipped a crude circular saw
changed woodworking. These (Sister Tabitha, it seems, was from an blade from tin, mounted the tin blade
saws saved tedious hand work and inventive family – her brother devel- on an arbor and fastened the arbor
– beyond making single pieces – made oped Babbitt metal, an alloy still used to a workbench. Spinning the arbor
it possible to precisely reproduce parts in bearings and bushings.) with a hand crank, they found that a
quickly and accurately. This affected Sister Tabitha happened to be circular motion cut much more effi-
how furniture and other woodenware looking out the window at two Shaker ciently than a traditional straight-line,
was built and transformed woodwork- brothers as they bucked firewood with back-and-forth motion. The brothers
ing design. a two-man saw. She marveled at how soon installed an improved version in
The table saw first appeared in about much more efficient her revolving a water-powered mill to cut siding and
1800, although historians disagree on wheel was than their reciprocating flooring to size – the first recorded circu-
who invented it. Some credit a German saw. Why couldn’t the brothers simply lar saw in America. From these humble
craftsman, Gervinus; others think it was mount saw teeth on a wheel? beginnings evolved the table saw.
developed simultaneously by several dif-
ferent people in Europe and the United
States. The story I find most interest-
ing was told to me by the late Brother
Theodore (Ted) Johnson, a Shaker
scholar and member of the Sabbathday
Lake Shaker community in Maine.
According to Brother Ted, the idea
popped into the head of Sister Tabitha

GREAT TRICK:
Cutting on the Table Saw
As Easy as 1-2-3-4
No matter how you slice it, there are only four steps
to making a table saw cut:
• Lay out the cut on the board.
• Adjust the blade and other accessories for that cut.
• Align the board with the blade.
• Pass the wood over the saw.
TIPS & TRICKS
GREAT TRICK:
Before Making Your Parts,
Make Test Cuts on Scraps
After you’ve made the necessary adjust-
ments, always make a test cut in a scrap
piece before cutting good stock. Measure
the position of the cut on the board with a
ruler or tape measure and gauge the width
and depth with a dial caliper.
PRO TIP:
Think Ahead Before Cutting
When laying out a cut on a board, think
ahead to how you will line up the cut
marks with the saw blade. If necessary,
use a square to transfer the marks to a
more visible or more convenient surface.
Many woodworkers mark a face and an
edge – they use the mark on the edge
to align the stock with the blade and the
mark on the face to monitor the cut as it
progresses. Also, it’s best to indicate the
waste side of the line so you can see on
which side of the line to make the kerf.
26 Popular Woodworking January 2007
Choosing a Table Saw
For more than two centuries, the table
saw has remained a simple machine.
There are only four crucial components,
the same four that comprised the origi-
nal invention – a table, a blade, an arbor
and some means of powering the arbor.
However, there have been several
useful developments along the way. For
example, most modern table saws have
a fence and a miter gauge to guide the
wood past the blade, a blade carriage
to adjust the angle and height of the
blade, and a blade guard to protect the
operator.
There are several different ways
in which the basic components of a
modern table saw can be arranged. The
configuration of these components
determines the type of saw.
■ On a benchtop saw, the motor
and blade carriage are encased in the
saw body. These are “direct-drive” table
saws, meaning the blade is mounted
directly on the motor shaft. The body
may be mounted on a stand or simply
clamped to a workbench.
■ The motor of a contractor saw is
mounted behind the table, making it
easier to disassemble the saw and trans-
port it. The motor connects to the arbor
by pulleys and one or more V-belts,
A benchtop saw combines portability for a job site and features to make it functional. But the
portability can be a trade-off for performance. The only reason to buy a benchtop saw for
woodworking is if you need to transport it or if you don’t have the space for a bigger saw.
which help isolate motor vibrations so
they don’t reach the blade. With more
room under the table, the blade carriage
can be bigger and beefier, and these big
components further absorb vibrations
from the saw. As a result, the blade runs
smoother and truer.
■ Hanging the motor off the back of
the saw is OK on an open building site
where there’s lots of room, but it can
take up space in a shop. The motor of
a cabinet saw is mounted beneath the
saw top, encased in the stand. This con-
figuration not only saves room, it’s also
better balanced. This, together with
the mass of the enclosed stand, makes
the tool less top-heavy and more stable.
Some cabinet saws have a larger blade
capacity as well.
■ New to the table saw world is the
hybrid saw. Hybrid saws are essentially
contractor saws with some cabinet saw
features. This is most often a partially
or totally enclosed base, with the motor
mounted inside the cabinet. Higher
performance motors (up to 2 horse-
power) are also part of the package,
and some of the newest hybrids from
Craftsman (shown at right) are offering
beefed-up trunnions that are mounted
on the cabinet rather than the saw top,
as is the norm in contractor saws.
 Splitter

Rear trunnion

Drive pulley

Motor Arbor bearings

Drive belt

Arbor pulley

Front trunnion
Arbor
Trunnion bolt

Arbor flange
Arbor bracket gear Miter slot
Extension
table Worm gear
e
Trunnion gear favo
rit
jane
ym a ry
Stop bolt tr at
ion b
illus
Worm gear
Saw table

Internal Mechanisms of a
Contractor’s Saw
Regardless of the type of table saw, the internal
mechanisms are basically the same. The blade carriage consists of
a pair of tilting trunnions and an arbor bracket that raises and low-
ers the blade. On contractor saws and benchtop saws, the trunnions
attach to the saw table. On cabinet saws, they attach to the cabinet.

A contractor saw is a great first table saw for most woodworkers.

The fence is more accurate, the motor is quiet, reliable and more
powerful than that of a benchtop saw, and you can add hundreds of
accessories to it. One catch – because the motor extends behind the
body of the saw through an opening in the cabinet, it reduces dust
collection efficiency.
Some manufacturers are introducing a new kind of table saw for
woodworkers to consider for their shop – the hybrid saw. A hybrid
saw is still a contractor saw but has many features of a cabinet saw,
including an enclosed internal motor.

popularwoodworking.com 27
TIPS & TRICKS
GREAT TIP:
‘Measure Twice, Cut Once’
– It’s Not Just a Cliché
Remember the adage “measure twice,
cut once” – it describes this age-old tech-
nique: Measure the cut, make a mark,
then measure the mark. This takes very
little effort – just an extra glance at the
measuring tool before you remove it from
the board.

PRO TRICK:
Take Care to Set the Saw’s To determine if the top of a table saw is flat, lay a level or a straightedge diagonally across the
table from right front to left rear, then left front to right rear. If you can see large gaps of daylight
Rip Fence Correctly
anywhere between the table and the straightedge (the maximum amount acceptable is .004" to
.008"), the table has been improperly cast or machined. Note: This is the first thing you should
check if you order a saw that is delivered through the mail. If the table isn’t acceptably flat, don’t
accept the shipment.

If you’ve found your fence to be unreli-
able, here’s a good trick. To position
the rip fence accurately, first select a
tooth. Rotate the blade by hand (with
the machine unplugged, of course) until
this tooth is near the front of the throat
opening. Adjust the position of the fence,
measuring from the inside edge of the
tooth to the inside face of the fence. Lock
the fence in place, then double-check the
setup by rotating the tooth to the back
of the saw and measuring again. Note: A
framing square that is true is the easiest
and most accurate measuring tool for this
adjustment.
Key Components of the Saw
When purchasing a table saw, carefully
match the individual features with your
own requirements.
■ Materials
The materials from which a table
saw is made will tell you a lot about its
quality. On the better saws, the table
and blade carriage are made from cast
iron or anodized cast aluminum. Cast
iron is considered the best material
because it’s massive and wears well.
Anodizing will make aluminum hard
enough to resist wear, without the
weight of cast iron. Table saws made
from stamped steel or plastic are on the
low end of the scale.
■ Blade Size
The advertised size of a table saw is
the largest diameter blade that it will
accommodate. This, in turn, deter-
mines its cut-off capacity (the thickest
board it will saw through). The larger
a blade, the larger the cut-off capacity.
It’s useful to have a cut-off capacity of
at least 21 ⁄2" – this allows you to cut 4/4
and 8/4 stock in one pass, and 16/4 in
two passes. However, there’s no sense
in buying a saw with a blade that’s too
large. Large blades require lots of power,
and you may not have the necessary wir-
ing in your shop. Saws with 10" blades
have adequate cut-off capacity and most
can be powered with ordinary 110-volt
motors. Also, there is a better selection
of 10" blades than any other size.
■ Arbor Size
Most 10" saws have 5 ⁄8"-diameter
arbors, so there is a larger variety of
blades with 5 ⁄8" arbor holes than any
other size. Some small benchtop saws
have 1 ⁄2" arbors, while some cabinet
saws have 3 ⁄4" or 1" arbors. As well as
considering the arbor’s diameter, you
should give some thought to its length.
If you want to mount a dado cutter or
moulding head on the arbor, it should
accommodate a 3 ⁄4"-thick accessory.
■ Table
Most woodworkers think the bigger
the table on a table saw the better it is.
Bigger tables offer more support for the
work. However, bigger is not necessar-
ily better if you have a small shop or do
fine work. Pick a comfortable size rather
than automatically choosing the big-
gest. Also check to see that the table is
perfectly flat. If it is unacceptably out of
true, either don’t buy the saw or demand
another table.

28 Popular Woodworking January 2007

■ Blade Carriage
Because this part of the saw will see
the most stress, it should be made from
massive, well-machined components.
Avoid saws with carriages made from
stamped steel or plastic components;
these often flex under a load. This, in
turn, can play havoc with the accuracy
of your saw cuts.
■ Horsepower
The power you need is determined
by the type of woodworking you do
and the diameter of the blade on the
saw. Needless to say, the lighter the
work and the smaller the blade, the less
power you need. If you own a 10" saw
and the jobs you do vary between light
and heavy, the saw should have a motor
rated for at least 11 ⁄2 hp. The general
rule of thumb is that benchtop saws
should be 3 ⁄4 hp to 11 ⁄2 hp, contractor
saws should be 11 ⁄2 hp to 2 hp, and cabi-
net saws should be 3 hp to 5 hp.
■ Motor Type
In addition to the horsepower of the
motor, you should also be concerned
with the type of motor, especially when
buying a benchtop saw. All direct-drive
saws have universal motors, similar to
those in hand-held power tools. Uni-
versal motors are OK for jobs that can
be accomplished quickly, but they won’t
stand up to continuous use. A table saw
should have an induction motor.
Drive
■ We talk more about fences in Chapter
As mentioned earlier, belt drive is
better than direct drive because a V-belt
helps isolate motor vibrations from the
running saw blade.
■ Fence
The rip fence is the Achilles’ heel of
every table saw, even on the high-qual-
ity machines. Trying to make a piece of
furniture with a fussy or inaccurate rip
fence is just asking for trouble. There
are two common types of fences that
should help you improve your accuracy.
Benchtop fences lock at the front and
back of the saw and can be difficult to
align to the blade. Contractor saws also
can use front- and rear-locking fences,
though they can interfere with outfeed
tables. The most accurate and conve-
nient fence is the front-locking T-square
fence, which locks only at the front rail
of the saw, is dead-on accurate and is
easy to align and set up. (Editor’s Note:
Four, which starts on page 49.)
■ Slot Miter Gauge
The most important part of the
miter gauge is the bar or guide. The
bar should be solid, machined steel.
Avoid poorly machined gauges – they
won’t provide accurate results. Many
woodworkers prefer T-shaped slots and
bars because the slot holds the miter
gauge bar flat on the table at all times.

Rip fence (T-style)

Miter gauge
Extension table
Blade guard

Front fence rail

Motor cover
Blade bevel wheel

Blade height wheel

Dust collection port Power switch

Cabinet saws are a lot like contractor saws, except they are enclosed.
Everything is beefier (and generally better) but it’s also more costly.
One other significant difference is that the trunnions, blade and motor
are mounted on the cabinet rather than to the saw’s top. This adds
stability and reduces vibration. Cabinet saws can be used all day, every
day, and provide decades of service. Instead of an open stand, cabinet
saws feature a steel cabinet, enclosing the motor and trunnions, which
adds weight and improves dust collection. The motor is bigger, is
enclosed inside the cabinet and turns the blade using multiple V-belts,
so cabinet saws can actually take up less space than contractor saws.
But all this comes at a price – an entry-level cabinet saw starts at
about $1,000, but you could spend more than $2,000 in a heartbeat.

popularwoodworking.com 29
TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TRICK:
Miter Gauge Angles can be
Tricky to Get Right
To set the angle of the miter gauge, loosen
the miter gauge head and place one edge
of a square against the gauge face. Slide
the tool sideways until another edge
touches the blade plate (it must not con-
tact the teeth). Turn the head until the tool
rests flat against the face and the plate,
then secure the head.
Some table saws are now available with
miter gauges that offer adjustable-width
guide bars. These bars can be tweaked
to fit the groove with little or no side
play. This feature is also available on a
number of aftermarket accessory miter
gauges and are a good feature to look for.
■ Body/Stand
It doesn’t matter what materials the
body or stand are made from as long as
they are rock-steady. It’s helpful to have
a means of sawdust collection built into
the body or stand. This shouldn’t be a
deciding factor, though, because as long
as your saw body or stand is open at the
bottom, you can easily build your own.
(Editor’s Note: Of course, one item
that we haven’t mentioned here is the saw
blade, which is the most important piece
of the machine. We focus on the blade in
Chapter 2, which starts on page 33.)
Remember that these recommenda-
tions are just advice, not absolute gospel.
Depending on circumstances, it may not
even be good advice. My first table saw
was none of the things that I recom-
mend to you – it was inexpensively made
and underpowered. It was what I could
afford, not what I wanted. Yet I used it
professionally for seven years to make
musical instruments.
This just goes to show that there are
factors that affect the quality of your
sawing more than the saw itself – accu-
rate alignment and adjustment, careful
layout, proper sawing technique and
(most important of all) a good blade.
Three Important Alignments
There are many parts to check and
adjust on a table saw, and each saw will
be slightly different, depending on its

GREAT TIP:
Drafting Triangles Help you
Find the Correct Angles
A set of drafting triangles helps set the
miter gauge angle and the blade tilt. The
various corners are cut to precise 30°,
45°, 60° and 90° angles.

PRO TIP:
Don’t Get Hit by Kickback

The very act of using the table saw is a

photo by al parrish

vivid reminder of one of its dangers – any

tool that cuts wood can cut you. The dan-
ger of kickback is not as evident, but it’s
just as serious. The hole in this concrete
block wall was made by a board that was
thrown by a table saw blade 15 feet away.
Along with the miter gauge (the Osborne aftermarket gauge is shown here), there are a number
of other accessories you could add to upgrade your saw. Some of our favorites are, from top, a
shop-made push stick, a zero-clearance throat insert, a Power Twist Link Belt and a Biesemeyer
snap-in splitter. (Editor’s Note: For more information on these and other accessories, be sure to
check out Chapter 4 of this section.)

30 Popular Woodworking January 2007

construction. However, there are three
important alignments that affect the
machine’s accuracy and ease of opera-
tion more than any others – the blade
must be parallel to the miter gauge slots,
the rip fence must be parallel to the
blade (or very slightly toed out) and the
splitter must be parallel to (and in line
with) the blade.
■ Aligning the Blade
Before you can align any part of the
table saw, you must select a base of refer- To align the blade, mount a blade and mark a tooth. Rotate the blade so this tooth is near the
ence – a line or plane from which you front. Place a square against a miter gauge slot and slide the rule until it touches the marked
tooth. Then rotate the blade so the marked tooth is near the back. Move the square and measure
can measure the position of every other the distance from the slot to the tooth again. If the measurements match, the blade is parallel to
part. The reference most often used is the slot.
a miter gauge slot, because its position
can’t be changed.
Use a combination square or dial
indicator setup to measure the distance
between a slot and a saw tooth near
the front of the blade. Then rotate the
tooth to position it near the rear of the
table and measure again. These mea-
surements must match for the blade to
be parallel to the slot. If they differ, con-
sult your manual to adjust for parallel.
The steps are different for contractor
and cabinet saws.
■ Aligning the Rip Fence
Position the fence near a miter gauge
slot and lock it in place. Use the combi-
nation square to measure the distance
between the slot and the fence face near
the front and back of the saw. If the
measurements differ, adjust the fence Once you know the blade is parallel to the miter gauge slots, check the fence alignment. To do
to be parallel (or slightly toed out) to this, position the fence near a slot. Rest a square against the side of the slot, near the front of
the saw. Slide the rule until it just touches the rip fence, then repeat this near the back. If the
the slot. When both the fence and the
measurements are the same, the fence is parallel to the blade.
blade are parallel to the slot, they will
also be parallel to each other.
Use a dial indicator to
■ Aligning the Splitter check the flange for
Lay a straightedge against the blade runout. It needs to be
and the splitter to check the alignment. flat or “true” for the
If the straightedge doesn’t lie flat against machine to work
optimally.
both parts, the splitter is misaligned.
Bend or adjust the splitter into position
according to your owner’s manual.
Another important alignment you
should check is the arbor flange for run-
out, as shown at right. Unfortunately, if
there’s significant runout (about .003"),
there’s not much you can do about it
short of replacing the part. pw

popularwoodworking.com 31
JIG JOURNAL

Adjustable Featherboard

M
ost featherboards are single pieces To mount the feather-
of wood with flexible “feathers” or board on the saw table,
fingers cut into one end. They’re place it so the mount
blocks straddle the front
designed to be clamped to the worktables
and back edges of the
or fences of various power tools. Unfortu-
table. Turn the thumb-
nately, this simple design doesn’t always screws with your fingers
work for the table saw because the table only. They don’t have to be
often is too large to clamp the feather- any tighter than that – the
board near the work. sideways pressure from
This adjustable featherboard solves the featherboard locks the
that problem by having the mount clamp assembly in place.
to the table. By moving the mount from
side to side and the featherboard back and
forth, you can position the featherboard Place the wood you want
anywhere you need it on the saw. to cut on the saw. Position
Making this jig is straightforward, but the featherboard next to
there are two important considerations. the wood and adjust the
First, you must adjust the length of the angle so the feathers are
flexed slightly. Secure the
mount to fit your saw – when assembled,
featherboard by tightening
the space between the inside edges of the
the wing nut. Note: The
mount blocks should be about 1⁄16" longer featherboard must press
than the front-to-back dimension of the against the wood before it
table. Second, you must glue a disc of reaches the blade. If there
#220-grit sandpaper to the top surface of is sideways pressure at
the featherboard, over the pivot hole, to the blade or behind it, the
help keep it at the proper angle. blade may bind in the cut.

11⁄2" rad. Glue sandpaper to featherboard

2 3⁄4" Variable 2 3⁄4"

11⁄2"
3"

3⁄8"-wd. slot 11⁄2" 1⁄8"-wd. saw kerfs

12"
6" 3"
Plan

Depth of saw table plus 19⁄16"

3⁄8"-dia. hole thru with 7⁄8"-dia. x 1⁄4"-d. countersink

3⁄4" 1⁄4" x 20
3⁄4" thumbscrews
1⁄2"-3⁄4"
and T-nuts
3⁄4"
3⁄4" 3⁄4" (2 req’d)
3⁄8" x 2" carriage bolt,
2" washer and wing nut 2"

Elevation illustration by mary jane favorite

32 Popular Woodworking January 2007

WOODWORKING
ESSENTIALS
2
CHAPTER
Using the Saw Blade
Y our table saw is the central piece of
machinery in your shop, and the
blade (or more appropriately – blades)
is a critical aspect of the ease and accu-
racy of your work. A top-quality blade
mounted on a medium-quality saw will
cut infinitely better than a mediocre
blade mounted on the best table saw
money can buy. The reason should be
obvious – it’s the blade, not the saw,
that does the actual cutting.
Teeth
Plate
Expansion
slot
BY NICK ENGLER
How Blades Work
To choose a good blade, you need to
understand a little about how blades
are designed and how they work. Every
blade has several important parts that
are generic to all blades.
The plate is the steel center of the
blade on which the teeth are mounted.
The arbor hole is cut in the center of
the plate, and that’s where the blade
mounts to the saw. The gullets are the
Saw-blade anatomy
Arbor hole
spaces between the teeth that allow
dust to escape. Often there are anti-
kickback limiters between the teeth
and gullets, which reduce the chance
of wood lodging in the gullet and being
thrown at you. Expansion slots are cut
along the perimeter of the blade to both
quiet and stabilize the cut. And the
teeth are the part of the blade that actu-
ally does the cutting, but there are lots
of teeth variations and arrangements.
Anti-kickback limiter
Gullet
TIPS & TRICKS
GREAT TIP:
Safer by Design
Most blade manufacturers now offer
blades with an “anti-kickback” design.
In addition to the ordinary forward-fac-
ing teeth, an anti-kickback blade has
backward-facing barbs or “limiters” that
limit the depth of cut. This greatly reduces
the chance that the blade will kick the
work back at you, but it doesn’t com-
pletely eliminate the risk. If you need a
determining factor during your next blade
purchase, look for this safety feature.
Limiter
Gullet
PRO TIP:
Straight Rip on Rough Edge
If your only choice is to rip a straight
edge on a bowed, rough-cut or otherwise
crooked board, fasten a straight board to
it with finishing nails. Don’t drive the nails
home – you’ll want to pull them out later.
Rip the edge of the crooked board, keep-
ing the edge of the straight one against the
fence. When you’ve finished, separate the
boards and rip the other edge.
34 Popular Woodworking January 2007
■ Plate & Arbor Hole
For the majority of table saws, the
overall diameter of the saw blade (most
of which is the plate) is 10". The plates
are usually made of a good-quality
high-strength steel so the saw blade will
remain flat and true. Better saw blades
are also machine tensioned to help
ensure flatness.
Many manufacturers now offer coat-
ings and polished finishes on the plate
part of the blade to help reduce fric-
tion during the cut and also to reduce
resin build-up and rust. In general, most
10" table saws require a 5 ⁄8" arbor hole
formed in the center of the blade that
fits over the arbor on the saw.
■ Gullet
As a blade cuts through wood, dust
is created and needs to be cleared away
from the cut. The gullets (cut in the
blade plate) are located between each
tooth and allow the dust to be removed.
Gullet designs vary by manufacturer
and are much smaller today to reduce
the chances of material being trapped
in the gullet and “kicked back” at the
operator. The gullet’s size is a careful
balance between safety and efficiency.
While it’s bad for the gullet to be too
large, it’s also bad if it’s too small. Dust
can build up during the cut and clog the
gullet causing the blade to cut poorly.
■ Expansion Slots
Expansion slots are usually laser-cut
into the plate. While their shape may
Optimum teeth count for different sawing situations
.5-"%2/&4%%4(0%2",!$%








The crosscutting and ripping “swoops” in this graphic designate the optimal number of teeth
you should have on your blade when ripping or crosscutting wood of a particular thickness. The
areas outside the swoops designate situations in which you may experience a rough cut.
vary between manufacturers, they all
serve a dual-purpose of reducing blade
noise and allowing the blade to expand
and contract during use as the blade
heats and cools. This, once again, helps
keep the blade flat.
■ Teeth
Each saw tooth is ground and
sharpened to a specific angle depend-
ing on the job it has to do. If you draw
a radial line out from the center of the
blade through the tooth, you’ll find that
the tooth is set on the blade at a slight
angle. This is called the hook angle.
The greater the hook angle, the more
aggressive the cut.
On carbide-tipped blades, the teeth
are wider than the plate (with the kerf
traditionally 1 ⁄8" wide) to prevent the
plate from rubbing in the cut. This off-
set is known as the tooth set.
In addition to hook and set, the cut-
ting edge of every tooth has a profile.
The edge can be flat or square, beveled
left or right, or shaped in other ways to
suit its job. Often, the teeth on a single
blade will have two or more profiles
alternating in a pattern called a grind.
The profile determines how each tooth
cuts, while the grind determines how
the saw blade cuts as a whole.
Types of Blades
The various aspects of the saw teeth –
hook, set and profile – can be arranged
to make different cuts or to cut different
#ROSSCUTTING /PTIMALRANGEFORCROSSCUTTING
Source: Freud; Illustration by Len Churchill
2IPPING /PTIMALRANGEFORRIPPING

 
-!4%2)!,4()#+.%33
 )PPL
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Ripping blade 1MBUF

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Ripping blades are designed with flat-topped
teeth and an aggressive hook angle to remove
wood quickly and efficiently. The action is
similar to that of a chisel cutting a groove.
While this blade can be used for a variety of
cutting actions, its best performance will be
Two examples of blades with unusual tooth geometry. The Porter-Cable (left) combines both in rip cuts.
rip and crosscut tooth spacing on one blade. The Freud Premier Fusion blade uses a novel tooth
grind to create a smooth cut.
(OOKANGLE
+ERF +ERF

materials. There are three basic types of
blades, (rip, crosscut and combination)
each designed to make certain cuts:
■ Rip Blades have a large hook angle
(20°-25°) and, because it’s much easier
to cut with the grain (ripping a board),
they can remove a lot of stock with each
pass. Compared with other blades, they
have fewer teeth and larger gullets to
make room to clear out the big chips.
The tooth profiles are usually all flat.
■ Crosscut Blades have a much
smaller hook angle (5°-10°) to remove
just a little stock because it’s much
harder to cut across the grain. Because
the chips are smaller, the gullets can be
smaller too, and this makes room for
more teeth. The profiles of the teeth
with a raker tooth to reduce chipping in
brittle materials. Triple-chip blades can
be used in many applications, but are 3AWCUT
0LATE 0LATE PROFILE
the best choice for work with laminates.
■ Plywood Blades are designed to
Crosscutting blade
make smooth cuts in plywood without
Frequently referred to as an alternate-top-
chipping the veneer. Cutting the alter- bevel (ATB) blade, the beveled crosscutting
nating grain in plywood requires both teeth are designed to slice across wood fibers.
rips and crosscuts. The blade of choice It leaves a concave bottom in the cut. This
is an 60-plus ATB tooth design, but blade’s best performance will be in crosscut-
the hook angle is less than a crosscut ting, but can be used for other applications
blade’s. and is the preferred grind for cutting ply-
■ Thin-kerf Blades, which may help wood.
the performance of under-powered
saws, usually are carbide-tipped and )PPL
BOHMF
,FSG ,FSG
available in the same styles as ordinary 3BLFS
blades (rip, crosscut and combination). # "
" #
" #
However, the plate and teeth are about "

alternate right bevel and left bevel in
a grind called “alternate-top bevel”
(ATB). An ATB grind allows each
tooth to slice the wood at a slight angle
to the grain, making the cut easier and
smoother.
■ Combination Blades will perform
both rip cuts and crosscuts, and their
design is a compromise between the two
types of blades. The teeth are usually
arranged in sets of five. The gullets in
each set of five are the same size as on a
crosscut blade; those between the sets
two-thirds as wide as an ordinary blade.
Because the blade removes less stock,
the table saw does less work and makes
a smoother, quicker cut.
■ Steep-angle Blades. Some blade
manufacturers have begun mak-
ing combination blades with tooth
grinds that weren’t possible in years’
past. Freud’s Premier Fusion blade has
extremely steep alternative-top-bevel
grinds with a small relief angle on the
sides of the teeth. This is supposed
to result in a combination blade that
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Triple-chip blade
The triple-chip tooth design includes flat-
topped and trapezoidal teeth. The trapezoidal
teeth are taller and narrower than the flat
teeth, making a scoring cut to reduce tear-
out. This blade excels for work with lami-
nate and brittle wood materials, including
hardboard.
illustration by len churchill

)PPL
BOHMF
,FSG ,FSG ,FSG
are larger, like the gullets on a rip blade. makes excellent rips and crosscuts.
The profiles of the teeth alternate in Time will tell if these are superior. "
" # #

# #
a five-tooth grind as such: right-bevel, ■ Dado Blades mount on the saw #

left-bevel, right-bevel, left-bevel, flat.
The large gullets are in front of the flat
teeth.
In addition, there are several com-
mon types of blades intended for spe-
cific jobs.
■ Triple-chip Blades use a special
double-beveled-tooth design combined
arbor like a blade, but make a much 4BX
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1MBUF 1MBUF 1MBUF QSPmMF
broader cut. An ordinary saw blade cuts
a narrow kerf (1 ⁄8") to reduce waste and Combination blade
the effort required to saw through the A combo blade uses both rip and crosscut
stock. A dado cutter isn’t meant to saw teeth, and can be used reasonably well in
completely through a board. Rather, either application. There are compromises
it cuts a wide kerf with a flat bottom in quality, but if you’re looking for an all-
and square shoulders, and it can create purpose blade, this is it.

popularwoodworking.com 35
TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TIP:
Tip to be Square
To make sure your blade is running square
in your saw, you need two measuring tools
– a true straightedge and an accurate try
square. To check that a straightedge is
straight, use one edge to draw a line along
its full length. Flip the straightedge face
for face and draw a second line on top of
the first, using the same edge. Superim-
posed, the two lines should appear as one.
If they diverge at any point, your straight-
edge is crooked. To check that a square
is square, place the arm against the edge
of a board and use one edge of the rule to
draw a line. Flip the square face for face
and draw a second line right next to the
first (shown above), using the same edge.
The two lines should be evenly spaced
across the board. If not, your square isn’t
square.
GREAT TIP:
Dado Blade Crib Sheet
Every stack dado set is slightly different
when the chippers are in place. Rather
than measure each time to set up your
dado set, make a sample board using each
variation of blades, chippers and shims to
make a series of shallow dados. Mark the
block as to what combination of blades
was used and also mark the resulting
dimension of the cut. You may never have
to measure your dado set again.
36 Popular Woodworking January 2007
Cam dial
Chippers
Two common dado sets are a standard dado (right) that uses shims to fine-tune the spacing
between the chippers. The dial dado (left) uses a cam dial to fine-tune the width, avoiding the
need for shims and allowing for adjustment without removing the blades.
dados, grooves, rabbets and a number of
other standard woodworking joints.
The most common dado set is a stack
dado (above). These sets include two
6" or 8"-diameter outer blades (essen-
tially smaller saw blades) and a number
of inner chipper blades that typically
have two to four teeth per chipper. The
outer blades are 1 ⁄8"-wide, but the chip-
pers vary in width to allow adjustments
of 1 ⁄32" by rearranging the number and
type of chippers used.
What Blades do You Need?
With all the choices, what sort of blade
should you choose? The answer depends
on the type of woodworking you do.
However, most craftsmen get by nicely
with just three blades:
1. A combination blade for general
work. You’ll probably keep this on your
saw 90 percent of the time. Because
you’re likely to use this blade more than
any other, it should be a premium blade.
2. A rip blade for cutting stock to
width. Often, at the beginning of a
project, you’ll find yourself doing a lot of
ripping lumber to size. A rip blade will
make this go faster.
3. A crosscut blade for cutting stock
to length. A clean, tear-out-free cut
Shims
when crosscutting makes joinery much
easier.
In addition, special types of shop
requirements or work will require spe-
cialty blades, such as thin-kerf or dado
sets. But these can be added as the need
(and the funds) occurs.
For the Best Blade Performance
The table saw is a precision cutting tool.
As such, it must be precisely aligned,
operated and maintained if you’re to get
the best results possible.
Small problems can have large
consequences. A rip fence that toes in
slightly toward the blade, a miter gauge
slot slightly out of line with the blade,
a tendency to feed the work too quickly
or too slowly, or a blade whose teeth
have become coated with pitch – all of
these seemingly insignificant problems
can completely ruin a cut.
Before you make any cut, you must
be sure that the working parts (blade,
arbor, trunnions, table, fence and miter
gauge) are properly aligned to each
other. In Chapter One we covered these
important initial adjustments.
Another important set-up step that
isn’t mentioned often enough is how
high the blade should be. Most manu-
als tell you it shouldn’t be too high, but
the number you need to remember is
between 1 ⁄8" and 1 ⁄4" above the wood’s
surface. This leaves the teeth at an
appropriate height to not only make the
cut, but to clear the chips and dust from
the cut, while not leaving too much
blade exposed to pose a hazard.
Maintenance
An old woodworking axiom that is
quite true is that your most dangerous
tool is a dull one. This certainly applies
to table saw blades as well. A dull blade
will cause you to have to force the mate-
rial past the blade, making your stance
more awkward and increasing the pres-
sure you need to exert toward a spin-
ning blade.
To maintain your table saw in peak
cutting condition − and maintain safety
standards − blades must be kept clean
and sharp. As you make each cut, wood
pitch builds up on the blade and the
teeth lose their sharp edge. Here’s how
to maintain them:
■ Cleaning
Saw blades must be kept clean and
sharp to cut properly. When a blade
ceases to cut well, it’s not always an
indication that the teeth are losing
their edges. Usually, the problem is
caused by accumulated wood pitch on
the teeth. To restore the edge, just clean
the blade.
There are several ways to do this.
Woodworkers swear by all sorts of sol-
vents – ammonia, baking soda dissolved
in water, turpentine, mineral spirits and
even vegetable oil. My own favorite (and
many saw blade manufacturers agree this
is fine) is oven cleaner. The blade doesn’t
have to be warm, as the directions might
lead you to believe. Just spray the cleaner
on the teeth, wait a few seconds and
wipe it off with a damp cloth. Then, after
cleaning the blade, wax and buff the
plate to help the blade run cooler and
keep it clean longer.
There are also a number of “environ-
mentally friendly” blade cleaners (often
citrus-based) available that also do a
good job. They take a little more time
or effort, but they’re less a danger to
your skin and the environment.
■ Sharpening TIPS & TRICKS
If cleaning the blade doesn’t restore
the edge, the blade probably needs to
be sharpened. Unfortunately, sharpen-
PRO TIP:
ing a carbide blade is not something The Company You Keep
woodworkers can do in their own shops.
There are many facets to the teeth of
modern blades, and special equipment
is needed to accurately grind and hone
these complex angles. It’s best to find
a good professional sharpening service
and take your blades to them as neces-
sary.
Most stores such as Rockler (800-
279-4441 or rockler.com) or Woodcraft The type of blade you use on your table
(800-225-1153 or woodcraft.com) have saw will determine the quality of the cut,
connections to a sharpening service but what’s around the blade is important,
in your area. Also Forrest (866-398- too. A throat plate designed to fit close
9336, or forrestsawblades.com) not around a blade (known as a zero-clear-
only sharpens its own blades, but will
ance insert) will reduce tear-out on the
sharpen other manufacturer’s blades as
underside of a cut and will also be much
well. If none of these options is prefer-
safer. With one, there’s no chance of
able, head for the Yellow Pages and call
scrap getting trapped near the blade. You
a local cabinet shop. They can recom-
can make your own out of good quality
mend someone in your area to do your
plywood, or purchase a few (get one for
blade sharpening.
dados as well).
Making Crosscuts & Rips
Crosscuts, made across the grain and PRO TIP:
ripcuts, made parallel to the grain, are
the basic cuts of woodworking. Because
Treat Your Tooling Well
of the structure of the wood itself, each
of these types of cuts requires a different
setup and techniques to safely achieve
good results.
■ Crosscuts
These are probably the most trouble-
some cuts to make on a table saw. To
cut across the grain, you must move
the board sideways, perpendicular to
its length. The longer the board, the This may sound a little simplistic, but it’s
harder this is to do. To make an accu- still true. When a blade is not mounted
rate crosscut, you must use equipment on the saw it must be stored to protect
(such as miter gauges) and techniques the teeth. Even though the carbide is a
that improve balance and control. tough cutting surface, it’s still fragile.
Teeth from other blades banging together,
■ Rips
These cuts are the easier because or blades inadvertently banging into any
it’s a lot simpler to feed a board parallel steel around the table saw, can easily
to its length. The fence will guide the chip and damage the cutting edge of your
wood along its edge, controlling the expensive blades. When storing or send-
width. Unfortunately, table saws aren’t ing the blades out for sharpening, either
as deep as they are wide, so you need keep them in their original packaging, or
to find a way to control the outfeed to build a simple plywood box to protect your
maintain accuracy and work safely. PW investment.
popularwoodworking.com 37
TIPS & TRICKS
SAFETY TIP:
One We Hope You Know
There is absolutely no reason for you
to ever make a cut (crosscut or rip cut)
on your table saw without some type of
guiding mechanism. Whether that’s a rip
fence, miter gauge or miter sled, never
make a cut on the table saw freehand.
You will most certainly get hurt.
PRO TIP:
Crosscut Both Ends to Square
Cutting a board to length seems simple
enough, but almost as important as getting
the board the right length is making sure
the ends are square to the sides. Don’t
worry, it’s simple. First make sure your
fence or miter gauge is cutting square to
the blade. Before cutting the board to final
length, trim 1 ⁄ 2" off one end of the board,
then flip it end-for-end and measure to
make your final cut on the uncut end.
SAFETY TIP:
No Rip Fence For Crosscutting
Never use the rip fence as a stop for
crosscutting. The cut-off pieces will be
pinched between the blade and the fence,
and the saw will fling them back at you.
Instead, use a stop block – sometimes
called a “stand-off block” – mounted to
the rip fence behind the blade location to
gauge your length and safely make the
cut.
38 Popular Woodworking January 2007
Ripping Lumber Crosscutting Lumber
1 Ripping a piece of solid
lumber is simpler than rip-
ping plywood, but there is
more potential for danger
because the stress in a solid
wood board can pinch the
blade when it’s ripped.
Roller stands
are recom-
mended
(you can’t
see mine 1 When crosscutting a board, the substan-
in the photos) and should tially thinner width of the piece (and not
be positioned to sup- enough width to ride adequately against the
port both pieces coming fence) requires us to use a miter gauge rather
off the saw. To start the cut, you should be than the fence. Note the gauge in our photos
positioned at the rear corner of the board, is not standard equipment. We recommend
supporting the back end with your right hand. either adding a backing board at least 24"
Your left hand (at the center of the board) long to your stock miter gauge or purchasing
provides pressure against the fence, keeping an aftermarket gauge.
it flush to the fence. The arrows indicate the Start by checking to make sure your miter
direction I’m applying pressure. gauge is square to the blade. Then align your
cut and support the board against the gauge
with one hand on the gauge and the other
2 Walk the board slowly into the
stretching across the piece to hold it tightly
blade, keeping the edge flush
against the gauge. If your piece is too wide
along the length of the
to reach across, it’s smart to clamp the piece
fence. When your left hand
against the gauge during the cut.
reaches the edge of the
saw, allow
it to slide
backward
along the
length of
the board, maintaining
pressure against the fence.
Maintain this support
until the back end of the board reaches the
edge of the saw table.
3 Grab your push stick and 2 Guide the gauge and board into and past
place it on the back edge the blade.
of the piece
between
the blade
and fence.
Apply
pressure
forward and slightly
toward the fence with the
push stick as you continue
the cut. Your left hand should
only be used to apply minimal guiding pres-
sure on the fall-off piece until the piece is 3 Once the board is cut through, allow the
separated, then move your left hand out of fall-off piece to lie in place. With your left
the way. Once the keeper board is clear of the hand, push the board away from the blade,
blade and guard, turn your attention to the sliding it along the gauge. Then turn the saw
fall-off piece and push it safely forward, again off. Once the blade stops spinning, pull the
using the push stick. fall-off piece away from the blade.
Ripping Plywood Crosscutting Plywood All About Carbide
1 Ripping a 4'x8' sheet of
plywood on a contrac- Most woodworkers prefer a saw blade with
tor saw is possible, but carbide teeth. They cut cleaner and hold a
requires finesse. Roller sharp edge longer than steel. But let’s take
stands are a must, and a look at what carbide is and how it’s made.
they should be
Carbide starts as a fine blend of either
positioned to
support the tungsten, titanium or tantalum powder (or
largest piece some combination), carbon powder, and a
coming off binding agent (usually cobalt).
the saw, or preferably Carbide is graded according to the grain
both pieces. To start the 1 Crosscutting a sheet of plywood on a
size and the hardness. For woodworking, a
cut, you should be positioned contractor saw is a task safely accomplished
near the rear corner of the sheet, supporting with the use of roller stands. Here you see softer grade of carbide is preferable (such
the rear with your right hand while your left one stand positioned to one side of the table as C-1 or C-2). If a harder grade (C-4) is
hand provides pressure against the fence and saw and another positioned at the outfeed used, it may be brittle and wear too fast.
aligns the sheet flush to the fence. With the side. When using the rip fence, don’t crosscut The photo (below) shows a carbide
piece pushed nearly up to the blade, check a piece less than 18" wide and more than
edge at the microscopic level. While this
the fit against the fence again, then slowly 48" long. There is too much chance of the
board shifting and becoming pinched. Start is a sharp edge, the
walk the sheet into the blade.
by standing in the center. Keep your eye on grains have a ridged
2 As you move forward, keep the fence and keep the board tight against it. appearance. Smaller-
your eye on the fence to Again, arrows indicate where my hands are grained carbide gives
keep the sheet flush along applying pressure. a more precise (less
the fence. As the bal-
ridged) edge.

photo courtesy of freud

ance of the weight
of the sheet is Wax and ethanol
transferred to are then added to the
the saw table powder and carefully
you can shift mixed and blended
your position to
for days. The wax holds the carbide slurry
the rear of the sheet,
supporting from the
in shape before heating, while the ethanol
back, but still maintain- is present only to help the powder mix
ing pressure against the fence with your left evenly.
hand. Continue to push the sheet forward, The slurry is then dried in a nitrogen
paying attention to the point when the sheet 2 Maintain the center position as you push the
atomizer. This evaporates the ethanol and
contacts your roller stand (to make sure it’s board through the blade. Keep your eye on
by using nitrogen, there is no chance of
riding on the stand, not pushing it over), then the fence. While your instinct is to control the
continue the cut. My roller stand is not visible whole board, the part between the fence and oxidation (rusting) occurring in the powder.
in the photos. blade needs all your attention. The dried powder is then pressed (using
tons of pressure per square inch) into the
3 At the end of the cut, appropriate tooth shape, but the teeth are
let the waste piece left oversized as carbide shrinks during
to come
heating. Even after this immense amount
to a rest.
Then push
of pressure, the carbide shapes are very
the piece brittle and can be easily broken apart
between between your fingers. You can actually
the fence and write with the carbide as with a piece of
blade clear of the chalk.
blade, careful not to
The carbide pieces are then heated (sin-
extend your reach 3 Once the board has cleared the blade, let
over the blade. Lift the fall-off piece lay where it is and carefully tered) at 2,700° Fahrenheit for 14 hours,
the piece up and push the piece between the fence and blade and cooled using argon gas for another
over the fence. past the blade and onto the roller stand. Keep six hours. The carbide shapes are brazed
Then continue to push the waste piece for- the piece flush against the fence until the to the body of the cutting tool and finally
ward and away from the blade until it clears piece is clear. Then lift the fall-off piece out of
ground to their ultimate shape.
the blade and guard. the way. 
 — David Thiel

popularwoodworking.com 39
JIG JOURNAL

Tapering Jig

A
tapering jig consists of two long
arms, hinged together at one
end. A ledge is glued to one arm
near the end opposite the hinge. A
metal brace lets you adjust and lock
the angle between the two arms. The
arm without the ledge guides the jig
along the rip fence, while the other
holds the stock at an angle to the saw
blade.
To make the jig, cut the parts to
size and drill a hole for the handle in
the holding arm. Glue the ledge to the
holding arm and the grip to the guid-
ing arm. When the glue is dry, install
the hinge that holds the two arms
together.
Purchase a curved box lid support location that allows you to open the To lock the arms in place, open or
and remove the metal mounts from arms as wide as possible, but keeps the close them to the desired angle. Then
the brace. Using a panhead screw, end of the brace from straying over tighten both the panhead screws. 
fasten the fixed end of the brace to the outside edge of the guiding arm
the holding arm, a few inches from when you close the jig.
the ledge. Tighten the screw until it’s
snug, but not so tight that the brace
can’t pivot. Insert another screw
through the slot in the brace and Handle
drive it into the guiding arm. You may
have to experiment with the place- Hinge
ment of this second screw. Find the Grip blocks
Ledge

Guiding arm
Holding arm

24" Exploded view

Variable
5⁄8"
Lid support bracket

2"

3⁄4"
1"
3⁄4"

Plan 1"-dia. dowel 11⁄4"

4" 2" 1"
1" dia. x
3" 7" 1⁄2" dp. hole
31⁄4"
Illustration by Mary Jane Favorite

Strap 2" #14 x 1" lg. 53⁄4"

11⁄4" 3"
hinge PHS (typ)
11⁄2"
3⁄4"
3⁄4"
3⁄4" 2"
2"
Elevation Profile

40 Popular Woodworking January 2007

WOODWORKING
ESSENTIALS
3
CHAPTER
Basic Joinery
T
here are three basic saw cuts:
crosscuts, rips and miters. Cross-
cuts are made perpendicular to
the wood grain, rips are cut parallel to
the grain and miters are made at angles
diagonally across the grain. None of
these requires elaborate jigs or complex
techniques, but they are the building
blocks to basic joinery on the table saw.
Rips and crosscuts are used to form
many joints, including the basic edge
and butt joints, which can be used to
BY NICK ENGLER
glue up a tabletop or door frame. These
two cuts are also used to cut rabbets,
grooves and dados. And a variation of
these cuts will create a miter joint. In
Chapter 2 we discussed crosscuts and
rips. Now it’s time to learn about miters.
Miters
Miters can be the most frustrating cuts
to make. Angled cuts are harder to
measure and lay out than crosscuts. To
make a mitered frame perfect, both the
inside and outside dimension of the
piece must match on each component.
You should start with accurate measur-
ing tools and some basic math, and
then you will need to test and retest
your setup to ensure its precision.
When you make a miter cut on
a table saw, you run into a problem
associated with crosscuts – the factory-
supplied miter gauge is too small to
offer adequate support for guiding most
boards. To properly support the work,
PRO TIP:
Picture-perfect Miters
To make sure your miters are perfect, start
with a new zero-clearance throat insert on
your table saw. Bring the blade up through
the insert until the blade height is about 1 ⁄4"
above the height of your frame material. Turn
off the saw. After the blade has stopped, use
a straightedge to make a mark, extending
the line of the blade slot the full length of the
insert. This will let you see exactly where
the blade will cut. Add a sacrificial fence to
your miter gauge that extends past the blade
to eliminate tear-out. You can also extend
the cut line to the sacrificial fence for extra
alignment accuracy.
 TIPS & TRICKS

illustration by marY jane favorite

GREAT TIP:
Setting Between the Lines Work creeps downhill
as it’s cut

A simple stop clamped

to your miter fence will
keep your piece from
slipping during the cut.

Clamp stop here to prevent creep

Use an angle divider to help set oddball
miter angles that you can’t measure with
a set of drafting triangles or a square.
This device, which is available from most
woodworking suppliers, looks like an
adjustable metal parallelogram.
PRO TIP:
Right Height, Every Time
you must fit the gauge with an exten-
sion fence or replace it with a sliding
table.
Even when using an adequately sized
miter gauge, boards are inclined to
creep during a miter cut because of the
rotation of the blade into the cut. One
way to compensate for this is to add a
stop to your miter gauge fence as shown
above. Your stop will also help you
make repeatable, accurate miter cuts
every time.
Accurate angles are another problem
on table saws. The stock miter gauge
and blade-tilt scale on most table saws
– even the best ones – are notoriously
imprecise. And you can’t use a drafting
triangle to set every possible angle you
might want to cut. You must use the
scales to estimate the degree setting,
then thoroughly test the setup until you
have it right.
Once the miter gauge angle is prop-
erly set, make the miter cuts. If the
boards are to be joined by miter joints
(such as the members of a frame), you
must make mirror-image miters. Note:
A single miter joint is comprised of one

To create accurate, matching

Keep same face against table
miters (or butt joints) for frame
work, flip the work piece end- Blade tilted
for-end keeping the same long
edge against your miter gauge, as
shown here.

Rotate board
end for end
When using a dado set and sacrificial rip
fence to make rabbets, setting the height
Flip board end for end
of the dado set in the fence is tricky. Make
it simple by attaching a new sacrificial
fence, then measure and mark the height Miter gauge angled

of the blade (for the perfect rabbet depth)

right on the fence face, measuring from
the table saw’s top. Lower the dado set,
illustration by marY jane favorite

move the fence into place, then bring the

running blade up into the fence, stopping Keep same
when you reach your line. edge against
miter gauge

42 Popular Woodworking January 2007

left miter and one right miter. To do
this, flip each board end-for-end, keep-
ing the same edge against the gauge as
you cut the ends. Only in rare instances
when you can’t flip the board should you
have to readjust the angle of the miter
gauge to cut left and right miters.
You also can cut a miter by tilting
the blade rather than angling the miter
gauge. This procedure is similar, but
there is an important difference when
cutting left and right miters. As you
rotate the board end for end, the same
face must rest against the table. Note:
You can switch faces if you first switch
the miter gauge to the other slot.
Bevels
The procedure to make a bevel is simi-
lar to the way you make a miter, but you
must set the blade at the proper angle,
rather than the miter gauge. Measure
the angle between the blade and the
table with a triangle or a protractor.
If you rip a bevel or chamfer, make
sure the blade tilts away from the rip
fence. This gives you more room to
safely maneuver the board and reduces
the risk of kickback. On right-tilt saws,
you will have to move the rip fence to
the left side of the blade (as you face the
infeed side of the table saw).
Rabbets, Dados & Grooves
Although the final results and applica-
tions for dados, rabbets and grooves are
different, the way to make each is very
similar. And all are easily made on the
table saw. But first let’s take a look at the
joints themselves.
• A rabbet is an L-shaped cut of
varying widths and depths, cut on the
end (cross grain) or side (long grain) of
a board. The width and depth of the
rabbet can be adjusted to match the
piece fitting in the rabbet, such as on a
cabinet or drawer side. The joint cre-
ated is better than a butt joint, and it
is even stronger when reinforced with
more than glue.
• Grooves and dados have the
same shape, but they’re called differ-
ent names depending on the direction
they’re cut on the board. Both a groove
and a dado are U-shaped trenches. The
When ripping an angle other than 90° – cutting a bevel or a chamfer – be sure the blade tilts away
from the rip fence. If the blade tilts toward the fence, there is a chance that the blade will pinch the
board and fling it backward. Also, you may not have the space needed to feed the board safely. And
on narrow cuts, there is the added danger that the blade may bite into the fence.
depth and width are variable accord-
ing to the use. This joint is referred to
as a groove when it’s made parallel to
the grain direction of the board. When
made across the grain, it’s referred to as
a dado. This is a stronger joint than a
rabbet because the mating piece is cap- Rabbet
tured on three sides, rather than two.
Using a Dado Set
Rabbets, dados and grooves can all be
created by making multiple cuts with a
single saw blade, or one cut with a dado
illustration by len churchill
set. The different types of dado sets are
discussed in detail in Chapter Two, as
are the different saw blades to best use
for this application. Dado
When changing from a single blade
to a dado set, always remember to A rabbet (top) is an L-shaped cut on the end
unplug the saw and carefully handle the or side of a board. The depth and width can
sharp blades. Because a dado stack cuts be varied to match a mating piece, or to
a much wider kerf than the ordinary create a particular type of joint. While the
saw blade, you must replace the saw’s rabbet can be viewed as the female part of a
throat insert with a special dadoing joint, it can also be the male part, as it forms
insert. You can either make your own a tongue that can be used in tongue-and-
insert or purchase an aftermarket acces- groove joinery. A dado (bottom) is U-shaped
and cut across the width of a piece. It can also
sory to fit your saw. It’s wise to make or
be adjusted in depth and width. A groove is
purchase more than one. After you cut
cut parallel to the board’s grain direction.
the insert to accommodate your widest It’s always the female part of a joint. Rab-
dado arrangement, it shouldn’t be used bets, grooves and dados can be “through”
with a smaller-width setup that will (run entirely across the board as shown), or
leave gaps between the opening and the stopped at either of both ends, depending on
blades. the requirement of the joint.
popularwoodworking.com 43
 TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TIP:
Controlling Large Panels
When using a miter gauge extension to
cut off large, wide panels, clamp a block
of wood to the extension to serve as a
hold-down. This will keep the panels from
tipping over the back edge of the table
saw as you finish the cut.
GREAT TIP:
Burn an Inch
When making a sacrificial fence for your
rip fence (for cutting rabbets), make it 1"
thick. This will make it easier to use the
fence scale when setting the position of
the fence – simply subtract 1" from the
indicated measurement.
PRO TIP:
Clean in the Corners
When making rabbets on the table
saw with a dado set, a sacrificial wooden
face attached to your existing rip fence
is a must. This face must have a semi-
circular cutout that’s the same radius as
the dado cutter. The cutout face serves
two purposes – it protects the rip fence
during these operations, and it covers
the unused portion of the dado stack
when you don’t want to cut the full
width.
Your next step is to detach the split-
Because the dado stack makes a wider kerf ter (and guard, when appropriate) from
than a standard saw blade, you must replace the table saw and attach a featherboard
the normal throat insert with one that has a to the table or wooden fence. Because
wider opening. you don’t use a dado cutter to cut all
A sacrificial fence
attached to your rip
fence allows you to
accurately use part
of a dado set for
rabbeting without
harming your rip
fence. The blade
should be run up
into the fence while
it’s securely locked
in place to the
tabletop. Make sure
the blade clears
your rip fence.

Featherboards,
to hold material
snug against the
fence (and to avoid
kickback), can
either be shop-
made or purchased.
The featherboards
Featherboard shown here have
magnetic bases to
hold them tightly
against the table-
After cutting a rabbet with a dado cutter
top. They should be
or a saw blade, inspect the inside corner positioned before
between the side and the bottom. These and after the blade,
cutting tools sometimes leave a little but not at the
waste in the corner. You can quickly blades’ location or
the waste will bind
remove this with a scraper, chisel, bull-
against the blade.
nose plane or rabbeting plane.

44 Popular Woodworking January 2007

the way through a board, the splitter
will just get in your way. Unfortunately,
without the splitter and anti-kickback
fingers, there is nothing to stop kick-
back, so be careful. Also, because the
dado cutter removes more stock than
a standard saw blade, kickback is more
likely. To guard against this, use a feath-
erboard.
When making the rabbet cut, the
board is most safely run flat on the table
saw’s top. By virtue of this position, the
height of the dado stack should be set to
the required depth of the rabbet. The
distance from the sacrificial face to the A sacrificial fence attached to your rip fence allows you to accurately use part of a dado set for
left side of the dado stack (the amount rabbeting without harming your rip fence. The blade should be run up into the fence while it’s
of blade exposed) will be the width. securely locked in place to the tabletop. The same blade setup will give you a groove by chang-
To make a groove (or dado, but only ing the fence setting.
on wide boards for safety) the rip fence
is adjusted to re-locate the groove where
needed, and the dado stack height is set
for the required depth of the groove.

Making Rabbet & Dado Joints

With a Single Blade
As mentioned, rabbets and grooves can
also be made with a single saw blade if
you don’t have a dado stack.
Rabbets can most easily be made in
a two-pass method. The blade height is
set for the depth of the rabbet and the
rip fence is set for the width of the rab-
bet (including the blade width in the
setup). The board is then run flat on the
table surface for the first cut.
To complete the rabbet, the blade It’s possible to create a rabbet on a board with a single blade using only two cuts. The order of
height is reset to just shy of the width of the cuts is important for safety, though. The first cut (left) must be made with the face of the
the rabbet, while the fence is set to cut board against the saw table. The second cut (right) must be made on edge, with the waste piece
away the depth of the rabbet. It’s a good oriented away from the fence to allow the waste to fall harmlessly away from the blade.
idea to have the rabbet size marked on
the end of the board to double-check
your setup. The board is then run on side passes that will define the groove’s ■ Stopped Cuts
edge against the rip fence. shoulder, then make overlapping cuts Sometimes you must halt a cut before
The order of these cuts is important. between those kerfs to remove the it exits the end or edge of a board. To
If the board were run on edge first, then waste material. While this process make a stopped rabbet, dado or groove,
on its face, the waste piece could be works, it won’t take too many single- you must first know where the dado
trapped between the blade and fence, blade dados to convince you that the cutter starts to cut as the wood passes
and be kicked back at you at a very high investment in a dado set is a smart one. across the table saw.
speed. As shown above, the waste piece To find out, first adjust the cutter to
falls safely to the outside of the blade Expanded Techniques the desired height and position the rip
after the second cut. In addition to cutting basic dados, fence. Affix a piece of tape to the fence
To make a groove or dado with a grooves and rabbets, there are many beside the cutter. Select a scrap with
single blade is more a nibbling away other useful ways these joints can be at least one square corner and place it
process until the groove is complete. used. Here are just a few of the most on the infeed side of the table with the
It’s easiest to start with the two out- common variations: square corner against the fence and

popularwoodworking.com 45
TIPS & TRICKS facing the cutter. Slide the scrap toward
the dado accessory as you spin the cut-
ter by hand (with the saw unplugged).
PRO TIP: When the teeth brush the scrap, mark
Tested for Accuracy the position of the corner on the tape.
To find where the dado cutter stops
cutting, simply place the scrap on the
outfeed side of the table.
Now that you know where the blade
stops its cut, you can clamp a stop to
the end of the rip fence to halt the
cut. Determine the length of the cut
required and set the stop block that
distance from your infeed blade mark on
the fence. Let the saw come to a com-
plete stop before removing stock.

Whenever you’re setting up the saw for a

rabbet or groove cut, it’s always a good
idea to make a test cut in a scrap piece
before cutting good stock. Measure the
position of the cut on the board with a
ruler or tape measure. For even more
accuracy, a dial caliper can measure the
width and depth very easily.

PRO TIP:
Dados with no Splintering
With the dado set to the desired height (and with the saw unplugged) the board is pushed for-
ward until the leading edge touches the dado teeth. Mark the board location on the tape. This is
the “start” position of the cut.
Tear-out

Whenever using a dado stack to make

a dado (across the grain), there’s a very
good chance of tearing out the fibers on
the face of the wood, whether solid wood,
or plywood (see above). To avoid this,
score or precut both sides of the dado with
a sharp utility knife before making the cut.
This cleanly separates the fibers before
the dado teeth get a chance to tear them.

The tape mark on the fence also indicates where the dado cut ends in the piece. For a more
accurate dado, a block attached to the fence (located using the tape mark) provides a positive
stop. Turn the saw off when the cut is complete.

46 Popular Woodworking January 2007

 ■ Shiplap Joint
A useful combination of two of our
joints in this chapter is shiplapped
boards, which are often used as decora-
tive (and sturdy) backs in cabinetry.
The shiplap joint uses two over-
lapping rabbets (created on the long
edges of the boards). The overlapping
rabbets form a solid back that still has
the ability to expand and contract with
changes in humidity, without stressing
the cabinet, or opening a gap between
the boards. To add a decorative ele-
ment, bevel the shiplapped boards at
Shiplap joint the mating edges.
■ Tongue-and-groove Joint
A mating of a two-sided rabbet
(forming a tongue) and a groove run
in the long edge of a board forms the
tongue-and-groove joint. Offering the
same benefit against wood expansion
and contraction as the shiplap joint,
the tongue and groove also offers great
strength as a mating joint. It allows
long boards to stay parallel over long
lengths. That’s why it’s most common
application is in flooring to lock the
board lengths tight against one another.
This joint also plays an important role
in frame-and-panel doors, but we cover
Tongue-and-groove joint that in more detail in Chapter Six.
Add Basic Joints to Make
Complex Ones
A rabbet is a fairly simply (and not all that
sturdy) joint. How it’s used can make it
much stronger. If the tongue of the rabbet
fits into a groove or dado, greater strength
can be achieved.
In fact, one of the strongest joints in
woodworking is the mortise-and-tenon
joint. And a mortise is nothing more than a
groove with closed ends, while a tenon is a
double rabbet!
To turn a rabbet into a tenon, you’re
using a dado stack to cut a shallow rabbet
on both sides of a board that’s wider than
the dado cutter. Do this by making two or
more passes.
This seems simple enough if you have
to make only one joint – make the first
pass, move the rip fence or reposition the
board on the miter gauge, make the next
pass. But if you must make several precise
copies of the same joint, use spacers to
help position the boards, removing them
one at a time as you make each pass.

■ Rabbet-and-dado Joint
With a rabbet on one side and a dado
on the other, this joint makes a strong,
but simple drawer joint. While a simple
rabbet joint can be used as a drawer
joint, the addition of a dado allows the
rabbet to be firmly captured on three
sides. This adds strength and stability
to the joint. And this joint isn’t only for
drawer sides. Many drawer bottoms are
illustration by len churchill

slipped into grooves cut in the drawer

sides to form an even simpler rabbet and
dado. But wait – that makes it a tongue
(the entire bottom is a tongue) and
groove joint. PW

Rabbet-and-dado joint

popularwoodworking.com 47
JIG JOURNAL

Tall Fence
Extension
T
he tall fence extension increases
the height of the face of your rip
fence and attaches directly to
the rip fence. This is a useful acces-
sory for stabilizing boards during cuts
when running boards on edge. One
good example is cutting rabbets with
a single blade. While one of the cuts
is with the board flat against the saw
table, the second cut is made with the
board vertical and held tight against
the fence. With 10" of bearing surface
instead of the standard 3" or 4", the
cut is much more accurate and safer.
Cut all the jig’s parts from cabinet-
grade plywood, taking care to make A tall fence extension provides increased stability when making a cut with the board on its
end. Or, it is useful for adding accessories, such as this featherboard.
the faces and braces straight and flat.
Rout the joinery, drill the mount-
ing holes, then assemble the parts
with glue and screws. Countersink
and counterbore the screws so the
heads are well below the surface of
the wood. If you wish, cover the heads
with wooden plugs and sand them
flush.
Face

illustration by mary jane favorite

Horizontal brace

Exploded view

Vertical braces

Length of rip fence

3" 8" 3⁄4" (typ) 1⁄4" 21⁄4"
(typ) approx. 1"

10"

3⁄4" wd. x
3⁄8" dp.
Height of fence
groove

Countersunk mounting holes,

sized and spaced to fit fence
Elevation – from behind Profile

48 Popular Woodworking January 2007

WOODWORKING
ESSENTIALS BY NICK ENGLER

4
CHAPTER

Customize Your Table Saw

T
here are dozens of table saw acces-
sories you can mount on your
machine to make it safer, more
accurate or extend its capacity. Some
can be purchased, others can be made
by you. By carefully choosing these
options, you can soup up your old table
saw or customize a new one.
The most common additions are
a reliable rip fence, a cut-off system
(either an improved miter gauge, miter
sled or sliding table) and roller stands
or outfeed supports. But there are lots
of other accessories, many very afford-
able, that I’ll share with you in this
chapter. You can pick and choose what
will work best for you on your table saw.

A Better Rip Fence

Perhaps the most beneficial custom-
ization is a replacement fence. Many
very good rip fences are now available
from table saw manufacturers – many
as standard equipment. This is a great
improvement from more than 10 years
ago, but the better fences aren’t always
included in the base model of the
saw, but rather they’re offered as an
upgrade.
There are also a number of good-
quality, aftermarket rip fences that can

SMOOTH TIP:
Keep Things Sliding
No matter how many cool accessories you add to your
table saw, if you have difficulties moving the wood past the
blade, it’s no good. Make sure the table surface is clean
and lubricated to provide effortless material movement.
There are a number of good dry (that’s the important part)
lubricants on the market. You can also use paste wax or
paraffin wax (canning wax from the grocery store) to treat
the top. This doesn’t have to be a daily chore, but put your
lubricant to work whenever you start a new project.
TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TIP:
Cutting Irregular Pieces
Table saw sleds can be used for much
more than just crosscuts and miters.
At times there are situations where an
irregular piece of wood needs trimming.
By adding hold-down clamps to a crosscut
sled, you can easily trim the wane from a
rough piece of wood. You can even square
off a cross-section of a log with relative
ease, accuracy and safety.
GREAT TRICK:
Sled Add-ons
While you can make a separate tenoning
fixture for your table saw (See Chapter
5 for directions on how), your miter sled
can also serve as a platform to attach
a number of very useful jigs – such as
a tenoning fixture as shown above. The
fixture is a basic plywood structure
to support (and brace) the wood. It’s
adjustable from left to right (for the width
of the tenon) and the supporting brace can
even be pivoted for angled tenons.
50 Popular Woodworking January 2007
While certainly not the only good aftermarket
rip fence available, the Biesemeyer is often
considered the model to surpass. Accurate,
stable, easy to remove and replace, it can be
used on either side of the blade.
be added to your new or existing table
saw. A good upgrade, or replacement
fence, will increase repeatable accuracy
and can also increase the usable space
on your table saw. Various brands of
fences employ different mechanisms for
perfect alignment, and most come with
precise scales and hairline indicators.
When you choose a replacement fence,
consider these important features:
■ How long are the fence rails?
Most replacement fences extend the
ripping capacity – the maximum dis-
tance between the blade and fence.
To do so, they use longer front and
rear support rails (usually 35" to 50" in
length) and a larger table extension,
increasing the size of the saw. If you’re
cramped for space in your shop you may
not have room for this accessory. But
the capacity gained is worth serious
consideration.
■ Will the fence dismount easily?
For many operations, you must remove
the fence from the saw. This task is eas-
ier with some brands than others. Some
aftermarket fences have a rear lock that
slows removal and replacement. Others
connect to the front rail and need to be
released or slid off the rail to remove.
Aftermarket miter gauges offer increased
accuracy, capacity and built-in adjustable
stops. They also allow the workpiece to remain
flat on the table saw surface.
These mountings can improve accu-
racy, but they can be a trade-off.
■ Can the fence be used easily on
both sides of the blade? Many factory
and replacement fences can be used
on the right and left sides of the blade.
But on some, the fence face must be
removed and reversed when changing
sides.
■ Can you easily mount jigs on
the fence? Many table saw operations
require you to mount shop-made jigs on
the fence. It’s easier to drill bolt holes
in some replacement fences than oth-
ers. You may also find a fence that can’t
be drilled at all – for this, you need to
clamp a jig to it. Some fences actually
include T-slots in the fence to make
attaching accessories easier.
Aftermarket rip fences can cost hun-
dreds of dollars – potentially one-third
the price of your saw – so when possible,
getting a good rip fence on a new table
saw is preferable. If you’re upgrading,
choose carefully.
Miter Gauges
Factory miter gauges often are as inad-
equate as factory fences, but deciding
what to replace them with is more
complex. How much cut-off work do
you perform on the table saw, and how
large are the boards that you must cut
accurately? If you crosscut lots of large
boards, you need a crosscut (or miter)
sled instead of a replacement miter
gauge. For small work and an occasional
large board, a good miter gauge will
serve you well.
Here are a few features to look for in
a quality aftermarket miter gauge:
■ The miter bar should be adjustable
to allow you to custom fit it to the miter
slots in your saw top. No matter how
accurate the miter gauge, if the bar fits
sloppily in the slot your work will suffer.
■ Some type of adjustable stop
should be included on the fence. It
should be able to be located easily any-
where on the crosscut fence. It should
be stable, but if possible, a stop that can
flip out of the way of the cut without
changing the setting is also advanta-
geous.
■ Make sure you look for a fence
that is adequate to the task. A miter
gauge should allow you to set a stop for
the length of a table leg, so at least 30"
capacity is recommended.
When you use a miter gauge,
whether a factory gauge or a replace-
A two-sided crosscut sled allows equal support on either side of the blade and also functions as
a partial blade guard. While stops can also be added into this design (as shown) it doesn’t easily
allow for adjustable miter cuts.
This shop-made crosscut sled has one miter bar and the sled runs right up against the blade. It
also adds a mitering feature by adding a sliding track that allows the fence to pivot and lock. A
commercial version, the Dubby, is also available at 800-533-6709 or in-lineindustries.com.
ment, there is friction between the
wood and the saw table as you push the
work across the surface. The larger the
board, the greater the friction – and the
greater the tendency for the board to
twist or creep as you make your cross-
cut.
A crosscut sled works like a miter
gauge, but it also supports the wood
and eliminates the friction. Crosscuts
– particularly cuts in large boards – are
smoother and more accurate with a sled.
While you can’t easily make your
own miter gauge, a shop-made crosscut
sled is definitely an option. There are
two distinct styles of shop-made sleds,
one that slides on the left of the blade
and another that slides on both sides of
the blade, with a kerf cut in the sled to
allow blade passage. Both have benefits.
Stop
The left-sliding sled (shown above)
supports the workpiece for square and
mitered cuts, but it does not support
the waste piece during or after the cut.
The “fall-off” piece can truly fall off
and without proper caution can become
a hazard. This can also cause tear-out
at the end of the cut. One solution is
to add a second fixed table of the same
height as the sled to the right of the
blade.
Another option is to use a larger
wooden sled that rides in both miter
slots, allowing you to support the
workpiece on both sides of the blade. It
also will always be set for a square, 90°
cut, but will not easily accommodate
mitered cuts.
Sliding Tables
Like a crosscut sled, a sliding table sup-
ports the work so you can crosscut large
stock accurately and easily. But unlike
a miter sled, the supporting surface is
flush with the saw table. And instead
of sliding back and forth in the miter
gauge slots, this accessory rolls back and
forth on bearings and rails.
A sliding table usually replaces the
left table wing on your saw and will
require you to relocate, or shorten the
fence rails. This will also limit how far
you can position the fence to the left of
the blade, so be mindful of this compli-
cation.
Most sliding tables not only allow
moving larger panels past the blade
effortlessly, but they also have stops
mounted on the crosscut fence that can
accommodate up to a 62" crosscut. The
popularwoodworking.com 51
TIPS & TRICKS
SAFETY TIP:
Bend & Split
For a splitter to work correctly it needs to
be perfectly aligned with the blade. Most
factory-provided splitters are made from
a light-gauge steel that can be easily bent.
If your splitter should lose alignment, it’s
easy to readjust using a hand screw clamp
to apply pressure to the splitter bending it
back into alignment. Of course, you need
to remove the clamp when making a cut.
SAFETY TIP:
Nothing Like the Real Thing
While outfeed tables and roller stands can
make things much easier when cutting
large material, sometimes there’s nothing
like a helping hand ... when helping cor-
rectly. Remember, both operators must be
clear of the danger zone. You must each
understand what is expected of you dur-
ing the operation and what you will do if
something goes wrong. Hand signals are
best. Also, remember that the guy pushing
the board is in charge. If you’re the helper,
don’t try to direct the board through the
blade. That’s his job!
52 Popular Woodworking January 2007
This sliding table makes crosscutting panels and longer boards simple and accurate.
Although they require a bit more space in your shop and are expensive, they can be a valu-
able addition.
fence can also be repositioned to the
front of the table for front-supported
crosscuts, or angled for miter cuts.
While very advantageous, sliding
tables are expensive and are usually
recommended for cabinet saws. If you’re
working with a contractor saw, you’ll
likely be adequately served by adding a
simple miter sled to your setup.
Blade Guards/Splitters
This is another area where manufactur-
ers have provided what is necessary on
the saw, but pricing has kept guard sys-
tems at the bare minimum and they’re
often cumbersome to use. So we recom-
mend upgrading your safety systems on
photo by al parrish
your saw. An aftermarket splitter and
guard provide more safety and are easier
to use, but they can cost hundreds of
dollars. Despite the price, they’re a good
investment.
Aftermarket overarm blade guards
that replace the guards shipped with
the saw offer improved convenience
and safety, but the convenience usually
means you must use both an overarm
guard and a splitter for complete safety.
An overarm guard (and there are a
half dozen available) usually employs
a clear shatterproof basket that covers
the blade area and makes it difficult to
bring your hand in contact with the
blade. Suspended and height adjustable,
Overarm guards are
designed to keep your
hands away from the
blade, but also provide
easy and clearly visible
saw operation. Able
to quickly swing out
of the way as needed,
this guard also has
built-in dust collection.
these guards can be made to operate in
most cutting procedures. When a piece
needs to be run vertically on the saw,
the guard is designed to swing out of
the way (temporarily), and swing easily
back into place without extensive reset-
ting. Some even include built-in dust
collection.
The splitter plays an important
safety role. By introducing a thin steel
or high-impact plastic plate into the An aftermarket splitter/pawl assembly is shown in position (left) and being easily removed
blade kerf after a cut, the splitter keeps (right), without the use of tools. The splitter keeps a cut board from pinching the blade, while
the divided piece of wood from pinch- the pawls reduce kickback. The two parts work together to ensure your safety.
ing the blade, should the pieces be
inclined to twist because of internal
tension in the wood. you may prefer one style over another. face could be made from melamine or
Another part of a splitter is a set of You can also make your own roller laminate to provide less friction against
toothed pawls that are spring-loaded stands from kits, or from odds and ends a moving workpiece.
and move out of the way as a board in your shop, if that’s your preference. It’s usually handy to make two of
passes them. But the teeth will catch on Outfeed tables are more permanent these tables (shop space permitting).
the board keeping it from moving back in design and are exactly what they One serves as an outfeed table behind
towards the operator in a kickback. sound like. The tables are usually about the saw to catch longer pieces, while the
Typically an integral part of a 24" wide and about 48" long, and are other is used at the left side of the saw
manufacturer-supplied guard, the split- designed to be about 1 ⁄8" lower than the to support longer pieces. If necessary,
ter and pawls can cause headaches. You height of the saw’s table. These are usu- you can get by with one table, locating
must remove them for specialized saw ally shop-made items and the top sur- it for your immediate support needs.
operations such as using a dado stack.
Once removed, they can be difficult to
reattach. Plus, they can become easily
misaligned.
Aftermarket splitter/pawl assem-
blies that can be quickly detached and
reinstalled without using tools are now
available. These accessories are just
good sense and should always be used
in conjunction with an overarm guard
system.

Roller Stands & Outfeed Tables

While it might be advantageous to
build permanent outfeed tables and side
tables to support larger work on your
saw, it’s not always practical.
There are two distinct types of tem-
porary work support that make handling
larger pieces on the table saw manage-
able – roller stands and outfeed tables.
Roller stands are available for sale in
a dizzying array of designs. They all are
adjustable in height to align with your
saw’s table and offer some type of low-
friction support head. This can be a set
of oversized ball bearings, one or more Roller stands serve as a simple helping hand when working with wide or long material. The Lee
large rolling bars, or as simple as a tilt- Valley stand shown here uses swiveling casters to support and move the material. It’s adjustable
ing, slick plastic surface. All work, but for height in both gross or fine increments using separate mechanisms.

popularwoodworking.com 53
TIPS & TRICKS
HANDY TIP:
Fence Straddler

To make a zero-clearance table insert, plane a piece of hardwood to the thickness of your regu-
lar blade insert. Trace the shape of the insert on the planed stock and saw it with a band saw,
cutting about 1⁄16" wide of the line. Fasten the metal blade insert to the wooden blank with
double-faced carpet tape and rout the final shape with a flush-trim bit. Adjust the height of the
bit so the pilot bearing follows the shape of the metal insert while the cutters trim the wood.

Zero Clearance Inserts to ride on. Another benefit is by provid-

Push sticks and push blocks are valuable
accessories. But sometimes you want
even more control than usual. I recom-
mend making at least one fence straddler.
When making a narrow rip cut, the stock
can be lifted off the table saw as it passes
by the rear of the blade. It can also be
pinched between the blade and the fence,
and then flung like a spear. A fence strad-
dler allows you to both hold the stock
on the table and feed it past the blade.
Because the U-shape of the jig straddles
the fence it adds great stability and the
handle on top keeps your hand even fur-
ther from harm’s way.
All table saws come equipped with a
throat plate insert. These usually have
a 3 ⁄8"-wide slot running the length of
the opening to accommodate most saw
operations, including bevel cuts. While
they work, the slot, which is three times
the width of the blade, can allow waste
to drop between the blade and the
insert where they will likely be splin-
tered.
Don’t throw the insert away: Hang
onto it and make your own zero-clear-
ance table saw inserts. In fact, make a
few of them. Not only will they keep
fall-off pieces from being thrown back
at you, but when cutting joints, you
have more bearing surface for your work
ing better support on the underside of
the cut, zero-clearance inserts reduce
splintering, especially in plywood.
The photo above shows how to make
a simple zero-clearance insert. Once
made, run your saw blade down to it’s
lowest point and fit the plate into the
throat opening. Hold the plate in place
(either by placing the rip fence over
the edge of the plate, or by clamping
a board across the edge of the plate)
then turn on the saw and slowly run the
blade up through the plate.
If you would like to make a throat
plate that can be adjusted for height
to fit perfectly flush with the saw table,
make your blank thinner and then add

BASIC TIP:
Everything Handy Three types of feath-
erboards are shown
This may seem a little simple, but no other
here. At the top is
single tip will save you as much time and a shop-made one
frustration. Five accessories to always that can be clamped
keep at the saw: pencil, tape measure, across the saw table.
safety glasses, bench brush and calipers The “feathers” are
or a steel rule. No matter how much atten- created by making
repeated cuts on the
tion you’re paying in your shop, half the
band saw. The lower
time you end up leaving one of these items left one has a strong
somewhere else and have to go chasing magnet that locks it
it before you can make your cut. This can to the saw table and
lead to inaccuracies, poor safety habits uses flexible plastic
paddles. The third
and frustration. Find a drawer or even
rides in the miter
store these items in the hollow front rail of slot and uses plastic
your rip fence, but keep them at the saw. feathers to apply
pressure.

54 Popular Woodworking January 2007

short wood screws to the plate, located
to rest on the tabs inside the throat
opening. By adjusting the screws, you
adjust the plate.
Featherboards
You can increase accuracy and safety
with featherboards, which press stock
against the fence or table during a cut.
Featherboards work just like the
pawls on a splitter assembly, but they’re
tension-loaded, not spring loaded. As
wood is pushed past the fingers, they
bend out of the way, but will not allow
the material to be pulled back through.
This keeps your work tight against a saw
table, saw fence, or both at the same
time.
You can purchase plastic feather-
boards or make your own. Evenly
spaced kerfs ripped in the end of a piece
provide the tension. For less tension,
make the cuts longer. For more tension,
shorten them up. A straight-grained
hardwood is best for featherboards.
Once made, the featherboards are
clamped in place. They should be posi-
tioned to avoid forcing the piece against
the blade. To avoid clamp placement
problems, you can also make simple
hold-downs to fasten the featherboards
in your miter slot.
Push Sticks
Push sticks – one of the most impor-
tant table saw accessories – are often
overlooked. When it comes to safety,
you can never have enough push sticks
handy.
I’ve known woodworkers to use very
simple and very elaborate push sticks.
In my opinion both are great, as long
as they’re being used. And don’t worry
about nicking your stick with the saw
blade. It’s much easier to make a new
push stick than to grow a new finger.
There are dozens of manufactured
push stick designs. Some are shipped
with new table saws and many other
designs are sold in catalogs and retail
locations. All are fine, but consider
making your own instead. Use either a
solid hardwood or high-density ply-
wood. Either copy a shape from a store-
bought design that you like, or design
your own. Just make sure you use them.
Other Accessories
■ Powertwist Belt
If you have a contractor saw, this is
a great upgrade. This belt, commonly
called a “link belt,” makes your saw run
smoother and with less slipping. It costs
about $7 a foot (you’ll probably need 4'),
but it’s worth it (available from Wood-
craft, 800-225-1153 or woodcraft.com).
■ Mobile Base
Many woodworkers are challenged
by space and one way to ease that is
with the use of mobile bases. Even your
table saw can be made mobile, though
usually cabinet saws are set in place and
not moved. If you add a mobile base to
your contractor-style table saw, make
sure it can be locked solidly in position
with no movement. The last thing you
want is your saw shifting during a cut.
■ Dust Collection
Table saws are much more friendly
about creating dust (at least in volume)
compared to planers and jointers, but
the dust they do create is fine and still
dangerous. Most cabinet saws offer an
effective dust port in the base. Contrac-
tor saws require some special effort. The
open back makes dust collection less
efficient, but it’s still worth the effort.
PW
Two useful and functional push-stick designs
are shown here. The lower design applies very
specific hold-down pressure at the notched
tip of the stick. The upper stick is actually
more of a push shoe. The entire surface ahead
of the notch rides on the material, providing
pressure not only behind the wood, but along
the length of the wood as well.
Low-cost Splitter
One of the most recent and affordable
options for making your table saw safer
is this polycarbonate plastic splitter from
Micro Jig (407-696-6695 or microjig.
com). About $20, this splitter installs on
any zero-clearance throat plate (which you
should have anyway) in about 30 minutes.
The splitter mounts right behind your
blade holding the two recently cut pieces
of wood apart and greatly reducing the
chance of kickback. When you need to
make a dado or through-cut, it can be
removed quickly and then can be easily
dropped back into place after the cut.
Micro Jig makes splitters that will
work with standard 1 ⁄ 8"-wide saw blades
and also thin-kerf blades. Each package
comes with two splitters. Each face of the
two splitters exerts a different amount of
pressure (in .003" increments) against
your stock and the rip fence. This allows
the splitter to function as a featherboard,
adding accuracy to your rips. Each kit
includes the drilling guide (that doubles as
storage for the splitters when not in use on
your saw), drill bit and instructions.
The splitter slips into three holes drilled
in your zero-clearance throat plate,
directly behind the blade.
The drilling guide doubles as storage
for the splitters when not in use and
attaches to the underside of the throat
plate.
popularwoodworking.com 55
 JIG JOURNAL
Saw Sled
T
his multipurpose saw sled offers the sliding table
itself, with a fence long enough for most crosscut
applications and a micro-adjustable fence stop for
duplication and accuracy. The sled can use a purchased
aftermarket miter bar, or you can make your own from a
piece of hardwood. I added a microadjustment mecha-
nism to the stop using a #10-32 flat-head machine screw
threaded into the stop, with a jamb nut and knurled nut
on the other end to turn the screw easily.

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56 Popular Woodworking January 2007

WOODWORKING
ESSENTIALS BY NICK ENGLER

5
CHAPTER

Advanced Joinery
I
n Chapter 3 we discussed basic
joinery on the table saw, including
miters, bevels, rabbets, dados and
grooves. In this chapter we’re going
to take those concepts a step further.
Essentially we’ll be using the same
techniques. These joints simply require
a little more thought before you begin.
We’ll be looking at compound miters,
tenons, dovetails, lock joints and
splines.
Each of these joints can be created
using tools other than the table saw.
Some might even argue that they can
be made more easily on other tools. For
example, compound miters can be eas-
ily created using a miter saw. Tenons,
dovetails (with the help of a jig), lock
joints and splines can be handily cre-
ated using a router or a router table.
But why buy extra machinery, tools
and jigs if you don’t have to? All of
these joints can be easily achieved with
your best friend, the table saw.
Compound Miters
To start we’ll take a look at compound
miters on the table saw. While regular
miter joints are a mainstay in picture
framing, if you want to make a more
complicated, three-dimensional frame
you need to cut a compound miter.
Useful for much more than picture
framing, the compound miter joint is
probably most commonly used in form-
ing corners for crown moulding. This
joint can be accurately created on the
table saw with just a little help from
mathematics.
To cut a compound miter on a table
saw you need to both tilt the blade
and angle the miter gauge for each cut.
When two boards are joined by com-

PRO TIP:
1-2-3 Crown
When adding crown moulding to a cabinet,
start by cutting the compound miter on one
end of the front piece, then allow plenty
of length and rough cut the other end a bit
long. Then cut the appropriate compound
angle on both short return pieces for the
sides, again leaving plenty of length to the
back of the cabinet. Use one return mould-
ing to align the front moulding (forming the
complete compound miter), then mark the
exact location of the second miter cut on the
Photo by Al Parrish

front piece. Attach the front moulding, then

simply mark the square cut on the back of
each return, make the cuts and attach.
 TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TIP:
Choose Your Blade

To make a compound miter, angle the miter gauge and tilt the blade. Compound miters are used
to join boards whose faces slope, such as crown mouldings.
Fitting tenons into mortises can be a little
tricky, but by using the right blade you can
make it easier. If you know you can cut a pound miters, the boards slope, rather matching left and right compound
tenon to fit perfectly, then using a ripping than rest on an edge or a face. This miters, flip each board face for face so
blade (or flat-bottomed dado) to form the slope and the number of sides of the that a different edge rests against the
frame determine the necessary blade miter gauge and a different face rests
cheeks makes good sense. But if you want
tilt and the miter gauge angle. (See the against the table when cutting each
to make your tenon oversized and sneak
chart at right to find the settings needed end.
up on the final fit with a shoulder plane,
for different frames.) After cutting all the compound
you don’t want to have to plane too much A standard crown moulding (fit- miters, tape the pieces together to
material for fitting. Rather, use a crosscut ting in a 90° inside or outside corner) complete the frame and inspect the
blade to form your oversized tenon. The commonly has a 45° slope. Reading our joints. If the joints gap on the inside,
tooth configuration on the blade will leave chart, for four-sided miters, we come up decrease the blade tilt. If they gap on
a corduroy-type finish on the tenon cheeks with a blade bevel angle of 30° and a the outside, increase the blade tilt. If
with hills and valleys. Planing away only miter gauge angle of 54.74°. the slope is greater than you expect it
the hills to get a perfect fit is much easier. Before committing to the com- to be, decrease the miter gauge angle.
pound-miter setup called out on the If it’s less than expected as measured
chart, make a sample to check your from horizontal, increase the angle. Just
SMART TIP: angle. Cut some small scrap pieces using make sure you don’t change any one set-
Easy, Cheap Clamping the recommended angles. Cut enough ting more than 1 ⁄2° between tests.
to complete your test shape. To make Another way to calculate compound
You’ll notice I used simple tape to hold
together my compound miter test at right.
Tape can come in handy after the test as
well. When you’re assembling odd-shaped
pieces such as a six-sided compound-
miter shape it’s nearly impossible to put
clamps on the piece. Go ahead and use
tape instead. Lay the pieces to assemble
with the miters facing down. Butt the
joints together and put tape across the
joint. Repeat this for all but the last joint.
Then carefully flip the taped pieces, add
glue and fold the shape, taping the last
joint. The pressure exerted by the tape as
the joints close will be plenty adequate to
hold everything together.

To test a compound miter setup, cut enough sample pieces to form your ultimate shape. Cut all
the pieces to the same length so you can complete a small frame. Tape the parts together, then
inspect the joints and measure the slope.

58 Popular Woodworking January 2007

miters is with a scientific calculator
(about $9 at most office supply stores)
with SIN, COS, TAN and INV buttons.
On some calculators, the INV button
Step-off block
is labeled FUNC or the key is blank. If
you have a computer and use Microsoft
Excel software, you can download a
simple Compound Miter Calculator that
I wrote. Visit popularwoodworking.com
and click on the “Magazine Extras” link. Sandpaper

Tenons
When it comes to reliable joinery the
mortise and tenon is excellent for
frames, including table bases, doors and
cabinetry. The male part of the joint, the
tenon, is easily made on the table saw.
First, the shoulders of the tenon are
cut using a miter gauge to guide the
workpiece. Depending on the required
dimensions of your tenon, you may be
able to make all four shoulder cuts with-
out changing the saw setup. I typically
use a tenon that is half the thickness of
Defining 3 ⁄16" shoulders on all four sides of a tenon is simple. The piece is run over the blade
using a miter gauge. I’ve added sandpaper to the face of the miter gauge to keep the piece from
slipping. I’m also using a step-off block that allows me to set my fence to align the cut, but as
the miter gauge moves forward, the block stays behind to avoid kickback if the piece binds.
cut the cheeks. There are a few ways this
can be tackled on a table saw, primarily
either with the piece held vertically or
horizontally. To cut the cheeks horizon-
tally, a dado cutter works well and will
accurately center the tenon. Another

Illustration by Len Churchill

the workpiece. With a 3 ⁄4"-thick piece
of wood that would require a 3 ⁄8"-thick
tenon. This leaves a 3 ⁄16" shoulder on the
two wide sides of the tenon and that’s
usually a perfectly good size for the two
narrow shoulders as well.
With the shoulders defined it’s time to
advantage to using this accessory is that
you can cut both a shoulder and a cheek
in one pass. If you don’t own a dado cut-
ter, a single blade can also be used by
making repeated cuts to nibble away the
waste. It’s slower, but it still works.
To cut the tenon in a vertical man- Mortise-and-tenon joint

Compound Miter Chart for the Table Saw

4 sides butted 4 sides mitered 5 sides mitered 6 sides mitered 8 sides mitered
Slope° Miter Bevel Miter Bevel Miter Bevel Miter Bevel Miter Bevel
angle angle angle angle angle angle angle angle angle angle
0 45 90 54 90 60 90 67.5 90
5 45.11 3.53 54.1 2.94 60.09 2.5 67.58 1.91
10 45.44 7.05 54.42 5.86 60.38 4.98 67.81 3.81
15 45.99 10.55 54.94 8.75 60.85 7.44 68.19 5.69
20 46.78 14 55.68 11.6 61.52 9.85 68.73 7.52
25 47.81 17.39 56.64 14.38 62.38 12.2 69.42 9.31
30 49.11 48.59 49.11 20.7 57.82 17.09 63.43 14.48 70.27 11.03
35 50.68 42.14 50.68 23.93 59.24 19.7 64.69 16.67 71.26 12.68
40 52.55 35.93 52.55 27.03 60.9 22.2 66.14 18.75 72.4 14.24
45 54.74 30 54.74 30 62.81 24.56 67.79 20.71 73.68 15.7
50 57.27 24.4 57.27 32.8 64.97 26.76 69.64 22.52 75.09 17.05
55 60.16 19.21 60.16 35.4 67.38 28.78 71.68 24.18 76.64 18.26
60 63.43 14.48 63.43 37.77 70.04 30.59 73.9 25.66 78.3 19.35
65 67.09 10.29 67.09 39.86 72.93 32.19 76.29 26.94 80.07 20.29
70 71.12 6.72 71.12 41.64 76.05 33.52 78.83 28.02 81.94 21.07
75 75.49 3.84 75.49 43.08 79.35 34.59 81.5 28.88 83.88 21.7
80 80.15 1.73 80.15 44.13 82.81 35.37 84.27 29.52 85.89 22.12
85 85.02 0.44 85.02 44.78 86.38 35.82 87.12 29.87 87.93 22.43
90 90 0 90 45 90 36 90 30 90 22.5
Note: The slope is measured from horizontal, with the assembly resting on a bench or work surface.

popularwoodworking.com 59
TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TIP:
No-mortiser
Mortise
Large through-mortises
in furniture can be time
consuming and require
equipment (a mortiser and
appropriate chisel) that you
might not own. These types
of mortises often occur in
table legs and there you’re
in luck. You can build the
mortise into the leg and
use your table saw to make
it. Most trestle-style legs
are too large to be cut from
one piece of wood, so a
glue-up is required. By run-
ning matching, wide dados
in the leg halves prior to glue-up, you can
make almost any size through-mortise
with a minimum of effort.
PRO TIP:
Dedicated Dovetail Blade
If you do a lot of dovetailing on the table
saw, you may find it convenient to have a
blade modified specifically for the task.
Have your sharpener grind the teeth of a
rip or combination blade so all the teeth
are angled at 10° (be sure to indicate
which way your saw tilts). This will allow
you to cut right to the shoulder line on the
tail board, saving a lot of handwork. You’ll
still be able to use the blade for most regu-
lar work. – Excerpted from Cutting Edge
Table Saw Tips & Tricks, by Kenneth S.
Burton (Popular Woodworking Books).
60 Popular Woodworking January 2007
ner I recommend using a tenoning jig
that holds the piece tightly in place,
as shown above. Another advantage
to a tenoning jig is it also guarantees a
centered tenon. The piece is flipped to
cut both cheeks, but the jig remains in
place, centering the tenon. You should
always make a sample piece to test-fit
the tenon to its mortise and adjust the
setup as needed.
While you can’t make a mortise on a
table saw, you can make a variation on
the traditional mortise-and-tenon joint
known as the corder bridle joint. This
joint leaves the mortise and the tenon
visible from the ends of the adjoining
boards.
While not as strong as a true mortise
and tenon, it greatly simplifies the mor-
Illustration by Len Churchill
Bridle joint
Cutting a tenon vertically on
the table saw is really only safe
if the piece is held tightly in
place during the cut. A simple
shop-made tenoning jig like the
one shown here locks the piece
in place quickly with the snap
of the toggle clamp’s lever.
My tenoning jig is designed to
straddle my rip fence, adding
even greater stability and con-
trol during the cut.
Toggle
clamp
tising operation and both parts can be
cut with a single setup on the table saw
using a tenoning jig.
The bridle joint shown below is
designed for joining a rail to the center
of another piece. If the top piece were
trimmed away at the left end of the
joint, you could easily form the corner
of a door frame. All of this can be done
on the table saw and without having to
fuss with cutting a mortise.
Dovetails
Dovetails on the table saw? Not pos-
sible! At least you might think so, but
if you’re making through dovetails
(dovetails that allow the joinery to be
visible from both sides of the joint), it
can be done.
Jim Stack, an accomplished wood-
worker and author, shared his method
for through dovetails on the table saw.
The trick is all in a special sled spe-
cifically designed to keep everything
aligned during the cuts.
You still need to lay out your dove-
tails as your would with any dovetail
jig, but with this method you’re not
limited by templates and you can make
the pins as thin as you’d like without
the worry of fitting a router bit into the
opening. The page at right shows you
how to make the jig and how to put it to
work. I’m afraid we’re still working on
a method to cut half-blind dovetails on
the table saw.
Table Saw Dovetails
The table saw is great for cutting dovetails guard block behind the fence at this location. 6. Attach the blade-guard blocks to the straight
because it can cut straight and square. You Put the jig in the other miter slot and repeat the fence in the same manner that you did with the
can create the look of a hand-cut joint by process. angled fence. Use glue and screws.
using this two-sided sled and a rip blade. 5. Screw the straight fence to its mounting 7. Set your saw blade so it’s square to the table
1. Use three #6 x 3 ⁄4" wood screws to attach cleat, then screw one end of the mounting cleat and about 1" above the base of the jig. Cut a
the hardwood miter guide to the bottom of the to the base, allowing the fence to pivot until kerf into each angled fence. Don’t cut all the
base at dead center. you square this fence to the blade. With the jig way through the blade-guard blocks.
2. Use #8 x 11 ⁄ 2" wood screws to attach the in one of the miter slots, hold a framing square 8. Turn the jig around and bevel your saw blade
angled fences to their mounting cleats and against the long fence and line up the other arm to 10°. Cut this angled kerf into both sides of the
cut a 10° angle on the each end. of the square with the saw blade. Screw the straight fence. – Jim Stack
3. Draw a line down the center of the base assembly in position.
and screw the assemblies to the base. !NGLEDMOUNTINGCLEAT%
4. Attach the blade-guard blocks behind the &ENCE" "LADEGUARDBLOCK'
angled fences. Then put the jig in one of the -ITERGUIDE&

miter slots on your table saw and mark where
the blade meets the base. Attach a blade- !NGLEDFENCE#
"ASE!
Dovetail Fixture
No. Let. Item Dimensions (Inches) Material
T W L
3 ∕4
1 A Base 111∕2 28 Plywood
3 ∕4
1 B Straight fence 41∕2 28 Plywood
3 ∕4
2 C Angled fences 41∕2 15* Plywood 
3 ∕4
1 D Straight mounting cleat 2 28 Plywood
3 ∕4
2 E Angled mounting cleats 2 15* Plywood 
1 F Miter guide 3 ∕8 3 ∕4 131∕2 Hardwood Dovetail
4 G Blade-guard blocks 11∕2 2 3 Hardwood fixture -OUNTINGCLEAT$
* Cut to fit.
Illustration and photos by the author
To Cut Your Dovetails:
1 2 3

Lay out the pins on the end and both faces
of the workpiece. Be sure to mark the waste
material. Set the saw blade height to the
thickness of the stock. Using the angled
fence on the fixture, make your defining
cuts for one side of the pins.
Move the fixture to the other miter gauge
slot, switch to the other angled fence and Nibble away the waste between the pins with
make the cuts on the other sides of the pins. repeated passes over the blade.
5 6

Tilt the blade to 10° and turn the fixture around Flip the part face for face and make the defin-
so the straight fence faces the blade. Raise the ing cuts on the other side of the tails. Then
blade to the material’s thickness. Make the clean out the waste. Clean out the corners of
Use the pins as a template to lay out the tails. defining cuts on one side of each tail. the tails with a chisel.

popularwoodworking.com 61
TIPS & TRICKS
PRO JIG:
Joinery Dividers
Once you’ve mastered the lock joint, put
it to work for the inside of the drawers as
well. The same joinery technique can be
used to add fixed dividers to any drawer or
box. Simply space off the locations for the
dado cuts, running both sides at the same
time (to make sure they’re even). Then run
the tenon cuts on as many dividers as you
need. This same concept can be used for
curio shelving.
Lock Joints
Similar to half-blind dovetail joints,
lock joints (or locking tongue-and-
dado joints) cannot be seen from one
direction and are often used to assemble
drawers. They’re much easier to make
than dovetails – you can cut them with
a single setup on a table saw. The trade-
off is that they don’t withstand shear
stress as well as dovetails (the wood in
front of the dado will shear off if you
pull too hard on the drawer front).
However, they are still a good choice for
small drawers or drawers that won’t see
much use.
To make a lock joint, mount a dado
cutter on your saw and adjust the depth
of cut to equal half the thickness of the
board. As most drawer boxes are made
of 1 ⁄2"-thick material, make the tongue
and the thickness of the dado 1 ⁄4" thick.
This works out fairly well for the dado

PRO TIP:
Spline Grain Direction
The grain in a corner spline should run
across the joint for maximum strength. For
a hidden spline, this means the length of
the piece will be only about 3 /4", while the
width will be considerably more. Rather
than try to cut such a short, wide piece,
make the splines from fairly narrow pieces
and use as many as necessary to fill the
groove. – Excerpted from Cutting Edge
Table Saw Tips & Tricks, by Kenneth Bur-
ton (Popular Woodworking Books).
The first cut for the lock joint is made with the inside face of the drawer part flat against the
table saw. The piece is slid snug against the fence to locate the dado 1 ⁄4" in from the end. The
Vertical spline miter gauge must be set accurately at 0° and the fence exactly parallel to the blade to avoid
binding.

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DBO
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1 ⁄4" step-off

piece
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Flat spline
(S PG
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A 1 ⁄4"-thick step-off piece is used to cut the tenon on the end of the drawer fronts and backs.

E MJO
JSF F

4QMJOF
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Not only does this simple block add a bit of safety against binding, but it also allows you to
PO

make this second lock joint cut without having to reset the blade or fence.

62 Popular Woodworking January 2007

 plywood or hardboard. Solid wood is
best if the spline is decorative and the
grain runs perpendicular to the joining
pieces. Plywood is excellent when the
top plys run with the grain of the joint
making a good glue surface while the
cross-grain plys add strength. Hard-
board, which has no grain direction, is
good for any grain direction.
Illustration by Len Churchill
The advanced spline joint is one
used to reinforce miter joints. Depend-
ing on how a miter joint is oriented,
you can run the splines either horizon-
tally or vertically. Also, you can choose
whether to cut the spline before or after
you assemble the miter joint. Splined
miters in which the grooves are cut
after the parts have been assembled are

Making a spline groove is no differ- sometimes referred to as open spline

Lock joint
stack as well, requiring only the two
outer blades to make a 1 ⁄4"-wide dado.
And as an added benefit you can actu-
ally set the saw and fence once for both
ent than making an ordinary groove. joints, because both ends of each spline
Use a saw blade or dado cutter to cut are clearly visible. PW
a groove as wide as the spline is thick.
Cut the depth about 1 ⁄32" more than half
the spline’s width to allow excess glue
space.
If centering the spline is necessary,
simply run the board twice with oppos-
ing faces against the fence. Start with
the blade near center on the edge, then
sneak the fence over till the groove is

Illustration by Len Churchill

exactly the right width.
cuts.
Dry-fit your spline. Half the spline
Using the fence and your miter gauge
should fit in one groove and half in the
to guide the stock, cut the 1 ⁄4" x 1 ⁄4" dado
other, with just a little side-to-side slop.
in the workpiece. The stock is held flat
If everything checks out, spread glue on
against the saw table and snug against
the adjoining surfaces, the splines and
the fence face. Spline joint for frames
in the grooves, and assemble the joint.
To cut the mating tongue section,
you essentially want to shift your dado
cut to the end of the board, rather than
1 ⁄4" in from the end. To do this, use a

1 ⁄4"-thick spacer against the fence.

Set the tongue board flat on the saw

table as before, using the miter gauge
again as your guide. Slide the board
against the 1 ⁄4" spacer and then push the
board forward toward the blade. The
spacer remains behind, leaving a 1 ⁄4"
space between your board and the fence
face. Hold the piece tightly against
the miter gauge and make your cut.
That’s all it takes – you have your 1 ⁄4"
x 1 ⁄4" tongue that should fit your dado
perfectly.

Splines
A spline is a small board, usually just
1 ⁄4" to 1 ⁄8" thick, that spans the joint

between two boards. The spline rests

in two matching grooves – one in each For splines, make a quick carriage to help support the assembly as you move it past the blade.
board. You also can install a spline in The blade height should be just shy of the joint’s inside corner. For flat frames, you can saw right
matching rabbets or dados if needed. through the carriage’s supporting pieces. Just be sure no screws are in the path of the blade.
Splines can be made of solid wood, – Excerpted from Cutting Edge Table Saw Tips & Tricks, by Kenneth Burton (Popular Woodworking Books).

popularwoodworking.com 63
JIG JOURNAL

Microadjustable Finger-joint Jig

T
his finger-joint jig is designed
to make evenly spaced, square
notches in the ends of adjoin-
ing boards, leaving multiple tenons
that interlock to form a finger joint. A
standard finger-joint jig has just three
parts: a back that you attach to your
miter gauge, a movable face that feeds
the wood into a dado blade to cut the
notches and a tenon that aligns the
wood for each cut. To space the fingers
properly you move the face right or
left to adjust the space between the
tenon and the dado blade. If the fin-
gers are too close together, they will
be too tight to assemble easily. If too This finger-joint jig uses a #10-32 machine screw so you can fine-tune the fit of your fingers.
far apart, the joint will be loose.
Positioning the face properly is
often a frustrating loop of trials and Because the machine screw has a 5 ⁄32"-diameter hole for the machine
errors. Cut a finger joint, test the fit, 32 tpi, one turn will move it precisely screw and then cut threads in the hole
move the face, cut another joint and 1 ⁄32"; one half-turn moves it 1 ⁄64"; one with a tap. (You can purchase a #10-32
so on. By adding one more part to quarter-turn is 1 ⁄128". When the flat tap at most hardware stores.) To make
this jig – a small wooden block that head is resting against the face, the it easier to turn the machine screw,
mounts a #10-32 machine screw and face will move a precise amount. No simply install a knurled nut on the
serves as an adjustable stop – you can guesswork! end and tighten a stop nut against it.
make this adjustment simple and Make the tenon and stop from
accurate. hardwood such as oak or maple. Drill

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Adjustable stop detail

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Finger-joint jig – exploded view

64 Popular Woodworking January 2007

WOODWORKING
ESSENTIALS BY NICK ENGLER

6
CHAPTER

Special Techniques
A
lthough the table saw was Using a Moulder moulding profiles, they can all be
invented to cut large boards into A moulder is used very much like a grouped into three categories:
smaller ones, that’s not all it will dado cutter, with one important differ-
do. With the proper accessories, you ence. While there are only two basic ■ Single-purpose Knives
can use it to cut a variety of woodwork- dado cuts (dados and grooves), there These knives are designed to cut just
ing joints, and an astonishing number are as many different cuts as there are one shape, such as a cove, a bead or an
of simple or complicated decorative moulding knives. The shape of each ogee. And they do that very well.
shapes and profiles for your projects. moulding cut is determined by the
One such accessory is a moulding shape of the knives used to make it. ■ Multi-purpose Knives
head or moulder. A moulder mounts on Furthermore, you can create hundreds These knives cut two or more shapes.
the saw’s arbor similarly to a dado set of additional shapes by passing a board Usually one side of the knife is ground
and also makes broad cuts. But unlike over the moulder two or more times, to cut one shape and the other side is
a dado cutter, the kerf left by a moulder using different knives for each pass. ground to cut another. This saves setup
is rarely square. There are a variety of Although there are many different time required to change knives.
knives that fit in the moulding head
and each cuts a different shape. With a
good selection of moulding knives you
can make decorative cuts or complex
joints.
In this chapter we also discuss how
to cut raised panels for doors and cabi-
netry. Plus, we show you step by step
how to cut delicate tapers for table legs.

SAFETY TIP:
Work Large, Then Small
Many mouldings are created on smaller strips of wood.
Don’t attempt to mould narrow stock or any workpiece
that’s too small to safely control on the table saw.
Photos by the author

Instead, mould a larger board and then cut the smaller

piece from it. Another option is to make a quick jig that
captures the small piece to immobilize it while you create
the profile.
TIPS & TRICKS
SAFETY TIP:
Right at Hand

Ogee knife Ogee-and-bead knife Tongue-and-groove coping knives

The ogee knife (left) is a single-purpose knife because it cuts only the ogee shape. The ogee-
and-bead knife (middle) is a multi-purpose knife that will cut two different shapes, depending
on how you set up for the moulding cut. The tongue-and-groove coping knives (right) are pre-
cisely matched – one cuts a groove and the other cuts the tongue to fit it.

With all of the special saw techniques in ■ Coping Knives Make sure the flat surfaces all face in
this chapter, safety is even more impor- These cut interlocking joints. They the direction of rotation. Tighten the
tant. With the blade extended further than come in matched sets – one part of the screws that hold the knives in the head,
normal and when using larger cutting set cuts one half of the joint, while the then check each screw again. With a
other part cuts the other half. standard table saw operating at 3,500
knives, the possibility for accidents is
rpm, you don’t want one of these knives
increased. Keep your safety gear nearby.
Setup and Use coming loose.
In fact, keeping a push stick stuck to your
Moulding knives normally come in sets Set the position of the rip fence and
saw fence is a great idea. If you have a of three. This is a good idea because it the depth of cut as you would for a dado
metal saw fence, inset a couple magnets helps balance out the moulding head. cutter and cut test pieces to check your
in the handle of your push stick to keep Using only two knives can cause exces- setup. If you plan to cut two or more
it always handy. If your fence isn’t metal, sive vibration during the cut. Three shapes in the same piece (for example,
hook-and-loop fabric will work just as knives also improves the quality of the if you want to cut an ogee and a cove
well. cut, creating more cuts per inch. in the same board to form a crown
Each knife in a set is ground identi- moulding) cut several test pieces after
cally to the others. (Coping knives you fine-tune the first setup. Use these
PRO TIP: come in six-knife sets containing two pieces as samples to test successive
Historic Profiles matching sets of three.) To mount setups.
One of the great advantages of using a the knives in the moulding head, slip As you’re making your cut increase
moulding head is the ability to create your
them into the slots in the cutterhead. the arbor height in increments to get
own profiles. This is especially useful in
reproducing existing moulding such as Common Moulding Knives
baseboard and crown mouldings found in
older homes. These mouldings can’t be
purchased any more and the only option is
to grind your own knives. If possible, mix-
ing and matching existing moulding knives
may accurately reproduce these com-
plicated profiles. If not, you still have the
option of creating your own knife profiles.
Cove Quarter-round Ogee Cove & bead Flute
By using a blank set of knives (flat
topped with no cutting edge) you can
copy the pattern onto the knives and then
carefully grind the required shape with a
special grinding wheel or rotary tool. The
knives must be nearly identical and equally
balanced. The finish may not be as perfect
as a manufactured profile, but it’s much
cheaper than having custom knives made. V-groove Planer Cloverleaf Glue joint Door lip

66 Popular Woodworking January 2007

 If there are no available throat plate
inserts for the moulder you wish to
use, you can easily make your own.
First make an insert blank by using the
existing insert to match the perimeter
shape. Then lower the moulder height
below the table. Bring the fence over
until it covers the insert plate, but make
sure it isn’t covering the location where
the moulding knife will come through.
If you’re unsure where the knife will
come through, you can clamp a scrap
board across the insert instead of using
your saw fence. Start the saw and
slowly raise the cutter up through the
insert only as high as needed.
your finished profile. Feed the wood
slowly over the cutter. If you feed the
wood too quickly, the shaped surface
will show ridges or mill marks. How-
ever, be careful not to feed the wood
too slowly, especially when moulding
hardwoods. If the moulder dwells too
long in any one spot, it will heat up and
burn the wood.
The advantage of a moulder over
a router or shaper is that it will cut all
three surfaces – the face of a board as
well as the edges and ends, and it can
do it in one pass in some instances.
Shapers can also cut in one pass, but cut
only edges and ends, while the deco-
rative face cuts you can make with a
router are limited. To mould the ends
Cove and Quarter-round
quarter-round & bead
Tongue & groove Rule joint
To cut a moulded shape in the edge or end
of a board, position the rip fence next to or
partially covering the knives. Place the face
of the board on the table and slowly feed the
stock over the cutter. Here, a moulder forms
part of a corner bead in the bottom edge of a
or edges, position the rip fence next to table apron.
or partially covering the moulder (see
photos at right). To cut the face, move
the fence away or use the miter gauge
to guide the work (see the photos below
for details).
When cutting moulded shapes with
the board on edge, you must not reduce
the width of the board. If your moulding
profile shapes the entire edge you need
to carefully set the depth of the cut so
the moulder does not plane the board.
If the moulder removes too much wood,
the board will rock forward toward the
You also can mould an edge with the face of
end of the cut, making the moulded edge
the board against the rip fence and the edge
crooked. This is especially important on the saw table. Here, the same apron board
when cutting coped edge joints, such as has been turned to cut the second part of the
rule joints, and tongues and grooves. corner bead. Note: If the board is significantly
wider than the rip fence is tall, use a tall fence
extension to support it.
Combination Three-bead Three-flute
quarter-round
When moulding the face of a board, use a
miter gauge to guide the board if cutting
across the grain and a rip fence if cutting
with the grain. Here, a moulder cuts three
beads down the center of a table apron using
the same knives that made the corner bead
Cabinet door shown in the previous photos.
popularwoodworking.com 67
TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TIP:
Even, Quiet Spacing
Spacing and the proper bevel on a raised
panel will make a perfect fit in the door
frame. That is, until the panel shrinks
because of humidity changes. Then the
door will rattle and shift in the frame. A
new concept (and product) to counteract
this (and to make the initial panel-fitting
simpler) is called Space Balls.
The concept is to place small rubber
balls (.26" in diameter) into the groove
in the frame. As the panel is placed in
the groove the balls compress, perfectly
spacing the panel in the frame. At a later
time when the panel shrinks, the balls will
decompress, maintaining the panel spac-
ing and keeping it from shifting.
Space Balls are fairly inexpensive
(about $5 for 100) and are available at a
variety of woodworking supply houses,
including Rockler (800-279-4441 or
rockler.com). If you’re feeling really thrifty,
foam strip insulation will also work well,
as will thin beads of silicone caulk
PRO TIP:
Finish First
Raised-panel doors can create a finish-
ing problem that can be easily avoided.
Because the panels are designed to float
or move in the frame, unfinished wood can
be exposed if the door is stained and fin-
ished after assembly. To avoid this, once
your door has been successfully test-fit,
remove the panels, and sand and stain
them to their finished color. A thin coat of
clear finish (if you’re using one) is also a
good idea at this time. It will keep the final
staining of the frame from clouding or
smearing the stain on the panel.
68 Popular Woodworking January 2007
Illustrations by Mary Jane Favorite
Bevel too steep Panel too thin Bevel correct
Panel splits frame Panel loose in frame Panel snug in frame
When making a raised panel, the bevel angle is critical. If it’s too steep (left) the panel could
split the frame that it’s mounted in. If you thin out the panel too much (middle) the panel will be
too loose and will rattle every time the door is moved. The bevel should be angled so it barely
touches the groove’s side when the edge of the panel rests in the groove’s bottom, as shown
above (right). In situations where wood may shrink or expand because of humidity changes, you
must leave the panel slightly loose to avoid damaging the frame.
Making Raised Panels When not in a door frame, raised
Raised panels are a staple in much tra- panels are also used as bottoms in most
ditional and contemporary woodwork- traditional drawers, allowing a thin
ing. They form an attractive solid-wood groove to support the bottom, while
panel for doors and cabinet sides, and still offering full-width support for larger
even can be used for most of the pieces drawers.
(sides, bottoms and tops) required for a When using the table saw for spe-
variety of boxes – both decorative and cialty work, such as raising panels, it’s
functional. They allow solid wood to important to remember that pushing a
be used in large physical applications table saw to perform tasks that it wasn’t
without concerns for wood movement originally designed to do can create a
caused by seasonal changes in humidity. safety problem. If you overextend the
To determine the proper bevel angle of
a raised panel, draw a full-size cross-
section of the groove and the panel
on edge as shown. Decide how thick
the panel should be at the perimeter.
(Most woodworkers prefer not to cut it
thinner than 3 ⁄16"; if the beveled area
Bevel angle becomes too thin, the panel will be
weak.) Measure that thickness along
the bottom of the groove from the bot-
To account for the tom left corner of the groove and make
seasonal shrink- a mark. From this mark, draw a line that
Not less
ing and swelling
of solid-wood than 16" just touches the top right corner of the
3 ⁄
groove. With a protractor, measure the
panels, you’ll
need to trim a bit angle between the side of the groove
off the width of and the last line you drew – that’s the
the panel before bevel angle you want to cut. Tilt the saw
assembly. blade to that angle.

table saw, you can easily lose control
of the workpiece. This, in turn, makes
the operation dangerous, inaccurate
or both. When trying new techniques,
you must maintain safety, accuracy and
control.
Often, the easiest way to do this is
to build a simple, sturdy jig to hold or
guide the workpiece. A well-made jig
is a tool in its own right, with its own
capabilities and limits. For raised panels
I highly recommend using a tall fence
extension. The standard fence on a
table saw is just too short to fully sup-
port a door panel being run on edge.
Along with the tall extension, a feath-
erboard to hold the piece tightly against
the fence will make things safer, and
also will ensure a quality cut with fewer
saw marks.
A raised panel is a board with edges
and ends that have been beveled or
tapered so the stock is thicker in the
center than it is at the perimeter. This
panel is usually mounted in a frame that
allows it to expand and contract with-
out stressing or distorting the project.
You can raise a panel on a table saw by
beveling the ends and edges.
Before you can do so, you must
decide what angle to cut the bevels.
Most raised panels are designed to fit
into grooves in their frames. If you
make the bevel too steep, it will act as a
Field
Rip fence
Step
Saw Saw blade
table
wedge in the groove – when the panel
expands, the bevel will split the sides of
the groove. If you make the bevel too
shallow, the panel will be loose in the
groove. The bevel must be angled to
just touch the groove’s side when the
edge of the panel rests in the groove’s
bottom. When you’ve determined the
proper bevel, tilt the saw blade to that
angle.
Next, decide whether the raised
panel will have a step between the field
(raised area) and the bevels, and how
large that step will be. Most woodwork-
ers prefer to make a 1 ⁄16"- to 1 ⁄8"-deep
step (about the same width as the saw
teeth). This helps delineate the field
from the bevels and makes the visual
effect more dramatic.
If you decide to make a step on the
Raised panels often have a step between
the field and the bevels that emphasizes the
design. If you decide to make a step, you must
carefully position the rip fence so just the out-
side corners of the saw teeth break through
the surface of the wood. The tops of the teeth
will create the step. To make a shallower
step, simply raise the blade – the teeth will
protrude farther from the panel. To make it
deeper, lower the blade, changing the width
of the raised panel.
panel, place the rip fence so that just
the outside corners of the teeth break
through the wood as you cut. Make sev-
eral test cuts to get the fence positioned
just right, then cut the bevels in the
ends and edges of the panel.
Because the blade was tilted when
you cut the bevels, the step won’t be
square to the field. Depending on the
grind of the saw teeth, it may not even
be flat. It is best to correct this by trim-
ming it with a second series of saw cuts.
However, if the step is tiny you can use
a file, scraper or sandpaper.
When you make your cuts, start with
the ends of the panel first, then the long
edges. If there’s any tear-out while you’re
cutting across the wood grain, it will be
removed when you cut the two bevels
that are parallel to the grain.
One other note: On many table saws
the blade tilts to the right. This means
the fence must be placed to the left of
the blade (away from the tilt) when rais-
ing panels.
After it’s cut, the step will not be square to the
field. Some woodworkers prefer to correct
this by trimming it with a second series of saw
cuts. However, the step is so small that all it
really needs is a little special attention with a
file, scraper or sandpaper. If you use sandpa-
per to correct the angle of the step, wrap the
paper around a hard, square block to make the
step as flat as possible.
popularwoodworking.com 69
TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TIP:
Optical Illusion
When making legs, whether for chairs or Hypotenuse
tables, choosing your wood carefully can
make the difference between beautiful
and bizarre. The grain direction in your
lumber can make or break the look of a Rise or side
piece. This goes double for tapered legs. If
your grain direction is running in contrast
or in harmony with the taper on your legs, On a sheet of scrap paper, draw
a large right triangle with the
it changes the look.
same slope as the taper you
The illustrations below help explain this. want. Use this as a gauge to set
Angled grain (in either direction) gives the tapering jig to the proper
your leg a barber pole appearance. Your angle: Align one arm with the
best wood selection is a straight grain (rift base of the triangle and the
other with the hypotenuse.
cut) pattern with as little cathedral as pos-
sible. This is not only better for aesthetics,
it also makes for a stronger leg.
Making Taper Cuts
To taper a board, you must reduce its then narrow to 1 ⁄2" at the bottom, the
width gradually from one end of the single-taper run is 1" (11 ⁄2" – 1 ⁄2" = 1"),
board to the other. That requires hold- and the double-taper run is 1 ⁄2" ([11 ⁄2"
ing the board with its length at a slight – 1 ⁄2"] ÷ 2" = 1 ⁄2").
angle to the blade as you rip it.
A tapering jig is one common tool
for this job. This jig (detailed in Chapter
11 ⁄ 2" 11 ⁄ 2"
2) consists of two long arms, hinged
together at one end. A ledge is glued
to one arm near the end opposite the 4" 4"
hinge. A metal brace lets you adjust and
lock the angle between the two arms.
The arm without the ledge guides the
jig along the rip fence, while the other
holds the stock at an angle to the saw
blade.
To set up for a taper cut, you must
know the slope of the taper. You also
24" 24"
should know whether you will cut a
single taper (on a single side or two
adjacent sides) or a double taper (with
tapers on two or more opposing sides).
Shown at right are two tapered table
legs, each 24" long. The one on the left
has a single taper; the one on the right,
a double taper. The foot of both legs is
the same width. The rise is equal on
both. On both legs, the taper begins
4" from the top and continues to the 1 ⁄ 2" 1 ⁄ 2"

Angled Straight Angled bottom, making the rise 20" (24" – 4"
= 20"). The run is not equal. Although Single taper Double taper
both legs are 11 ⁄2" wide at the top and Rise=20", Run=1" Rise=20", Run=1 ⁄ 2"

70 Popular Woodworking January 2007

Using scrap stock, cut several test pieces to
the same dimensions as the workpieces you
will taper. Lay out the tapers on each of these
pieces. Place the jig on the table saw with the
guiding arm against the fence and place a test
piece against the ledge on the other arm of
the jig. Position the fence so the inside edges Turn on the saw and slowly push the jig forward, feeding the stock into the blade. As you do so,
of the teeth brush the layout line that marks monitor the cut to make sure the blade follows the layout line. If it does, the setup is correct. If
the start of the taper. not, readjust the angle of the jig or the position of the rip fence.

To set the tapering jig to the proper

angle, draw a right triangle on a large
sheet of paper. The base on the triangle
must be the same length as the rise, and
the side of the triangle must be equal to
the run. Place the jig over the triangle,
then adjust it so one arm is parallel to
the base and the other is parallel to the
hypotenuse (see photo top left). If the
slope of a taper is given in degrees, you
don’t have to calculate the rise. Simply
draw the triangle so the angle between
the base and the hypotenuse matches
that given for the slope.
Next, transfer your taper to a test
piece of wood. Place the jig on the table
Make the first pass of the double taper as if you were cutting a single taper.
saw with the guiding arm against the
fence. Position the fence so the taper will
begin at the proper point and make a test
cut in a piece of scrap. If the test results
are acceptable, cut the good stock.
To cut a double taper, make the
first pass as if you were making a single
taper. Then flip the board so the cut
edge faces the jig. Place a wedge-shaped Shim
shim between the workpiece and the
jig to hold the stock at the proper angle
and make the second pass.
Because the most common use for
tapering is table legs, there is one other
thing that should be kept in mind dur-
ing this process. If you will be using
mortise-and-tenon joinery to build
your table, it’s easier to cut the mor-
tises in the legs prior to tapering them. To cut a double taper, you must make two passes. Use a wedge-shaped shim (shown above) to
It’s much harder to form an accurate position the stock on the second pass. The dimensions and slope of this shim are the same as
mortise on a shape that doesn’t have flat the triangle you drew to set the angle of the jig. Lay out the shim on scrap stock, place the scrap
sides. PW in the tapering jig and cut the shim. Saw to the inside of the layout line.

popularwoodworking.com 71
 JIG JOURNAL

Height Gauge

T
his simple gauge has a wide stance so it can stand on
its own, leaving both hands free to make adjustments.
The large shoulder makes it easy to position the gauge
over the blade or cutter and you can adjust the width of the
base to fit the distance between fence and cutter.
To make the gauge, cut the parts to the sizes and shapes
needed. Drill the bases for bolts and dowels, and rout a
groove in the slide. Glue the dowels to the short base and
fasten the plastic shoulder to the slide with screws. Cut slots
in the tall base, sawing from the ends into the holes. Also,
glue a scale to the tall base so the measurements run from
the bottom edge up.
Fasten the shoulder/slide assembly to the tall base with
carriage bolts and screws. Insert the dowels through the
holes in the tall base. To clamp the tall base to the dowels,
drive screws through the slots from the top edge.

10" 1 ⁄4"-dia.
31 ⁄ 2" 3" 31 ⁄ 2" pilot hole
11 ⁄ 2" above 1 ⁄ 2"

kerf 3 ⁄4" 4d finishing

nail (2 req’d)
5 ⁄ 8" (typ) 1"
5 ⁄16"-dia. x 13 ⁄4"-lg.
#12 x 2" RHWS 11 ⁄ 2" 31 ⁄ 2" 61 ⁄ 2"
3 ⁄4"
and washer 11 ⁄ 2" carriage bolt, washer
(2 req’d) and wing nut (2 req’d)
1"
1 ⁄ 16"-wd. saw kerf
31 ⁄ 2"
3 ⁄4"-dia. x 12"-lg. 31 ⁄ 2"
11 ⁄ 2"
3 ⁄4"-dia. thru 11 ⁄4" dowel
1 ⁄4"-thick
21 ⁄ 2"
acrylic plastic
#6 x 3 ⁄4" Paper 5 ⁄ 32"-dia.
FHWS scale pilot hole Profile
(2 req’d) below
kerf
Short base
Elevation

Dowels
Slide
illustrations by mary jane favorite

Tall base Exploded view

Shoulder

72 Popular Woodworking January 2007

WOODWORKING
ESSENTIALS BY NICK ENGLER

7
CHAPTER

Advanced Techniques
i
n this chapter I’ll be sharing some
advanced techniques you can use on
your table saw to do some amazing
things. How about cutting coves for
crown moulding? That’s just one appli-
cation for a coved shape, and with a
couple of simple jigs you can match any
size cove you want.
And how do you get an odd-shaped
piece of wood such as a tree slab into
shape to move on to the next wood-
working step? A couple of tricks with a
sled make this advanced technique easy.
Pattern sawing is another trick
I’ll discuss. If you have a project that
requires multiple multi-sided shapes,
this technique will save you time.
And finally, my favorite: How to
bend a straight board into a curved
board without steam bending. I’ll show
you how to do it all with a technique
called kerf cutting.
Once you try these advanced table
saw techniques, there’s no end to the
ways you’ll be able to put them to work
in your woodworking projects.
Photos by the author
Cutting Coves
The concept of cove cutting on a table
saw might sound strange. You’re essen-
tially using the side of the blade’s teeth
to make a dishing cut along the length
of a board. While this isn’t an opera-
tion most saw or blade manufacturers
would suggest, it isn’t bad for the blade
or the saw as long as the cut is taken
slowly and in small increments. And
it’s also plenty safe as long as you use
the correct jigs and techniques.
The depth of the cove is deter-
mined by the height of the blade above
the table. The width of the cove is
determined by the angle of the board
to the saw. This is where it gets a little
tricky. To determine the coving angle,
some woodworkers use a trial-and-error

method until they get what they want.

TOOL TIP:
Using The Right Blade
When cove cutting on the table saw it’s helpful to
use a blade with the proper tooth configuration. I
don’t say necessary, because you can make this cut
with any type of blade. But it’s more helpful to use a
combination or ripping blade than a crosscut blade
because the inside of the cove will be easier to sand.
A crosscut blade uses an alternate, top-bevel tooth
arrangement that will leave score marks on the cove.
Ripping and combination blades add a flat-topped
raker tooth, leaving a cleaner surface on the cove.
 #8 x 1" FHWS
TIPS & TRICKS 3⁄4"

1⁄2" Stretcher
(4 req’d)

1"
TRIM TIP: 1" (typ)
Sprung Mouldings Pilot hole
location detail Rule
One of the most common usages for cove Rule
cuts is in making crown moulding. This 1⁄2" (typ)
type of moulding is referred to as a sprung
moulding because it will lean out from
the surface to which it’s attached. The

Illustrations by Mary Jane Favorite

Stretcher
two mounting faces of a sprung mould-
18"
ing can be cut at any angle, but the two
angles must add up to 90°. To complete
101⁄4" Exploded view
the moulding you need to double-bevel the
edges of the moulding stock on the table
saw. If you cut only one bevel (shown at
right) the remaining faces will look odd.
Parallel Rule Jig
A parallel rule consists of four pieces of wood – two rules and two stretchers. Join them at the
The example (below left) has been double ends with screws, making a parallelogram. All the screw holes must be centered between the
cut and now looks like a proper crown. edge of the rules and stretchers, and they should be the same distance from the ends of the
boards. Tighten the screws until they’re snug, but not so tight that the parts won’t pivot easily.

60º 60º

I prefer something a little more precise, position, draw two pencil lines across
so I use what is known as a parallel rule the saw table that trace the inside edge
jig. You can make one for yourself very of each rule. The angle formed by the
simply by following the illustrations and saw blade and either one of these lines
instructions above. is the coving angle.
Once your jig is made, raise or lower The next step is to determine the
the blade to the desired depth of the distance from the lines (and the blade)
30º 30º cove. Next, adjust the parallel rule to to position your guide on the saw. The
the width of the cove by widening or illustration below will help you find this
Right Wrong
collapsing the rules. Then place the information.
parallel rule on the saw table so the rule To guide your cut, you can simply
straddles the blade, front and back. clamp a straightedge to the saw table or
TRIM TIP: Turn the rules at various angles to you can use a coving fence positioned
Mixing Coves the blade while slowly spinning the at the proper angle and distance from
blade by hand. Find the position where the blade, as shown above right. I’ve
By combining coves made on your saw the teeth of the saw blade brushes both included plans for a simple coving fence
and other profiles using a moulding cutter- rules. Holding the parallel rule in that at the end of this chapter (page 80).
head you can create complicated mould-
ings for dozens of projects.
Measure the distance between the
two lines made with the parallel
rule, then draw a third line halfway
between and parallel to them.
This marks the precise middle of Stop line
the cove cut. Use all three marks Middle line
as references to determine both
the angle and the position of the
coving fence on the saw table.
For example, if you want to cut a
cove down the middle of a 5"-wide
board, the fence must be parallel
Start line
to and 21⁄ 2" away from the middle
reference line.

74 Popular Woodworking January 2007

 Fasten the coving fence to the
rip fence and adjust the angle
parallel to the three reference
lines. Then move the rip fence
sideways until it’s the proper
distance away from the lines.
When the fence is positioned,
turn on the saw and raise the
blade.

You now have all the information Cutting Odd-shaped Boards To safely cut an odd-shaped board,
and parts to cut your cove. The photo Occasionally, you will need to rip or mount it on a holder that has at least
above shows the steps to set up your crosscut a board that doesn’t have an one good guiding edge. This holder
fence on the saw. Remember to place edge that’s straight or square enough doesn’t need to be a complex affair; a
the fence or straightedge on the infeed to hold against the rip fence or miter scrap of plywood with several straight
side of the blade. The rotation of the gauge. Sometimes the board is crooked edges makes an excellent holder. Nail
blade helps hold the stock against the or warped, other times it’s cut or shaped the workpiece to the plywood or secure
fence during the cut. to a particular pattern or contour. The it with double-faced carpet tape. Place
Adjust the saw blade so it projects best solution would be to straighten one the holder against the rip fence or miter
no more than 1 ⁄16" above the saw table. edge before you cut, but there are times gauge, and feed both the holder and
Turn on the saw and place the work- when you can’t do this for whatever the workpiece past the blade (shown
piece against the fence. Slowly feed the reason. below).
workpiece from the infeed side of the
saw and against the direction of rota-
tion. After completing the first pass,
raise the saw blade another 1 ⁄16" and
make a second pass. Repeat until you
have cut the cove to the desired depth
and width. On the last pass, feed the
wood very slowly – this will make the
surface of the cove as smooth as pos-
sible and reduce the amount of sanding
needed.

To cut an odd-shaped piece that

has no guiding edge, secure it
to a rectangular scrap of ply-
wood with nails or double-faced
tape. Place one straight edge
of the plywood against the
rip fence or miter gauge, then
guide the piece over the blade,
cutting both the plywood and
the piece.

popularwoodworking.com 75
TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TIP:
Small Material Safety

Cutout
Shoe

Cutting and machining small parts can be Spacer

one of the biggest challenges a wood-
worker faces. Beading, mullions, muntins
and small mouldings are difficult to make
accurately and safely. Small pieces can
bend and twist when meeting a saw blade.
The usual methods of controlling stock
can make it hard to move the parts and
add unnecessary labor.
The advice of milling large pieces and
cutting the small parts from them sounds
sensible, but isn’t always practical, and
it’s rarely efficient. You still reach a point
where you’re working with small pieces in
close proximity to a saw blade.
Here’s one method I’ve found to keep
control of small pieces on the table saw
while keeping my hands at a safe distance
from the blade. Plus, it virtually eliminates
the chance of kickback.
When ripping small stock on the table
saw, a zero-clearance insert is a must.
The other essential is a push block (shown
above) that rides along the table saw
fence. The top of the push block is the
same width as the rip fence, and the two
vertical pieces keep it securely held in a
straight line.
On the blade side, the actual shoe is
held on with a couple of screws, so it can
be easily replaced when it gets worn, or
replaced for holding different size mate-
rial. The cutout in the shoe should be close
to the thickness of the wood to be ripped,
so that the push block doesn’t tilt during
use. A small piece of scrap on top serves
as a handle, keeping my hand well out of
harm’s way.
Whether cutting a straight edge on a round object, or adding a stopped groove in the center of
an oval piece (as shown here) this sliding table holds the odd-shaped piece in place and refer-
ences off the miter slot to ensure a straight cut.
You also can use a sliding table to When the workpiece is secured, fit the
hold the piece as shown above. The jig in the miter-gauge slot and slide both
table itself is simply a piece of medium- the jig and workpiece forward and into
density fiberboard or plywood with a the saw blade.
runner attached that is sized to fit in This same sled and clamp configura-
your miter-gauge slot. Secure the piece tion can help you work with rough-cut
to the jig using the built-in, disc-shaped log sections, not just flat materials. Sim-
clamps, letting a portion overhang the ply use longer bolts for the clamps and
sliding table’s edge. you can cut up to a 3"-thick chunk of
Don’t let the disc-shaped clamps wood. You’re only held by the maximum
tilt or tip when you tighten them. If depth of cut of your blade.
they do, they will put sideways pres-
sure on the workpiece and it may shift Pattern Sawing
as you cut. To prevent this, place a Many woodworking projects require
spacer under the clamp, opposite the that you make duplicate copies of cer-
workpiece, to keep the clamp level. tain parts. This is easy enough when
Tall fence
extension
Pattern-sawing guide
Guiding edge Template
Rip fence
Blank
Saw blade
Position the pattern-sawing guide so the outside edge is parallel to the saw-blade plate and
flush with the outside edges of the saw teeth. The guiding edge of the jig must be high enough
above the saw so that it will contact the edge of the template, but not the blank.

76 Popular Woodworking January 2007

the parts are rectangular – simply rip Pattern-sawing Guide
the stock to the same width, then cut The mount and the braces are made from Brace
the parts to the same length. But what hardwood, but the guide is made from clear
if the parts are cut to a triangle, penta- acrylic plastic. This lets you see the saw blade
gon or some other odd shape? As long and monitor the saw cuts as you make them. Mount
Cut the parts to size and rout the slots in the
as all the sides of that shape are straight,
mount. Fasten the braces to the mount with
you can reproduce precise copies by pat- glue and screws, then attach the guide with
tern sawing. screws. Drill mounting holes in the tall fence
To saw a pattern, first cut a single extension and bolt the jig to the extension.
part to the shape you want. This will
serve as the template for all of your 41⁄2"
Guide
duplicate parts. Then cut rectangular 11⁄8" (typ) 3⁄4" (typ)
(typ)
blanks for the duplicates, making each
blank slightly larger than necessary.
Adjust the height of the saw blade 43⁄4" 3⁄4" 6"
to cut through the thickness of a blank. Exploded view
Mount a tall fence extension to the rip
1⁄4"-thick acrylic plastic
fence and attach a pattern-sawing guide Plan
to the extension. I’ve included plans at
right for making a pattern-sawing guide 24"
7⁄8"
that will work on nearly any table saw. 41⁄2" 15" 41⁄2" 11⁄2" 1"
Align the outside edge of the guide
(farthest from the rip fence) with the
outside edges of the saw teeth. Then 4" 53⁄4" 41⁄2"
adjust the height of the guide so the
bottom surface is 1 ⁄4" to 1 ⁄2" above the 3⁄8"-wd. 7⁄8" 3⁄4"
blade. Profile
slot thru
Brace profile
Fasten the template to a blank with
nails, screws or double-faced carpet
tape. Holding the edges of the template
against the guiding edge of the jig, saw
each side. Repeat for each blank until 5"
you’ve made all the parts you need. Saw blade
position
It’s also possible to cut a curve on the
table saw – up to a 3 ⁄4" arc per foot when
cut in 3 ⁄4" stock. Stock thicker than 3 ⁄4" Variable 15" Variable
isn’t recommended as it’s pushing the
limits of the blade. Tall fence extension layout
You use the same pattern-sawing
guide as used with straight cuts. By
keeping the curves shallow, the kerf
can’t bind on the blade because the off-
set of the teeth keeps the concave side
of the kerf away from the blade body.

Attach the template to a blank and rest it in

front of the saw blade on the infeed side. Butt
one of the template edges against the guid-
ing edge of the jig. Turn the saw on and push
the template forward, cutting one edge of
the blank. Turn the template and cut another
edge, repeating until the pattern is cut.

popularwoodworking.com 77
TIPS & TRICKS
PRO TIP:
Extra Bending Flexibility
While the whole idea of kerf bending is
avoiding steam, a little hot water can
help. If the wood is hard to bend or breaks
when you bend it, soak a towel in boiling
water. Then wrap the kerfed portion of the
board in the towel and let it sit for 10 to 15
minutes. Unwrap the towel and bend the
wood immediately, before it has a chance
to cool.
PRO TIP:
3D Bending
Straight kerfs will give you a nice curved
piece of wood. But what if you want to play
a little and twist a piece of wood? Kerf
bending still works, except rather than
cutting kerfs perpendicular to the wood,
you’re going to cut them on a diagonal.
There’s probably math out there to find
exactly the correct angle to set your miter
gauge, but happily, it’s not necessary.
Start with a 30° setting, using fairly tight
kerf spacing, about 1 ⁄4" between each
kerf. When you’ve made your cuts you can
carefully twist the spiral to test the flex.
The math isn’t necessary because you
can usually bend the spiral more or less to
match your required shape. It you do need
a tighter spiral, reset the miter to 45°.
As with the straight cuts, start with
a template affixed to the duplicate
piece. If the offcuts will be too large to
fit between the blade and the rip fence,
trim the offcuts before cutting.
Remember, shallow curves are OK,
but if you feel any resistance during the
cut, stop the saw and find another way
to cut your curves.
Kerf Bending
Most often when you think of bending
wood, pictures of steam bending and
lots of clamps come to mind. Steam
bending is a good way to bend smaller
thicknesses of wood. But when you need
to bend a 6"-wide apron for a demilune
table there’s a better way than steam
bending – it’s called kerf bending.
You can bend a board of any thick-
ness and width if you first cut several
kerfs in one side – usually the side you
won’t see on the assembled project.
These kerfs must not sever the board,
but should leave about 1 ⁄16" to 1 ⁄8" of
stock at the bottom of each cut.
The depth of the cut and the thick-
ness of the stock at the bottom of the
kerf will depend on the species of wood
– some must be cut thinner than others
to bend easily. Experiment with scraps
Radius of
until you can make a smooth, even
bend without cracks or splinters. Even
if you cut deeply without cracking or
splintering, you need to be cautious of
leaving “flats” showing on the curved
surface.
Kerf bending isn’t only for solid
wood. In fact it may even be a more
common practice with plywood. This
makes lots of sense. With the cross-
grain orientation of the layers in the
ply, you can get great strength from two
thin layers when you kerf-cut the rest of
the layers.
The radius of the curve you want
to bend determines the spacing of the
kerfs – the tighter the radius, the closer
the kerfs. To get a smooth, even bend,
the kerfs must be evenly spaced. Gauge
the spacing of each kerf by driving a
small nail into the face of the miter
gauge extension and using it as a stop.
(See photo at right.)
If you happen to need a curved piece
that will be visible from both sides, kerf
cutting still works. After kerfing one
side, a form is used to bend the piece to
the required shape. Then a layer of thin
material (usually 1 ⁄8" thick) of the same
species is glued to the kerfed side and
clamped in place.
Scrap
curve

Kerf spacing

Workbench
Calculating kerf spacing

To determine the proper spacing between the kerfs, cut a single kerf in a long scrap board of
the same thickness and species as the wood you want to bend. Fasten the board to a work-
bench, placing the clamps to one side of the kerf. Measure along the board out from the kerf
and away from the clamps, and mark a distance equal to the radius of the bend you want to
make. Lift the free end of the board until the kerf closes. Measure the distance from the board
to the workbench at the radius mark – this will give you the spacing. In practice, I’ve found it
best to space the kerfs a little closer than necessary, so the kerfs don’t quite close when you
bend the wood. Also, I never space the kerfs any farther apart than 1". If they’re too far apart,
the bend won’t look smooth.

78 Popular Woodworking January 2007

 This is also a valuable technique if
you are trying to achieve a free-form
curved piece, rather than attaching the
piece to a frame. The glued “veneer”
will serve as a form to hold the planned
shape. This is great for making glass-
topped tables and even bookcases.
Cut the kerfs only in the area where
you want to bend the wood. After
kerfing, carefully bend the wood to
the radius needed. To prevent it from
straightening out again, brace it or fas-
ten it to the project (see photo below).
S-curves also are possible by kerfing
the wood on opposite sides. This could
require adding a veneer layer to both
sides of the wood to hide the kerfs, but
it can offer a new dimension (or three)
to your woodworking designs. PW
Fasten an extension to the miter gauge, posi-
tioning it to pass over the blade when you cut.
Cut a single kerf in the workpiece and through
the extension. Drive a small brad into the
extension to the right or left of the cut (shown
at left). The distance between the brad and
the cut must be equal to the spacing between
the remaining kerfs you want to cut. Place the
workpiece against the extension with the first
kerf over the brad. Cut a second kerf, move the
board so the second kerf is over the brad and
repeat.
When you bend the wood, you must fasten
it to something to hold the curve. If you can’t
fasten the board to the project itself, fasten a
brace to the board.
popularwoodworking.com 79
JIG JOURNAL

Coving Fence
T
his coving fence is easy to position
accurately and mounts to your rip
fence. It consists of two long assem-
blies, hinged at one end. The mount
assembly remains stationary, while the
face assembly swings out and can be
locked at any angle. Cut the face from
hardwood and the remaining parts from
plywood. Rout the grooves for the braces
and drill the holes required. Cut a recess
and a slot in the mount to hold the arm.
Glue the mount and the mount brace
together to make the mount assembly,
then glue the face, face brace and hinge
block together to make the face assembly.
Hinge the two assemblies together and
attach the arm to the face brace with a
carriage bolt, washers and nut.

5 ⁄16" dia. x 41 ⁄ 2" lg.

carriage bolt, washer

and wing nut
2"
3⁄4" 11⁄2"
3⁄4"
3" 1⁄16" slot
23⁄8"
15⁄8"
4"
3⁄4"
281⁄2"
5⁄16" dia. thru with 3⁄4" dia.
Holes sized and spaced
24"
x 1⁄4" dp. c’bore to fit rip fence
Mount 221⁄2" 3⁄4" wd.

x 3⁄8" dp. Profile

blind groove Arm
3⁄8" dia.
3⁄4" wd. x 3⁄8" dp. holes (typ) 1" radius
groove

3⁄8" dia. x 2" lg.

11⁄2" x 3"
hinge carriage bolt,
1" 1" (typ)
3⁄4" washer and wing nut
11⁄4" 15"
Face
30"

Plan
Face
3⁄4" 31⁄2"
Arm

3⁄4" 43⁄4" Mount

31⁄4"

2"
Elevation
Cross section
illustrations by mary jane favorite

80 Popular Woodworking January 2007

editors pick their favorite

Accessories
A few shop-made or
commercial products
make all the difference.

M
a ny newly mi nted
woo dworker s a re
shocked when they
find out that the table saw they
just bought isn’t exactly the table
saw they need – no matter how
much they spent or which brand
they purchased.
Unlike some machines in the
shop, table saws generally need
a few accessories to become
the board-ripping, panel-trim-
ming, joint-cutting monster we
all dream of.
In fact, I like to think of the
table saw as if it’s a personal com-
puter. Fresh out of the box it’ll do
the job, but once you start add-
ing accessories (software, print-
ers, memory cards, extra storage,
etc.) it becomes the machine you
need.
Because everybody’s wood-
working is a bit different, I asked
some fellow editors at Popular
Woodworking and some of our
savvy contributing editors and
authors for a list of their most
useful table saw accessories.

by Christopher Schwarz
A few of our favorite accessories for the table saw, from top: a Penn State Industries overhead blade guard, a shop
Contact Chris at 513-351-2690 ext. made zero-clearance throat insert with a Micro-Jig splitter, a JessEm MasteRSlide sliding table, a Stots Saw-Aid and
1407 or chris.schwarz@fwpubs.com. Bench Dog Push-Loc push sticks.

popularwoodworking.com 81
accessories
The Freud Dial-A-Width dado stack
allows you to tweak your dado’s
width in tiny increments by simply
turning the collar.
Some are pricey ($500 or more)
while others won’t cost you a
dime (such as shop-made push
sticks). But all of them will help
you squeeze a little more conve-
nience, power or accuracy out of
your table saw.
A Good Saw Blade
In an effort to be funny, a couple
of our contributors said their two
favorite accessories were “elec-
tricity” and “a saw blade.” While
none of them are going to make
it big in the comedy clubs with
jokes like that, they do make
an excellent point. Most blades
that come with a table saw aren’t
ideal for woodworking. We sug-
gest you spend the $50 to $100
to buy at least one nice combina-
tion-tooth blade. Without a good
blade, no amount of tweaking
will make your saw accurate.
Contributing Editor Troy
Sexton also recommends that
one of your blades be a thin-kerf
blade. That extra 1 ⁄ 32" of wood
the thin-kerf blade leaves behind
actually makes a difference when
he’s trying to squeeze the max-
imum number of rails and stiles
out of his lumber.
David Thiel, executive editor
of Popular Woodworking Books,
says every table saw should have
a dado stack set. He’s partial to
82 Popular Woodworking January 2007
the Freud SD608 Dial-A-Width
Dado ($230). It allows you to
tweak the width of your dado
without removing the blades or
adding shims. (Freud: freudtools.
com or 800-334-4107).
Crosscutting Accessories
Table saws are designed mostly
for ripping, but with an acces-
sory or two they can be almost
as adept at crosscutting stock.
Here are a few ideas:
Crosscut Sled: Publisher
Steve Shanesy recommends a
large wooden sled that rides in
both miter slots.
“It is so much more versatile
than the slot miter gauge, and
safer, too,” he says. “It nicely sup-
ports the work, it’s always at a
90° setting and it provides con-
venient clamping for a gauge
block when making shorter
repeat cuts.”
Even simpler is the sled used
by Contributing Editor Bob
Flexner. It’s basically just three
pieces: a section of plywood for
the bed, a single scrap that guides
the bed in the miter gauge and
a piece of wood at the back that
acts as a fence.
Aftermarket Miter Gauge,
Sled or Table: There are doz-
ens of these gadgets out there
that replace or upgrade the
stock miter gauge. One favor-
ite is the Jointech SmartMiter
JSM-48 sled. This $260 accessory
handles all your mitering and
crosscutting chores for pieces
up to 48" long. (Jointech: join-
tech.com or 800-619-1288). For
a bit less money, David likes the
$190 Osborne EB3 Miter Gauge
(Sommerville Design: excalibur-
tools.com or 800-357-4118).
The only real disadvantage to
some smaller aftermarket gauges
is that they cannot easily cross-
cut wide boards. To fix that you
can step up to a sliding table.
We’ve used both the Excalibur
(from Sommerville Design) and
Exaktor sliding table systems and
have found that they’re quite sim-
ilar in construction and in their
quirks. Both do a pretty good job
and cost between $500 and $860.
(Exaktor: exaktortools.com or
800-387-9789; Excalibur: excal-
iburtools.com or 800-357-4118.)
The new JessEm MastRSlide
7500 is our favorite sliding table
(JessEm, 866-272-7492 or jes-
sem.com).
A Quality Fence
A good rip fence is the heart of
the machine. One nearly uni-
versal favorite is the classic
Biesemeyer fence system ($270
to $340).
The Jointech
SmartMiter is
accurate, versa-
tile and has a huge
crosscut capacity.
Its phenolic sled
is remarkably
stable, too.
“I have owned and used sev-
eral aftermarket fences, and,
in my opinion, none is as con-
sistent, reliable and accurate
as the Biesemeyer,” Troy says.
Many companies have cloned
this front-locking fence design,
and it has become the industry
standard as well as a favorite.
(Biesemeyer: biesemeyer.com
or 800-782-1831.)
No matter which fence sys-
tem you use, contributing author
Jim Tolpin recommends soup-
ing it up with what he calls a “T-
fence” – essentially it’s an add-on
to your fence that allows you to
cut patterns and curves on your
saw using a template. The fence
is featured in his book “Table Saw
Magic, Second Edition” (Popular
Woodworking Books).
Aftermarket Splitter
And Guard
We were surprised by how many
of our contributors also were fond
of the Biesemeyer aftermarket
splitter and overarm guard.
Aftermarket Splitter: This
critical safety device “is a dra-
matic improvement over the
splitters that come equipped on
table saws,” says Lonnie Bird,
a woodworking instructor. “A
splitter works to keep the stock
off of the back of the blade and

The MastRSlide takes up little space, is lightweight, has all the capacity a
traditional shop would want and can be used on a saw with a mobile base.
lowers the risk of kickback.”
The Biesemeyer replaces the
flimsy stock splitter on many
brands of contractor and cabinet
saws, and pops out easily when
you need it out of the way. It’s
pricey ($130), but worth it.
“The Biesemeyer splitter has
become one of my most impor-
tant allies at the table saw,” adds
Paul Anthony, who edits Popu-
lar Woodworking’s “Tricks of the
Trade” column. “It is rock-solid
and does not go out of adjust-
ment, although it can be a bit
fussy to align initially.”
L on nie a l s o li ke s t he
Biesemeyer aftermarket guard
($430 or more), which is a clear
Lexan basket that hovers over
the saw blade. Stock guards
and splitters are usually flimsy
and a chore to use, so it’s worth
your while to upgrade and work
safer.
Featherboards
You can easily increase your
ac cu r ac y a nd s a fet y w it h
featherboards, which press
your stock against the fence or
table during a cut. The follow-
ing featherboards scored high
on the list of accessories every-
one should own.
Commercial featherboard:
David really likes the Feather-
Loc featherboards from Bench
Dog ($25-$35). These lock into
almost any miter slot and are easy
to adjust and move as you work
(Bench Dog: benchdog.com or
800-786-8902).
Shop-made featherboards:
Matt Bantly, who illustrates Pop-
ular Woodworking’s “Tricks of the
Trade” column, uses a shop-made
featherboard version that locks
into his miter slot with a knob,
a bolt and a T-slot nut.
Meanwhile, Steve has a huge
featherboard on his table saw
with more than 10" of bearing
surface (we call it the “mother-
board” in our shop). It actually
hooks onto the saw’s table and
is particularly useful for cutting
joints on the saw.
More Safety Equipment
There are a number of additional
devices that you should add to
your machine:
Push Stick: Steve recom-
mends a shop-made push stick
similar to the one shown at the
top of page 22. “The elongated
forward section keeps pressure
down on the work toward the
back of the blade, where the
dreaded kickback always starts,”
he says. The store-bought push
sticks pictured in the opening
picture on page 83 are of a sim-
ilar design.
Oversized Stop Button: Jim
is a big believer in modifying your
saw’s switch so you can turn it
off without taking your hands
off the workpiece. His device is
essentially a long board that fits
over the saw’s switch. When you
tap the board with your hip or
foot, a dowel in the board pushes
the machine’s “stop button.”
“It’s probably saved my life
on more than one occasion,”
he says.
Zero-clearance Throat
Plate: You might not think of
this as safety equipment, but it
is. With this accessory you have
almost no gap between the blade
and the throat plate, so fall-off
pieces can’t get thrown back at
you, David says. Plus, when cut-
ting joints, you have more bear-
ing surface for your work to ride
on. It also reduces splintering,
especially in plywood, and helps
line up your work to the blade.
Steve Shanesy’s
oversized feath-
erboard adds
accuracy and
safety to many
tricky table saw
operations.
Other Accessories
Here are a couple that I’m per-
sonally fond of:
Delta Arbor Nut: An after-
market product for Delta saws
(item #36-659) combines the
nut and flange into one piece.
The nut is knurled so you can
easily hand-tighten it on the
arbor, and you can grip it more
securely while removing it. This
accessory is an easy $20 upgrade
(Delta: deltawoodworking.com
or 800-223-7278).
10" Sanding Disk: You can
put this disk (item #129272) on
your saw’s arbor for just $17. It
turns my cabinet saw into a 3-
horsepower tiltable disk sander
with built-in dust collection.
(Woodcraft: woodcraft.com or
800-225-1153.)
Powertwist Belt: If you have
a contractor saw, this is a great
upgrade. This belt, commonly
called a “link belt,” makes your
saw run smoother and with less
slipping. It costs about $7 a foot
(you’ll probably need 4'), but it’s
worth it (also available from
Woodcraft). PW
popularwoodworking.com 83
Table saw

Tenon Jig
A simple and
inexpensive accessory
to cut accurate joints.

T
he mortise and tenon is
one of those fundamen-
tal joints you’re obligated
to master. It’s used for building
frames of all sorts (including post-
and-beam architectural frames),
as well as tables and chairs.
Over the years, especially in
the last decade or two it seems,
a variety of substitute joints and
alternative constructions have
been contrived to circumvent
the mortise and tenon. I don’t
know why. The joint can be cut

Photos by the author

many ways, using different tools.
For every woodworker, regard-
less of tooling, experience and
self-perceived skill level, there
must be a method that can be
mastered.
If you’re still looking, here’s
yet another approach for cutting
tenons. It’s router-free.
If you want to saw your ten-
ons, the band saw and the table
saw are the obvious choices. Cut-
by Bill hylton
Bill is the author of several books
about furniture construction and router
operations. When he isn’t writing
about woodworking, he’s doing it in
his home shop in Kempton, Pa.
ting tenons on the band saw has
its devotees, but I’m not one of
them. Of the two saws, I prefer
the table saw for this job, primar-
ily because the finish cut is bet-
ter for the purpose. Cheeks and
edges cut with a table saw blade
are smooth and flat, while band-
sawed surfaces tend to be finely
ridged, and occasionally hol-
lowed or bellied.
On the table saw, you can cut
tenons with a dado head, or with
a regular blade and jig. I favor the
latter approach. (If you want to
try the dado-head approach, refer
to “Mortise & Tenon Basics” in
the April 2004 issue (#140.)
While you can buy a high-
quality tenoning jig, I use shop-
built ones that depend on the rip
fence for positioning. (Plans for
jigs that ride in the miter slot are
common, too.) The one I’m cur-
rently using is shown above.
Obviously, the rip fence must
be parallel to or angled slightly
away from the blade, or the jig
won’t work. (If you’re a wood-
worker who favors having the
rip fence ever-so-slightly angled
away from the blade, this jig will
work because the front tooth
does all the cutting.)
I n b r i e f, my t e n o n i n g
sequence is this: Elevate the
blade to match the tenon length,
set the tenoning jig on the rip
fence, adjust the fence to position
the cut, clamp the workpiece in
the jig, and cut the cheeks (and,
sometimes, the edges). This
leaves the cheek waste attached
to the workpiece. To form the
shoulders and separate this
waste, lower the blade to match
the shoulder width, then use the
miter gauge to guide the cuts.

84 Popular Woodworking January 2007

 Table Saw Tenon Jig
Saw accurate tenons with this shop-built jig. You simply drop it over the rip so it tightens onto the work as you pull the handle toward you. If the
fence and use it with your table saw’s work-a-day blade. You can build one, workpiece wants to creep as pressure is applied, it will be pushed
including the cam clamp, from a small amount of 3 ⁄4" plywood, a couple scraps against the saw’s table, rather than being pulled off the saw’s table.
of hardwood, and some commonplace fasteners in two or three hours. The exploded drawing and the cutting list should make the construction clear.
The jig isn’t original. You’ve undoubtedly seen photos of it in magazines The drawing shows biscuit joints, but you can use screws or nails.  — BH
and books, and perhaps you’ve made one yourself.
My iteration has a replaceable work support that’s backed up by
a blade-guard block. This work support may get chewed up. By back- Buttresses
ing out a pair of connector bolts, you can replace it. (Note that the lower
bolt must be located high and clear of the blade.) The blade block will
house the segment of the blade that passes through the work support.
To secure the workpiece, I opted for a shop-made cam clamp.
The clamp is easy to make, and its location can be adjusted to
accommodate different widths of stock. I oriented the clamp pivot Blade block

Trap fence

3

3 
3
Fence ties
Fence
3 Cam clamp

Cam layout Exploded view


 
 


 


 
 

 


 

ZPVS
GFODF  "EKVTU
UP
mU
ZPVS
GFODF
"EKVTU
UP
mU
ZPVS
GFODF

Front elevation Rear elevation Profile

  Tenon Jig
 
No. item dimensions (inches) material
T W L

 ❏ 1 Fence 3 ⁄ 4 11 17 Baltic birch

❏ 1 Trap fence 3 ⁄ 4 51 ⁄2 17 Baltic birch
 
❏ 2 Fence ties 3 ⁄ 4 4* 17 Baltic birch
  
3 ⁄ 4  
%SJMMFE
BOE
❏ 3 Buttresses 43 ⁄4 43 ⁄4 Baltic birch 
DPVOUFSCPSFE
❏ 1 Work support 1 2 11 Hardwood
GPS

UOVU

❏ 1 Blade block 1 53 ⁄4 4 Hardwood
❏ 1 Cam clamp 3 ⁄ 4 4 9 Baltic birch

*width of rip fence
Fence layout 2 - 1 ⁄4" x 20 connector bolts, 2"
2 - 1⁄4" T-nuts
1 - Roundhead stove bolt, nut and washers, 1⁄4" x 11⁄2"
1 - Roundhead stove bolt, nut and washers, 1⁄4" x 2"
2 - Fender washers, 1⁄4" i.d.

popularwoodworking.com 85
TENON JIG
With the jig straddling the fence, slide the jig up to the
blade, and measure from the jig fence to the outside of
the blade.
Now, this may seem out of
order. It’s certainly not the way
I sawed tenons at the start.
When I cut the shoulder first,
those wafers sliced away by the
cheek cut were trapped between
the jig and the blade, and would
crunch disconcertingly. They
would then either fire around
the table or virtually explode.
Now, the wafers of waste accu-
mulate, harmlessly, to the right
of the blade.
Set the Saw and the Jig
Setup is easy: Determine how
long the tenon is to be and crank
up the blade to that height.
Position the tenoning jig
next. I make the cheek cut on
the side of the workpiece that’s
against the jig. That way, I can
turn the workpiece 90° between
passes, and cut the cheeks and
edges in sequence (assuming the
shoulders are a uniform width).
To make the coarse fence set-
ting, measure from the jig to the
outside of the blade’s front tooth
with a metal rule.
The fine fence setting is made
after cutting the cheeks on a test
piece of the same thickness and
seeing how it fits in the mortise.
Just remember to trim both
cheeks each time you adjust the
fence, so the tenon remains cen-
tered on the workpiece.
86 Popular Woodworking January 2007
With the workpiece seated squarely against the table and the vertical work support, pull the
cam clamp to secure it, and make the cheek cut.
I micro-adjust my fence with
a shop-made reference block I
park on the fence rail.
• To move the fence closer
to the blade (thus increasing the
tenon thickness), I butt the block
against the fence and clamp it. I
shift the fence, insert a shim at
the end of the block and move
the fence back against the block.
The new position is offset from
the old by the shim’s thickness.
• To move the fence away
from the blade (thus reducing Making the shoulder cuts after the cheek cuts simplifies accurate setting of
the blade height, and eliminates flying offcuts. A stop on the miter gauge
the tenon thickness), hold the
ensures consistent cuts all around the tenon shoulder.
shim against the fence, push
the reference block against it
To cut the slip
and clamp the block. Remove
joint’s halves,
the shim and seat the fence tight use a tenoned
against the block. piece to reposi-
The thickness of your shims tion the rip
controls the movement. You can fence. Cut the
use feeler gauges, shim stock or notch’s inner
paper to make the adjustment. cheeks and
reset the fence
Measure the test tenon with
to remove the
a dial caliper, and compare that waste. The
measurement with the mortise- added screw
width dimension. You can nip shaft on the
off the waste on the band saw to jig fence keeps
expose the tenon for a test fit- the cam-clamp
ting, too. The shoulder need not handle away
from the blade.
be perfect for you to determine
whether or not the tenon fits the
mortise.
With the blade and jig set
(proven through a test tenon that
fits the mortises properly) cut the
cheeks. Stand the workpiece on
end, clamp it in the jig, and feed it
through the cut. Use both hands
to advance the jig. After cutting
the first cheek, release the clamp,
rotate the workpiece, reclose the
clamp and cut again.
With the cheek-cutting com-
pleted, set the tenoning jig aside,
slide the fence back and lower
the blade. Get out the miter
gauge; now, all that’s left is to
cut the shoulders.
Clean and accurate shoul-
der cuts are important for final
appearance and strength. Use
a real tenon, one from which
you’ve pruned back the waste
to expose the cheek, as a gauge
to set the blade height. At top
dead center, the teeth should just
graze the cheek.
Because you’ll be sever-
ing waste from the piece, you
shouldn’t use the rip fence to
govern the tenon length unless
you use a stand-off block. I use a
stop on my miter gauge to con-
trol the tenon length. You can
set the stop at the far end of the
piece, or you can use a miter-
gauge fence that extends well
beyond the blade to the right
and locate the stop there.
Slip Joint
Years ago, before I mastered
mortising, I used the slip joint
instead of the mortise and tenon
A slip joint features a tenon shouldered only on the faces (no edges) and
notch, or an “open” mortise, instead of a regular mortise.
for frames such as simple doors.
I could cut both halves of this
joint on my table saw using the
same jig. The joint is strong, but it
doesn’t look as clean as the mor-
tise and tenon.
The slip joint, in case the
name is new to you, is often
called the open mortise and
tenon. There’s good reason for
this. The rails have a tenon, and
the stiles have a mortise that’s
open at the top, bottom and on
one edge. Essentially, this open
mortise is a notch.
A subset of the slip joint is
one that joins the end of one
piece to the middle of another.
This is called a bridle joint.
A major advantage of the slip
joint is the ease with which it’s
made. Its disadvantage emerges
during assembly: In addition to
clamping the tenon shoulder
tightly against the mortise (as
you do in all mortise-and-tenon
glue-ups), you must clamp the
mortise cheeks to ensure they
bond to the tenon cheeks.
We were all beginners at some
point. If you have a table saw, you
can make this joint. If you have
a table saw but no mortiser, no
plunge router, and no desire to
test your hand-tool skills, even
with an assist from a drill press,
don’t fret. Use the slip joint for
your frame constructions. PW
popularwoodworking.com 87
Jim tolpin’s

Universal Rip Fence

A simple fixture lets you cut curves, patterns and tenons in one pass on your saw.

M
y universal fence fixture
– the heart of my table
saw system to which an
entire galaxy of accessories can
be attached – greatly expands
the utility and ease of use of the
table saw. With this system you
can easily create a wide variety of
joints with speed and precision:
tenons, tongue-and-grooves,
splines, raised panels, rabbets
and more.
It revolves around a single
auxiliary fence that quickly
bolts to my table saw’s existing
Biesemeyer-style rip fence. Used
by itself, this fixture (which is
generally left in place as it does
not interfere with most table saw
operations) guides wide stock
on edge through the blade.
This fixture also incorporates
a “Minitrack” T-slotted alumi-
num extrusion that accepts the
1 ⁄4"-20 attachment bolts of two or

more shop-made hold-downs to

keep stock flat to the table.

Building the Fixture

I recommend building the fixture
from 3 ⁄ 4"-thick plywood that’s

by jim tolpin

Excerpted from “Jim Tolpin’s Table Saw

Magic, Second Edition” copyright 2004
by Jim Tolpin. Used with permission
of Popular Woodworking Books, an
imprint of F+W Publications, Inc.

88 Popular Woodworking January 2007

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Illustrations by Joseph W. Bradley and Setting Pace

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free of voids and warp. Gener-
ally speaking, the more lamina-
tions the better.
Take your time to get the
cuts straight and square, then
securely glue and screw the fix-
ture together. I use biscuits to
strengthen the butt joints – full-
length shop-made splines would
give even more strength if you
want to take the extra effort to
make them. Careful construc-
tion of this fixture will ensure
PHOTO BY AL PARRISH
To attach the fixture to your
saw’s rip fence, you may only
need to drill and tap a hole in
its metal top surface to accept
the hold-down bolts as I did with
the Biesemeyer-style fence at left.
If, however, your particular rip
fence is not a square steel box,
you may have to get a little cre-
ative and extend the vertical face
of the fence to run down past the
face of your rip fence all the way
to the saw table. You can then
bore) and then through your
table saw’s rip fence.
To reduce friction (on this
and all other fixtures), note that I
use 1 ⁄16 "-thick strips of ultra-high
molecular weight (UHMW)
plastic on the bearing surfaces
of the fixtures where they run
against each other or on the table
surface. These strips and the alu-
minum extrusions (which I set
into grooves to accept attach-
ment bolts for accessory fixtures)

that the accessories that depend run bolts horizontally through are available from the suppliers
on it will run smoothly and accu- the wood fence (with the bolt listed on page 92.
rately. heads buried into a counter- In this article I will introduce

popularwoodworking.com 89
rip fence
you to three of my favorite acces-
sories that I regularly use with my
universal rip fence fixture system:
the rip fence sled, the pattern
fence and the rabbet fence.
The Rip Fence Sled
The most versatile and proba-
bly most popular of the fixtures
is the rip fence sled, which nests
and slides on top of the basic fix-
ture. It offers a multitude of uses
depending on how it is set up.
It can act as a short rip fence; a
tenon jig with integral clamps
and replaceable backing strips;
an end-bevel cutting and shap-
ing jig; or a feather spline miter-
joint carriage (for frames).
An adjustable guide system
allows you to tweak the amount
of sliding friction. The use of this
sled brings precision, efficiency
and control to many common
table saw processes.
Here I will explain just a cou-
ple of its applications includ-
ing: cutting tenons on the end
of a board and creating a feather
spline joint in the corner of a
mitered frame.
Cutting Tenons with the
Rip Fence Sled
I often use the rip fence sled to
cut tenons vertically. It’s a fast
and accurate process.
To cut both cheeks of the
tenon at once, I install two iden-
tical blades. The one caveat is
that your saw must have suf- augmented by paper or plastic
ficient power (2 horsepower dado-blade washers for fine-tun-
minimum is recommended) to ing the width. Note that the
run two blades simultaneously washer width must be greater
through the type of material you than the tenon width to account
are cutting. I also recommend for the fact that the blades’ car-
using a 24-tooth, thin-kerf rip bide tips are wider than the saw-
blade – here you’ll need two – to blade plate. I install a fresh throat
ensure best results. If you do not plate and set the fence to a story
have these blades, you could use stick. (A story stick is simply a
the two outer blades from a stan- scrap piece of wood with a partic-
dard dado stack set. Be aware, ular project’s dimensions trans-
however, that they won’t cut as ferred to it.)
efficiently as the thin-kerf rip Begin by test-cutting a scrap
blades and will require more piece. When satisfied, clamp the
step cuts. stock in place and begin making
Setting up the double blades the cuts in steps, never more than
requires a plywood washer (don’t 1" in a pass – less if dense hard-
use solid wood, as its thickness wood. On the last cut, in which
can change with the humidity) the blades reach the shoulder

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Rip fence sled QMZXPPE blades to create a tenon’s cheeks.

90 Popular Woodworking January 2007

cuts, push the sled all the way
past the blade and turn off the
saw. After you cut these cheeks,
finish the tenons by cutting the
shoulders.
Cutting Feather Spline
Joints with a Rip Fence Sled
I often use “feather spline” joints
on the corners of a frame to add
decoration and strength to an
existing miter joint. I often make
the feathers out of a contrasting
hardwood (with the grain run-
ning perpendicular to the miter
line for strength).
To simplify things, I make
the spline the same thickness as
the kerf of one of my saw blades.
Of course, if you want a thicker
feather spline, you can use a dado
blade instead. Just be sure the slot
isn’t too tight or there won’t be
any room for glue when it’s time
for assembly – you want a slip fit,
not a pounding fit.
To set up to cut these feather
joints on the rip fence sled, I
install a pair of stock supports
(with attachment bolts that fit
into the sled’s integral T-slot, as
shown above). These will carry
the frame at an exact 45° angle
to the table surface. In this way,
the slot made by the blade will
cut an even distance along each
side.
Set the first support up with
a drafting triangle. The second
support is then set up square to
the first using a carpenter’s fram-
ing square, as shown in the photo
above right. Then lock the sup-
ports tightly against the sled.
Tape a piece of thin hardwood
to the face of the rear support to
serve as a replaceable backing
board for the exiting blade. This
helps prevent tear-out.
Set the distance between the
sled and the blade by measur-
ing to a story stick and then lock
down the rip fence. Make test
cuts in scrap to ensure accuracy.
At this point it’s simply a mat-
ter of setting the frame (which
I previously glued together – it’s
fragile but strong enough for this
operation) in the crotch of the
two supports, clamping it down
and pushing the sled along the
universal fixture. Use a series of Stock support
cuts if the slot is going to be more
than 3 ⁄4" or so deep.
The Pattern Fence
Pattern-cutting on the table saw
offers a quick and accurate way
to create duplicates.
The pattern fence (see page
92) acts as an index for a tem-
plate so that the blade makes its
cut in the stock precisely along Set up the fixture to cut the feather splines. A drafting triangle set
the perimeter of the template. between the underside of the stock support (attached to the sliding rip
Slotted holes in the fixture allow fence fixture) and the saw table makes quick work of securing the first
support at a precise 45° angle.
it to be adjusted to the blade at
any height. The pattern fence
also can make long straight cuts
and gentle curves.
I start by making an exact
template of the shape I want to
reproduce. Be careful to get it
right because all the other pieces
will be its clones. I usually add a
handle to the template to pro-
vide a more secure grasp.
The next step is to rough-size
the workpiece within 1" of its fin-
ished shape. Try to avoid a larger
waste margin as the offcuts might
get trapped between the blade
and the fence.
Next, attach the template to
the workpiece with protruding
pins (brads) or screws if their hole
marks are not going to show on Use a 24" framing square, such as the one shown above, to set the sec-
ond support square to the first.
the finished workpiece. If both
sides must be clean, I use a vac-
uum clamp system or go the easy the height of the pattern fence sor reading on the rip fence for
route with double-stick tape. The so it’s equal to the thickness of future reference.
tape should last for five or six cuts the workpiece, plus another 1 ⁄4" The magic is now ready to
before it needs replacing. To help (use a piece of 1 ⁄4" plywood as a begin. Index one facet of the
the tape stick better, I sand the spacer). Next, move the fence template against the fence ahead
bottom of the template and brush system over until the outside ref- of the blade and, with a steady
or spray on several coats of shel- erence edge of the pattern fence motion, move the template (with
lac or other sealer. To ensure a comes flush to the outside of the the rough-cut workpiece below)
good grab to the tape, I tap the blade, then set the height of the forward through the blade. Work
template onto the workpiece blade to just a fraction below carefully to keep the edge of the
with a rubber-faced mallet. the fence base; it should almost template tight to the fence. Then
To set up for the cut, raise touch. Make a note of the cur- rotate the workpiece counter-
popularwoodworking.com 91
rip fence
clockwise to the next facet
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you’ve created a perfect replica of
the template – it’s really that sim-
ple. If you’ve used tape, remove
the template by lightly tapping
the side with a hammer.

Straight-edge Ripping With

the Pattern Fence
The pattern fence system also
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On any work more than 1'
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in place. Screws are more secure.
If the guide board is wide enough
(the longer the board, the wider
it needs to be, about 1" per 21 ⁄2'
of length), you need to screw the
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Profile – pattern fence pattern fence, you will come up
with an edge as true as one you
would gain from a jointer.

Supplies
Woodcraft
800-225-1153 or
woodcraft.com
• 1 ⁄16"-thick x 3"-wide strips
of UHMW plastic
#16L65, $19.99
Kreg
800-447-8638 or
Vertical slots allow for
height adjustment kregtools.com
• Mini Trak aluminum
extrusion, available in 4'
In combination with the pattern fence, a template attached to your workpiece will quickly and accurately clone lengths, #KMS7506, $18.99
the shape. Prices correct at time of publication.

92 Popular Woodworking January 2007

Curved Cuts with the
Pattern Fence
I was happy to discover that it’s
possible to cut a curve on the
table saw – up to 3 ⁄4" per foot arc
in 3 ⁄4"-thick stock. (I do not rec-
ommend cutting curves in stock
thicker than 3 ⁄ 4", as the forces
involved become huge.)
I discovered the use of the
table saw for curve-cutting when
I set out to cut planks for a small
boat from 4' x 10' sheets of ply-
wood. I found that I could cut
these planks nearly four times
faster on the table saw than with
a jigsaw or circular saw. I also dis-
covered that the table saw pro-
duced such an accurate cut that
no trimming (other than a bit of
,FSG
Pattern fence
A long, gentle curve cut can be made with the pattern fence by attach-
ing a curved guide batten to the workpiece and running it carefully
against the edge of the pattern fence.
handplaning) was necessary to
make the planks fit precisely.
The trick to making curved
cuts is to use a curved-edge tem-
plate, or batten, fixed to the Clearance cavity
stock, in conjunction with the
pattern fence and a 40-tooth
combination blade (don’t use a
thin-kerf blade). If you keep the
curves shallow, the kerf cannot
bind on the blade because the
offset of the carbide tips keeps
the concave side of the kerf away
from the blade plate. The saw
blade doesn’t care that the cut
line runs along a curve as long Featherboards
as you carefully control the stock
so it can’t back into the blade.
This is where the pattern fence The rabbet fence is bolted to the universal fence fixture and then set up
comes into play. with a pair of featherboards bolted to its aluminum T-track.
Curve-cutting with the Pattern Fence
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popularwoodworking.com 93

rip fence
The first step to making a
curved cut is to lay out the curve.
At this point you have two proce-
dural options: You can fix a bat-
ten in place to points directly on
the workpiece (which leaves lit-
tle nail holes to fill but is remark-
ably fast), or you can lay out and
then cut a curved template in
a piece of sheet stock. You can
attach this with screws or car-
pet tape. Screws do leave small
holes but in the long run, they’re
more secure. The latter proce-
dure is preferable if you intend

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to make a number of pieces to

one curve.
With the template or batten
affixed to the workpiece, the
next step is to set up the pat-
tern fence as described earlier
for template-cutting. If the off-
cuts of the stock will be too big
to fit between the blade and the
rip fence, you must first trim any
oversize areas.
Mark the location of the
front of the blade on the top of
the pattern fence as a visual ref-
erence. This is where you must
keep the template or batten in
contact with the fence as you
proceed through the length of
the cut. Feed the stock smoothly
and steadily through the spin-
ning blade, keeping the guide
tight to the pattern fence at your
mark, as shown in the photo on
page 93.
Be sure to set an outfeed
table to catch the stock. If you
encounter resistance and/or see
wisps of smoke, the curve is too
tight for your blade. Stop feeding
immediately, lower the blade and
remove the board. Try another
blade with greater tip clearance.
If this isn’t available or doesn’t
help, you’ll have to use another
cutting method.
The Rabbet Fence
You can cut a rabbet quickly
and accurately in a single pass
by using a dado blade and this
94 Popular Woodworking January 2007



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Rabbet fence
specialized rabbet fence that within the fence itself, allow- rabbet, you need only to run the
bolts securely to the universal ing you to adjust the width of workpiece against the fence to
fence fixture. the rabbet simply by setting the produce the finished cut. Be sure
The fixture’s T-slot accepts position of the fence rather than the featherboards are secured
bolts to secure my shop-made changing the width of the dado firmly in place, as any lifting of
featherboards as needed to hold blade by adding, or subtracting the stock up from the table will
the stock flat to the table. The cutters or shims. cause the rabbet to fluctuate in
cavity cut in the fence lets you Wit h t he cutter height depth. PW
“hide” a portion of the dado blade adjusted to the depth of the
More accessories for the universal fence
The following is a list of additional fixtures that I’ve ■ Fence for thin sheet stock: Guides and con-
devised for this system. You can find a complete descrip- trols thin, flexible parts.
tion of their construction and use in the fully revised ■ Edge-band trimmer: Allows precise flushing
and updated second edition of “Jim Tolpin’s Table of edge bandings.
Saw Magic, Second Edition” (Popular Woodworking ■ Coving jig: Lets you cut multiple flute patterns;
Books). The first two fixtures slide on the fence; the accepts a quick-bolt hold-down fixture; a simple spac-
rest quickly bolt to it: ing system ensures even flute spacing with speed and
■ Carriage-type taper jig and straight-line precision. — JT
ripping fixture: Features a unique adjustable clamp-
ing and guidance system, which simplifies set-up and
ensures accurate cutting action.
■ Raised-panel jig: Features easy sliding action,
integral hold-downs and an adjustable field angle.
■ Vacuum-powered rip fence: Works with a shop
vacuum to keep delicate, thin slices tight to the fence.
■ Long-extension fence: Used to support and guide
panel stock and long boards ahead of the saw table.
■ Edge jointer: Cleans up and straightens edges
of boards and panels.
■ End-stop fence: Features easily adjustable
stops for setting up single- and double-blind slots and
grooves.
what you must know about

Motors
Learn to shop smart so BRUSHES ■
These rest against
you get the right motor the commutator.
END CAP ■
Holds the rotor
for the way you work. FIELD ■
in place inside
the stator.
Surrounds the
armature, becomes ROTOR ■

I
f you’re an electrical engineer,
you can stop reading this arti-
cle right now. This story isn’t
for the gear heads – it’s for the
rest of you woodworkers who use
power tools every day but are
occasionally stupefied by amps,
volts, watts and horsepower. I’ll
warn you, there’s just the tini-
est bit of math to learn here. But
if you can multiply and divide
two numbers, you will open up a
whole new world of understand-
ing when it comes to the subject
of motors.
The first thing to understand
is that there are two kinds of
motors that power almost all of
the machinery in a home work-
shop: induction motors and uni-
versal motors. Each type has its
strengths and weaknesses. The
reason that you need to know
the difference between the two
is that some tools (table saws,
planers and jointers, for exam-
ple) can be powered by either
type of motor. So you need to
educate yourself so you’ll choose
the right motor for the kind of
work you do.
by christopher schwarz
Contact Chris at 513-351-2690 ext.
1407 or chris.schwarz@fwpubs.com.
magnetically
Spins freely
charged. inside the stator.
Its magnets are
COMMUTATOR ■ attracted and
Gets current from repulsed by the
the brushes. magnets in the
stator.
ARMATURE ■
Becomes magneti- CAPACITOR ■
cally charged with Gives the rotor
the current from the the boost it needs
commutator. at startup.
FAN ■ STATOR ■
Cools motor; Current
makes noise. magnetizes the
copper poles
inside.
THE UNIVERSAL MOTOR ■ Universal motors are THE INDUCTION MOTOR ■ Induction motors are
appearing in more tools, including benchtop table saws found in heavy-duty stationary machines.
and portable planers.
In general, induction motors universal motors in benchtop heavy use. They are great for the
power stationary machinery that table saws, small jointers, spindle long haul. Universal motors, on
must run for hours on end, such sanders and portable planers. the other hand, have a shorter
as big table saws, planers, band I like to think of the two life span, they’re smaller, they
saws and jointers. Universal motors as the tortoise and the make more noise, they operate
motors power mostly hand-held hare. Induction motors are the at very high speeds, they offer
stuff: routers, jigsaws and sanders. tortoise of the pair. They’re rug- the most horsepower per pound
However, this is changing. These ged, quiet, large, heavy, turn more of any alternating current motor,
days you’ll find more and more slowly and can be stalled under and they are very difficult to stall.

98 Popular Woodworking January 2007

Universal motors provide large
amounts of power in quick bursts
with constant torque and at vari-
able speeds.
It might help to think about
how you use tools with univer-
sal motors. If you’ve got a chop
saw, you need a burst of power
for three or four seconds to make
your cut. You need torque and you
need it fast. Same goes for biscuit
joiners and routers. Unless you
are running parts for 100 doors
on your router table, chances are
that these tools are on for five
minutes and then off for a while.
Now think about how you use a
jointer or a planer with a hefty
induction motor. You might have
100 board feet of lumber to sur-
face. Each board might have to
go through that machine five
times. Your machine might be
running for hours on end.
So each type of motor has a
type of job at which it’s really
good. And it all has to do with
the way that the motor is built.
Here’s the inside story:
Induction Motors
The reason they are called
“induction” motors is the way
they convert electricity into a
spinning rotor. To understand
how induction motors work,
let’s say you’ve got one of these
puppies in your table saw and
you’re about to turn it on. As
you flip the switch, power flows
into what’s called the “stator”
and magnetizes it. The stator is
a mass of copper windings that
surround the rotor in the cen-
ter, which is what spins the saw’s
blade through a series of belts
and pulleys. Inside the stator are
two or four “poles” that become
magnetically charged because of
the electricity running through
the wires. When the electricity
changes direction or cycles, as
it does 60 times a second in the
United States (hence the term
60 cycles), each pole changes its
magnetic strength, from a posi-
tive to a negative value or from a
negative to a positive value.
The induced poles in the
rotor are then attracted and
repulsed by these ever-chang-
ing electromagnets in the sur-
rounding stator. The motor isn’t
running, but the rotor is excited.
What this hunk of iron and cop-
per now needs is a shot of power
from another copper winding
(called a “starting winding”)
that is out of phase physically
and electrically with the main
winding. And that’s where the
capacitor comes in. In most mod-
ern tools a capacitor (which is in
series with the “starting wind-
ing”) helps with the starting
torque. Then, when the motor
reaches 85 percent of its speed,
the capacitor and the starting
winding drop out of the circuit
and the motor runs on its main
winding.
Whew. So, this is the long
way to explain why these are
called induction motors. As
you can see, the rotor spins
because it is “induced” by the
electromagnets in the stator.
Induction motors are large
and heavy because the induc-
tion process takes a lot of iron
and copper (a 1 ⁄ 2 hp induction
motor weighs about 25 pounds;
a 1 ⁄2 hp universal motor weighs
21 ⁄2 pounds). Induction motors
are reliable because they’re sim-
ple, their parts are built for long
life and they run at slow speeds
(so they don’t generate as much
motor-damaging heat). In fact, a
well-built induction motor won’t
heat up more than 40 degrees
centigrade over room tempera-
ture. Induction motors are slow
because the revolutions per min-
ute (rpms) are governed by how
many poles are inside the stator
and the number of times per sec-
ond that your electricity cycles
– which is standard at 60 cycles.
So now you can understand why
different kinds of power
for your home shop
You probably know that most of your house is wired for 110-120 volts. And
you might know that certain appliances, such as your electric range, dryer
and big air conditioners, are wired for 220-240 volts. And perhaps you’ve
heard about three-phase power. What’s the difference between these, and
which should you be using in your shop?
110-120 volts ■ This is the standard current that most of your hand
power tools run off of. And except for special circuits that power 240 appli-
ances, this is the voltage to all the outlets in your house. Remember that
voltage entering a house can vary. So some people get 110 volts, some peo-
ple get 120. Tools and appli-
ances can handle a 12-volt
variation, so don’t worry.
220-240 volts ■ This
heav y-dut y circuit uses
two hot lines from the main
panel that act as returns for
one another. These heavy-
duty circuits are good for a
variety of reasons. First off,
machines on these circuits
use only half the amperage
as they would on 120-volt cir-
cuits, so you are less likely
to trip a breaker or blow a
fuse on a well-wired 240
circuit. Plus, 240 circuits are
much less prone to voltage
drops than 120 circuits. This
means you can have a table
saw that’s more than 20 feet
from your service box. Oper-
Here’s the box on the motor for our old
ating a motor at low voltage
Jet table saw. You simply move a couple
causes the torque to drop and leads and your saw is then ready to take
the motor to heat up (short- 240 — as soon as you change the plug,
ening the life of the motor). that is.
Many induction motors can
easily be switched over for 240 power. In the box on the motor where the
electric cord goes in there will be a diagram to show you how to reconnect
the different leads. If you can afford the wiring change, do it. However,
one myth about 240 power is that it is cheaper. Don’t believe the myth.
You buy power by the watt.
Three-phase power ■ What’s three-phase power? Well, the power
coming into your house is single-phase power. This means that there’s one
electric pulse changing direction 60 times a second. Three-phase power
has three of those pulses changing direction at slightly different times.
The fluctuations are timed so that when one phase is at its lowest power,
another phase is at its highest. The result is a very steady stream of energy.
Three-phase power is typically used in factories, not homes. You need a
special motor to run three-phase power, but three-phase motors are less
expensive, extremely reliable and more efficient than single-phase motors.
Three-phase power is not available to most residences. But you can pur-
chase a “phase converter.” Some manufacturers don’t recommend static
phase converters but say that rotary phase converters are OK. Bottom line,
for the home shop, it’s cheaper to buy a single-phase motor for a saw than
it is to convert your juice to three-phase power. — cs
popularwoodworking.com 99
motors
you wouldn’t want your router
powered by an induction motor
– you could barely lift it, and it
probably would be too slow and
not have enough torque.
Universal Motors
Universal motors get their name
from the fact that many of them
can operate on both alternating
current (from an outlet) or direct
current. The way that univer-
sal motors work is a little more
complicated than their induc-
tion cousins, but there are sim-
ilarities.
Instead of a rotor, universal
motors have what’s called an
armature that spins in the cen-
ter. Instead of a stator, univer-
sal motors have what’s called a
field, usually consisting of two
coils surrounding the arma-
ture. Universal motors also have
some parts that induction motors
don’t. On one end of the arma-
ture is a part called the commu-
tator. This part is round like the
armature, but it is usually smaller
in diameter and is made of small
bars of copper. It’s through these
quick tip: Motor care
The universal motors in most of your hand power tools will live longer if you
follow this simple tip: blow clean air through the motor regularly.
Universal motors suck a lot of air through them because the motors turn
at a high speed and they have large fans to keep the motor from overheat-
ing. Think about your shop. Pretty dusty isn’t it? That dust is being sucked
through your router and is slamming into your armature like a meteor
shower. This dust can also build
up, cause the motor to run hotter
and shorten the life span of the
tool. If you regularly blow com-
pressed air through the vents of
the tool, you’ll dislodge the dust
and keep your motor healthy.
In addition to sawdust, the
carbon-graphite material from
the motor’s brushes also builds
up on the commutator. Blow-
ing air through the tool also
helps dislodge that stuff, too,
and this also prolongs the life
of your tool. — cs
100 Popular Woodworking January 2007
bars that the armature winding is
energized. Universal motors also
have what are called “brushes.”
Brushes are made from a carbon-
graphite material and are usually
held in place against the com-
mutator by small springs. When
you turn on a universal motor,
current travels in what’s called
a “series circuit.” One side of the
electrical line goes through the
field, then through the brushes,
into the commutator, then the
armature, and back to the other
side of the line. Each of the bars in
the commutator changes polar-
ity as it contacts a brush, and this
changes the polarity in the mag-
nets in the armature. The mag-
netic forces in the armature react
with the electromagnets in the
field coils and the motor devel-
ops torque.
Universal motors make a lot
of noise because they spin at a
dizzying speed – sometimes seven
times faster than an induction
motor – and their fans suck a lot
of air through the motor, which
makes noise. Universal motors
are less reliable for three reasons.
The motor generates more heat,
which can cause the compo-
nents to break down. Second,
the carbon brushes wear out. If
they can be replaced then it’s a
quick fix. If they can’t, you’ve got
trouble. And third, the big fan
that cools the motor brings in a
lot of junk such as sawdust and
foreign objects. This junk can
damage the windings and insu-
lation.
Learn to Shop
Now that you know the differ-
ences between induction and
universal motors, you need to
know how to compare motors
when tool shopping. First con-
sider how you will use the tool
and whether it should be pow-
ered by an induction or univer-
sal motor. If you need your table
saw to be portable or you’re only
turning it on for short times, a
universal motor will do. But if
you expect to sometimes run
your saw for longer periods of
time, get an induction motor.
Things become more compli-
cated when you start comparing
one motor to another. Motors
are measured differently by dif-
Assembled
armatures and
commutators at
Makita’s plant
in Georgia. We
were impressed
with the rigor-
ous tests Makita
performed on
its universal
motors. Note the
small bars on the
commutators.
ferent manufacturers. Should
you use horsepower? Amperage?
Wattage? Motor efficiency? All of
the above? The answer is that all
these factors are related and all
play a part in judging whether a
motor has got a lot of guts or is
just a loafer on the job.
First off, let’s clear the air
about horsepower, which is
the way you measure induc-
tion motors and some universal
motors. It’s almost a meaningless
number, unfortunately. That’s
because there are several ways
to measure horsepower, and
this makes comparing two 1-hp
motors almost impossible.
Some manufacturers mea-
sure horsepower with the motor
under no load. Some measure
horsepower as the saw almost
reaches the point where it is
about to stall – called the point of
“breakdown torque.” Some lock
the motor in a dead stall, turn
on the power and see how many
amps the motor pulls from the
outlet and calculate the horse-
power from that. This is one way
to measure “developed horse-
power.”
Developed horsepower is
probably the least accurate
measure of the motor’s day-to-
day abilities. When you lock the
motor in a dead stall and turn it
on, the motor will pull a lot more
amps than normal because it’s
trying desperately to pull itself
out of this stall.
Instead, try to find a “contin-
uous-duty” horsepower rating,
which is found on most high-
quality induction motors. If the
motor’s nameplate doesn’t state
its horsepower rating is for con-
tinuous duty, ask the sales per-
son. If they don’t know, have
them find out, or call the man-
ufacturer yourself.
Why is this so complicated?
Keep in mind that there are a
couple different formulas to cal-
culate horsepower. One way is to
multiply the rpms of the motor
by the amount of torque (which
is in foot-pounds). Divide that
number by 5,250 and you have a
horsepower rating. Keep in mind
that a universal motor’s really
high rpms skew this equation.
The other horsepower formula
involves the electricity going
into the motor.
For this calculation you need
to know how amperage, voltage
and wattage are related (this is
that math that I promised you).
Almost every basic electricity
textbook explains these dif-
ferent terms by comparing the
electric lines in your house to a
water hose. Voltage is like water
pressure. The more voltage you
have, the more force with which
the electricity moves through
your wires. Amperage is like
the amount of water in a hose.
You can have the faucet on low
or high. Wattage is harder to
explain. It is, in electric terms,
the amount of energy that a
device consumes. You can cal-
culate wattage by multiplying the
amperage of a tool (usually found
on the information plate on the
motor) by the voltage (which for
home shop people in the United
States is 120 volts or 240 volts).
Why would you want to calcu-
late wattage? Because 746 watts
equals one horsepower.
So with that formula you
can attempt to calculate the
actual horsepower (as opposed
to the advertised horsepower).
This is one of the most impor-
tant aspects of this whole arti-
cle. Remember it. Here’s an
example of how you can esti-
mate how much horsepower a
tool has compared to how much
horsepower a tool says it has on
the box: Does a 9-amp router live
up to the 2 horsepower rating on
its box? Let’s see: 9 amps multi-
plied by 120 volts equals 1,080
watts of power. To get horse-
power, we divide 1,080 watts by
746. The answer is 1.44 horse-
power. Hmmm. You can probably
guess that either this router will
develop 2 hp right as it’s ready
to crash and burn, or that the
manufacturer used that other
horsepower equation, which
uses rpms and torque, to calcu-
late horsepower. And as pointed
out earlier, universal motors in
routers have very high rpms,
which can skew that equation.
(My apologies to the gear heads
here because I left out some of
the other complicated factors
in calculating power, such as the
power factor and line losses).
So if horsepower is a bogus
measure, what does that leave us
with? Amps. Amps tell you how
much power a tool consumes,
and that’s the simplest way to
compare similar motors, espe-
cially universal motors. Unfor-
tunately, a lot of manufacturers
tell us that the amperage on
the nameplate is not always the
amperage you get. Three differ-
ent 7-amp motors can all draw a
different amount of current.
Even worse, amperage doesn’t
tell you how much of that energy
is wasted. Here we’re talking
about the elusive “motor effi- his tour guide pointed to a pile of
ciency.” Motor efficiency is not rusting commutators sitting out-
something advertised on many side. Those, the guide explained,
universal motors, but you can would be cleaned up, repaired
sometimes find it on the name- and put into motors for off-brand
plate of induction motors. It is tools. Installing used parts isn’t
a percentage, usually between something that happens just in
50 percent and 80 percent, that Taiwanese off-brands. And don’t
explains how much of the amper- assume this is a typical practice
age going into the motor is con- of Taiwanese manufacturers
verted into work coming out. because it isn’t. Manufacturers
When you shop for an induc- of cheap motors anywhere can
tion motor, look for a motor with lower the cost of a tool by reduc-
the highest efficiency, highest ing the amount of iron and cop-
amps and best horsepower for per in a motor. This will lower
the job. the life span of the motor because
If you can’t tell a motor’s effi- all that metal acts as a heat sink
ciency, there are other ways to to dissipate heat generated by the
judge it in the store. One expert motor. They also can skimp on
told us to peer through the vent the brushes.
fans in a tool with a universal So do the math when you
motor to see if you can see the shop for motors. But even that
bars on the commutator. The can be misleading. One 14-amp
smaller the bars, the better the chop saw can be $100 more than
motor. Smaller bars mean there a similar-looking 14-amp chop
are more coils in the arma- saw. What’s the difference? Prob-
ture winding, and that makes ably the motor. Should that deter
a smoother-running motor. If you from buying the cheap saw?
you can’t see the commutator No. If the tool won’t get heavy
bars, there’s still one final way use, a less expensive tool will
to choose a motor: buy a trusted allow you to spend that money
brand name. somewhere else. But it should
A few years ago our publisher make you think twice about
toured several manufacturing what you’re buying and what to
plants in Taiwan. At one facility, expect in the long run. PW
induction v. universal?
You make the call
In the old days, table saws, planers and jointers had induction motors.
Small tools had universal motors. Alas, that line has blurred in the last
decade. Some manufacturers, such as Ryobi, DeWalt and others, put uni-
versal motors in their table saws. The universal motors are much smaller
and are much less likely to stall in a cut, but they are much noisier and
their life expectancy is shorter.
Universal motors have also become the mainstay in portable planers
– a tool that would have been a lot harder to design with a huge induc-
tion motor driving it.
If you think you can run a table saw or planer for an extended period of
time and it’s powered by a universal motor, you’ll be replacing the motor
a lot sooner than you think. How can you determine if your tool has an
induction or universal motor? Turn on the tool. A really noisy motor indi-
cates it’s probably a universal motor. If you’re still not sure, look at the
motor. Many universal motors have coin-opened hatches so you can eas-
ily change the brushes. — CS
popularwoodworking.com 101
the best ways to

Stop Rust Now

If it’s metallic, odds are
it’s rusting. But why?
And how can you slow
down the process?

R
ust is the bane of wood-
working tools. Once
it appears, it seems to
spread like cancer. For wood-
workers in humid, salty climates
(such as Hawaii or Florida), it’s
a never-ending battle. But for
most, it’s still a skirmish that
must be fought regularly.
You’re probably aware of
many ways to combat rust. We’ve
looked at the science and we
think we’ve found some good
ways to deal with this problem.
But first you need to under-
stand how rust works: When iron
combines with water over time, it
forms iron oxide, also known as
rust. Pretty simple, right?
Well, there’s more to it than
that. First of all, know that iron
is the most common and most
useful metallic element. It is
inexpensive, heavy and rela-
tively easy to cast into shape,
so you likely have it all over
your shop. Odds are your planer
and jointer beds, as well as your
table saw’s table and drill press,
PHOTO BY AL PARRISH

by Michael A. Rabkin

Michael is a former associate editor for

Popular Woodworking.

102 Popular Woodworking January 2007

all are made out of cast iron.
But not everything in your
shop will be cast iron. Some of
it likely will be steel, which is
made when iron is alloyed with
carbon. There are two kinds of
steel most prevalent in work-
shops: high-carbon steel and
stainless steel.
• High-carbon steel is found
most in cutting tools such as saw
blades, chisels and plane irons.
It’s great for cutting tools because
it’s hard and can be sharpened
easily. And following Murphy’s
Law, because these must be the
sharpest, they rust the easiest.
• The great news about stain-
less steel is that it resists (but is
not impervious to) rust. The
bad news is that it’s a poor cut-
ting tool. If you’ve tried sharp-
ening a stainless-steel tool, you
know that it just won’t take a
keen edge.
Stainless steel contains
iron and chromium. The chro-
mium forms a strong surface
oxide, which is very protective.
Unfortunately, the chromium
also combines with the carbon in
the stainless steel to form chro-
mium-carbide particles, which
rob the steel of carbon. When
you sharpen the steel, these
hard particles tear out of the
edge, leaving the piece jagged
instead of sharp. That’s why you
find stainless steel in jigs instead
of tools that cut.
• Another common metal in
workshops is aluminum, which
most people assume is rust-proof.
They’re wrong. Pure aluminum
reacts so readily with oxygen that
aluminum powder is used as solid
rocket fuel in space shuttles and
Sidewinder missiles. Fortunately,
when aluminum metal is placed
in the air, a thin layer known as
aluminum oxide forms on the
surface and protects the alumi-
num from further rust.
• You also are likely to find
items made of carbide, bronze
and brass in your shop, but
because those materials don’t
rust, we’re not going to write
about them here.
What Causes Rust?
So now that we know what mate-
rials will rust, we need to learn
what actually causes rust. “In a
nutshell, steel is reacting with
water and forming a hydrox-
ide,” says David Burleigh, asso-
ciate professor in the Materials
and Metallurgical Engineering
Department at New Mexico
Tech in Socorro, N.M.
You might think your shop is
dry just because it’s indoors, but
your tools still will rust because
you don’t need 100 percent rela-
tive humidity to form a water film
on your tools. A little salt can
jump-start your problem. Parti-
cles of dust can contain salt, and
even a little bit on a steel surface
is hygroscopic, meaning it wants
to absorb water from air.
Table salt can start absorbing
water and rusting steel at 40 per-
cent relative humidity – this is
why handling a freshly polished
steel surface with sweaty hands
will show a rusty fingerprint.

an unscientific rust experiment

Almost any coating will offer protection from
rust in a normal shop environment. We wanted
to see just how good some products currently on
the market are at preventing rust, so we devised
a little test.
One of the editors brought in an unrusted
cast-iron wing from a table saw that he was will-
ing to let us experiment on. We sanded it clean
to remove all the excess moisture. Then we sec-
tioned it into eight equal areas using blue paint-
er’s tape.
Next, we sprayed or rubbed one each of seven
products onto each section (Japanese Camilla
Oil, Slipit, Bostik TopCote, WD-40, Fluid Film,
Boeshield T-9 Rust & Corrosion Protection and
Perma Blue Liquid Gun Blue, following the muan-
facturer’s directions for each – see the Supplies the natural environment and humidity be too ■ WD-40: Slight rusting was starting to appear
box on page 104 for more information). We left much for them? along edges near the tape.
one section untreated. As you can see in the accompanying photo, ■ Fluid Film: Area was moist with either water,
We then placed the wing on two small blocks we got a bit more than we bargained for. The the product itself or a mixture of the two, but no
of wood outside our woodshop in a grassy area results varied widely, and some products that rust visible.
on a Friday afternoon in October. No rain fell that have worked well for us in the shop didn’t do so ■ Boeshield T-9: Light rusting appears
weekend, so we just counted on relative humid- well outside. throughout; darker patches at ends.
ity and dew to see if the object would have any Here’s how the products fared, from left ■ Gun Blue: Light layer throughout, with par-
rust. (Cincinnati’s average relative humidity for to right: tial layer of darker rust in one area (perhaps from
October is 84 percent in the mornings, 56 per- ■ Camellia Oil: Thick, bubbly, layered rust uneven application).
cent in the afternoons.) throughout the section. ■ Untreated: As expected, this had the thick-
When we returned to work on Monday morn- ■ Slipit: Dark splotches along both ends and est and toughest rust.
ing, we weren’t sure what to expect. Would these a thin layer throughout. While this experiment is in no way scientific,
products all hold up and be able to protect the ■ TopCote: Dark, blotchy, thick layers of rust and the conditions extreme, we found the results
metal during this short period outside? Would scattered in random areas. to be intriguing. — mr

popularwoodworking.com 103
stop rust now
Hand saws are rust
magnets. The high-
carbon steel takes
a keen edge, but it
also reacts readily
with water. Wipe your
saws clean after every
use to prevent rust.
Pollution also can acceler-
ate indoor corrosion because
pollutants often contain sulfur
compounds that start absorb-
ing water from the air and rust-
ing steel at 80 percent relative
humidity.
“We often think that some-
thing is wet only at 100 percent
humidity, but even with 50 per-
cent humidity salt particles on
the surface start sucking up the
water from the air,” Burleigh
says.
Let’s take a closer look at the
process. Now you know that
rusting occurs on a microscopic
Supplies
Lee Valley
800-267-8735 or
leevalley.com
113 ⁄4 oz. • Fluid Film,
#AG750, $9.95
Woodcraft
800-225-1153 or
woodcraft.com
12 oz. • Boeshield T-9 Rust &
Corrosion Protection,
#03Q56, $14.99
1 can • Slipit
#124948, $11.50
Japan Woodworker
800-537-7820 or
japanwoodworker.com
1 bottle • Camellia Oil (8 oz.),
#15.574.77, $12.95
Area sporting goods store
1 bottle • Gun Blue, $5
Area home-supply stores
1 can • Bostik TopCote, $12
1 can • WD-40, $3
Prices correct at time of publication.
104 Popular Woodworking January 2007
scale when dust particles con-
taining salt or pollutants absorb
water from the air. Within these
microscopic sites, some places
become alkaline and others
become acidic. If chlorides are
present from salt, the moisture
can become a dilute hydrochlo-
ric acid (or muriatic acid) and
the rusting is accelerated. The
brittle rust we see on the surface
is the result of the microscopic
corrosion cells that are active
during high humidity and might
shut down completely during low
humidity. This process is slow,
but given enough time, the rust
grows thick enough to flake off
during the dry spells.
Rust can be either red or
black. Red rust is caused by mois-
ture and is what most people are
talking about when they discuss
rust. (Black oxide, on the other
hand, is caused by heat and is
actually a good protector. Black
oxide doesn’t grow or flake. If you
know what you are doing, you
can coat steel with black oxide
by heating it in very hot sand or
boiling the steel in high-temper-
ature, high-pressure water.)
Salt water will cause an object
to rust faster because the chlo-
rides break down the surface
oxide film, making the water a
diluted acid, which causes pit-
ting. Heat also speeds the rusting
process because most chemical
reactions occur faster when it is
hotter. This is why caring for your
tools by the sea – think warm,
wet and salty air – is almost a
full-time job.
But the cause of rust isn’t
what keeps many of us awake at
nights – what we want to know
is how to prevent it from invad-
ing our shop and damaging our
tools.
Stay Dry to Fight Rust
Many people talk about rust
as if it’s actually alive and you
must kill it to stop the metal from
being ruined. We’re not too sure
about that, but it does lead us
down an interesting path.
Because rust appears any-
where there is water, you should
be able to protect metals if you
keep them dry. But it’s not that
easy.
“Anything is better than
nothing,” Burleigh says. “Any-
thing that works is better than
just having bare steel out there
to rust.”
That said, there are a couple
of different ways that you can
combat this dreaded scourge:
• Paint or wax the metal. The
paint helps prevent the iron from
being directly exposed to water
or air. Paste wax, applied regu-
larly and often, should work well
as long as you make sure to avoid
waxes that contain water.
There are many proprietary
products on the market that
contain organic compounds
that bind to the surface of the
steel and prevent or slow rusting.
These compounds work by many
different methods, but mainly
they provide either a thick bar-
rier to the moisture or a thin sur-
face that repels the water.
A common worry is that these
products will impede the finish-
ing or staining of the wood. If you
first cut a test piece with your
freshly coated tooling to remove
any excess rust-
resistant compound,
these products shouldn’t affect
finishing or staining. (See “An
Unscientific Rust Experiment”
on page 103 for what we learned
about these products.)
• A breathable canvas tarp
or fitted tool cover can be quite
effective. The cover keeps dust
and pollutants in the air from
settling on your tools. But try to
avoid a cover that goes all the
way to the floor, as that will just
trap the moisture and encour-
age condensation.
• A dehumidifier, which
takes moisture out of the air, is
a great way to prevent rust in your
shop if it is a closed room or cel-
lar. If you’re in a drafty garage, it
won’t help, but the garage may
not be as humid as a cellar, so you
should be a bit safer out there.
• There are some products
on the market considered to be
organic rust converters. These
contain acid that converts rust
to black oxide and polymers that
useful Rust
What? You mean this disgusting
stuff all over my tools can be use-
ful? Say it ain’t so!
Oh, it’s so.
If you go camping, live some-
place cold or enjoy being outdoors
when it’s cold (at, say, a football
game) but want to stay warm, you
likely already know about dispos-
able pocket warmers. But did you
know these devices are a good
example of rust doing good?
When iron rusts, it gives off
heat. Disposable pocket warm-
ers are designed to use this heat.
The warmers are made out of
iron powder, which rusts slowly.
By adding water, salt and acti-
vated carbon, the rusting pro-
cess speeds up. When a warmer is
removed from its packaging, the
iron powder becomes exposed to
air, making the iron rust and give
off heat. — MR
bond to rust. Instructions tell you to store small tools. especially where excessive pit- water’s role
to remove all loose rust, paint on Wood is a great barrier to ting has not formed, wrote Jeff in rusting
the product and let it dry. While dust, pollution and humidity. Smith in a recent article for Hot
these products have been known It might even contain a natural Rod magazine called “Rust Bust- process
to work, oftentimes the resulting vaporcorrosion inhibitor. Dust ing.” He said that while there When a water drop is present on
surface can be black and rough, is a huge magnet for moisture, are a number of rust-removal the surface of steel, the iron atom
and the converted rust might be so if you keep dust off your tools products, the simplest is a quick loses two or three electrons and
less durable. you will discourage rust. scuffing with some light-grit dissolves into the water drop as
• Manufacturers often use Of course, a toolbox isn’t sandpaper. a positive ion. The free electrons
vapor-corrosion inhibitors to perfect – after all, you have to You also can use chemical wander through the steel to the
other side of the water drop and
protect steel in sealed contain- take your tools out to use them – methods such as Naval Jelly,
combine with water and oxygen
ers. These inhibitors are volatile but until a completely rustproof which is a phosphoric acid that
to form negative hydroxyl ions.
organic compounds that con- metal is made that can be used neutralizes light surface rust, These ions diffuse through the
dense onto steel and prevent for woodworking, we’ll stick with making removal easier with an water until they encounter the
rusting. a tight wooden toolbox, tarps abrasive. iron ions, where they combine
for the machines, regular clean- Unless rust is chemically and precipitate, forming red rust.
Our Preferred Method ing and some sort of commer- treated or physically removed, This process is accelerated if there
Despite all these methods (each cial rust inhibitor for the exposed it will continue to spread. The are sulfates or chlorides present
with their own positives and neg- surfaces. problem is not just removing the in the water drop.  — mr
atives), we’ve found in our years rust, but also removing the sul-
of woodworking, research, talk- Get Rid of Rust fur or chloride ions in the rust
ing with experts and fighting rust To remove rust once it appears, that are absorbing water and Burleigh says it’s best to
ourselves, our favorite method is there are some options. Surface accelerating corrosion by form- remove what you can with what-
simply to use a tight wooden box rust is the easiest to eliminate, ing acids. ever method you are most com-
fortable, then wash the object
with soap and water to remove
the soluble sulfides and chlorides.
a ‘shocking’ way to remove rust Dry it well, then add a rust pre-
We found a cool electrolysis experiment online via met- metal parts, remove those parts, as you don’t want to
ventative on the surface.
als.about.com (thepontiactransampage.com/rust.html) ruin them.) Attach the positive lead to the electrode,
that seems to work well to remove rust from your smaller which could be a nail, a screw or baking pan (stainless
Adds Smith, of Hot Rod mag-
metal tools. All you need is a plastic bucket, a battery steel works best). Place this electrode in the water a azine: “Fighting rust is not an
charger, some baking soda and an electrode. few inches away from the rusted metal (which must be easy job. Typically, shortcut
If you remember back to science class, a simple way completely submerged in the water), turn on the bat- cures and quick fixes only delay
to remove rust is to provide an electrical current – the tery charger and watch as the rust goes away. the inevitable, larger rust-repair
rust will then move with the current. To get a current When it looks like the tool is clean, remove it (use job.”
flowing, pour water into the bucket, adding about a rubber gloves because the water is dirty) and take the These are just some of the
tablespoon of baking soda per gallon of water. (Once leads off it. Scrub the surface with a warm, soapy pad best ways we’ve found to remove
the current is started, adding more soda will not make to get the crud off it and see if the rust is all gone. If not, rust. There are many stories out
it go faster.) just repeat the process until you’re satisfied. Then dry
there from woodworkers who
Put the piece of rusted metal into the water with the the objects and you’re ready to get back to work.
have come up with solutions
negative lead on it. (If it is part of a tool that has non-  — MR
they say are great, just as there
are many different products on
After attaching the neg-
the market.
ative lead to the piece of
rusted metal, attach the Until someone comes along
positive lead to a sacrificial with the perfect solution, our
piece of metal. Then place suggestion to you is to find some-
this object in the bucket a thing that works (whether it’s a
few inches away from the dehumidifier, an airtight wooden
rusted piece. After a while, box or simply buying new parts
remove the objects and
when the old ones get rusted
see how much rust is gone.
We think you’ll be pleas- over) and stick with it. But we’ll
antly surprised. keep our eyes and ears open,
too. After all, as actress Helen
Hayes put it, “If you rest, you
rust.” PW

popularwoodworking.com 105
What’s new in

Table Saws
Saws and accessories released in the last few years change the way we look at saws.

F
rom the end of World War
II to the turn of the 21st
century there was only one
major development in table saw
design in the United States. In
the late 1970s, the Biesemeyer
fence was introduced. This
simple design had an incredible
impact on the way we worked
with wood.
Until then, setting a table
saw fence was extremely fussy.
Measuring systems and locking
mechanisms were inaccurate
and unreliable, and any change
in fence position took awhile. No
wonder cabinetmakers were con-
sidered slow and persnickety.
Inventor Bill Biesemeyer’s
innovation changed everything.
This new fence clamped down
solidly, and the scale was accu-
rate and reliable. It was so good
that he didn’t even bother to pat-
ent it. Hitting the market first
with a great idea made him suc-
cessful, even though other man-
ufacturers were free to copy his
innovation.
Other than that, we didn’t
see many changes. The Delta
Unisaw of the 1980s was very
much like the Unisaw of the
1940s. What changes we did see
PHOTO BY AL PARRISH

by Popular
woodworking staff The SawStop features a braking mechanism that brings the blade to a stop if your body comes in contact with it.

popularwoodworking.com 107
w h at ’ s n e w
The pawl brake cartridge is shown here in place in the saw. The mechanism
mounts over two studs and is held in place with a locking key. Changing out
the cartridge (a wider pawl brake is required when using a dado set) is eas-
ier than we anticipated.
were on saws made in Europe and
aimed more at industrial users
rather than hobbyists.
One feature that European
saws had that American saws
lacked was a riving knife. This
simple piece of steel covers the
back of the blade and moves
with the blade if you change
the height or the angle. This pre-
vents an errant piece of wood
from contacting the back of
the blade, greatly reducing the
chances of kickback.
The splitters, guards and
anti-kickback pawls on most
American saws are clumsy at
best. They are difficult to work
around, and are most in the way
when you get close to the blade
and really need them. And they
must be removed for many com-
mon operations such as cutting
dados and rabbets. Many expe-
rienced woodworkers remove
them in frustration.
During the last few years
we’ve been treated to several
innovations that could have
as much of an impact as the
Biesemeyer fence: A device to
instantly stop a saw blade if your
hand should touch it, new saw
designs, and a sliding table that
can revolutionize the way you
use a saw for crosscutting.
108 Popular Woodworking January 2007
SawStop
A safer table saw is the holy grail
of woodworking machinery, and
that’s how many woodworkers
view the SawStop cabinet saw.
We spent three months using
the SawStop cabinet saw in our
shop. We were impressed, but
we had some improvements to
suggest.
First, let’s look at the con-
cept behind the SawStop safety
system. An electrical signal is
passed through the blade and
this signal is monitored for
changes in conductivity.
Wood and humans have
significantly different electri-
cal conductivity signals, and
the system is able to recognize
this difference. It doesn’t react
when wood touches the blade,
but when a person contacts the
blade, the system reacts dramati-
cally.
The brake (a block of alu-
minum called a brake pawl) is
launched by a spring into the saw
blade’s teeth. The blade’s teeth
cut into the pawl and bind, stop-
ping the blade in about 1 ⁄ 200th
of a second. At the same time
the motor stops and the blade
drops below the table. No other
saw on the market has this safety
feature.
Here you can see the results of a standard test of the saw. A hot dog (used
to simulate a digit) was laid flat on a board and pushed quickly into the spin-
ning blade. The pawl break cartridge functioned perfectly here, stopping the
blade very quickly, and only nicking the hot dog.
First Impressions
The saw came into our shop in
good shape, was well aligned and
didn’t need much adjustment
before our first use. There were a
couple features that we were fond
of right away. The blade-height
adjustment was smooth and free
of backlash, which made it easy
to make small height adjust-
ments.
The riving knife is a feature
that our entire staff thinks was
overdue on an American table
saw. In fact, we all agreed that
this one feature is probably a
more important safety feature
than the SawStop mechanism.
The oversized paddle switch
is convenient, but the staff had
mixed experiences with its loca-
tion. Some liked being able to
turn off the saw by pushing their
leg forward. Others found that
it was located so close to the
table’s edge that it was acciden-
tally turned off during a cut too
frequently.
Looking a Little Deeper
After a couple of weeks of use we
noticed some things on the saw
that were slightly disappointing
in a saw costing nearly $3,000.
The rip fence is offered as
an option and is priced about
the same as a Biesemeyer fence.
But it fell short of the Biesemeyer
fence’s high quality. When set-
ting the fence, we found the cur-
sor nearly unreadable.
The saw has a two-wrench
system for holding the arbor to
change blades and that’s a good
idea. But the wrench openings
were slightly oversized, chewing
up the nut after a short period.
The opening in the tabletop
to reach the blade has plenty of
room to the left of the blade
(where you never put your hand)
and not enough on the right.
That space is also the main
access to change the SawStop’s
cartridge. It’s necessary to change
cartridges every time you switch
between a dado set and a regular
blade, and we found that chang-
ing the cartridge didn’t take too
long after a couple swaps. We did
find that one of the two posts
that the cartridge mounts on
isn’t visible from above. To get
the cartridge started you have
to do it by feel, or crawl under
the outfeed table.
We tested a 3-horsepower
model of the SawStop cabinet
saw (a 5-hp model is also avail-
able), and the saw performed
much like a 3-hp Unisaw.
The blade is shrouded to

A sliding table can improve both the quality and efficiency of your work.
This version is the first we’ve seen that was worth the investment.
improve dust collection (which it
does). A door is mounted on the
right side of the shroud to allow
access to the brake cartridge
from below the table. We found
that this door can be stuck open
against the saw frame. If this hap-
pens, tilting the arbor can snap
the door off (as we did).
A lo n g w it h t he r iv i n g
knife, a standard blade guard
is included. While the guard
was an improvement over most
stock blade guards, it couldn’t
be used when making very thin
rips (when you would want to use
it) and the anti-kickback pawls
interfered with pushing work
past the blade.
The Mechanism
We have good and not-so-good
news about the safety mecha-
nism. The by-now well-known
hot dog test provided dramatic
and perfect results, stopping the
blade immediately with little
damage to the hot dog.
But we also had an accidental
firing of the brake mechanism.
After changing the blade car-
tridge over to our dado set the
cartridge fired as the saw was
turned back on, damaging our
expensive dado set. SawStop
shipped a replacement cartridge
overnight, but a misfire such as
this would cost $60 to $70 for a
new cartridge as well as the price
of a new dado set.
Representatives of the com-
pany told us that the computer
chip information from the fired
cartridge indicated that the
space calibration between the
blade and the pawl was at fault,
though we’d successfully used
the same dado set and cartridge
on the saw a number of times
before the misfire.
The Bottom Line
Overall we think the saw is a suc-
cess. We had some disappoint-
ments that we chalk up to testing
an early production model from
first-time saw manufacturer. We
feel confident SawStop is cur-
rently addressing these concerns
in a proactive manner. As these
improvements continue, the
steep price of the saw will seem
more reasonable in light of pro-
viding a safer saw alternative.
A Better Sliding Table
For more than a decade, we’ve
struggled to find the perfect
crosscutting attachment for our
table saw. We’ve tried other slid-
ing tables and just about every
aftermarket miter gauge. There
have been sliding tables avail-
able for years, but they required
a single location for the saw
because every time you moved
Stops on the fence and accurate angles are two of the great features of a
sliding table. We also appreciate being able to quickly square the fence after
cutting an angle or removing it for ripping.
the saw, the leg system needed
to be readjusted to match. Other
systems that avoided the floor
problem included a guide bar
that extended into the operator’s
area that added what we consider
a hazard.
Our search for the perfect
sliding table ended when we
found the JessEm MastRSlide
($540). This is a sliding table that
attaches to a standard table saw
without extension legs. It takes
up little space, is lightweight, has
all the capacity a traditional shop
would want and can be used on
a saw with a mobile base.
But the real reason we love
it is this: You can make a square
crosscut, remove the fence for
ripping and then return to
crosscutting without realign-
ing everything. No other slid-
ing table system has given us that
feature day-in, day-out.
Capability Without Fuss
The JessEm does a lot of fancy
mitering tricks, and the table
offers three positions for its cross-
cut fence. The middle position
is designed for mitered cuts. The
front and rear positions allow the
user to crosscut up to a 36"-wide
panel that’s secured either at the
front or back.
The fence telescopes out to
handle long stock, with a closed
capacity of 28" and an extended
position that will cut a maximum
length of 48" using the included
flip-stop. Many sliding tables
and aftermarket miter gauges
are either too short to be useful
or too long for everyday opera-
tions.
The design of the fence locks
in at 90° to the blade and stays
there, even after you remove
and replace the fence. One of
our major frustrations with other
sliding tables is the constant test-
ing and retesting required when-
ever you re-attach the fence after
removing it for ripping opera-
tions.
The JessEm solves this prob-
lem by offering fixed attachment
points for the fence when it is in
the forward and rear positions.
Other sliding table units rely on
a system where the fence pivots
and then rests it against a stop to
square it to the blade. The stop
is not always reliable, hence the
need for test cuts.
You may consider the price
of the Jess-Em a little steep, but
if you’ve ever wrestled with this
problem you’ll be more than will-
ing to pay the price.
Powermatic’s New Saw
When we first looked at the new-
est cabinet saw from Powermatic,
the most difficult concept to
popularwoodworking.com 109
w h at ’ s n e w
grasp was how the PM2000
would fit into the product line
alongside the Powermatic Model
66 cabinet saw that has become
an industry standard.
In short, the Model 66 is
designed for more physically
demanding millwork situations,
such as ripping hardwood lum-
ber all day long. The PM2000
incorporates features that will
appeal to a furniture maker
who switches between setups
throughout the day.
The PM2000 has an inte-
grated mobile base. See it in
the picture? You won’t because
it’s built into the cabinet of the
saw. To use the mobile base you
pull the blade-tilting wheel (on
the right of the cabinet) away
from the saw to engage a second
geared mechanism. That handle
raises the saw on the mobile base.
It lifts the saw only a fraction of
an inch off the floor, but that’s
enough to get things moving.
Once the saw is raised onto its
casters, the extension table can
be lifted easily enough (again, a
fraction of an inch is enough)
and the saw can be steered from
This saw has a built-in mobile base and
a true riving knife.
110 Popular Woodworking January 2007
the extension table without caus-
ing any harm to the saw.
A Friendlier Saw
Powermatic improved the blade-
changing process as well, by add-
ing an arbor lock that allows
one-wrench blade changes, doing
away with the stick that we all
end up jamming against the blade
to make the change. The lock is
easy to use and a nice feature.
Our favorite major change
is the addition of a true riving
knife, a feature also found on the
SawStop and European saws.
Powermatic has also added
a dust shroud around the blade
to improve dust collection and
included a good quality miter
gauge.
We tested the 3-hp, single-
phase, 220-volt model with the
30"-fence rail system. Conve-
niently, we had a 5-hp Model 66
sitting in the shop at the same
time, so we were able to compare
the motor performance between
the two saws.
We ripped pieces of 3"-thick
white oak on both saws and
found very little difference, a
strong positive statement for the
smaller motor on the PM2000.
To sum up, we like the per-
formance and the features the
PM2000 offers to both the home
and professional woodworker.
As a “next generation,” it stands
proud alongside the Model 66,
and costs less to boot ($2,199.99
v. $2,618.40)
New Kid on the Block
On page 26 of this issue, we dis-
cuss the different types of table
saws available. Hybrid saws, with
a blend of features of both cab-
inet saws and contractors saws,
A riving knife serves
as a splitter behind
the blade, keeping
material from bind-
ing after being cut.
More important, it
moves up and down
with the blade and
can be used when
making grooves and
dados, while a stan-
dard splitter can’t.
are appealing because of their
small footprint and middle-of
the-road price.
While they offer improved
dust collection and less noise,
the drawback to them has been
the trunnions that support the
blade arbor being mounted to the
saw table. This type of mount-
ing, as found in contractor saws,
makes the saw much harder to
align, and transmits more vibra-
tion from the motor to the table.
Until this year, only Craftsman
has offered a hybrid saw with
cabinet-mounted trunnions.
A new manufacturer, Steel
City Tool Works, has intro-
duced a new line of table saws
with beefy construction and
some interesting features. Steel
City’s lowest price saw is more of
a small cabinet saw than a hybrid
saw, a hybrid-hybrid if you will.
The Powermatic
2000 also fea-
tures an arbor
lock, making
blade changes
easier.
 Priced under $1,000, this saw
has a 13 ⁄ 4-hp motor, cast-iron
extension wings, and large trun-
nions mounted to the cabinet for
easy alignment, increased stabil-
ity and reduced vibration.
We’re looking forward to test-
ing this new saw, as well as some
of this manufacturer’s larger saws.
Another Steel City innovation
is a titanium coating on the tops
of its larger saws. This coating
promises to reduce friction and
the possibility of corrosion.
On the Horizon
We’re excited to see these innova-
tions, and hope that other man-
ufacturers will join in with the
introduction of new products.
In Europe, riving knives have
been a standard feature for years.
We wonder why the safety regu-
lations here don’t include them,
but cling to the awkward splitter,
pawl and guard designs that are
required in the United States.
The other European feature
we’d like to see more of is sliding
tables that are an integral part
of the saw. A good sliding table
will open up many possibilities
for faster, safer and more accurate
work. There are a few imported
and domestic models currently
available. PW

Sources
SawStop
503-570-3200
sawstop.com
JessEm
866-272-7492
jessem.com
Powermatic
800-274.6848
This small cabinet saw from Steel powermatic.com
City Tool Works has most of the fea- Steel City Tool Works
tures of larger cabinet saws in a 615-225-9010
hybrid saw size. steelcitytoolworks.com