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Tip
#27
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Table Sawing
(continued)
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Pg. 1-3, Pg
4-6, Pg 7-9, Pg
10-11
Specialized
Operations
Many specialized
operations are performed with ordinary saw blades -- their
cuts guided by special jigs or fixtures that attach to your
Miter Gauge, ride against your Rip Fence or slide in your
Saw's Miter Gauge slot. Here are just three examples of these
operations:
- Raised
Panel Cutting is the process of forming a shallow, beveled
cut around the perimeter of a cabinet door with the purpose
being to create an appearance that the center portion of
the door is “raised” above the edges. This operation
is performed with a conventional saw blade and your Saw
Table (or Blade Arbor) tilted from 5-degrees to 15-degrees.
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Auxiliary
Fence
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A high,
Auxiliary
Fence, attached to your Table Saw's Rip Fence can make
this job simpler (and safer). However, for maximum safety,
you should build a
special panel-raising fixture to hold and guide your
workpiece when making these cuts.
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Taper
Guide
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Cutting
Tapers Occasionally, it's necessary to cut tapered workpieces.
A couple of examples of these might be projects containing
wedge-shaped panels...or tapered legs for tables. As a general
rule, such tapered pieces are cut following the general
procedures for ripping on the table saw. However, to establish
the correct taper (and be able to duplicate it on multiple
pieces), you'll need a special Taper
Guide. This device can be easily adjusted and locked
into position to create a specific taper, then guided against
your Rip Fence to move your workpiece through the cut.
- Tenon
Cutting This is a joinery operation whereby you create
a tenon (or square peg) on the end of one board that then
slips into a mortise (or square hole) on a mating board.
One common example of this is the cutting of tenons on the
ends of table apron boards that slip into mating mortises
at the tops of the table legs.
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Tenon
Jig
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To make
these cuts, you need a special Tenoning
Jig to hold your workpiece in a perfectly vertical (90-degree)
position while you guide it through your cut.
Most of
the other specialized Table Sawing operations would qualify
as joint-cutting procedures and would require special accessories
or shop-made jigs and fixtures to perform. Many of these require
the use of a Dado Blade Set or a Molding Head with specialized
cutters. Among these would be (but not be limited to) Finger-Lap
(or box) Joints, Half-Laps, Rabbets, Lapped Miters, Drawer
Joints, Lock Corner Joints, etc. There are dozens of woodworking
joints designed for special purposes. The list is virtually
endless and far too lengthy to discuss in this article.
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Stacked
Dado Sets
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Dado
Blades are used to create dadoes (across the grain)
or grooves (with the grain) in workpiece surfaces...primarily
for joinery. Their purpose is to cut a much wider path than
a conventional saw blade in order to save time and work.
They are available in two different styles “Stacked”
and “Wobble” style. Which you use is a simple
matter of preference. Stacked
Dado Sets are typically comprised of two outer blades
and a series of special “chipper blades” that
are assembled in varying configurations to make a variety
of different width cuts. With this style blade set, “hairline”
adjustments are made by inserting paper
or plastic shims.
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Paper
or Plastic Shims
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Molding
Heads
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Molding
Heads are thick, heavy steel or aluminum discs that
attach to your Saw Arbor and accept a wide range of specialized
profile cutters. These cutters can be used to create profiled
joints (such as drop leaf table joints, cabinet stile/rail
joints, tongue & groove joints, or glue joints) - or decorative
surfaces on boards for special moldings. There are dozens
of cutters available for Molding Heads. Here are some example
profiles.
Molding Heads are designed primarily for cutting profiles
in the surfaces of boards, while Shaper Knives are designed
for cutting profiles on the edges of boards. There are a
few exceptions, but by and large, this is the case.
For a better explanation of the differences between Molders
and Shapers, visit the “Woodworking
Projects & Articles” section of the Shopsmith Website.
For more about using the Molder to make decorative moldings
and picture frames, visit
our March 25, 2002 “Tip-Of-The-Week” on Shopsmith's
website.
Continue
to Table Saw Maintenance
Back to Making Miter and Bevel Cuts
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