Advice for crosscutting dowels on tablesaw.

[pepsi_max2k]

Total noob here - hey all.

I need to cut a bunch of small (1/2" diameter) dowels to various lengths, smallest being 7" long. I got the stupid idea to do this on a tablesaw instead of the much safer hacksaw (and I don't have a mitresaw or jigsaw). Maybe you guys can convince me otherwise, but if not...

What's the safest way to try this? Firstly, I'd like to do more than one dowel at a time (at least two), but regardless I'm concerned about the loose end dowel rolling about once it's cut, with kickback a potential consequence. I could try taping multiple dowels together, but thinking an easier way is just have a way for the loose ends to be moved / drop away from the blade as soon as they're cut.

Also, I don't fancy using a sled if it means removing a lot of the safety gear (guard and splitter) and producing something I don't really have the skills to make in the first place (because I'll do it wrong and cause all sorts of issues).

So advise away

Thanks.

 

[DTR]

Why a tablesaw?

I'd use a handsaw on a bench hook. I'd clamp a stop to the bench hook's fence to get the dowels the same length.

 

[pepsi_max2k]

I'd prefer something less time consuming I have 100s of cuts to make (then sand, varnish, paint), don't really wanna do it all by hand.

Also right now tablesaw is the only other thing I've got, might as well make use of it if I can. My main concern right now is, having spent the last week trawling the interwebs for answers, I've found an entire total of 1 single video of someone crosscutting a dowel on a tablesaw, and very few people mentioning it in text. Which doesn't bode well for it being a common, safe thing to do in the first place... :?

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I'd prefer something less time consuming I have 100s of cuts to make

Ahh, you didn't say that. Mind you, A&E waiting is quite time consuming too. I'd also do it by hand. The Irwin hardpoint tenon saws are cheap and quite up to the job, and a serviceable bench hook is easy to make.

 

[SteveF]

if this was an ongoing project i may be tempted to make a shallow open ended box 1\2" tall internally from plywood (dowelled together)
throw as many as you can in there
set fence and cut through without cutting through the box lid


this may be extremely dangerous and not recommended

please wait for someone else to come along

Steve

 

[Steve Maskery]

I wouldn't use a TS for that task.
For a start, a 1/2" dowel is about the size of a gullet. You should have three teeth in a workpiece, not one.
Any jig you make is going to take time, and anyway, I can't think of a good design for one. By the time you have made any such jig, tried it out, found it weaknesses, rebuild it right this time, you could have cut them all by hand. Yes it will be tedious, but it won't take all week will it?
Make yourself a little sawing box so that the dowel is held in place without having to clamp it every time. Make a big mug of coffee and get your nose to the grindstone!

 

[dexter]

A sharp handsaw will cut a half inch dowel in about 2 seconds. By the time you've made a sled to slide in the mitre slot of your table saw and set it up you could have made a bench hook and cut dozens of dowels. If you're working with wood then you will inevitably need a hand saw of some description so why not invest in one now. Woodworking machines can be versatile but they are not the answer to every problem.

Dex

 

[Fitzroy]

The table saw could end up sending the dowel off-cut flying but that's not really kick-back, you should be wearing safety specs anyhow. Much more significantly tho, if you do not use a cross cut sled, there is real risk of the dowel catching on the blade post cut, the outcome of which could easily move your hand towards the blade, and your hand will already be pretty close as you are supporting a small object. Any operation of this nature on the table saw is something I steer clear of! Without a sled i'd not be comfortable making this type of cut on the table saw

Additionally a bunch of dowels taped together is not a cohesive structure like a piece of wood. I think you'll get a rubbish quality of cut as the back of the dowel will undoubtedly break out as it'll have very little support, only one point will touching the fence/sled or other dowel.

F.

 

[MattRoberts]

Just tape a clump together and cut with a handsaw of you don't have a bandsaw

 

[PAC1]

With or without a crosscut sled the risk is that the Dowel becomes an arrow travelling 60 to 100mph with you 1 yard away. That will penetrate flesh and I have seen the result. It might be mind numbingly boring to use a handsaw, but you are unlikely to end up in A&E

 

[dzj]

This should work:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... ut-Dowels/

 

[Jacob]

That jig looks good but exposed. I'd adapt it so you could keep the crown guard on.
I used to cut loads of dowels by hand until I bought a Startrite 352 - which paid for itself in a week. Easy and safe but not a clean cut like a TS, so would need a linisher for a fine finish.

To avoid the cut end getting thrown out it has to fall free - so set a fence to set the measurement, but finishing short so the dowel doesn't get caught between it and the blade. Then USE PUSH STICKS to flip things away, etc

 

[custard]

Hunt around and you'll find a second hand version of a cheap chop saw like this for £10-20,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Performa ... SwpDdU6dy0

Okay, it's not a Festool Kapex, but for chopping 1/2" dowel to length it's more than adequate. Rig it up with a stop and a toggle cramp on the right hand table and you're golden.

It's the right tool for the job, it's cheap, and provided you're not stupid it's safe. What more can you ask?

Good luck!

 

[ED65]

I'd make up a mitre box type thing which is an established workshop aid with all the kinks worked out already and use it to saw them by hand, using a stop to ensure repeatable, accurate lengths. You can gang the dowel together to cut three, five or however many will fit in the box in each pass which will up your productivity by a factor of three, five or however much. As few as 20 cuts to get 100, you'll be done in no time.

Use the right saw and you might not even need to sand the end grain, saving further time at the tail end. Quick swipe of the edge against some 150, job done.

 

[custard]

Here's the thing, when cutting dowel (or any cylindrical workpiece) you need a method to stop the dowel spinning when the saw hits it. Ganging up dowels for the cut exacerbates that problem. Not insurmountable, but an effective cramping solution for ganged dowel probably isn't worth the candle, I'd think in terms of a single action toggle cramp as that's likely to be the fastest method.

Good luck!

 

[sawdust1]

Have you a jigsaw, clamp a load of the uncut dowels between 2 bits of wood clamp this to
the bench with a slight overhang cut along with jigsaw, unclamp move the uncut dowel along
reclamp and repeat. I have never done it this way as i would always cut dowels on the bandsaw,
so don't know if it would work.
Table saw no way.

 

[pepsi_max2k]

Thanks for all the replies - think you've firmly put me off trying a tablesaw for now Gonna try and make do with a tenon saw and plastic mitre box big enough to fit ~8 dowels at a time, and hopefully can saw some additional 90 degree guides through it to cover every length I need with a single stop block

Anyway I'll probably be back later with more "how likely will this stupid idea kill me" questions for you guys to save me from. Think: drill press as lathe to cut latex tube with stanley knife freehand.

 

[Jacob]

You'll find it easier and faster to cut one at a time and slide it up to a stop or mark for the next cut.
e.g. it takes 8 times as long to saw eight dowels in a bundle (obviously) but you have to hold all eight tight whilst you are at it, and also get the bundle aligned for the next cut
Bin there dunnit 1000s of times - previous incarnation as toy maker in the swinging sixties - Carnaby St etc..

 

[Steve Maskery]

I'm getting a completely new mental image of Jacob...
Dig out a photo for tomorrow evening, Jacob?

 

[ED65]

Gonna try and make do with a tenon saw and plastic mitre box big enough to fit ~8 dowels at a time...

The reason I suggested three or five at a time is for the uneven number. That way the ones on top sit in the hollows created by the ones in the bottom row, more than doubling the friction to help reduce spinning.

Since you have a plastic mitre box and won't be building one to fit, you'll want to install a spacer block to constrain the bottom row that way you won't have to hold them together manually.