Tablesaw Question

[SteveF]

I have been looking into my next project and been drawing plans
I have watched many youtube videos (big mistake)
my project is a chess table
I watch people rip their timber to 2"" strips and go straight to glueup
is that actually possible to get a clean enough cut?
or am I missing something in the steps involved?

Steve

 

[Myfordman]

I'm absolutely fastidious about setting up my tablesaw to give a near perfect finish cut so yes it is possible
Only the lightest sanding necessary before finish.
I do have a plane somewhere but it rarely gets any use.

 

[SteveF]

Hi Bob
I have spent several hours trying to get a clean cut
at the worst I get 1mm "steps" in my cut which is worse than useless
the blade is not that old (wealden tools) 250mm 24t rip blade
I guess it could be a faulty item, but I assume more likely technique or machine fault
I have an unused 12" 32t i could try
is it time to get a dti out and run some tests?
for most jobs I dont mind the saw marks as a swipe with hand plane sorts that out

Steve

 

[custard]

I guess the fairest answer is to say it's perfectly possible...but it's by no means guaranteed.

You need a well set up saw and a certain amount of skill. The fact is a 2" rip isn't that easy. Even with a push stick your right hand is getting fairly close to the saw blade, and although your attention will be glued to your right hand, it's your left hand that's delivering the pressure towards the fence but still mustn't extend past the front tooth of the blade. Plus, you'll probably be standing quite far over to the left in order to be out of the path of any kickback, which means the guard may obscure what's happening at the business end of the push stick during the critical moments.

Try it with some scrap ply or MDF (so there's no chance of the workpiece binding during the cut), for the initial trial maybe rip off a 2" strip on the bandsaw and try feeding that through the switched off saw so you practise a smooth fluid motion with the push stick. If you're happy with that then move on to solid timber. If you're not happy think of another method, like thicknessing to 2" and then cleaning up the thicknesser ripples with a fine stroke of a hand plane.

 

[MattRoberts]

The steps are a bit disconcerting - at the least your cuts should be even across the piece. I'd recommend doing some checks to see if the fence is parallel to the blade, and whether it's at 90 degrees to the table. I assume that the wood you're cutting is also dimensioned before the cut?

 

[Bob Graham]

I watched loads of guys doing wonderful things with table saws and decided that I needed one. I bought one from Lidl for about £80.00 and was disappointed, it was only then that I realised after some checking, that their saws cost many hundreds of pounds if not thousands.

 

[SteveF]

I watched loads of guys doing wonderful things with table saws and decided that I needed one. I bought one from Lidl for about £80.00 and was disappointed, it was only then that I realised after some checking, that their saws cost many hundreds of pounds if not thousands.

I have a wadkin ags10 not thousands but hopefully accurate adjustable solid cast iron although older than me

Steve

 

[custard]

Your saw's up to the job, but your 24 tooth blade is probably a bit aggressive as I guess the workpiece isn't that thick.

 

[deema]

To get 1mm steps I've only ever seen when the bearings of the shaft are damaged / worn. This causes the blade to wobble and wander as it hits hard and soft bits of wood.

Before you look at the following try another blade. Make sure it’s the right size fir the Saw, not too small diameter.

Two tests
1. Remove the belts and carefully grab gold if the blade and pull it back and forth, any movement and there is either something wrong with the flanges, or the bearings / shaft.

If there is no movement, you will need a clock.

2. Rotate the blade with the clock set at the outer edge just behind the teeth, if there is excessive run out, either the blade is not flat, or the shaft is bent.

 

[AndyT]

How clean is the table on your saw? If the wood isn't sliding smoothly, but sticking and slipping, some wax might help.

 

[wallace]

Make sure your blade is true. Spin it by hand and have something at 90 degrees on the table, you will soon see if its out by even the smallest amount. I let a friend use my pk and they tried to cross cut between the fence even though it has a slider. He got a nasty kick back. I now have an 18" blade with a wobble

 

[novocaine]

I assume that by clock what Deema means is a dial test indicator and a stand.
a bit much if you haven't got one already and overkill for most saws.

I have a slight amount of arbor wobble in my table saw, it doesn't cause what you are seeing, so unless yours is massively out (so much so you could see it) I don't think it's that, more likely you are using too aggressive of a blade.

the saw you have is more than capable of doing what you want, do you have any pictures of what the cut looks like? this should help with diagnosis.

 

[SteveF]

thankyou all
if you say is possible I will go back to basics and start from scratch
I have a dti and spare blade (but I will need to make a new insert for the larger blade) so can do all tests and checks above

Steve

 

[custard]

There's every chance it's simple operator error.

To get the results you want the workpiece needs to be fed through smoothly and cleanly, at an even feed rate, with no hesitation. Push sticks are a personal choice, but if you're still struggling you might want to look at alternative designs, even finessing the angle of the bird's mouth at the end of a push stick can yield differences. Because this cut is so narrow, as I said before, you're probably cutting blind at the critical moment, so you need to be confidently feeling your way through via your push stick.