I

I
t
I
I
t
I

THEARTOFWOODWORKING

HOMEWORI$HOP
 r
I
WORKSHO
GPU I D E T
I
ANATOMY
OFA BOARD
SAFETY
TIPS
I
. Wear appropriatesafetygear I
when operatinga woodworking
machine:safetyglasses,a face I
shieldfor extraprotection,and
hearingprotectorsor earplugs.lf I
thereis no dust collectionsystem,
wear a dust mask.For exoticwoods,
such as ebony,use a respirator;
I
the sawdustmay causean
allergicreaction.
I
. Makesurethat workshoplighting
5HO?.MADE?U?H 'TICK'
Tushelicke for feedingeilockinlo eaw bladesor jointer knivee
I
and ventilationare adequateand
that work surfacesare large
a r e c o m m e r c i a lal yv a i l a b l e , b u t y ocua n e a s i l ym a k e y o u o
ueing3/+-inch and a bandeawor sabereaw.No ore
r wn I
and sturdy. Vlywood
ohapeie ideal;deeiqna VuehsLickthat ie comforlableNouee
a n d s u i L a b l feo r t h e m a c h i n ea n dj o b a t h a n d .A 4 b " a n g l e
I
. Readyour owner'smanuatcare-
fullybeforeoperatingany machine. beLween the handleand,the baeeie beetfor mo6t cuLeon a
t a b l ee a w ,w h i l ea e m a l l e ar n g l ew , i | ht h e h a n d l ec l o s e rt o N h e
I
. Tie back long hair,roll up long
sleevesand avoidlooseJitting
Nable,ie beNlerfor feedinqslock acroeea radialarm saw Lable.
Thelonqbaeeof a ohoe-ohaped
I
puohetick (bottom,left) allowo
c l o t h i n gR
. e m o v er i n g sa n d
otherjewelrythat can catch in
you Noapplyheavydownward
a familiargrip,ueea favoriNehandeawhand,le
?reooureon a workpiece. For I
movtngpans. as a
lemplatre(bottom, riqht). WhaileverNhedeoiqn,
makelhe noNchin the baeelargeenoughto
t
. Keepchildren,onlookersand
petsaway from the work area. holdlhe sLock,and yet ehallowenouqh
NoouVporLit without,touchinqthe
I
. Unpluga machinebefore
performingsetupor installation
table of lhe machine.
Keeppuehelicke close
I
operattons. at hand,readyto feed
slock at lhe st arL Holefor I
. Concentrateon the job; do not hanging
rushor take shortcuts.Neverwork
or finiehof a cul.
t
when you are tired,stressedor have
b e e nd r i n k i n ga l c o h o ol r u s i n g I
m e d i c a t i o n st h a t i n d u c e
drowsiness. I
. Wheneverpossible,clampdown
the workpiece,leavingboth hands
t
free to performan operation.
(--------l t
. Finda comfortable
stance;avoid
over-reaching. I
. Turnthe machineoff if it produces
a n u n f a m i l i avr i b r a t i o no r n o i s e ;
I
havethe machineservicedbefore
resumingoperations.
I
. Keepyourwork areacleanand I
tidy;cluttercan leadto accidents.
I
I
I
 THE ART OF WOODWORKING

WOODWORKING
WHINES

TIME-LIFE
BOOKS
ALEXANDRIA.VIRGINIA
ST.REMYPRESS
MONTREAL.
NEWYORK
 .t

THE ART OF WOODWORKING was produced by THECONSUNANTS

ST. REMY MUITIMEDIA INC.
Mark Duginske,a cabinetmakerwho lives
in Wausau, Wisconsin,is a contributing
PR-ESIDENT PierreL€veil16 editor to Fine Woodworking magazine
and the author ofseveralbooks on woodwork-
SeriesEditor PierreHome-Douglas ing power tools.
SeriesArt Director FrancineLemieux
SeniorEditors Marc Cassini(Text) Leonard Leeis the presidentofVeritas Tools
HeatherMills (Research)
and LeeValleyTools,manufacturersand retail-
Art Directors Normand Boudreault,SolangeLaberge ersof fine woodworkinghand tools. He is also
Designer Luc Germain the publisherand executiveeditorof Woodcuts,
Research Editor Jim McRae amagazinethat focuseson the history and
PictureEditor ChristopherJackson techniquesof woodworking.
Contr ibuting I llustrators RonaldDurepos,Christianefltalien,
RobertPaquet,Studio La Perlubteinc. Giles Miller-Mead hastaught advancedcabi-
Administrator NatalieWatanabe netmakingat Montreal technicalschoolsfor
ProductionManager MichelleTurbide more than ten years.A nativeof New Zealand,
SystemCoordinator Jean-LucRoy he previouslyworked asa restorerof antique
Photographer RobertChartier furniture.

)osephTruini is SeniorEditor of Home

Mechanixmagazine. A former Shopand Tools
Editor of PopularMechanics,he hasworked as
a cabinetmaker,home improvementcontractor
TIME@ and carpenter.

ffi Woodworkingmachines.
Time-Life Books is a division of Time Life Inc.
p. cm.-(The Art of Woodworking)
Includesindex.
TIME LIFE INC. ISBN0-8094-9900-2.
ISBN0-8094-9e01-0 (lib. bdg).
andCEO: George
PKESIDENT Artandi 1. Woodworkingtools. 2. Woodworking
machinery. 3. Saws.
TIMB-LIFE BOOKS I. Time- Life Books. II Series
PRES/DENTj JohnD. Hall TT186.W6581992
EDITOR: Neil Kaean
PUBLISHER/MANAGING 684' .083-dc20

For information about any Time-Life book,

pleasecall l-800-621-7026,or write:
ReaderInformation
Time-Life CustomerService
P.O.Box C-32068
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DEDICATION
Theeditorsof Time-LifeBooks
andSt.RemyMultimediaInc.dedicate
Woodworking Machines to the
memoryof GilesMiller-Mead(page6-7).
Mr. GilesMiller-Mead, theoverallconsultant
for THEARTOFWOODWORKING,
wasa superbpractitioner andpopularteacher
of thiscraft,aswellasa mentorto
manytalentedcabinetmakers.
@ 1992Time-LifeBooksInc.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproducedin
any form or by any electronicor mechanical
means,including information storageand
retrievaldevicesor systems,without prior
written permissionfrom the publisher,except
that briefpassages may be quoted for reviews.
First printing. Printed in U.S.A.
Publishedsimultaneouslyin Canada.
TIME-LIFE is a trademarkof Time Warner
Inc. U.S.A.
 .l

CONTENTS

6 INTRODUCTION rO4 DRItt PRESS

106 Anatomyof a drill press
12 TABLESAW 108 Settingup and safety
14 Anatomvof a tablesaw 110 Bitsand accessories
16 Settingrip II2 Straightand angledholes
18 Safetv I 18 Dowels,plugsand tenons
20 Tablesawblades I 19 Mortising techniques
24 Ripping 122 The drill pressassander
30 Crosscutting
35 Anglecuts r24 IOTNTER
36 Dado cuts 126 Anatomyof a jointer
40 Moldings I28 Settingup and safety
44 Thblesawjoinery 130 Jointerknives
I32 |ointing
48 RADIALARM SAW 135 Salvagingwarpedstock
50 Anatomy of a radial arm saw 136 Rabbets,chamfersand tapers
52 Settingup 139 Planer
58 Radialarm sawblades
and accessories I4O GLOSSARY
60 Safew
62 Crosicutting I42 INDEX
63 Anglecuts
66 Ripping I44 ACKNO\,VLEDGMENTS
69 Dado cuts
75 Moldings
76 Radialarm sawjoinery

78 BAND SAW
80 Anatomvof a band saw
82 Settingdp
85 Safetv
86 Bandsawblades
89 Cutting curves
94 Straightcuts
98 Angleand tapercuts
100 Cutting duplicatepieces
101 Bandsawjoinery
 -

INTRODUCTION

GilesMiller-Meadtalksabout

TABLESAMS
hefirsttablesawI everencountered belonged to myfriend'sdad,a Danishboat
builder.He'dbuilt it himselfout of anassortment of partsof indeterminate age
andoriginandit proudlyoccupied a cornerof hisworlshop.It always amazed me
howSvencouldturn outanynumberof identical,precisely cutpieces andthen,after
changing hisset-up,makelengthsofbeautifulcustommoldings. All theseoperations
weredonewith seemingly effortlessefficiency.
I wasalways pestering him to let metry usingit and,whenhefinallydid,thefirst
projectwemadetogether wasa setof floorboards for myvintagecat a 1938Rover
Sports Sedan. Even now, nearly 25 years later, I still lookbackat Svenandthefloor-
board project as the first stirringsof my desire to make alivingfromwoodworking.
My present tablesaw,boughtsecond-hand morethan10yearsago,is a l2-inch
commercial modelwith a 3-horsepower motor.I couldrltimaginemywoodworking
shop without it. I rely on my tablesaw at many stages throughout myprojects, whether
cuttingworkpieces to size,making different joints, building drawers and doors, or
creating a variety of molding patterns. I also make a lot of chairsin myworlahop and
I find mytablesawparticularlyusefirlfor cuttingtheangledtenonsontheseatrails.
WhenI builtmyhouse, I startedbybuildingtheworlshop;oncethatwasup,thetable
sawcamethrough for me once again, cuttingsheets of plywoodto sizeandmaking
allthetrim for theentire house, as well as cutting other assorted pieces.
I thinkI likethetablesawso much for two main reasons. Firstof all,it'ssuchaver-
satilemachine; second, since most of the motor and blade arebeneath thetable,you
canseeata glance what's going on. There's nothing to obscure your view of thework
surface. Still,I havea great dealof respect for its ability to cause bodily injury-a leson
that'sbeendrummed into me on a couple of occasions. But I consider it a safe
machine, aslongasthe proper precautions are observed and the operator isnt overtired
or in too muchof a hurry.All in all, thetablesawis a magnificentmachineandI
couldntdowithoutit.

A nativeof NewZealnnd,GilesMiller-Mead is seen

hereinhis workshop/withoneof hisprizedtools-a
vintagetablesawacquiredin theearly 1980s.
 -

INTRODUCTION

FrankKlauszdiscusses
RADIALARM SAMS
ntil hewasabout14yearsold,my
sonwascontentto spendhis sum-
mersin my shopdoingsanding jobs.
Thenhe decidedto makesomething
himself.I suggested hedesignajewelry
box,whichI helpedhim construct. The
nextsummer, hewantedto buildsome-
thingwithoutmy help-which meant
workingon mybigmachines.
Beingsafety-conscious, I gotabit ner-
vous.Still,I tookhim to theradialarm
sawandexplained thebasics. ThenI
paintedtwo redlineson thesawtable,
eacha fewinchesawayfromtheblade,
"Safety
andfilledin thespace in between.
with thismachineissimple,"I toldhim.
"Keepyour
handsawayfrom thered
zone."In no timeatall,hewasworking
at thesawwithoutsupervision. Hecut
/rinch rabbets intotheedges of hisjew-
elryboxtop andaddeda blackebony
inlay.I wouldhaveuseda router,buthe
did finewith thesaw.
Because youpullthebladeintoa sta-
tionaryworkpiece, theradialarmsawis
averysafemachin*providedyousetup
properly, useonlysharpblades, follow
themanufacturer's safetyinstructions
and,ifyouwish,addyourownredzone.
I usetheradialarmsawfor a variety
of tasks:crosscutting roughlumber,
cuttingmitersanddadoes, andripping.
If you rip, remember to feedevenly
andfromthecorrectsideof thetableto
avoidkickback.

FrankKauszownsa worleshop in
Pluckemin,NewJersey,
thatspecializes
in makingandrestoring
finefurniture.
 -

INTRODUCTION

DaveSawyertalksabout

BA)\TDSAMS
J havebeenaWindsorchairmaker for
I l0 years. Themachines in my shop
area latheanda bandsaw.Thelatheis
essential; thebandsaw is a wonderful
convenience. It cutsout seats, trims
roughwood,cutsturningsandspindles
to lengh,sawswedgeslots,andisjust
plainhandy.All these jobscouldbedone
with handsaws, but thebandsawdoes
themquickerandmoreaccurately.
I wasexposed to bandsaws atanearly
agein my father'sdisplayandexhibit
shop.later I workedin aboatyard where
thebandsawmademanywonderful
shapes. ThatmusthavebeenwhereI
realized it is my favoritewoodworking
machine. Forasmallshoplimitedto one
stationary powertool,mostfolkswould
wanta tablesawbut abandsawwould
bemychoice.
Obviously, bandsawsaregreatfor
cuttingcurves, downto tiny radiiwith
%e-inchblades. Anglecuts,straightor
curved,are easy.With a little fore-
"release
thought,youcanmake cuts"
andgetintoreallytightplaces. Bandsaws
alsodoa reasonable job of rippingwith
alz-inchor %-inchbladeanda fence.
My l4-inch Deltamodelwill resaw
boards6 incheswide-any thickness
fromveneer on uD.Wth a 6-inchriser
blockin itsframeii couldresaw12inch-
es.Thatwouldtakeamonsterindustrial
30-inchtablesawto makethe same
cut-or twopasses with a 16-inchsaw.

DaveSawyerbuildsWindsor
in
chairsat hisworkshop
South Woodbury, Vermont.
 -

INTRODUCTION

Iudith Ameson
DRILLPRESSES
f allthetoolsin myshop,thedrill
press maynot seeasmanyhours
of useassomeothers,but for certain
tasksit is indispensable. Themachine I
useisa Sears Craftsman, manufactured
in themid-1950s.It cameintoourshop
aboutfouryearsago.WhatI likeabout
thisdrill pressisitsold-toolcharm.the
weightofit. It'ssolid.It wasbuiltto last.
Priorto gettinginto furniture-mak-
ing,I experimented withcarpentry and
cabinetmaking. I studiedwoodworking
in Colorado, takingclasses with such
highlyrespected furnituremakersasArt
Carpenter. Fumiture-making iswhatI've
beendoingfor thelastseven years.I find
it verysatisfiing.I'm constantly learning
newtechniques andtryingnewdesigns.
I producealineof furnitureaswellas
customdesignpieces. I makea rocking
chairfor childrenwith a designthat
includesbearpawson the armsand
dowelssetinto a curvedframethatpro-
videsbacksupport.I dependonthedrill
press to boreprecise holesfor thedowels.
OnarockingchairI makefor adults,
thelegsaresquare atthemiddlewhere
theymeetthe seat,andhavetenons
at eitherendthatfit into therockers
at thebottomandthearmsat thetop.
Tomakethetransition between theleg's
square middleandroundtenons,lsculpt
thelegswith a routeranda spokeshave.
Thedrill pressreamstheholesin the
rockers andthearmsfor thetenons.

Iudith Amesis afurniture-

makerin Seattle,Washington.

t0
 INTRODUCTION

Mark Duginsketalksabout

IOINTE,RS
he first jointer I usedwasalready
old whenmy fatherboughtit. The
machine requiredconstant care,which
wasgood,because it taughtmeto con-
centrate andpayattentionto everyboard
I workedwith.WhenI was15years old,
webuilt a newhouseandusedlocally
grownoakfor thetrim andcabinets. It
wasmyjob to do allof thejointing.
A ruleI learnedthen-and onethat
I stillfollowtoday-is thatthesuccess of
anycabinetmaking projecthingeson
workingwithwoodthathasstraight and
squareedges. Thepowertoolsthatdo
mostof thecuttingin my shopnowa-
days-thetablesawandtheradialarm
saw-will cutaccurately onlyif thestock
I feedintothemissquare andtrue.If one
edgeof aboardisnotstraight, I won'tbe
ableto crosscut it squarely.
Gettingoffto agoodstartiswherethe
jointercomesin. I useit to makethat
criticallyimportantfirststep,forminga
squarecornerwheretheedgeandthe
endof aboardmeet.Thejointeralsohas
amorecreative application whenI useit
to makelegsfor furnitureor evendeco-
rativemoldings.
Thejointeris not difficultto useor
maintain,but it requires skillto adjust
themachine andchange theknives. But
likealltools,mastering thejointertakes
practice andconcentration.

Mark Duginskeis theauthorof

on woodworkingtools
severalboolcs
He woilesasa cabi-
and techniques.
netmakerin Wausau,Wisconsin.

11
 TABLE,SAM

hetheryou areworkingwith l0-inchblade.Properly tunedandmain-

milledboardsfroma lumber- tained,it canmill 3-inchstockrepeated-
yard,oldbarnsidingor sheets of4-by-8 ly withoutoverheating.
plywood,thetablesawisanexcellent all- If mostofyourworkiswith3/E- or l-
aroundtool for cuttingwoodto width inch-thickstocktypicallyusedfor cab-
(ripping)andlength(crosscutting). If the inetmaking, theopen-base contractor's
tablesawwereusedfor nothingbuttirese sawisalessexpensive Its1.5-
alternative.
twocuts,it wouldstillbeavaluable tool. horsepower motorturnsan 8- or 10-
Butthesawalsoaccepts awidevarietyof inchblade,andtheunitcanbemounted
blades andaccessories, fromrollerstands on a mobilebase,providingextraflex-
thatassist withunwieldypanels(page 26) ibility. In anycase,thebasicrequire-
to molding heads capable of producing ment for a table saw-whether for
elaborate decorative trim (page 40). lnd cabinetmaking or generalworkshop
with helpfromthesimple,inexpensive use-is thatit mustbecapable of cutting
shop-made jigs featured in this chapter, Screwed to the mitergauge,this wood a2-by-4at both 90 and45".
the tablesawis alsounsurpassed for extension facilitatesthecuttingofbox Foroccasional useon lightstockor
repeat cutsandalsovaluable for making jointsfor drawersand casework. Such wherespaceis at a premium,the8/+-
suchfundamental woodworking joints shop-madejigsextendtheversatility inchbenchtopsawcaneasilybe hauled
asthe lap,box and open mortise-and- of the basictablesaw. around theworkshop or theiob siteby
tenon joints (page44). one person. When^ choosing a saw,
The precision and power of a table saw permit awoodworker bewareof exaggerated horsepower ratings. Check the motor
to makemanydifferentcutswith smallriskof error.Sawing plate:Anhonestl.5-horsepower motorshoulddrawroughly
square andstraight with hand tools requires considerable skill 14amps at 115 volts;a 3-horsepower motorshoulddraw14or
andtime;buta woodworker who follows the procedures for the 15amos at 230 volts.
tablesawoutlinedin thischapter canproduce clean,accurate
cuts-consistently, and with relatively littleeffort.
Tablesawsaredesignated according to thebladediameter Notq [n someillustrationsinthis c.hapter, the
used.Modelsarecommonlyavailable in 8-,9-, 10-and l2-indl table sawis shown in operation withoutthe
sizes.The8-andl0-inchmodels, however, areclearlythe most bladeguardin caseswhere it shoul( in fact,
popularhomeworlshopsaws. When choosing atablesaw, first be used. firis is done only for thesakeof
consider thetypeofwoodworking you will be doing with it. The clarity of the illustration. Use yourblade
fully enclosed stationary saw, like the one pictured on pages guard whenever possible.
l4-15,tipicallyusesa 1.5-to 3-horsepower motorto drivea

With a workpiece clampedfirmly to a tenoning

jig a woodworkercutsthetenonpart of an open
mortise-and-tenon joint. Thejig isguidedby a
rail that slidesin thesawtable'smitergaugeslot.

13
 -l

ANATOMYOFA TABLESAW

Auxiliary table ineerte T argeor small,thetablesawisbasical-

Blade guard Keep wood piecee from
I-r lv a motor and arbor assemblv
Clear ahield that falti'n4into'table; wider attached to abasecabinetor stand.Thi
protectg operator alota for dado or mold- arbormaybemounteddirectlyto the
from blade: bolted inq heado motorshaft,or connected to themotor
to splitter and
anti-kiakback device
by a beltandpulley.In general, better
sawshavemorethanonebelt.
Precisebladeadiustments aremade
5tandard bymeansof twocrank-type handwheels
Roller atand table ineert underneath the sawtable.Onewheel
)upporto lon7 work- Keepa wood
pieceoduring cuttin1 Ptece6Trom Miter gauge
operationa fallinq into table
Guides workpieceacroea table for croos-
cutting; woodenerteneion can be acrewed
to 0au0e to oupport widepiecea

Rlpfence
Guidea workpiece
across table
for rippinq

Bladeangle
adtuatment
annk

Vacuum
attachment
For duat col-
lection eystem

Mobile baee
Faailitatea movin4the
aaw aaide in amall
ahopa; wheelacan be
lockedin poaition
 -l

TABLESAW

connolstheblade's heightabovethe saw front guidebar or even,in somecases,

table-from 0 to 3ysinchesona l0-inch
saw.Theotherwheeladjusts theangleof
theblade-from90oto451
Therip fence,whichon mostmodels
slidesalongthefrontandrearguidebars
to controlrip cuts,canbelockedany-
wherealongits trackat thedesireddis-
tancefrom the blade.Somefences
featuremeasuring tapesattached to the
electronicreadouts, althoughexperi-
encedwoodworkers usuallyrelyon a
handheldmeasuring tapeanda sample
cutto checkthewidth of a cut.
milledintothesawable
Shallowslots,
on eachsideof the blade,acceptan
adjustablemitergauge for guidingcros-
cuts.Qualitysawshavetablesthat are
castandthenmachinedfor flatness.

Optional rip fenc'e Theportable8%-inchbenchtop sawcan

LonqerTencere?Eceq
atandard fence whon Hold-down deviae
ertenoion table uaed Holda workpiecefirmly
aqainat both table and
rip fence for aafa rip cuta
performmostof thefunctionsof alarger
Auxlliary fence saw.Aually plncedon aworlcbench or
Board clamped
on sswhorses,it ako canbebuilt into a
or acrewed to rip
fence ertenda bmch itstoplevelwiththebenchtop,
hei1ht of fence providinga lnrgework surface.

Fs<teneiontable
Inareaaeawork eurtace
to facilitate cuttin7 large
boarda and panela

Rlp fence gulde bar

Holda optional rip fenca
to extenaion table; fea-
tures rula for meaaudna
width of cut

Fence loak
Holda rip fence
in fixed'poaition

15

hetheryourtablesawsitspoised
to makeits firstcut,or is a sea-
sonedmachinewith a homefull of ftrr-
nitureto its credit,it cannotcut with
precisionunlessits adjustable partsare
in properalignment. A tablesawwith
misaligned partscanresultin anyoneof
severalfrustratingproblems,including
excessive vibration,increased risk of
kickback,bladedamage, burn markson
workoieces aswell asinaccurate cuts.
Evenirrorsaslittleasr,/o+inchcancon-
promisethe qualityand strengthof a
pieceof furniture.
The components of your tablesaw
requiringthe mostattentionarethose
SETTINGUP
that contactand guidethe workpiece
duringcuttingoperations: thesarvtable,
theblade,the mitergaugeandthe rip
fence.Beforeputtinga tablesawthrough
its paceson the cutting techniques
describedin thischapter,firstsetup the
machineproperlyby checkingand,if
necessary,adjustingthealignmentof its
parts.For bestresults,unplugthe saw
adjustthetableinsertsetscrews to make
the insertoerfectlvflushwith the saw
table,andirank thebladeto its highest
setting.Then followthe stepsshown
belowin thesequence thattheyappear.
Thereislittlepointin aligningthemiter
gauge with thesawblade,for example, if
thebladeitselfhasnot beenscuaredwith
thetable.
To confirm that your tablesawis
properlytuned,makea fewtestcuts.A
goodwayto ensurethatyoursawiscut-
ting in precise,
straightlinesis to cut a
squared boardin two andflip oneof the
piecesover.Buttthetwo cut endstogeth-
er.Theyshouldfit together withoutany
gapsasperfectlyastheydid beforethe
boardwasflipped.
Because the normalvibrationfrom
cuttingcanupsetproperalignment, tune
yourtablesawperiodically; manywood-
workerstakethetimeto adjusttheirsaws
beforestartingeachproject.

ALIGNING
THETABLE
ANDSAWBLADE

Checking bladeangle
Remove thetableinsert, thenbutt
a combinationsquareagainst thesaw
bladebetweentwoteethasshown. The
bladeof thesquareshould fit flush
against
thesawblade. lf thereis a gap
between thetwo,rotatethebladeangle
'l
a b l ea l i g n m e n t
C h e c k i nt g adjustmentcrankuntilthesawblade
J - P o s i t i o tnh e m i t e rg a u g ea t t h e f r o n to f t h e s a wb l a d e H . o l do r c l a m pa rests
flushagainstthesquare's blade.
p e r f e c t lsyq u a r e dw o o db l o c ka g a i n stth e m i t e rg a u g ea n d b u t tt h e e n do f t h e
b l o c ka g a i n sat s a wb l a d et o o l h( a b o v e T ) .h e ns l i d et h e m i t e rg a u g ea n dt h e
b l o c kt o g e t h etro w a r dt h e b a c ko f t h e t a b l ew h i l er o t a t i n gt h e b l a d eb y h a n d .
T h eb l o c ks h o u l dr e m a i nb u t t e da g a i n stth e t o o t ha s t h e b l a d er o t a t e fsr o m
f r o n tt o b a c k .l f a g a po p e n sb e t w e etnh e b l o c ka n dt h e t o o t h ,o r t h e b l o c k
b i n d sa g a i n st th e b l a d ea s i t i s r o t a t e da,l i g nt h et a b l ef o l l o w i n g t hoew n e r ' s
m a n u ailn s t r u c t i o n s .

t6
 TABLESAW

SOUARING
THEMITERGAUGE

themitergauge r) Aligning themitergauge

1 Aligning withthesawtable withthesawblade
I Withthemitergauge outof thetableslot,usea combina- L gutta carpenter's square themitergauge
against andthe
tionsquare
to confirmthattheheadof thegauge is square sawbladebetween twoteeth.Thesquareshouldfit flushagainst
withtheedgeof thegauge bar.lf it is not,usetheadjustment thegauge. lf thereisa gapbetweenthetwo,loosen theadjust-
handleonthegauge to square thetwo.Thenbuttthesquare menthandle onthegauge (above)andswivelthemiterheadto
thegauge
against (above), Thebladeof thesquare shouldfit bringit flushagainst thesquare.Tighten
theadjustment han-
thegauge.
flushagainst lf thereis a gapbetween thetwo, dlo nn f hp oarroo

havethegauge machined square at a metalworking shop.

ADJUSTING
THERIPFENCE

lllllllrillllllll]tll]llillrllflllllllllllllllllfitlllllllltlllllll lll
?HO?Tt?
Fixinga looee miter 6au4e
ToeliminaLe
excessive side-to'
eideVlayof the
miNerqauqein its sloL,
removeNheqauqefrom
LheNableand Vlacethe
bar edqe-uV on a board,
Uoea ball-peen
Miter qau4eolot h a m m ear n d a
VrickpunchNo
eLrikeNheedgeof
Aligning
theripfence Lhebar in a oNagqered pat-
Settheripfencealongside themiter Lerneveryinchalongit.Thie
gaugeslot.lf thereisanygapbetween willraisebumpoon lhe edqeof the bar
thetwo,alignthefence following
the and resulf,in a tiqhterfi| in NhesloL,lf
owner'smanual instructions.
Onthe Lhefit io too Liqht,file lhe bumpedown
model shown, turntheadjustmentboltat a9 nece56ary.
thefrontof thetablewitha hexwrench.

I7

Q afetyisasmucha matterof attitude
r.J andcommonsenseascorrecttech-
nique. The table saw is a powerful
machine;all the safetydevicesin the
world will not makeup for a cavalieratti-
tude or rloppywork practices. On the
otherhand,a woodworkershouldnot
approacha tablesawwith trepidation;a
timid operator,someonereluctantto
hold a workpiecefirmly whiiecuttingit,
. Usea safetyguardwhenever possible.
Before
making a bevelcut,confirm
that
theguardwillbeclearof theblade.
o Donotleave whenrt
thesawrunning
is unattended.
. lf youareinterrupted,
completethe
operationunderwaybeforeturningoff
thesawandlooking up.
. Followthemanufacturer'sinstructions
to change unplug
accessories; thesaw
first.Makesurethatsawblades andcut-
cleanandundamaged.
tersaresharp,
. Beforecuttinga workpiece,
remove
anylooseknotsfromit usinga hammer.
Inspectsalvagedwoodfor nailsand
screwsbeforecutting.
SAFETY
facesasmanyrisksasa careless worker.
Cautionmixedwith confidence stem-
ming from an understanding of the
machineandthetaskat handshouldbe
the woodworker'sguide.
Readthe owner'smanualsupplied
with your saw.Beforestartinga job,
makesureyouknowhowto usethesafe-
ty accessories
thataredesignedto protect
injurieswhileoperat-
you from specific
TABTE
SAW TIPS
SAFETY
o Donotstarta cut untilthebladeis
r u n n i nagt f u l ls p e e d .
. Before usingthesaweachtime,
Makesure
inspectits safetyfeatures.
thereis nobinding or misalignment
of
moving parts.Donotusethesawuntil
suchproblems arecorrected.
. Alwaysfeedwoodintothesawblade
against of bladerotation.
thedirection
. Makesuretheripfenceis locked
in position
before ripping.
. Donotusethemitergaugein combi-
nationwiththeriofenceto makea
cut-exceptwhenthe bladedoesnotcut
completelythrough theworkpiece,
such
asfor a dadoor a groove.
18
ing the machine.Usedevices like push
sticksand featherboards, as shown
throughoutthischapter,to protectyour
fingersfrom the blade.A hold-down
device,suchasthe one illustratedon
page25,isalsoa worthwhileinvestment.
And rememberthat not only your fin-
gersandhandsareat risk A safework-
shopalsoincludeshearingprotectors,
safetyglasses
anddustmasks.
Respectingthe dangerzone
Toavoidinjuryfrom thesawblade,
"danger
constantly bealertto a zone"
thatexistswithin obout3 inchesof the
blade-bothaboveand to eitherside
of it (left). Keepyour handsout of
thiszonewhenever thesawis being
used-evenif thebladeguardis in
place.Tofeeda workpiece pastthe
bladewithin thezone,usea push
stick,a pushblockor a jig.
. Usetheripfenceorthemitergauge
forall cuttingoperations;
never
attempt
to cutfreehand.
. Beforerippinga board,ensurethatthe
edgein contactwiththeripfenceissmooth
andcompletely straight
andthatthesur-
faceagainstthetableisflat.
r Standto onesideof anyworkpiece
in caseof
duringanycuttingoperation
kickback.
. lf youhaveto reachpasttheblade,
keepyourhands at least3 inches
away
fromit.
. Usea wooden thanyour
stick,rather
fingers,
to clearwoodscrapsfromthe
sawtable.
 -

TABLESAW

HOWTHEBLADE
GUARD WORKS
ASSEMBLY
Protecting fingers andpreventing kickback
Thestandard tablesawbladeguardassembly
includes a pivoting, clear-plastic blade guard,
whichdeflects f lyingwoodchipsandreduces
thechance thatfingers willslipaccidentally into
theblade. Theguardisconnected to a thinpiece
o f m e t akl n o w a n st h es p l i t t eor r r i v i n gk n i f e .
Attached directly in linewiththeblade, thesplit-
ter keeps thesawcut-or kerf-open.Without
sucha device, thekerfmaycloseduring a cut,
binding theblade andthrowing theworkpiece
backtoward theoperator withgreatforce.
Kickback canalsoresult if a workpiece jams
between theblade andtheripfence.Further
protection fromkickback is provided bya metal
f inger(orfingers) called ananti-kickback pawl,
whichnormally ridesonthesurface of thework-
piece. In theevent of kickback, thefinger digs
in,preventing theworkpiece fromflyingback.

Optional guardslike the oneshownat leftprovideextra

flexibility. HeId in place by a cantileueredann bolted to
the sideof the saw table,it featuresa plasficshieldraised
and loweredby a crank.Restinglightly on the workpiece.
the shieldservesas a hold-downand provideswide cover-
ageof the cutting area, allowing the woodworker to per-
form operationssuchas covecutting and rabbeting,which
cannotbe donewith conventionalguardsin position. The
bladeguard shownabovehas two arnts.For nlostcuts,
both arms ride on top of the workpiece,but when the blade
is closeto the rip fenceoneof the arms can be raisedout of
the way. Theguard can alsobe trsedwithout the retrnct-
ablesplitterwhen cutting dadoesand grooves-irnpossible
with the standardguard becausethe splitteris an integral
part of theframework that holdsit in place.

l9
 TABLESAWBLADES

I tablesawisortlyasgoodasthesaw for cutting specifictypes of wood.

,f"L bladeit tunrs.A dull or chipped
bladecantransformeventhe bestof
tablesawsinto a pooror evendangerous
tool. To protectbladesfrom damage,
ar,oidstackingthem directlyatopeach
other.Hangthemindividuallyon hooks
or nlace cardboardbetweenthem.
Renlace a bladethatis dull or cracked or
hal chippedteeth;moreaccidents are
caused by dull bladesthansharpones.
Keeovoursawbladesclean.Woodresins
cungu- r'rpa bladeandhamperitsability
to makeasmoothcut.Tocleanstickywood
resinandpitchoffablade, soakitinturpen-
tine,thenscrubitwith steelwool. Spray-on
ovencleaner canbeusedto dissolve stub-
borndeoosits.
Proolrbladeperformance isasmuch
a matterof usingtherightbladefor the
job askeepingit cleanandin goodcon-
dition. \\4rereasin the pasttherewere
relativelyfelvsawbladesto choosefrom,
today'swoodworkerfacesa widearrayof
options.As illustratedbelow,thereare
bladesdesigned specificallyfor crosscut-
tingor ripping,othersto minimizekick-
backor producethin kerfs,and blades
()FA BLADE
ANATOMY T()()TH
AnL|kbkback
Brazedto n shoulderon thesnw blode,
the corlridetip doesthe utttittg, while
thegullet retnovesthe sawdust.The
expansiottsllt preventsthe bladefrotrt
warping when it heatstrp. The anti-
kickbackfeature reducesthe risk that
the bladewill jam, and senda work-
pieceflying bncktoward the user.
Regardlessof qpe,allblades areinstalled
on the sawand adjustedfor cutting
height and angle in the samervay
(pages 22-23).
The most imoortantadvancein
recentyearshasbein theintroductionof
carbide-tippedblades.These have
eclipsedtraditionalhigh-speed steelas
the bladeof choice.The advantase of
carbide-tipped blade,liesin theira6ility
to keepa sharpedgefar longerthantheir
steelcounterparts.Composed of grains
of hardtungsten-carbon particlesone-
hundredththe thicknessof a human
hair,the carbidechunksare bonded
with cobaltandbrazedonto theblade
with copperor silver.Carbideis extreme-
ly hardlthehighestrating-C4-has a
hardness valueof94 on a scalethatrates
diamondas100.
\Ahilecarbide-tipped bladescanstay
sharpfor a hundredhoursor moreof
,se,iheyaremoredifficult-and there-
foremoreexpensive-tosharpenthan
high-speed steelblades. mostwood-
Sti1l,
workersbelieve thepriceisworthpaying
for theadvantages theyoffer.

Rip Blade Croaaaut Blade Croaaaut Alade I CombinationElade

(Standard)
Far cuta alonq the 7ratn
Haa deepqulieta uia ,"iu-
tively few, larqe teeth. The
chieel-likec utt tn4 ed1eo
of the Leeth makea fatrly
rou4hcut and produce
lar4epartlclee of sawdueL
and woodchipo.
(Standard) (Anti-Kiakback) I A 4eneral-purpoee blade
For cuta acrosa the A variationofthe atan' I
| f' n" r' r' i'nr nr i"n' rrt n r . r n 6 4 a l L -
qrain.Hae more teeth dard croaacut btade.The I tinq; doeo not makeaa
than rtp blade.Theteeth projecLionbeLweenthe I amnnt.h a r:tt aa, a ,i0
makea amooLhcut and Leeth limite the eizeof I or croeecut blade,buL
producefine aawduaL. Lhechipemade with each m,akeefrequent blade
I
bite: leeeaq4reeeivebitea I cnanaequnneceooary.
prevent ktckback, I
II
I
II
I
I
I

"*-e,,w
I

r
r l !
,
\
o t F-"-ee&* |
"JE
I

I
 Carbide-tipped
its
Eachhas own
All bladeshave
BLADE
TOCARBIDE-TIPPED
GUIDE

teeth
DESIGNS
sawblades

that
feature
particular
fourbasictoothdesigns.
advantages
shear
andapplications.
through thewoodandgul-
H
il
letsthatclear
Someblades
away
also
sawdust
have
and
rakers
wood
thatcut
chips
out
fromthekerf.
anymaterialleft
Flat Top Grind
GTG) f,
fi
in thekerfbytheteeth. 0n some blades, theteethare FIat-top cutttng
alternatelybeveled-that is,theyshear stockalternately teeLh: for rippin7
fromoneside,andthen theother sideof thecut.

fr
fi
n [-n-l r
fl L__l
IJ
L_J Ll
II
I E U
I fin H
Ha)
alternate with
flat-top raker $ I Ahernate TopEevel
with a Raker (NB/R)
I I \--,/
fi
ll AlternateTop

E
'
teelh; for rip' Fouralternately Bevel(ATB)
pinq or croae- beveledcuttin7 teeLh Hi4hlyaharpened
cuttin4 abrasive
materiala
I
U
alternate wtth a flat'
top raker tooth: for
alternately beveled
cuttinq teeth: for
croeecuttin0

Hollow Ground Melaminetslade Croeaaut Blade Plywood Elade

PlanerBlade (High-
?peed ?teel)
ror veryamooTncro66-
cu|o, rip cuLa or angle
cut a, Thebodyof the
bladeta t:hinnerthan
the huband teeLh,whtch
are not aet, enaudnq
thaL the bodydoeenot
bind in the saw kerf.
Haa many emall teeth (Thin Rim) (High-?peed ?teel)
deoignedto cutthrouqh A variationofthe atan- Hao many emall teel;h
the abraatveqluefound dard croeEcutbladefor Lhat makea emooth,
in parttcleboardand fine finieh cuLa.lte thin- apltnter-freecut in ply-
other manufacLured ner nm produceoa nar- woodand waodveneera,
panelo,reeulLingin a rowerkerf,putttnq leeo TheLeeth are leeaeffi'
chip-freecut. stratn on the gawmoror, ctenLin hi7hlyabraotve
manufacLuredpanele
euch ae particleboard.

l:li
lDl'l'l
t t

$t3
s
\'. 11 r'i
,..4,&k
k

&
#t"
K'
 TABLESAW

CHANGING
A SAWBLADE

:l I !_,

1l Removins-
theoldblade t Installingthenewblade
I Working at thefrontof thetable,wedgea pieceof scrap Z- StiOe thebladeonthearborwithitsteethpointing in the
woodundera bladetoothto prevent thebladefromturning. Use direction (toward
of bladerotation thefrontof thetable).Insert
thewrench supplied withthesawto loosen thearbornuI(abovd. thewasher andnutandstarttighteningbyhand. Tofinishtight-
(Table
sawarbors usually havereverse
threads;thenutis loos- ening,gripthesawblade witha ragandusethewrench sup-
enedin a clockwise direction-notcounterclockwise.)
Finish pliedwiththesaw(above), Donotusea pieceof woodasa
looseningthenutbyhand,making surethatit doesnotfallinto wedge asthiscouldresultin overtightening
thenut.
themachine. Carefullylifttheblade
andwasher offthearbor.

rlllillrrllillrllltfillfiltllltllllfiltlllllll1
lll1
lllllltfiIlt]lllltl
5HO? TI?
Custom-made
table inserts
To prevenLocrap wood
fromjammin4a7ainoLNhe
eawblade,makeyourownNable
ineerVe thaL minimizethe aao
bebween the bladeand Nhetable inserl
opening. UeeNheinoertouVVlied wiLhthe
eawae a Lemplatelo cuNa blankfrom a piece
of ocrapwoodof the samelhickneee.Drivea
brass eetecrewinto its front edgeuntil 1/sinchof Nheecrewpro-
Lrudesfrom iI. (Theocrewwillserveae an anchorpinfor NheinserL.)
Crankthe saw bladeNoils lowestoetbin4and set the newineerl in
place.TooilionNheripfenceLo etraddlethe insert,makingeurelhal
iNisnot direcllyabovelheblade.Turn onthe sawandcrankNhe
bladeup olowlyto iNehigheoloettinq,cuLlinqa slot,in NheineefL,

22
 TABLESAW

ANGTE
THEBLADE
SETTING
Settingthepropercuttingangle
Tomakean anglecut,remove thetable
insertandcrankthe bladeto its highest
setting.Usea protractor to setthe desired
cutting angleona sliding bevelandbutt
thebevelagainst the bladebetween two
teeth.Rotate theangleadjustment crank
onthesawuntilthebladerestsflush
against the bevel(/eff).

HEIGHT
THEBLADE
SETTING
Cranking thebladeto theproper height
A bladethatis toohighposes a safety
risk;onethatis toolowwill notcut
properly. Formostcuttingoperations,
rotatethebladeheightadjustment
crankuntilaboulrhinchof the blade
is visibleabovethe workpiece tight).
Tosetthe bladeat a specif ic height,
usea tapemeasure ora commercially
made gauge,which features a series of
"steps"of 7+-inch increments; a similar
gauge canbeshop-built fromscraps
of 7+-inch plywood.The blade is at the
correct heightwhen it rubsthe gauge
at thedesired height as you rotate the
bladebv handInseil.

23

p ipping has traditionallybeen
"cutting
I\ definedas with thegrain."
But consideringthat some woods
today-plywood andparticleboard, for
example-haveno overallgrainpattern,
thedefinitionneedssomeamendine. A kickbackcanoccur.)
moreappropriate descriptionfocuseJon
the tablesawaccessory usedto makea
rip cut. Whereascrosscuttingis done
usingthe miter gauge,rippinginvolves
RIPPING
therip fence.(Exceptfor certaincutsthat
do not passcompletelythroughthe
workpiece,suchasa dadocut, the rip
fenceandmiter gaugeshouldneverbe
usedat thesametime,or jammingand
Beforeripping a workpiece,setthe
heightof the sawblade(page23),then
lock the rip fencein position for the
width of cut.The mostcrucialsafety
concernwhenrippingis keepingyour
handsout ofthe bladetpath.Forprotec-
tion,useaccessories suchaspushsticks,
featherboards andhold-downdevices,
To usea hold-downdevice,it may
firstbe necessaryto screwa woodaux-
iliary fenceto the rip fence.Auxiliary
fencesareidealsurfaces for clamping;
manywoodworkers makethem a per-
manentfixture on their saws.

RIPPING
A BOARD

1 Startingthecut
I Measure thedistance to theedgeof a toothnearest
the useyourrrghthandto feedthewoodintotheblade(above)
fence(inseil.Position
thefenceandsetoneendof thework- Continue feeding theboardintothebladeat a steady rate
pieceonthesawtablecloseto theblade. Useyourlefthand u n t i tl h et r a i l i n eg n do f t h eb o a r d
a p p r o a c htehset a b l e .
to press
thewooddownonthetableandflushwiththefence; (Caution: Blade guardremoved forclarity.)

24
 TABLESAW

r) Approaching theblade
L tlooi,the thumbof vourlefthandover
theedgeof thetableani restyourpalmon
thetable,keeping thewoodpressed down
frrmlyonthetableandupagainst thefence
(/eff).Continue
feedingtheboardwithyour
righthanduntilthetrailing
endof theboard
approaches theblade.

Passing theblade
Straddle thefencewithyourrighthand
(left),makingsurethat neitherhandis in
linewiththeblade.lf anyf ingercomes
within3 inches of theblade, complete the
cutusinga pushstick,a jig,ora hold-down
deuice (abovel mounted on the ripfence.
Therubber wheels of thehold-down device
keeptheworkpiece firmlyagainst thetable;
to prevent kickback, theyalsolockwhen
pushed against thedirection of thecut,
keeping theboard fromshooting backward.
Finishing
thecut
lf youareusinga hold-down device, begin
Keeppushing theboard untilthe
feeding theworkpiece fromthefrontofthe
bladecutsthrough it completely.When
table,thenmoveto thebackto pullthe
theworkpiece isclearof theblade, use
woodthrough. Otherwise, f inishthecut
yourlefthandto shiftthewastepiece
fromthefrontof thetable(step4).
to theleftsideof thetable(/efr).With
yourrighthand,carefully liftthegood
pieceandplaceit to therightof the
rip fencebefore turningoff thesaw.
Donotallowpieces of woodto pile
uoonthesawtable,

25
 TABLESAW

RIPPING
A LARGE
PANEL

'l Cutting intothepanel

I Position theriofenceforthewidthof cut.Asksome-
oneto standat thebackof thetableto receive thecut
sections; otherwise, setuptworollerstands. Posrtion
t h e ms ot h a t ,d e p e n d i n
ognt h et h i c k n e sosf t h ep a n e l ,
theyarecloseenough to support thecut pieces. Laythe
p a n eol nt h es a wt a b l ea f e wi n c h efsr o mt h e b l a d e ,
buttingitsedgeagainst thefence.Tobeginthecut,slowly
feedthepanelintotheblade, slightly raisrng thepanel's
backendto keepitsfrontendflat;applyenough side
pressure withyourlefthandto keepthe panelbutted
squarely against thefence(abovd. Continue feeding the r) Finishing thecut
panelintothe bladeat a steady rateuntilits backend Z- Standing to theleftof thesawblade, position
reaches theedgeof thetable.(Caution: Blade guard y o u rp a l m o s nt h eb a c ke n do f t h ep a n esl ot h a t
removed forclarity.) neither handis in linewiththeblade. Press down
on the panelwithyourpalms(above,) andpush
t h et r a i l i n e
s n do f t h eo a n etlo w a r tdh eb l a d e
u n t i tl h ec u ti sc o m o l e t e d .

LO
 TABLE SAW

RIPPING
A NARROW
STRIP
Using a featherboard andpushstick
Position theripfenceforthewidthof
cut.Thenbutttheworkpiece against the
fence.Tokeepyourhandsawayfrom
t h eb i a d ea s i i c u t st h ew o r k o i e cues. e
twoaccessories-a featherboard anda
oushstick.Clamoa featherboard to the
sawtable-themodelshownis installed
in themiterslot-sothatitsf ingers hold
t h ew o r k p i e cs en u g lay g a i n st ht ef e n c e .
ru 5r c^ ^ d^ ^p u. >, i^l L)^L+t Lin^ rd^. J^ J^i rl Lr w n t o f e e d
t h ew o r k p i e icnet ot h eb l a d eC. o n t i n u e
c u t t i n gs t e a d i luyn t i lt h e b l a d en e a r s
t h ee n do f t h ec u t .S u p p o rt h t ew a s t e
p i e c ew i t hy o u rl e f th a n dt;o p r e v e n t
y o u rh a n df r o mb e i n gp u l l e db a c ki n t o
t h eb l a d ei n c a s eo f k i c k b a ccku, r ly o u r
fingers around theedgeof thetable(/eff)
(Caution: Blade guard removed forclarity.)

A JIGF()R MAKING REPEAT NARROW CUTS

Torip several narrow stripsto thesamewidth,usethe
shopmade jig shownat left.Forthejig,cut a boardwith
a lipat oneend.Screw a hold-down blockto thejig,then
jig
buttthe flushagainst theripfence.Marka cuttingline
ontheworkpiece, thenseatit againstthejig,flushwiththe
lip.Position theripfencesothatthecuttinglineonthe
workpiece is alignedwiththesawblade.
Tomakeeachcut,slrdethejig andtheworkpiece asa
unitacross thetable,feeding theworkpiece intotheblade
(|efl.$he firstcutwilltrimthelip to thewidthof thecut.)
Useyourlefthandto keeptheworkpiece flushagainst the
jig. Remove thecut strip,reposition theworkpiece in the
jig,andrepeat strips.(Caution:
for identical Bladeguard
removed forclarity.)

27
 TABLESAW

RESAWING
THICKST()CK
Settingup andstarting thecut
1
I T o r e s a wa b o a r d ,p o s i t i o nt h e r i p
Auxiliary
Featherboard f e n c ef o r t h e w i d t ho f c u t a n d a t t a c h
woodfence
a h i g ha u x i l i a rw y o o df e n c e .C r a n kt h e
b l a d eb e l o wt h e t a b l ea n d p l a c et h e w o r k -
p i e c eo v e rt h e t a b l ei n s e r tT. os e c u r et h e
w o r k p i e c ec ,l a m po n ef e a t h e r b o atrod
t h e f e n c ea b o v et h e b l a d e a , n da s e c o n d
f e a t h e r b o a hr da l f w a yb e t w e e tnh e b l a d e
a n dt h e f r o n to f t h e t a b l e .R e s t h e s e c -
ond featherboard on a woodscrapso that
i t s u p p o r ttsh e m i d d l eo f t h e w o r k p i e c e :
c l a m pa n o t h e br o a r da t a 9 0 " a n g l et o
t h e f e a t h e r b o a rf do r e x t r ap r e s s u r ea, s
s h o w nR . e m o v teh e w o r k p i e caen d s e t
t h e h l a d eh e i p htto a m a x i m u m of 17
f o
inches softwood r o r 1 i n c h f o rhard-
wood.Tostartthe cut, feed the workpiece
intothe blade(left).Continue cuttingat
tsladecuttinq ewath a steady r a t euntil y o u rf i n g e r sa r ea b o u t
3 i n c h e fsr o mt h e b l a d e .

r) Completing thefirstpass Finishingthecut

L Wttnthesawstillrunning, move to thebackof thetable. Raise thebladeheight
andmakeanother passalongeach
U s eo n eh a n dt o p r e stsh ew o r k p i e cf leu s ha g a i n st ht er i p edgeof theworkpiece(above).
Makeasmanypasses asneces-
fence(above) andtheotherhandto pullit pastthe blade. sary,
raising aftereachpass,
thebladeheight untiltheblade
Fliptheworkpiece overandrepeat thecuttingprocedures cutsthrough theworkpiece
completely.
in stepsI and2.

28
 TABLESAW

TAPER
CUTS
Using a commercialtaperjig
Tocut a workpiece sothatoneendis
narrower thantheother,makea tapercut.
Holdthejig flushagainst theripfence
andpivotthehinged armwiththework
stopuntilthetaperscaleindicates the
cuttingangle-indegrees or inchesper
foot.Marka cuttinglineontheworkpiece,
thenseatit against theworkstopand
hinged arm.Position thefencesothatthe
cuttinglineontheworkpiece is aligned
withthesawblade. Withthejig andwork-
piececlearof theblade, turnonthesaw.
Useyourlefthandto holdtheworkpiece
againstthejig andyourrighthandto slide
thejig andworkpiece asa unitacross
thetable,feeding theworkpiece intothe
blade(left);ensurethatneitherhandis in
linewiththeblade. Continuecutting at a
steady rateuntilthe bladecutsthrough
theworkpiece. (Caution:Sawbladeguard
removed forclarity.)

Using a shop-made jig

Builda jig exactly liketheoneshown on
page68 butwithoutthehandle. Toposi-
tiontheworkpiece forthetapercut,raise
thesawbladeto its highest setting. Butt
onesideof thejig baseagainst theblade
andposition theripfenceflushagainst
theothersideof thebase.Marka cutting
l i n eo nt h ew o r k p i e ct eh ,e np l a c ei t o n
thebase, aligning thelinewiththeedge
of thetaperjig'sbasenearest the blade.
Holding theworkpiece securely, position
t h eg u i d eb a ra g a i n si t , w i t ht h e l i p
snugly against theendof theworkpiece.
Screw t h eg u i d eb a rt o t h eb a s ea n d
pressthetoggleclampsdownto secure
theworkpiece to thejig base.Setthe
bladeheight. Withthejigandworkpiece
clearof theblade, turnonthesaw.With
yourIefthandpressing theworkpiece
t o w a r tdh er i pf e n c es, l i d et h ej i g a n d
workpiece steadily across thetable,mak-
ingsurethatneither handis in linewrth
the bladetight). (Caulion: Bladeguard
removed forclarity.)

29

s cutting with the grain is synony-
mouswith theuseof therip fence,
so crosscuttingis definedby the device
usedto makethe cut: the miter gauge.
The generaltechniquefor making a
crosscut,asshownbelow,beginswith
correct hand placementto keep the
workoieceboth flush on the tableand
firmly againstthe miter gauge.The
workpieceis fedinto thebladeat a steady
rate.As with ripping, makesurethat
scrappiecesdo not pileup on thetable,
andkeepboth handsout of linewith the
blade.Also,keepthe rip fencewellback
from the bladeto preventany cut-off
CROSSCUTTING
part of the workpiecefrom becoming
trappedbetweenthebladeandfenceand
kickingback.
To reducetheamountof sandingyou
will needto do later,rememberthat the
slowerthe feed,the smootherthe cut,
especiallywhen thebladebreaksthrough
the workpieceat the end of the cut.
Althougha combinationbladecanbe
usedfor crosscutting, a crosscutblade
will producea finer cut.
Whena longerworkpiece isbeingcut,
it is a goodideato attachan extension
to
themitergaugeto providea moresecure
base.Miter gaugescommonlyhave
two screwholesfor just suchan addi-
tion-normally, a pieceof hardwood
3 to 4 incheswideandabout2 feetlong.
Usethe miter gaugeextensionin con-
junction with a stop block to make
repeatcuts (page32).
For wide panelsor long boards,a
shop-made crosscuttingjig (page33)is
particularlyhelpful,andwill ensurevery
accurate cuts.Thejig canalsobeusedfor
smallerpiecesandprovidesa safe,con-
venientwayto performmostcrosscuts.
Manyexperienced woodworkers consid-
er it thesinglemostindispensableacces-
soryfor crosscutting.

THE
SOUARINGW(lRKPIECE

Checking forsquare
Usea combination square to con-
firmthatthecut endof the workoiece
formsa 90" anglewiththeedge.With
theworkpiece andsquare heldupto the
b e n og a pv i s i b l e .
l i g h tt,h e r es h o u l d
Markan X onthecut endto helpyou
remember whichendhasbeensquared.
1 Making a crosscut
I Before measuringor markinga workpiece cutoneendof it square.
fora crosscut,
Toavoidjamming theblade,aligntheworkpiecewiththebladesothatit willtrim
r/zinchor so.Withthethumbsof bothhandshooked overthe mitergauge,holdthe
workpiece frrmlyagainstthegaugehbove)andpushthemtogether to feedthework-
pieceintothe blade.(Caution:
Blade guardremovedforclarity.)

30
 TABLESAW

REPEAT
CUTS: THERIPFENCE
USING ASA GUIDE
1 Settingupthecut
I Clamp a board to theripfenceas
a stopblock.Toprevent jamming thework-
piecebetween thestopandthe blade-
whichcouldleadto kickback-position
thestopfar enough towardthefrontof the
tablesothattheworkpiece willclearthe
stopbeforereaching theblade.Tolineup
thecut,holdtheworkpiece against the
mitergauge andpushthegauge andwork-
pieceforward untiltheworkpiece touches
thesawblade. Slidetheworkpiece along
themitergauge untilthecuttingmarkis
alignedwiththe blade(left).

O Positioning
theripfence
Q Making thecut
L noningtheworkpiece themitergauge,
firmlyagainst pull r-t Settheendof theworkpiece flushagainstthestopblock.
bothbackfromthe bladeandbuttthestopblockagainstthe Withthethumbsof bothhandshooked overthemitergauge,
(abovd.Locktheripfencein position.
workpiece Checkto see holdtheworkpiece f irmlyagainstthegauge andpushthem
thattheworkpiece
doesnotcontact thestopblockwhenthe togetherto feedtheworkpiece intothe blade(above).
(Gaution:
workpiece
reachesthe blade. Bladeguardremoved forclariU.)

31
 TABLESAW

CUTS:USINGTHEMITERGAUGE
REPEAT
'l Positioning thestopblock
I Screw a board to themitergauge as
g a to n ee n do f
a ne x t e n s i oenn, s u r i nt h
it extends beyond thesawblade. Push
themitergauge to cutofftheendof the
extension. Turnoffthesaw,thenslide
themitergauge to thefrontof thetable.
Measure andmarkthelength of cuton
theextension (left).Aligna woodblock
withthemarkandclampit in place asa
stopblock.

r; Making thecut
L fo, eachcut,butttheendof the
lllrlllrl]lllllJillrilllllllllillll]llltilllilllllllillll]llill lll llll workpiece
thethumbs
against thestopblock.
of bothhands hooked
With
over
t h em i t e gr a u g eh,o l dt h ew o r k p i e c e
)HO? TI? a n dp u s h
f i r m l ya g a i n st ht eg a u g e
"Off" switch themtogether, feeding theworkpiece
Hands-free
Tolurn off the eawwhenyour hando intothe blade(above). (Caution:Blade
are bueyon Ihe lable,ueea ehoV-made guardremoved forclarity,)
kneeor looNlever.CuI a boardequal
in widlh t.othe swttchbox.Theboard
ehouldbe lon4enouqhNoreachwith a
fooLor a kneewhenaLlachedlo t'he
box(rrqht).7crewa hinqeNooneendof
trheboardand VooitionLhehingeon top
of the box,Vark Lheepol whereihe ON
butr.onr,ouchee the board.Cul a hole
Nhrouqh Lheboardalthis mark,AtNach
t h e h i n 4 et r oI h e b o xu s i n qq l u e ,o r
removelhe coverand drivein screws.

JZ
 TABLESAW

CROSSCUT
JIG Clearplaetic quard

Extengton
1"x3"x36"

Ouide
2"x3"x36"
)Lop block Jig Eaee Keinforcinqblock
2"x4"x4" 1/2"x25"x36" 2"x3"xB"

Foreasyandaccurate crosscuts- inches.Position thejig basesquare- across the base,Turnoff thesaw

especiallywithlong,wideor heavy ly ontherunners, itsedgeflushwith andlowertheblade,Screwa guide
workpieces-use a shop-builtcross- theiroverhanging ends,thenscrew to thefrontedgeof thejig,ensuring
cut jig,custom-made foryourtable therunners to thebase, countersink- that it is squarewiththe sawkerf.
sawbbovd. Referto the illustration ingthescrews. Slidethe runners Gluea safetyblockto theoutside
forsuggested dimensions. andthe baseoff thefrontendof the of theguide,centered on the kerf;
Cuttwo25-inch-long hardwood tableanddrivein theothertwo alsogluea reinforcing blockonthe
runners the samewidthasyour screws.Attacha support framealong guide,identical to theoneon the
mitergaugeslots.Boreclearance thebackedgeof thejig.Gluea rein- support frame.Raise thesawblade
holesfor screwsintothe undersides forcingblockto theframe,centered andfinishthecut,sawing complete-
of therunners, 3 inches fromeach between therunners. Then,withthe lythrough theguidebutonlyslightly
end.Place therunners in theslots, runners in the mitergaugeslots, intothesafetyblock.
ihenslidethemoutto overhang the makea cut through thesupport Formaking repeat cutsto the
backendof thetablebyabout8 frameandthree-quarters of theway samelength,screwan extension to
t h eg u i d ea n dc l a m pa s t o pb l o c k
to it. Usea clearplasticsheetthat
spansthesawkerfasa bladeguard,
fastening it to thereinforcing blocks
withwingnuts,
Tousethecrosscut jig,fit therun-
nersintothemitergauge slots.Slide
thejig towardthe backof thetable
untilthebladeenters thekerf.Hold
theworkpiece against theguide,slide
thestopbloclcto thedesired position
andclampit in place,buitingthe
endof theworkpiece against thestop
block.Withtheworkpiece heldfirmly
against theguide,slidethejig steadi-
ly across thetable(/eft),feeding the
workpiece intotheblade.

33
 TABLESAW

A WIDEPANEL
CROSSCUTTING
1 Reversing themitergauge
I to startthecut
lf a workoiece is widerthanthedistance
between thefrontedgeof thetableand
thesawblade,the mitergaugecannot
be usedto begina crosscut in its usual
position-in frontof theblade.Instead,
remove thegaugeandinsertit in the
miterslotfromthe backof thetable;for
extrastability, screwa wooden extension
to thegauge. Tobeginthecut, holdthe
extension withonehandwhilepressing
theworkpiece against it withtheother
hand.Feedtheworkpiece steadily into
t h eb l a d eu n t i tl h et r a i l i n eg n do f t h e
workoiece reaches thefrontof thetable.
(Caution: Blade guardremoved forclari$.)

r) Finishing thecut
L Turnoff the sawwhenthe bladeis
farenough through theworkpiece to allow
the mitergauge to returnto its usualposi-
tion,usinga hands-free swilch(page32),
if possible,sothatbothhandsremain
ontheworkpiece. Insertthemitergauge
intoits slotfromthe frontof thetable
andcomplete thecut,holding thework-
pieceagainst theextension (rghf).

34
 ANGLECUTS
A n. of thereasons
thetablesawisso
\-/ versatileis that both the miter
gaugeandthebladecanbeangled,pro-
ducingnot onlystraightcutsbut miter,
bevelandcompoundcutsaswell.Miters
of between30%nd90oarecutby angling
themiter gauge.Sawbladescanbetilted
from 45oto 90' (page2j),producing \
Compoundcut
bevelcuts.Andbyanglingboththemiter
gaugeandthe sawblade,a woodworker
canmakea compoundcut. bladeangled,a bevelcut. The same bladeanglesawayfrom it. This waythe
Whethercrosscutting or ripping,the appliesto crosscutting,
althoughwith workpieceis pushedawayfrom theblade
techniquesusedfor anglecutsaresimilar both activities
extracaremustbe taken ratherthan pulledtowardit, reducing
to thoseusedwhenthebladeandgauge to keephandsawayfrom the blade, thechancethat handswill strayinto the
areat 90o.The differenceis the result: whichnow cutsa widerswathabovethe blade.Gluingsandpaper to a mitergauge
With the bladeat 90o,the woodworker table.Whenthebladeis tilted,position extensionwill alsoreducethe chanceof
endsup with a straightcut; with the themitergaugeor rip flencesoihat the a workpieceslippingduringa cut.

TW()JIGSFORMAKING
MULTIPLE
ANGLED
CUTS

A simplesetup
forfastrepeat cuts Cuttingmiterjoints
Screwa wooden extension to themitergauge, thenusea slid- Builda crosscut jig (page
33) withoutan extension or a safety
ingbevelto setthedesired cuttingangleof thegauge(above). block.Then,cuttwo12-inch-long 1-by-4sandplacethemat
lf youaremaking a compound cut,usethesliding
bevel to set 90"to eachotherin themiddle of thejig,centered on itskerf.
the bladeangle(page23). Pushthe mitergaugeto cut off the Turnthejig overandscrew the 1-by-4s to thejig.Tomakea
endof theextension. Placetheworkpiece againsttheexten- seriesof cuts,butttheworkpiece againstthe leftarmof the
sionandlineupthecuttingmarkwiththeblade. Clamp a stop jig,alignthecuttinglineontheworkpiece withthesawblade
to theextensionat theopposite endof theworkpiece.Tomake andclampa stopblockto thearmat theendof thework-
eachcut,holdtheworkpiece firmlyagainst
theextension and, piece.Cutthrough theworkpiece, holding it firmlyagainstthe
keepingbothhands outof linewiththesawblade, pushthe armandstopblock(above). Cutthematingpieceof thejoint
workpiecesteadily intotheblade. thesamewayontherightarmof thejig,Usethestopblocks
asguides foradditionalcutsto thesamelength.

35
 DADOCUTS

Q everalwoodworking jointscallfor Eachof thesecutscanbe madeon a dado and the stackingdado shown
rJ channelsto becutintoworkpieces, tablesawwitha standardbladeby mak- below (bottom).
allowingboardsand panelsto fit ing repeated passesalongtheworkpiece The wobbledado is a singleblade
tightlyandsolidly,but incon- until the entirewidth of the channelis
together mountedon a hub thatcanbeadjusted
Fourof themostcommon cut out. However,a tablesawequipped
spicuously. to provide varying widths of cut.
typesof channels areshownbelow with a dadoheadcancut a dado,groove Installedon the sawarbor much like a
(top).Theyaredistinguishedfromeach or rabbetmuch moreefficiently.There standardblade,thewobbledadoliterally
otherbytheirrelationshipto thewood areseveraltypesofdadoheads.Thetwo wobblesas it spins.The greaterthe
grainandtheirlocationonaworkpiece. mostcommonaretheadjustable wobble tilt-set by a dial on the blade-the
wider the channelcut by the blade.
Thestackingdadocomprises a pairof
outsidebladesthat sandwichup to five
Rabbet end-to-endaut at Groove:end-to'end
inside chippers.The width of cut
edqe;either alon4 or aqainat cut alonqthe qrain
dependson how many chippersare
mounted on the saw arbor along
with the blades.Installing only the
blades oroducesa W-inch cut. In-
side chippersincreasecutting width
i n V t a - , r / so-r r A - i n c hi n c r e m e n t s
up to'%oinch-and up to I inch for
modelsthat includemetalshims.Paoer
washerscanbe addedto orovideeven
Dado:end-to-endcut 5topped groove: cut along the
finerwidth adjustment. Foi widerchan-
acroag the 6rain arain that atopa short of one
or both enda nels,adjustthe dadoheadfor thewidest
possiblecut andmakeseveralpasses.
Althoughadjustable wobbleblades
generallyarelessexpensive andsimpler
to installthan stackingmodels,most
stackingdadoesprovidebetterresults:
channels with moreprecisewidths,flat-
ter bottomsand cleaneredgeswith a
minimum of tearout.

Fromcuninggrooves for shelvesin a

bookcase to makinga rabbettojoin
tuvopanelstogether,dadoheadsare
an indispensable and versatile
accessory
for the tablesaw.

36
 TABLESAW

A DADO
INSTALLING HEAD
Installing blades andchippers
Remove the bladefromthe saw(page22)
andinstalla dadoheadfollowing theman-
ufacturer's instructions. Forthecarbide-

W
tippedstacking dadoshown, fit a blade
onthearborwiththeteethpointing in
thedirection of bladerotation. Toinstall
a chipper, fit it onthearboragainst the
blade, withitsteethalsopointing in the
direction of bladerotation, andcentered
in gulletsbetween twobladeteeth.Fit
additional chipoers onthearborthesame
way,offsetting theirteethfromthoseof
thechippers already in place. Then,fit the
second bladeonthearbor(iefil,ensuring
itsteethdo nottouchtheteethof theoth-
er bladeor anychipper resting against it
(inseil.Installthewasher andtightenthe
nutonthearbor, keeping theblades and
chippers in position, againmaking surethat
theteethof thechippers arenottouching
anybladeteeth.lf youcannot tightenthe
arbornutall theway,remove thewasher.
F i n a l l yi n, s t a lal d a d ot a b l ei n s e rot n
thesawtable.

DADOES
MAKING ANDGROOVES
Cuttinga dado
Markcuttinglinesforthewidthof thedado
onthe leading edgeof theworkpiece. Buttthe
cuttrnglinesagainst thefrontofthedadohmd,
thenposition theripfenceflushagainst the
workpiece. Slidetheworkpiece to thefrontof
thetableandsetit against the mitergauge-
preferably withan extension screwed to it to
provide extrastability.Tomakethecut,slide
themitergauge andtheworkpiece asa unit
intothe dadohead(right),keeping thework-
piecefirmlyagainst thefence.(Since thedado
headdoesnotcutcompletely through thework-
piecethisisoneexception to thegeneral rule
thatthemitergauge andripfenceshould nev-
er beusedat thesametime.)Continue feed-
ingtheworkpiece at a steadyrateuntilthe
cut is completed. (Caution:Blade guard
removed forclarity.)

37
 TABLESAW

Cutting a groove
M a r kc u t t i n gl i n e sf o r t h e w i d t ho f
t h eg r o o v e ontheleading e d g eo f t h e
w o r k p i e c eB.u t tt h e c u t t i n gl i n e su p
a g a i n stth e d a d oh e a d t, h e np o s i t i o n
t h e r i p f e n c ef l u s ha g a i n stth e w o r k -
piece.Fornarrowstock,usea feath-
erboard anda pushstickto keepyour
h a n d sa w a yf r o mt h e d a d oh e a d .
P o s i t i oyno u rl e f t h a n da t t h e f r o n t
e d g eo f t h et a b l et o k e e pt h et r a i l i n g
e n do f t h e w o r k p i e cfel u s ha g a i n s t ,-< - -"/
t h e f e n c e .F e e dt h e w o r k p i e cien t o \\ ,-..- \
the head(right)aI a steadyrate
u n t i lt h e c u t i s c o m p l e t e d( C
. aution:
Bladeguardremoved for clarity.)

Cutting a rabbet
Install a dadoheadslightly widerthan
therabbet desired, thencrankit below
thetable.Screw a board to theripfence
asanauxiliary fenceandmarkthedepth
of therabbet on it. Position theauxiliary
fencedirectly overthedadohead,ensur-
ingthatthemetalfenceis clearof the
blade. Turnonthesawandslowly crank
u pt h ed a d oh e a du n t i li t c u t st o t h e
marked line,producing a relief cutinthe
a u x i l i a frey n c eT. u r no f ft h es a wt,h e n
marka cuttinglinefortheinside edge
of therabbet ontheworkpiece. Buttthe
cuttinglineagainst thedadohead, then
p o s i t i ot nh er i pf e n c ef l u s ha g a i n st ht e
workpiece. Clamotwofeatherboards as
s h o w tno h o l dt h ew o r k p i e cs e c u r e l y
against thefenceandsawblade; a wood-
en support armprovides extrastability.
Turnonthesaw,thenfeedtheworkpiece
Keliefcut gupporDarm intothedadohead(left)aI a steady rate
u n t i tl h ec u t i s c o m p l e t euds; ea p u s h
stick,if necessary. (Caution: Blade guard
removed forclarity.)

3B
 TABLESAW

GRO()VE
A STOPPED
MAKING
'l Setting upthecut
I Tohelpyoudetermine theposition of
t h ed a d oh e a dw h e ni t i s h i d d e nb yt h e
workpiece during thiscut,crankthedado
headto thedepthof thegroove andusea
chinamarker anda straigntedge to mark
thepointswhere theheadstartsandstops
cutting(lefil.f hen,marktwosetsof cut-
tinglinesontheworkpiece: oneonitslead-
ingendforthewidthof thegroove; oneon
itsfaceforthelength of thegroove. Butt
thecutting linesontheleading endof the
workpiece against thefrontof thedado
h e a dt,h e np o s i t i ot n
h er i pf e n c ef l u s h
against theworkpiece.

r) Cutting intotheworkpiece
L furnonthesawandholdthework-
piecejustabove thedadohead, align-
ingthefrontcuttinglineonthework-
piecewiththedadoheadcutting mark
on thetableinsertfarthest fromyou.
H o l d i ntgh ew o r k p i e ct ieg h t l ya g a t n s t
thefence,slowlylowerit ontothehead
(righil,keepingbothhandsclearof the
head.Whentheworkpiece sitssquarely
onthetable,feedit forward whilepress-
ingit against thefence.

thecut
Finishing
Whenyourlefthandcomes of the
to within3 inches
h e a d s, l i d ey o u rh a n da l o n gt h e t o p e d g eo f t h e w o r k p i e c e
t o t h e b a c ko f t h e t a b l e ,h o o k i n g y o u rf i n g e r sa r o u n dt h e
t a b l e ' se d g e C . o n t i n u ceu t t i n ga t a s t e a d yr a t eu n t i lt h e
b a c kc u t t i n gl i n eo n t h e w o r k p i e cael i g n sw i t h t h e d a d o
h e a dc u t t i n gm a r kc l o s e st o y o u .T o c o m p l e t et h e c u t ,
l i f t t h e w o r k p i e coef f t h e d a d oh e a dw i t hy o u rr i g h th a n d
( l e f i l ,s l i l ls t e a d y i n gi t a g a i n st h e f e n c ew i t h y o u rl e f t
h a n dh o o k e d a r o u n dt h e e d g eo f t h e t a b l e .

39
 MOLDINGS

i\ tablesawismorethanjusta machine Moldingcuttersaresoldin setsof slotandslowlycrankingup themolding

A to cutwood.With thepropersetup,
a sawbladecanserveasa milling device
to cut covemoldings(pagea3).And by
replacingthe sawbladewith a molding
headanddifferentsetsofcutters,a plain
boardcanbecomeanelaborate molding.
Pieces ofwood canbe shapedseparately
and then glued togetherto form an
impressivearrayof designs.The results
rangefrom crownmoldingsfor a cabinet
to decorativedoor and frame mold-
ings-made at a fractionof the costof
their store-boughtcounterparts.
three,which areinstalledin a molding
headand then fastenedonto the arbor.
By passingthe wood overthe cutters
repeatedly andraisingthemoldinghead
slightlyeachtime,a patternis cut into
thewood.Themorepasses, the deeper
theinscriotion.
Like a dado head,a molding head
requiresits own tableinsertwith a wide
openingto accommodate the width of
the cutters.A woodworkercanmakean
insertfor eachsetofcuttersby placinga
blankoieceof wood in the tableinsert
head-much like makingspecialinserts
for sawblades(page22).
Moldingheadshavea reputationfor
beingdangerous and while thereare
alwayshazardsinvolvedwhen usinga
tablesawthereis little risk whenmold-
ing headsareusedwith propercare.A
fewpointsto keepin mind: Do not cut
moldingson shortlengthsof wood;a
pieceshouldbe at least12incheslong.
Also,do not cut moldingson narrow
strips;cut themoldingson piecesat least
4 incheswideandthenrio to width.

Millingbaseboardwith
molding cutters
Threesetsof cutterswereusedin
combination to transforma piece
of walnutinto an elaboratebase-
boardmoldingat littlecost(left).
More than30 bladeprofilesare
available;by usingdffirentcut-
ters-also knownasknives-on
thesameboard,an innovative
woodworker canmiII an almost
limitlessrangeof designs.

COMMOI{
CUTTER
PR()FITES
-
^J
ryl
G - T

tsead
Eead Flute andcove

--

ffi
n
kwwt"
fr ffi
Cove Oqee Crown Olaas ?anel 450 Groove Tonaue
CUTVE mold stop otrip Eevel

40
 TABLESAW

HEAD
A MOLDING
INSTALLING

Mounting a moldingheadandcutters
Fiteachof thethreecutterspartway intoitsslotin themold- protect yourhandandtighten thearbornutcounterclockwise
inghead,ensuring thatthecutter's beveled edgefacesaway usinga wrench(above). A washeris notnecessary; the mold-
fromthesetscrew hole.Installthesetscrews intotheirholes, ingheadis rigidenough withoutreinforcement. Afterthe
thenusea hexwrench i n, s t a lal m o l d i n g - h et a b
to tighteneachscrewuntilthecutters m o l d i nhge a di s s e c u r e d d l ei n s e r t
are seatedfirmlyin their slots(insef).
Installthemolding head on the saw table. Rotate the molding head by hand to make
on the saw withthe flatside of eachcutterfacing the direc- sure that the cutters are true and that the unit does notrub
tion of bladerotation. Grip the molding head with a raglo eozinci ihp insprt

A M()LDING
CUTTING
1 Setting upandmaking thefirstpasses
I Before cuttinga molding, screw a board to theripfenceas
anauxiliary fence.Position theauxiliary fencedirectly overthe
molding head, ensuring thatthemetalfenceisclearof thecut-
ters.Turnonthesawandcrankupthemolding headgradually
to cut a notchin theauxiliary fenceto allowforclearance of
thecutters. Turnoffthesaw,thenlineupthecutting lineonthe
endof theworkpiece withthecutters andbutttheripfence
against theworkpiece. Crank themolding headto its lowest
setting. Tosecure theworkpiece, clamponefeatherboard to
thefenceabove thesawblade,anda second featherboard
to thesawtable.Clamp a support board at a 90" angle to the
second featherboard, asshown.Remove theworkpiece and
crankthecutters to X inchabove thetable;do notmakea full-
depthcut in onepass. Turnonthesawanduseyourrighthand
to slowly feedtheworkpiece toward themolding head;useyour
lefthandto keeptheworkpiece against theripfence.Finish the
cutwitha pushstick.Fora deeper cut,makeasmanypasses
asnecessary (left),raising
themolding head/einchat a time.

4l
 TABLESAW

r) Making thefinalpass
L lttersuccessive passes navepro-
ducedthedepthof cutdesired, crank
themolding headupveryslightly and
pass theworkpiece through a f inaltime
at halfthespeedof previous passes
(lefil.Byfeeding theworkpiece slowly,
thef inalcut produces a smooth finish
t h a tr e q u i r emsi n i m as la n d i n g .

Q Separating themolding fromtheboard

r.,l Aftertheproperprofilehasbeencut,
separate themolding fromtheworkpiece
Remove themolding headfromthearbor
andinstall a riporcombination blade.
Feedtheboard throughtheblade, using
a pushstickto keeptheworkpiece firmly
onthetabletight);useyourlefthandor
a featherboard to pressit flushagainst
theriofence.

42
 TABLESAW

A COVEMOLDING
CUTTING

Cove
cutLin4
4uide

1 Setting thewidth
I g u i t oa c o v ec u t t i n g u i d ei n t h es h a p o efa p a r a l l e l o -
grambyfastening two18-inch-long 1-by-2s to two9-inch-
long1-by-2s withwingnuts,forming twosetsof parallel
arms.Adjusttheguidesothatthedistance between the \ 1
_-.,' -

insideedges of thetwolongarmsis thesameasthedesired

widthof thecovemolding. Thencrankuptheblade to the
maximum depthof thecove.Laytheguidediagonally across
by
i t u n t i tl h eb l a d et ,u r n e d
t h eb l a d ei n s e rat n dr o t a t e
hand,justtouches bothlongarmsof theguideGbove).
i'l
r) Markingtheguidelines
L , l t t n g a p e n c i ol r c h i n am a r k e rt,r a c eg u i d e l i n eosn t h e
t n ds a wt a b l ea l o n gt h e i n s i d ee d g e so f t h e l o n g
t a b l ei n s e r a
a r m so f t h e g u i d e( a b o v e T ) .h e no u t l i n et h e d e s i r e dp r o f i l e
o f t h e c o v eo n t h e l e a d i n ge n d o f t h e w o r k p i e c eR. e m o v e
t h e g u i d e c, r a n kt h e b l a d et o i t s l o w e sst e t t i n ga n d p l a c et h e
w o r k p i e coen t h e s a wt a b l e ,a l i g n i n g t h e m a r k e do u t l i n eo n
t h e w o r k p i e cw e i t ht h e g u i d e l i n eosn t h e s a wt a b l e .

Q Cutting thecove
r J B u t ta g u i d eb o a r da g a i n set a c he d g eo f t h e w o r k p i e c e :
u s eb o a r d sl o n ge n o u g ht o c l a m po n o p p o s i t es i d e so f t h e
t a b l e .C r a n kt h e b l a d e% i n c ha b o v et h e t a b l e T . o m a k et h e
f i r s tp a s sf,e e dt h e w o r k p i e cset e a d i l tyo w a r dt h e b l a d ew i t h
y o u rl e f th a n d ,w h i l eh o l d i n gt h e w o r k p i e caeg a i n stth e t a b l e
w i t hy o u rr i g h th a n d F . i n i s ht h ec u t u s i n ga p u s hb l o c k M . ake
as manypasses as necessary (left),raisingthe blade% inchat
a time. Fora deepcove,tack a backupboardto the top of the
w o r k p i e cteo p r e v e nitt f r o ms p l i t t i n gF. o ra s m o o t hf i n i s ht h a t
r e q u i r e lsi t t l es a n d i n gr,a i s et h e b l a d ev e r ys l i g h t l yf o r a l a s t
passand feedthe workpiece slowlyinto it.

43
 TABLESAW OINERY

OpenmorLiee-and-Leno
njoint

-|1 h. speed andprecisionofatablesaw generallyone-halfor one-quarterthe

I makeit anobviouschoicefor cut-
tingjoints,particularly
repeatcuts.Once
a sawisadjusted to cutoneboxjoint or
openmortise-and-tenon joint,forexam-
ple,fiveor tenmorecanbecutin short
order.Themosttime-consuming partis
thesetup;andmuchdepends uponthe
caretakenatthispoint.A fewextramin-
utesspentatthebeginning will resultin
a strong,Iong-lastingjoint.Asalways,
measure twicdandcutonce.
Everyjoint hasitsownspecific qual-
itiesandapplications.Lapjointsarefre-
quentlyusedto makepictureframes.
Madefromtwopieces ofwoodthathave
halftheirthickness cutaway,a lapjoint
is simpleto make.Whengluedand
clamped, it createsa strongjoint that
doesnot requirereinforcement.
A boxjoint,alsoknownasa finger
joint,isidealfor carcasework-for mak-
ingdrawers orboxes. It consists
of inter-
lockingpinsandnotches, whichare
stock'sthickness. Onceusedfor mass-
producedproductssuchaspackingbox-
es,theboxjoint creates a strongjoint by
virtue ofthe sizeofthe largegluearea
createdby the pins and notches.
Themortise-and-tenon joint is often
found in chairsand desks.Sometimes
calleda bridlejoint, it consistsof a pro-
jection---ortenon-from oneboardthat
slidesinto a slot-or openmortise-in
anotherboard. Like the box joint, it
requiresa jig, which canbe shop-built.
The followingsectiondescribes how to
makeeachof theseusefuljoints.

MAKING
A tAPJ(IINT
Cutting lapswitha dadohead
Markcuttinglinesforthewidthof eachlap
ontheleading edgeof theworkpiece. Butt
onecuttinglineagainst theoutsidebladeat
thefrontof thedadohead, thenposition
the
ripfenceflushagainst theworkpiece. Slide
theworkpiece to thefrontof thetableand
pressit firmlyagainst thefenceandthe
mitergauge. Tomakethecut,slidethe
gauge andtheworkpiece asa unitinto
thedadohead,keeping theworkpieceflush
against thefence.(Thisisanother exception
to thegeneralrulethatthemitergauge and
ripfenceshouldnotbe usedat thesame
time.)Continue feeding theworkpieceat a
steady rateuntilthecutis made.Makesuc-
cessive passes(/eff),cuttingawaythewaste
untilthelapiscompleted. (Caution:
Blade
guardremoved forclarity.)

44
 TABLESAW

A B()XJOINT
MAKING

upthejig r) Cuttingthenotches in thefirstboard

1 Setting
I Cutthenotches fora boxjointoneat a ttmeusinga dado L guttoneedgeof theworkpiece againstthekey,holding
headandjig.Clampa boardto themitergauge asan exten- it flushagainst themitergauge Tocutthenotch,
extension.
sion.Crankthedadoheadto thedesired height of thenotches hookyourthumbs around thegauge andslidetheworkpiece
andfeedtheextension intothedadoheadto createa notch. intothedadoheadbbove).Return theworkpieceto thefront
Positiontheextensiononthemitergauge sothatthegap of thetable,fit thenotchoverthekeyandrepeat the proce-
between thenotchandthedadoheadis equalto thenotch dure.Continue cuttingnotches untilyou
oneafteranother
width,thenscrew theextensionto thegauge, Feed theexten- reachtheopposite edgeof theworkptece.
sionintothedadobladeto cut a secondnolch(above), check-
ingthatthegapbetween thenotchesequals thenotchwidth.
Fitandgluea hardwood keyintothe notchsothatthe key
projectsaboutan inchfromtheextension.

Q Gutting thenotches in themating board

J Fitthelastnotchvoucut in thefirst
boardoverthe key,thenbuttoneedge
of the matingboardagainst thefirst
b o a r dh, o l d i nbgo t hf l u s ha g a i n st ht e
mitergauge extension. Tocut thef irst
notchin themating board, slidethetwo
boardsacross thetable(right),thencon-
tinuecutting notches in themating board
following thesameprocedure youused
forthefirstboard.

45
 TABLESAW

AN()PENMORTISE-AND-TENON
MAKING JOINT
1 Cutting thetenoncheeks
I Create a tenonbycuttingthecheeks
first,andthentheshoulders. Installa
commercial tenoning jigonthetablefol-
lowing themanufacturer's instructions;
the
model shown slidesin themiterslot.Mark
I cuttinglinesontheworkpiece
thetenon, thenclamptheworkpiece
to outline
to the
\ jig,Crank theblade to theheight of the
tenonandposition thejigsothatoneof
thetenoncheekcuttinglinesis butted
against theblade. Usethejig handle io
slidethejig along themitergauge slot;
loosen theclamphandle to moveit side-
ways. Slidethejigto thefrontof thetable
andturnonthesaw,thenuseyourright
handto pushthejig forward, feeding the
workpiece intotheblade(left).Continue
cuttingat a steady rateuntilthecut is
completed. Pullthejig backto thefront
of thetableandturnoffthesaw.Turnthe
workpiece around sothattheremaining
cuttinglineforthethickness of thetenon
is buttedagainst theblade. Cutalongit
thesamewayasyoumadethefirstcut.

r') Sawing thetenonshoulders

L Screw a boardto themitergauge
asanextension. Thencrankthebladeto
a heightequalto thedepthof thetenon
against theextension, alignoneof the
tenonshoulder cuttinglinesagainst the
blade,thenbutta stopblockagainst
theworkpiece andclampit in position.
Slidetheworkoiece to thefrontof the
tableandturnon thesaw.Hookyour
t h u m b sa r o u n tdh em i t e rg a u g teo
feedtheworkoiece intothebladeand
makethecut.Usea oushstickto clear
thewastepieceoff thetable.Flipover
theworkpiece andbuttit against the
stopblock,thencut thesecond shoul-
der(righil.(Caution: Bladeguard
removed for clarity.)

46
TABLESAW

Cuttingthemortise
Reinstallthetenoning jigonthetable.Markcut-
tinglinesontheworkpiece to outlinethemortise, then
clamptheworkpiece to thejig.Crank theblade to the
depthof themortise andposition thejig sothatoneof
thecutting linesis buttedagainsttheblade. SIide the
jig to thefrontof thetable,thenturnonthesawand
feedtheworkpiece intotheblade. Pullthejig back
andturnoffthesaw.Turntheworkpiece oversothat
theremaining cuttinglineis buttedagainsttheblade
andcut alongit (left).llakeasmanypasses as neces-
saryto remove wastebetween thetwocuts,Test-f it
thejointanddeepen orwidenthemortise, if necessary.

A TENONING JIG
Builda fence-straddling tenoning jig using3/q-inch
plywood cut to the suggested dimensions shownat
jig
left. In onecornerof the body,cut a hole large
enough for your to fit through,
fingers Screwa guide
boardto thebodydirectly behindthe hole. Theboard
will holdtheworkpiece in position forthecut. Make
surethatthe boardis perfectly vertical.Toholdthe
jig bodyflushagainst thefence,screwa braceto the
bodywitha spacerin between (inset).
Tousethejig,place
it astride thefenceas
shown. Buttthework-
pieceagainst theguide
a n dc l a m pi t i n p l a c e .
Reoosition thefenceto
alignthecuttingmarkon
theworkpiece withthe
blade, thenslidethejig
alongthefenceuntilthe
cut is comoleted.

47
 RADIALARMSAM

andott
roughcrosscuts
- - - -
reasonsrbr rhrsperceprron.
\Jners -,il* | oi iiie raaia'
rl ,.eyaovarriage
that more woodworkerr
Irlrg-tulrc 'lgll clart ull taulc Jaws - vrJrurL 4J lL Lulr-c uvvrr !v rqr!!/v.
r
thanonradiaIarmsaws.Tablesawsc-*|AnotherbenefitisthatmoStcutS
alsohavefewermovingpartsand EffiM_ ) canbemadewithouthaving
toshift
-ute
are easrerIo ser uD- ,,nnss4r-lgn1]v Etn-t,R,"-* ,a *,rr..oicce. u-rsr€au.
u-rcii-rachir-r€

i m p r e s s i o n s a s a r e s u l t o f w o r k i n g o n t h e c o l u m n a n d t h e m o t o r
onlll-adjusted machines. Augmentedby araisedauxiliarytable, swiveling androtatingon itsyoke.
Thereisnodenying thatthetable theradialarmsaw-its bladeturned horizon- This allows thebladeto bepulled
sawisanexcellent choice fortheoften tally-cuts thenotches for afingerjoinr. through a workpiece at almostany
repetitive
chores of furnituremaking. angle.It also makes simple workof
it isnottheidealstationary
Nevertheless, cuttingtoolfor every- settingupthe machine for custom work. But to take fi.rll
advan-
one.Forrepeatcuts,tablesaws jig
usuallyrequirea to feedstock tageof thesaw's capacity for cutting accurately, you must take
intothebladewithuniformresults. jigs
Andsome aretime-con- thetimeto adjustthe machine and keep it finely tuned.
sumingto buildor costlyto buy.Thblesawsalsoneeda fair On a poorlyadjusted machine, theradialarmsaw'sflexi-
amountof roomto allowunhindered operation. Suchspaceis bility canbeits Achilles' heel. All of its slidingandpivoting
atapremiumin manyhomeworlchops. movements mustbehighlycontrolled, anditsmovable parts
Withtheexception of crosscuttingverywideboards, radial mustremainfixedwhen locked in position. Otherwise, the
just job
armsawscanduplicate aboutany atablesawcanper- sawis condemned to a life of imprecise cuts. This holds true
form.Eventhecrosscutting limitations arenotseverely restric- for anysizemachine. Radialarmsawstypicallyrangefrom
tive.Mostradialarmsawscanrip up to a widthof 25inches, 1to 7 horsepower; theaverage homeworkshop modelisrated
allowingyouto cuta 4-foot-wide panelin halflengthwise. at 1.5horsepower. Bladesizetypically ranges from8 to 24
Moreover, theradialarmsawrequires relativelylittleworlahop inches; thestandard homemodel a has lO-inch blade.

Thisjigwill allowyou to makemiter cutson the

radialarm sawwith thebladein thestandardcross-
cuttingposition-9}o to thetable.Thejig ensures
that matingboardswill form a perfectlysquarejoint.

49
 ---

ANATOMYOFA RADIALARM SAW

he radial arm sawis essentiallv
a circularsawsuspended abovea
work table.For mostoperations, the
bladecutsthroughtheworkpieceand
runsalongakerfin apieceofhardboard
or plywoodttratisgluedto thesawtable.
Themachine's manypivotingand
slidingpars enableit to carrytheblade
into a workpiecefrom a varietyof dif-
ferentanglesanddirections. Slidingthe
yokealongthearmpullsthebladeacross
thetablefor a crosscut. Swivelingthe
armonthecolumnallon'sformitercuts;
themaximumrangeofthe modelillus-
fratedbelowisnearly90oto therightand
50oto theleft. Tilting the motor and
blademakesa bevelcut possible, while
rotatingtheyoketo bringthebladepar-
allelto thefencesetsupthemachinefor
a rip cut.
Depending onthewidthof thestock
youneedto cut twotypesofrip cutsare
feasible:anin-rip,with thebladeturned
closest to thecolumn,andan out-rip,

Mlter alamp handle

Locka arm in fixed position
Yokealamp handle on column:releasedto awiv- Yoke
Locko yoke in fixed el arm and aet miter anqle. Holda motor and
position on arm: Lockaautomatioally at pre- Onloff awlt'ch blade; attached to
releaeed to rotate aet anqlea,includingO" and Removabletoq1le the arm b5ta car-
Arm yokefor-rippinq 45"to the ri4ht and laft preventz acciden- ria1e unit with roller
9upporta tal atart-up bearinqothat 6lide
yoke,motor alonq a track under-
and blade neath the arm

Column Yoke handle

Supporta arm; four Uaed to alide
aetacrewa on front of col- yoke alon6 arm
umn baae and four bolta for croaecuttina
on rear of baae tiqhtened
to prevent rotation
Eevelalamp handle
Locke motor in fixed
pooitlon on yoke; releaaed
tsladeguard
Froteata operator to aet, bevelanqle or to
moveblade to horizon-
from uppeipart of blade;
tal pooition. Lockaauto-
noset'ilts to coverlead-
matically at preoet
inq edqe of blade for rip-
an6lea,includin7O" and
pin7. Lowerblade 1uaid
45", and 9Oo to the
uaed for croaacuttina
ri6ht and Ieft

Elade guard
clamp earcw
Holda auard in
fixed plooition;
looaenedto
?tand movequara
1upporba aaw;
garewg on feet are
adjuotable to level 9plltter
aaw table Keepa wood kerf from bindin7
durinq a cut; anti-kickback fin-
qere on each aide of aplitter
prevent workpiecefrom liftinq

Elevatlng cmnk
Kaiaeaand loweraarm on
column to oet depth of cut

50
with thebladeswiveledfarthestaway Light and compactenoughto move
fromthecolumn. aroundtheshopor travelto construc-
Althoughthebladeiskeptverticalto tion sites,thisportable8%-inchradial
it canalso
thetablefor mostoperations, arm sawcanusurpthemarryrolesof a
betiltedto operatehorizontally. Such tablesaw.Fittedwith a specialbit and
a positionis particularlyusefulfor equippedwithan accessory motorshaft
taskssuchascuttinggrooves, finger that turnsat 18,500rpm, thismodel
jointsandmoldings. will doubleasan overhead router.

Rip alamp handle Arm aover

Lockayoke in pooitionon arm Duat spout Keepeduot from
for rippin4and for eomecuta For duat collecLton enterinqrear
with bladein hortzontalpoai- ayatem; adjuatable part of arm
tion; releaaedfor croaacuttin4 nozzledirecta dust
away from work area
Motor Miter alamp
One end holda blade;oppo' adjuetment acrew
gite end gerveaao acce?' Turnedto adjuat ten-
aory ehaft for attachin4 a aion on miter clamp;
variety of acceaaories noletn arm coverpro'
vides acceaa

Fence
Treventaworkpiecefrom
movinqdurinq croea- Columnadjuet-
cuttinq; quideework' ment bolte
pieceacroee table for Fourbolta control
ripping, Owner' inat a lled. amount of play
Uauallyset between betweencolumn
front and rear tablea and columnbaae
aa shown;poeitioned
behindrear table when
cutting wide stock

51--i),r"r,"

Tableclamp
?regaearear gaw
Auxiliary table table and apacer
Keplaceablehardboard flueh aqainet
or plywoodpanel qlued fence and front
to front aaw table; blade aaw table
rune in kerfa cut in aux'
iliary table
Column
baee aover

Tableepacer
Kemovableto allow
installation of a
wider fence
 SETTINGUP
tl- h. setupprocedures describedon ADJUSTING
THETABTE
I thesepagesmay seemlong and
involved,but do not neglectthem.
Without careful maintenance,your
machinewill not cut with orecision.
A problemwith manyradialarmsaws
is that adjustmentsareleft too loose,
allowingexcessive playin movingparts
and resultingin sloppycuts. Ideally,
clampsshouldlock tight and sliding
mechanisms shouldbeneithertoo loose
nor too snug.
Adjustthe table (right),the clamps
(below)and the sliding mechanisms
(page54)beforeeverynewproject.Each
time you usethe saq clearthe sawdust
flom the gapbetweenthe tableand the
fence,and clearthe trackunderneaththe
arm. Periodically,touchup the moving
partswith a silicone-basedlubricant.It is
alsoimportant to squaretheblade(page
55)andcheckfor heeling(page56). Levelingthetablewiththearm
Beforeusingyour sawfor the first Tiltthemotoruntilthearborpoints down,itsendslightlyabovetablelevel.
time, you will needto install a fence Thenswivel thearmto position
thearborovertherailnutson bothsides
and an auxiliarytable(page5Z).To test of thetable;in eachposition
measure thegapbetween thearborandthetable.
your adjustments, crosscuta l2-inch- lf themeasurements arenotequal,raisethelowendof thetablebyturning the
wide board and a 1-by-3standingon railnutin a clockwise
direction,
usingtheheadof anadjustablewrench to lever
edge,then checkthe cut endswith a upthetablesurface hbove).Thenmakethesameadjustment ontheotherside
carpenter'ssquare. of thetable.Repeatthemeasurements to ensure
thatthetableis level.

ADJUSTING
THECLAMPS
'l Adjusting themiterclamp
I Swivel thearmto therightto a
oosition between 0'and45o.Lock
theclamp andtryto pushthe end
of the armtoward the0' position
(left).lf thereis anyplayin thearm,
adjust theclamp thatholdsit in place.
Forthemodelshown, youwill need
to usea hexwrench to tightenthe
m i t e rc l a m pa d j u s t m esnct r e w ,
located inside anaccess holein the
armcover.

52
 RADIAL ARM SAW

r) Fine{uning theyokeclamp
I Rotut"theyoketo a position between theonesused
f o rc r o s s c u t t ianngdr i p p i n gL.o c kt h ec l a m pt,h e nu s e
bothhands to tryto pushthemotor to thecrosscutting posl-
tion(righil.Themotorshouldnotbudge;if it does,adjust
theclampthatlocksit in position. Forthemodel shown, un-
screw theknobfromtheyokeclamphandleandremove
thewrench-like lowerpartof thisdevice. Usethewrench
to tighten theadjustment nutlocated under thearmbyhold-
ingtheupperpartof thehandle andpulling thewrench
toward it (insef) untilthetwoarealigned. Locktheclamp
andcheckagainfor play.lf necessary, tighten thenutfur-
ther;otherwise, screw theknobbacktn place. Thisadlust-
mentmayvaryonsomemodels; check yourowner's manual.

Q Adjusting thebevelclamp
J Tlltthemotorto a position between
0" and45".Lockthebevel clamp, then
u s eb o t hh a n d st o t r y t o m o v et h e
motor(left),lf thereis anylooseness,
adlusttheclamp, Forthemodel shown,
usea socket wrench to tightenthemotor
support nut,thenrelease theclampand
trytiltingthe motorto eachofthepreset
angles; if youcannot movethemotor,
loosen thesupport nut slightly. Other-
wise,locktheclampagainandcheck
oncemoreforplayin themotor.

53
 RADIAL ARM SAW

Checking theripclamp
Locktheripclamp, thenuse
bothhandsto tryto slidetheyoke
t,'l; alongthearm(left).Theyokeshould
notmove; if it does,adjustthe rip
clamp.Forthemodelshown, release
theclamp,thenusea wrench to tight-
enthenutattheendoftheripclamp

i
)ii-,)i
,,
bolt.Trysliding theyokealongthe
arm;if it binds,loosen thelocknut
cii slightly.
Otherwise, recheck
theclamp
andtightenthenutfurtherif needed.

CARING
F(|RTHESLIDING
MECHANISMS
1 Adjusting thecaniage rollerbearings
I Usea silicone-based lubricant to clean
t h et r a c ku n d etrh ea r ma n dt h er o l l e r
bearings to thefrontandrearof thecar-
riageunitthatattaches theyoketo the
arm.Tocheckthe bearings, press your
t h u m ba g a i n seta c ho n ei n t u r nw h i l e
sliding thecarriage awayfromyourhand.
Thebearings should turnasthecarriage
slidesalongthearm.lf yourthumbkeeps
oneof themfromturning, youwillneedto
tighten thebearing; if thecarriage binds
onthearm,a bearing willneedto beloos-
ened.ln eithercase,loosen the bearing
nutwhileholding theboltstationary with
a secondwrench(right).Ttghten or loosen
thebolt,asnecessary, thenretighten thenut.
Adjusttheotherboltbythesameamount,
thencheckthebearings onceagain.

54
 RADIAL ARM SAW

Adiustingc0lumn-t0-basetension
Wioethecolumn clean,thenloosen thefoursetscrews on
thefrontof thecolumnbaseusing a hex wrench' To check
column-to-base tension, usebothhandsto tryto lift theend
of thearm (above,/eff);thereshouldbe littleor nogiveto
Turntheelevating crankin bothdirections; the
thecolumn.
armshouldslidesmoothly upand down. lf thereis excessive
movement at thecolumn-to-base jointor if thearmjumpsor
vibratesas it risesandlowers,adjustthefourboltslocated
intheaccess holesonthecoverof thebase.Repeat the
testsand,if necessary,makeadditionaladjustments. Then
try pushing the armsideways(above,righ); if thereis any
rotationof the column,tightenthesetscrews justenough
to preventmovement. Runthrough thetestsa finaltime,
ngtheadjustments.
f ine-tuni

THEBLADE
SOUARING
1 Squaring thebladewiththetable
I Settheyokein thecrosscutting posi-
tion andinstalla blade@age 59).Release
thebevel clampandtilt themotorcounter-
clockwise asfarasit willgointhe0" posi-
tion.Thenrelock theclamp. Tocheckthe
bladeposition, butta carpenter's square
between twoteeth(lefl.Thesquare should
f i t f l u s ha g a i n st ht es i d eo f t h eb l a d el.f
anygapshowsbetween them,release the
bevel clamp. Then,loosen thebevel clamp
setscrews andtilt themotorto bringthe
blade flushagainst thesquare. Holding the
motorin thisposition, havea helper lock
the bevelclampandtightenthesetscrews.
lllt themotor to the45' bevelposition, then
returnit to the0' position andcheckthe
bladeonceagain.

55
 RADIAL ARM SAW

r) Setting thearmperpendicular tothefence

Z. Release themiterclampandswivel the
armto therightasfarasit willgo in the0"
position, thenrelock theclamp.Release the
ripclampandbuttthetwosidesof a carpen-
ter'ssquare against thefenceandtheblade
toothnearest to thetable.Holding theblade
steady, slidethe yokealongIhe arm(left);
pullslowly toavoid dulling thetooth.Theblade
should makea constant rubbing soundasit
moves alongtheedgeof thesquare. lf a gap
opens up between thebladeandthesquare,
or if thebladebindsagainst thesquare asit
moves, loosenthesetscrews onthecolumnbase.
Toclosea gapbetween the bladeandthe
square, tightenthetoprightscrew; to elimi-
natebinding, tightenthetopleftscrew. Once
thearmis square to thefence,tighten thelow-
erscrews, alternating fromleftto right.

CORRECTING
BLADE
HEEL
Fine-tuning horizontal rotati0n
1
I lnstalla blade(page59) andsetthe
motorin itshorizontal position; tilt themotor
counterclockwise asfarasit willgo,then
lockthebevelclamp.Totestfor heel-
ing-bladerotation thatis notparallel to
thetable-buildan L-shaped sounding
jig andboretwoholesin it. Sharpen the
endsof twodowels andf it theminto
thejig asshown. Thenposition thejig to
aligna bladetoothnearthebackof the
tabledirectly overthe verticaldowel.
Lowerthe bladeuntilthe toothrests
l i g h t l yo n t h ed o w e lc; l a m pt h ej i g i n
place.Wearing a workglove,spinthe
bladebackward andlisten(right). Next,
slidetheyokealongthearmto aligna
toothnearthefrontof thetableoverthe
dowelandrepeat thetest.Thesound
shoulb d e t h es a m ei n b o t ho o s i t i o n s .
lf it is not,release thebevelclampand
loosen thetwoscrews on eithersideof
the motorsupport nut.Repeat thetests
untilthesoundstays thesame, thenlock
thebevelclampandtightenthescrews.

56
 RADIAL ARM SAW

vertical
Eliminating heeling
l l l t t h e m o t o rc o u n t e r c l o c k wai s fea r a s i t w i l lg o i n t h e tone.lf thereisa discrepancy, theyokeclampandloosen
release
v e r t i c apl o s i t i o nt h, e nl o c kt h e b e v ecl l a m p T
. ot e s tf o r v e r t i c a l thefourscrews underthe yoke usinga hexwrench(above,
h e e l i n gp, o s i t i otnh e s o u n d i njgi g s ot h a tt h et i p o f t h e h o r i z o n - right).RoIate andretestuntileachtest
themotorasnecessary
t a l d o w eal l i g n sw i t ha b l a d et o o t hn e a rt h e b a c ko f t h et a b l e . produces locktheyokeclamp
tone.Then,
a similar andtightenthe
L o w etrh e b l a d ea n ds e n di t s p i n n i n b g a c k w a rsdoy o uc a ns a m - screws. Tocheck youradlustments,crosscuta l2-inch-wide
L ^ ^ - r d^l -l u! +L l L ^ ^ ^ lt- u h . , J Ltqar r nu i dl r Si n po
plethe soundas in stepI (above, /efil.Slidethe yokealongthe uudlu ltrll o y-J 3 s w rn
r e
u ud
6 Ls. e .c
v ' rhL e
u ckthe cut

a r ma n dr e p e atth e p r o c e s so ,n c ea g a i nl i s t e n i nfgo r c h a n g eisn endsusing square.

a carpenter's

A FENCE
INSTALLING TABLE
ANDAUXILIARY
Cutting a kerfin thefenceandauxiliary table
Installa fenceof 7a-inch{hick, knot-free wood
between thetablespacerandthefronttable;
m a k et h ef e n c es l i g h t l yh i g h etrh a nt h et h t c k -
n e s so f t h ew o r k p i e c F e .o ra n a u x i l i a rt ya b l e ,
c u t a p i e c eo f % - i n c hh a r d b o a rodr p l y w o o d
t h es a m es i z ea st h ef r o n t a b l ea n d u s ec o n -
t a c t c e m e n t o g l u ei t d o w n ,l e a v i n g a sltght
gap betweenit and the fenceto prevent saw-
dustfromjammingbetweenthe two. Before
crosscutting or making mitercuts,slicethrough
thefenceand%oto 7s inchdeepintothe aux-
i l i a r yt a b l ei n t h e 9 0 ' a n d4 5 " p a t h so f t h e
Auxilrarytable bladeT . h e n ,r o t a t et h e m o t o rt o t h e i n - r i p
p o s i t i o n( p a g e6 6 ) a n d p u l lt h e y o k ea l o n g
9Oo kerf t h e a r mt o f u r r o wo u ta s h a l l o w r i p t r o u g hi n
Fence the auxiliarytable (left).

57
 RADIALARM SAWBLADESAND ACCE,SSORIES

:' ikeits shopcousilrthetablesaq the anycase, it is importantto consider the

l,-...
radialarmsawisonlyasgoodasthe hook angleof a blade(left).The larger
bladeon itsarbor.Togetthebestperfor- the angle,the biggerthe bite-and the
maucefrom your machine,keepits greater theriskoia blade nrnnirrg across
bladescleanandin goodrepair.Inspect a workpiece whencrosscutting or lifting
thearborwashers andbladecollars, and stockwhenripping.In bothcases, feed
replaceanydamaged parts.Usea ragto thebladethroughthervorkpiece slowly
rvipesirwdust or loosedirt from a blade; and firmly.Whilea hook angleof 30o
removeresinor pitchlvithsteelr'vooland wouldbe suitablefor a tablesaw,the
turpentine. Spray-on orencleaner isalso samebladeon theradialarmsawcould
usefulfor dissolving stubborndeposits. proveunsafe. Theidealhookanglefor a
To protectbladesfrom damage, hang radialarm sawis I 5oor less.
thernindividuallyon hooksor, if you Carbide-tipped blades arethechoice
stackthen, placecardboard between of mostwoodworkers today.Although
them. Replacebladesrvhenever they theycostmorethanthetraditionalhigh-
beconecrtrcked or chipped;sharpen speedsteelbladesandaremoreexpen-
non-carbide tippedbladesregularly. A siveto havesharpened, theyhold their
dull or damaged bladeis rnorelikelyto edgeconsiderably longerandarecapable
contribr"rteto accidents than a sharp of moreprecise cuts.
blirdein goodcorrdition. In additionto sarvblades, the radial
In general,
theradialarmsawusesthe Fornterllty tlrc intersectionof one armsawalsoaccepts vanorlsaccessories,
sanretypesofbladesasa tablesaw(pnge line drnwrtf'ottt the tip of a tootlt whichareattached to eitherthearboror
20).Combination bladesaresuitable for to the certer of the arltor holeand orrc anaccessory shaftat theopposite endof
90percentof thejobs,vouwill bedoing. dratvrrparallel to the tooth'slhce, the motor.On somemodels,the shaft
Bladesfor specific jobs,suchascross- b l t r t l el n o k n rr q l ct l c t c r t t t i r t c s canspinat morethan20,000rprn,mak-
cuttingor ripping,arealsoavailable. In lnw rrruchbiteq bladewill ha,e. irrgit idealfor porvering roLrterbits.

Molding head
Ueedin horizonLal
Drillingchuck
poeition with a moldinq
Attached ta acceeeory
headquardand an
ehaft; can be uaedin
auxiliarytable that.
horizonta[or verttcal
9anding drum elevaLesthe workpiece.
Attached to the aaw'aacceoeory poaittonewtth an auxil'
Widevariety of cutLera
tary f,ablethat elevateE
ahaft; can be uaedtn vertical,hor- avatlable for different
the workpieceor with a
izontal,or bevelpooitiona.ln verLi- moldinqatylea.
ji4 that. holds the stock
cat applicaLrona,drum ie lowered
in poaition.
into a cutout tn an auxtltarytable.

Sanding diec Rotary aurface planer

Commonlyueedin Uaedin horizontal
verLicalpoettionwith pooition;can be angled
an auxiliarytable Lo to form raioedpanela.
elevate the workpiece. Featureathree knivea
remouablefor aharpeninq.

58
 RADIAL ARM SAW

A SAWBLADE
CHANGING
Removing andinstalling blades
U n p l utgh es a w l,o c kt h ec l a m pas n d
remove thebladeguard. Then,fit oneof
thewrenches supplied withthesaw
onthearborbetween the bladeandthe
motor. Holding thearborsteady withthis
tool,usetheotherwrenchto loosen the
arbornut.(Radial armsawarbors usually
havereverse threads; thenutis loosened
in a clockwise direction.) Remove thenut
andtheouterblade collar, thenslidethe
bladefromthearbor. Toinstall a blade,
placeit onthearborwithitsteethpoint-
ingin thedirection of bladerotation.
Install thecollarandstartthenutbyhand.
Withonewrench onthearborpropped
against thetable,finishtightening the
nut(left),but avoidovertightening.
I n s t a tl lh eb l a d eg u a r d .

HEIGHT
THEBLADE
SETTING
Preparingto makea cut
Fora standard vertical cut, lower theblade
intooneofthe precutkerfs in the auxiliary table
(page57). Fora cut partway througha work-
piece, suchasa dadocut,marka lineonthe
workpiece forthedepthof cut,thensetthe
stockontheauxiliary tableandlowerthe
bladeto the line.For most saws, oneturnof
theelevatingcrankraises or lowers the blade
tbor rAoinch.Togauge thecrankonyoursaw,
lower thebladeto within% inchof theauxil-
iarytable,thencrankin theopposite direc-
tionuntilthebladebegins to move up. Hold
a pieceof scrapwoodthat is at least I inch
thickagainst thefenceandcut intoit at one
end.Turnoff thesawandraisethebladeby
exactly oneturnof theelevating crank. Slide
theworkpiece about% inchto one side and
makeanother cuI (right).The difference in
depthbetween the twocuts will show the
amount the bladeraises or lowers withone
turnof thecrank.

59

I lthoughthemanymovingpartsof
A a radialarmsawmakeit oneof the
mostflexible
machines in theworlshop,
theyalsomakeit oneof themostdan-
gerous.Crosscutting-themostbasicuse
of the saw-requiresyou to pull the
bladetowardyourbody.Anddepending
on thesettingof the arm,yokeand
motor,thebladecanmakeitsapproach
fromseveraldirections
andangles. Wth
everycut,youhaveto anticipate exactly
wherethebladewill endup.
Whenyourip boards ona radialarm
saw,you feedtheworkpiece into the
SAFETY
blade,and this demandsevengreater
careand concentration. The chances of
kickbackarehigh enoughthatthesafety
devicesillustratedbelowandat rieht are
absolutelyessential.
Armedwith a thoroughknowledgeof
the machine'soperation,you canap-
proachit with a healthymixtureof cau-
tion andconfidence-asyou wouldwith
anyotherpowertool in your workshop.
Make certainthat all the clampsfor
holding the arm, yoke, carriageand
motor in positionarelockedwhenever
you turn on the saw Also be sureto
familiarizeyourselfwith the owner's
manualfor your machine,and takethe
time to setup themanysafetyaccessories
and blade guardsthat are available.
Remember, however,that no accessoryor
guardcancompensate for a lackof care-
ful attentionand commonsense.
For anycut,keepyour fingersat least
6 inchesawayfrom the blade;usepush
sticlaor featherboards wherepossibleto
feedor hold theworkpiece.Wearsafety
glasses at all times,anda maskor respi-
ratorandhearingprotectionfor extended
useof the saw.

RIPPING
SAFELY

RADIAT
ARMSAWSAFETY
TIPS
. N e v eirn s t a lbl l a d e os r o t h e r
devices on boththe arborandthe
accessory shaftat the sametime.
Keepa safetyscrewcapor guard
overthe accessory shaftwhenit rs
not in useto preventit fromsnag-
g i n gh a i ro r c l o t h i n g .
o Neverooeratethesawwithouta
bladeguard.Usespecialtyguards
forcrosscuts
andfor moldingordado
cutswiththemotorandbladein the
position.
horizontal Whenmaking a
ripcut,adjust
theheightof theanti-
kickbackdevicefortheworkpiece,
o Before
startinga cut makesurethat
themotoris at fulloperating
speed.
o D on o tr i p a w o r k p i e ct hea ti s
shorter
than12 inches. Whenmaking
a crosscut on stockshorterthan
7 inches,usea hold-down device,
ratherthana hand,to securethe
workpiece to thetableor thefence.
r Whenripping,ensure thattheedge
of theworkoiece in contact
withthe
Sefting upforthecut fenceis smooth andstraight;feed
Unplug thesaw,thensettheworkpiece onthetablesothatyouwillbe fromthesideof thetableopposite
feeding against thedrrection of theblade's rotation. (Mostbladeguards thesplitter
andanti-kickback device.
haveanarrowindicating whichwaythebladespins.) Follow theowner's . Toavoidkickback,
always
holdthe
m a n u ai ln s t r u c t i ofnosrs e t t i n tgh eh e i g hot f t h ea n t i - k i c k b adcekv i c e workpiecesecurely
against
thetable
andfor positroning the noseof thebladeguardsothatit justclears the andfencewhencrosscutting.
workpiece. Foraddedprotection against kickback, installa wheeled hold- o Aftermakinga crosscut,
locktherip
downdevice(pages 61 and60 or spring-type hold-down fingers(page clamoassoonasthebladeis back
61).Feedtheworkpiece steadily (above), making surethatneitherhand behind thefence.
i s i n l i n ew i t ht h eb l a d e .

60
 RADIAL ARM SAW

DEVICES
ANTI-KICKBACK ANDSPEGIALTY
GUARD
Thehold-downdevice shownat leftfen-
turesrubberwheelsthatridealongthe
topof theworkpiece, pressingit down
againstthetable.Themechanism is
installedat a slightanglesothat the
wheelsalsopushtheworkpiece against
thefence.Thewheels and collarcan
beadjustedto accommodate work-
piecaofvirntalf anythickness. Tohelp
preventkickback, thewheelsare
designed to rotatein onedireniononly.
Whmtheyokeisrotatedto theout-rip
position(page67)andtheworkpiece
isfedfrom theothersideof thetable,the
wheekareswungaroundto turn in the
opposite direction.

Anothersafetyaccessory for usein rippingand

moldingoperations is thesetof metalhold-
downfingersshownat right. Clampedto
L-shapedrodsthat extendoverthefenceon
eithersideof theblade,thefingerspush the
workpiece downon the table.Therodscan
beadjustedto accommodate varioussizes
of stock.Withthemotortiltedto itshorizontal
position,a specialguardcovers theportion
of thebladefacingthefront of thetable.To
usetheguard,you mustfrrstmakea cutout
in thefenceto allowthedevice's shieldto be
loweredontotheworkpiece. Beforeturning
on thesaw,spinthebladeby handto ensure
that theguarddoesnot obstructit.

6l
 CROSSCUTTING
-[t h. radialarmsawisbestknownfor MAKING
A CROSSCUT
I itsconvenience in crosscutting.
The
techniqueis straightforward:Hold the
workpiecefirmly againstthe fenceand
pull theyokeandthe bladethroughthe
stock.Sincethe thrust of the bladeis
downwardand towardthe backof the
table,the cuttingactionhelpsto keepthe
workpiecepressedagainstthetableand
the fence.However,severalfactorscan
causethe bladeto climb uo on thework-
pieceand jump toward you. These
includea dull bladeor onewith teethtoo
largefor the job at hand,poor quality
wood,or looserollerbearings.But even
with equipmentin properrepair,it is still
essential to remainin controlof theblade
at all times.
As a rule of thumb,hold the work-
pieceagainstthe fencewith your left
hand,keepingit at least6 inchesfrom
the blade;usea clampto secureshort
stock(page64).Wth your right hand,
pull theyoke,grippingit firmly to con-
trol the rateof cut. The slowerthe feed,
the smootherwill be theresults.To cut Grosscutting
a board
several workpieces to thesamelengthor Butttheworkpiece against thefencewiththe90" kerfin thefencelinedup
to sawa thick workpiecein more than withthewaste sideof thecuttingmark.Support longstockwithroller
stands
onepass,clampa stopblockto thefence, ora table.Holding
theworkpiece snugly
againstthefence,turnonthesaw,
asshownbelow. theripclampandpulltheyokesteadily
release through thecut (above)wiIh-
outforcingtheblade. Oncethebladecutsthrough theworkpiece, pushthe
yokeback,returningit to itsplacebehindthefence.Locktheripclamp.

MAKING
REPEAT
CUTS
Using a stopblock
Cuta smallnotchfromonecorner of thestopblock,as
shown, to preventsawdust fromaccumulating between
it andtheworkpiece. Measure alongthefenceto the
leftof the kerfthe lengthof the pieceyouneedto cut;
clamptheblockat thatpoint.Butttheworkpiece against
theblockandthefence,thenmakethecut (/eff).Tocut
a thickworkpiece in twopasses,clampthestopblockto
thefenceandcut halfway through thestock,thenflip
theworkoiece overandfinishthecut.

62
 ANGLECUTS
iter,beveland compoundangle
cutscanbe madewith the radial
arm sawby tilting or anglingits blade.
Themachine's armswivels to therisht or
the left for miter cuts;the motoi tilts
clockwise andcounterclockwise for bevel
cuts. Comoound cuts involveboth
\
swiveling thearm andtiltingthemotor.
As discussed on page65,you canalso
makea miter cut with a jig that hoids
the workpieceat an angle. results.Alwaysmakea testcut first in a oftencanmakethesamecut on therisht
Boththearm andthemotorhavepre- pieceof scrapwoodandmeasure thecut sideby turningtheworkprece over.
setstopsat 45oangles. Toeliminate any end with a protractor;then makeany Regardless of the typeof anglecut,
playin theseindexsettings, pushthearm finaladjustments. you first needto cut a kerfin the fence
or motor asfar asit will go in the stop Whenever possible,makemitercuts andtheauxiliarytableto providea path
positionsandhold it therewhileyoulock with thearm swiveled to theright,rather for theblade.Makethekerfuo to % inch
the clamo.To setthearm andmotor at thanto theleft.Workingon theleft side deepior mitercuts,or deepinoughior
otherangles,usea slidingbevelor the of the table,you run the riskof pulling thebladeteethto bebelowthetablesur-
saw'smiter andbevelscales for precise the bladebeyondthe table'sedge.You facefor bevelor comooundcuts.

MA KI NAGN G LCEU T S

Makinga right-hand mitercut Makinga left-hand mitercut

S w i v etl h e a r m t o t h e a n g l ey o u n e e d ,t h e n b u t t t h e w o r k - S w i v etlh e a r mt o t h ed e s i r e a d n g l ea n db u t tt h e w o r k p i e c e
p i e c ea g a i n stth e f e n c ew i t h t h e w a s t es i d eo f t h e c u t t i n g a g a i n stth e f e n c ea s f o r a r i g h t - h a nm
d i t e rc u t . W i t h o ut u r n -
m a r ka l i g n e dw i t ht h e m i t e ra n g l ek e r f .F o rr e p e act u t sa n dt o i n go n t h e s a w ,p u l lt h e y o k ea c r o s tsh e w o r k p i e c el f. t h e
k e e pt h e w o r k p i e cfer o ms l i d i n gt o t h e l e f t ,b u t ta s t o pb l o c k bladeslidesbeyondthe table'sleft-hand edge,movethe fence
a g a i n stth e s t o c ka n dc l a m pi t t o t h e f e n c e T . h e n ,h o l d i n g b e h r n tdh e r e a rt a b l ea s s h o w nT. h e ng l u ea n a u x i l i a rt ya b l e
t h ew o r k p i e csen u g l ya g a i n stth e f e n c e ,t u r n o n t h e s a w , (page57) to the rearsurfaceandtablespacer,and installa
r e l e a steh e r i p c l a m pa n d p u l lt h e y o k es t e a d i ltyh r o u g h handscrew on the armto stopthe yokefromtravelingbeyond
the cut (above). the endof the cut. Holdthe workpiece snuglyagainst the fence
a n dp u l lt h e y o k et h r o u g ht h e c u t ( a b o v e ) .

63
 RADIAL ARM SAW

Making a bevelcut
Tiltthe motorto theangleyouneed,
raising thearmhighenough to keepthe
blade f romstriking thetableas it turns.
Butttheworkpiece against thefence
withthewastesideof thecuttingmark
a l i g n ew d i t ht h eb e v eal n g l ek e r fi n
t h ef e n c ei;f t h e r ei s n os u c hk e r fo n
y o u rm a c h i n ey ,o uw i l ln e e dt o m a k e
one.Then,holding theworkpiece snugly
against thefence, pulltheyokesteadily
through thecut (efl.fo makea bevel
cutalong thelength of a workpiece, tilt
the motorto thedesired angle,then
r o t a tteh ey o k et o t h e i n - r i pp o s i t i o n
andmakethecut (page66).

lllJllltllllllllfi[i]lllrlll|lrlllnll]l]]llll]l]r]llllljllllillll]l]
)HO? TI?
Cult,ing a eho rt, wo rkpiece
Tocut aworkpieceNhat,ieNoo ehorlbo holdoafelyby hand,eecure
iNNo|,hetablewiLha IoqqleclamV.1crewlhe clamplo an auxiliary
fence,IhenineLallNhefencebef,ween Lhefront Lableand Nhetable
o?acer,makin4cerLainIhaNthe clampwillnol be in the wayof Ihe
blade.When youNiqhNen Nheclamp,?rotecLthe workpiecewilh a
woodblock.To avoid
lifNinqlhefence oul
of its olot, do noL
overLiqhten,

64
 RADIAL ARM SAW

MITER JIG
Tomake45" mitercutswithout Fence Jiq baee
3 / +x" x3"
3/+" 3 "xx40"
40" 3/+"x 18"x 40"
having to swivel thearmonthesaw,
usetheshop-built jig shown at right.
jig
The holdstheworkpiece at an
angle, sothatthebladecanremain
in the 90" crosscutting position.
Refer to the illustration for sug-
gestedimensions.
Before building thejig,make45"
mitercutsin theendsof twooieces
of 7a-plywood thatwill serveas
guides. Thencut the baseandthe
fenceandscrewthe twoboards thefrontsurfaceandtablesDacer. f lushagainst thefencewithits
together, leaving enough of the Withthe bladein the90" crosscut- pointtouching the kerfin the
fenceprotruding belowthe baseto tingposition, slicethroughthejig base.Position the mitered endof
fit intotheslotbetween thefront fenceand% inchdeepintothebase, the second guidef lushwiththe
a u x i l i a rt ya b l ea n dt h es p a c e r , pullingthe yokeforwardasfar as frontof thetableasshown.Usea
R e m o vteh e s t a n d a rfde n c ea n d it will go,Turnoff the saw. carpenter's squareto setthe sec-
s e tt h e b a s eo n t h e t a b l e s, a n d - Screwoneof the guidesto the o n dg u i d ea t a 9 0 " a n g l et o t h e
wichingthejig'sfencebetween baseso that its miteredend is firstone.Then,screwthesecond
pieceto the base,leaving enough
spacebetween the two guides
for the stockyouwill be cutting
to fit between them,Turnon the
sawand pull the yokeacross
thekerfto trimoff thecornerof the
second guide.
Tousethejig,holdtheworkpiece
flushagainst theright-hand guide,
buttingtheendof thestockagainst
thefence,andpullthe yoke
through thecut (/eftl.Next,holdthe
e d g eo f t h e m a t i n gp i e c ef l u s h
against theleft-hand guide,withits
e n db u t t e da g a i n stth e o t h e r
guide.Pulltheyokethrough the
cut.Theresulting 45oendsshould
forma perfectly square joint.

65

hetheryou arecuttingwith the
grainofa pieceofhardwood or
softwood,or sawingalongthelengthof
a plywoodpanelwith no definedgrain
pattern,rippingon a radialarm saw
bearslittleresemblance to crosscutting.
Ratherthanpullingthebladeacross a relocatethefencebehindthereartable
stationary pieceof stock,youwill be
lockingtheyokein a positionthatholds
the cuttingedgeparallelto thefence
andfeeding theworkpiece intothecut.
Depending onthewidthof thestock
to becut,theyokecanberotatedin two
directions. Fora narrowcut,typically
up to 14inches,theyokeis rotatedto
RIPPING
positionthebladecloseto thefence.
Thisis calledthein-rip position.For
widerstock,theyokeis rotatedin the
oppositedirection,leavingthebladefar-
therfromthefencein theout-ripposi-
tion. Forthe maximumwidth of cut,
andusetheout-ripconfiguration.
Because oftheriskofkickback and
the fact that you will be feedingthe
workpiece with your hands,ripping
demands greatcare.Tiy to standto one
sideof the stockasyou feedit to the
bladeandkeepyourhandsat least6
inchesfrom the cuttingedge.Usea
pushstickto feednarrowstockor to
completea cut on a wideworkpiece.
Wherepossible, usefeatherboards to
holdstockfirmly against thefence.
As illustratedbelow,a goodhold-
downdevicewill provideanadditional
measure Planyourcutssafely
of safety.
(page60),always feedingtheworkpiece
against thedirectionofbladerotation:
fromtheright-handsideof thetablefor
an in-rip andfrom theleft-handside
for an out-rip.Usethe bladeguard
whenripping,andit is a goodideato
installa newfenceto keepthework-
piecefromcatchingin old kerfs.

(IN.RIP)
A BOARD
RIPPING

1 Installing a hold-downdevice
I Unplugthe saw,release theyokeclampandrotatethe higherthanthethicknessof theworkpiece.Usethetemplate
locktheyokeclamp.Toposition
yoketo the in-ripposition; suppliedwiththedeviceto borethreesetsof holesalongthetop
the bladefor thewidthof cut youneed,releasethe rip edgeof thefence;onesetshouldbe directlyin linewiththe
clamp,slidethe yoketo theappropriate
distancefromthe bladeandtheothersto eithersideof thefirst.Fitthe pinson
fence,andrelock theclamp. the bottomofthe hold-down deviceintoonesetof holesand
Toinstalla wheeled hold-down replace
device, thestandard tightenthethumbscrew usinga woodblockto distribute the
fencewithanauxiliary fenceabout1 inchthickandslightly pressureevenlyalongthefence.

66
 RADIAL ARM SAW

r) Making thecut
L Settheworkpiece up against the
right-hand sideof thetable.Standing to
onesideof thestock,slipitsleading edge
underthewheels of thehold-down device
andfeedit intotheblade, applying pres-
surebetween thefenceandthecutting
edge.Makesurethatneither of yourhands
is in lrnewiththeblade. Whenyourfin-
gerscomewithin6 inches of theblade,
continue feedingwitha pushstick(right).
lf youareusinga hold-down device, move
totheoutfeed sideof thetableandpullthe
workpiece through; otherwise, f inish
thecutfromtheinfeed sideof thetable.
Retract thepushstickcarefully to prevent
it fromgetting caught in theblade.

USINGTHEOUT.RIP
CONFIGURATION
Gutting a panelto width
Unplug thesaw,release theclampand
rotate theyoketo theout-ripposition, with
the bladeawayfromthefence,asshown.
Locktheyokeclamp.Position thebladefor
thewidthof cutasin step1, opposite.
Movethefencebehind thereartable,if
necessary. Installa hold-down device, fol-
lowing themanufacturer's instructions to
r e v e r steh ew h e e l - l o c k imn ge c h a n i s m .
Setuprollerstands ora tableto support
theworkpiece asit comesoff thetable.
Tomakethecut,laythepanelonthe
left-hand sideof thetableto allowyouto
feedagainst thedirection of blade rotation.
Butting theedgeof thestockagainstthe
fence,slowly feedit intotheblade. Apply
enough lateralpressure to keepthe panel
flushagainst thefence(/eff).

67
 RADIAL ARM SAW

TAPER JIG
Foraccurate tapercuts,buildthe
jig shownat right(top)from3/rinch
plywood. Referto theillustration
for
suggested dimensions.
Toprepare fora tapercut,install
a hold-down deviceon the saw
@age 66), then rotatetheyoketo
thein+ipposition andsetthewidth
of cutforthewidthof thejig base.
Drawa cuttinglineforthetaperon
theworkpiece, thensetit onthejig,
aligning themarkwiththeedgeof
Ouidebar
the base.Holding theworkpiece in 2" x 18"
place,butttheguidebaragainst it,
withthe lip seated theend
against
of thestock,Screwtheguidebarto
the base,thenattachthetoggle
clamps to theguidebar.Pushthe
jig pastthebladeto makesurethat
theclamps do notinterferewiththe
bladeor guard.Thenusescrews to
afixa handle to the baseat least
6 inches awayfromthesidethatwill
passbythe blade.

Tousethejig, lowerthe bladeso

thatthefull lengthof onetoothis
belowthe top of the basehbove).
Pressthe toggleclampsdownto
secure theworkpiece to thejig and
turnonthesaw.Usethejig handle
to slidethejig andworkpiece asa
unitacrossthetabletight, bottom).
Continue cuttingat a steadyrateuntil
thebladeclears the workoiece.

68

t|a h. samerangeof dadocutsthatcan
I be made on the table saw (page
36)-the cross-grain dado,the groove,
the stoppedgrooveandthe rabbet-are
alsopossibleon a radialarm sawAsyou
will discoverin thepagesthat follow,the
abilityof the radialarm sawto function
in eitherverticalor horizontalplanes
meansthat thereis oftenmorethanone
way to makethe samecut. Generally,
mostwoodworkers to keep
find it easiest
thebladein the90ocrosscutting position
whenmakingcross-grain dadoes, rabbets
alongthe endsofstockand groovesin
DADOCUTS
wideboards.Moving the bladeto the
horizontalpositionwork bestfor a rab-
betalongthe edgeofa workpieceor for
a groovein a narrowboard.
There is a way of cutting grooves
without a dado head.With a standard
sawbladeyou canmakecutson both
edgesofthe grooveandthensawout the
wastebetweenthemin asmanypasses as
is necessarv.But the iob canbe done
morequicklyandpreiiselywith a dado
headmountedon the arbor.The radial
arm sawacceptseitherthe adjustable
wobbledadoheador the stackingdado
(pagej6). Although the stackingdado
headis generallymore expensive and
takeslongerto install,it producescuts
with flatterbottomsandsmootheredges.
Thewiderswathcut bv thedadochip-
persandblades, compared to therelative-
ly narrowwidth of a standardsawblade,
meansthatyouwill haveto feedthestock
moreslowly.Forsafety's sake,keeptrack
of thedadoheadduringa cut,notingits
locationon thetablewhentheworkpiece
hidesit from view.Installa standard
guardor a dadoheadbladeguardwhen
thebladesareturnedhorizontally.

INSTALLING HEAD
A DADO

Adding blades andchippers

Remove the bladefromthe arbor(page
59 andinstalla dadoheadfollowing
themanufacturer's instructions. Forthe
s t a c k i ndga d os h o w nf ,i t a b l a d eo n
thearbor withtheteethpointing in the
direction of bladerotation. Theninstall
a chipper withitsteethcentered in the
gulletsbetween twobladeteeth.Fiton
additional chippers, off-setting theirteeth
fromthose already in place.Putthe sec-
ondbladeon the arbor(left),making
surethatitsteethdo nottouchthose
of thechipper resting against it (inset).
Install thebladecollarandnut,keeping
theblades andchippers carefully arranged
asyoudoso.lf youcannot tightenthe
nutallthewaydown,remove thecollar.
Install a standard guardor a dado
headguard.

69
 RADIAL ARM SAW

DADOES
CUTTING WITHTHEBLADES
POSITIONED
VERTICALTY

Making thecut
Withthedadoheadin the 90ocross-
cuttingposition, cut a kerfthrough the
fenceasdeepasthedadoyouareplan-
ningto make.Marktwosetsof cutting gHO? TI?
lineson theworkpiece: oneonitsfaceto
showthewidthof thedado,andoneon
itsleading edgeto showthedepth.Butt Cuttinq repeat dadoee
To cut a serieoof equallyopaceddadoes,ueethe eimpleoetup
the markson the edgeof the stock
ohownbelow.Makea kefr in the fenceand cut ihe tirst, dado,
againstthe dadoheadandlowerthe then elidethe workpiecealon6the fence,meaeurin7to pooition
blades andchippers to theappropriate lhe eeconddado Nhedeeireddistance from the fireL.'Defore
depth.Slidetheyokebehind thefence. makinqthe cutr,drive a ecrcw into lhe fence,witrhthe head of
A l i g nt h ec u t t i n gl i n e so n t h ef a c e Nhescrew butted aqaineLiheleft
oftheworkpiece withthe kerfin the ed6eofthefirst, dado.Thencut,the
f e n c eT . h e n ,h o l d i ntgh ew o r k p i e c e eeconddadoand slide lhe work-
snugly against thefence,pulltheyoke piecealonq until the lefl edqeof
steadily through the cut hbove). ihe eeconddado buNts aqaino|
lhe screwhead.Conlinuein this
manneruni";il
alllhe dadoesarecul.

70
 RADIAL ARM SAW

Cutting a groove
W i t ht h e d a d oh e a di n t h e i n - r i pp o s i t i o n ,
installa hold-downdevtce@age60 and
rotatethe noseof the bladeguardsothat it
j u s tc l e a r st h e w o r k p i e c e
T .h e n ,m a r kt w o
setsof cuttinglinesontheworkpiece: one
t o s h o wt h e w i d t ho f t h e g r o o v ea n d
o n et o s h o wi t s d e p t h .B u t t t h e d e p t h
l i n e a g a i n st th e d a d oh e a da n d l o w e trh e
b l a d e sa n d c h i p p e r tso t h e a p p r o p r i a t e
height.Slidetheyokefonvard or backward
t o a l i g nt h e d a d oh e a dw i t ht h e c u t t i n g
lineson the faceof the workpiece. Then,
standing to the rightsideof thetable,use
a o u s hs t i c kl i n e du o b e t w e e n thefence
andthe dadoheadto feedthe workpiece
steadilyintothe bladesandchippers(/efil.

Cutting anedgerabbet
I n s t a al l d a d oh e a dt h a ti ss l i g h t lwy i d e r
thanthe rabbetyouwishto cut.With
t h ed a d oh e a di n t h e i n - r i pp o s i t i o n ,
rotate thebladeguarduntilitsnosejust
clears theworkpiece. Markthedepthof
therabbet onthefence,thenposition the
dadoheadsothataboutone-third of its
widthis overthefence. Turnonthesaw
andlower thedadoheaduntilit cutsto
themarked line,producing a reliefcut
in thefenceto allowforclearance of the
blades and chippers. Turn off the saw,
t h e nm a r ka c u t t i n gl i n ef o rt h ei n s i d e
edgeof the rabbeton theworkpiece.
Move theyoketo alignthe dadohead
withthe mark.Clamo a featherboard and
a suooort board to the table as shown to
k e e pt h ew o r k p i e c e f l u s ha g a i n st h
t e
fence.Then,standing on the right side
of thetable,usea pushstickto feed
theworkpiece steadily intotheblades
znd chinnor< (riohf)

7l
 RADIAL ARM SAW

*^

AUXILIARY FENCE ANDTABTE FOR

HORIZONTAL DADO ()RM(ILDING CUTS
Cu|ouL
Tocut dadoes or moldings(page75)
withthemotorin its horizontal posi-
t i o n ,u s et h es h o p - b uai lut x i l i a r y
f e n c es h o w na t r i g h t .S i n c et h e Fence
arborprevents the bladesfrombeing 4" x 40"
lowered totablelevel,youmayalso
LiP
haveto buildanauxiliary table,such r/+"abovetable
astheoneshownbelowForbothjigs,
referto theillustrations forsuggested
dimensions. position. Without thislip,thework- Offsetthetop pieceslightlyto cre-
Cut%-inchplywood forthefence, piecewill notbesupported properly atea gapalongthe fencethatwill
usinga piecethatis slightly wider asit ridesalongthefenceduringa prevent sawdust fromaccumulating
thanthe heightof theworkpiece; cut-and it maybedrawnintothe between thebaseof theauxiliary
usef-inch-thick stockforthefence blade.Installthe fencebetween tableandthefencewhenthetable
if youyouareplanning to installa thefronttableandthespacer asyou is in position.
Screwtheauxiliary
table
hold-down device(page66). Forlhe woulda standard fence. to a fenceI inchwiderthantheauxil-
fencecutout,sawanopening thatis Fortheauxiliary tableandfence, iaryfenceshownabove.
largeenough to accommodate the cut two piecesof 3/q-inch plywood to Toinstalltheauxiliary
table,slipits
dadoor molding headandguard, thesamedimensions asthefront fencebetween thefronttableof the
leaving a lip of at leastVt inchal sawtable,thenscrewthe pieces sawandthetablespacer, thentight-
the bottomof thecutoutprotruding together, making surethatthescrews enthetableclamps(page51)lo
above thetablewhenthefenceis in w i l lb ew e l cl l e aor f t h e b l a d e . secure thejigtablein position.

72
 RADIAL ARM SAW

WITHHORIZONTAL
A GROOVE
CUTTING ANDCHIPPERS
BLADES
'l Setting upthecut
I Withthedadoheadin thehorizontal
p o s i t i o sn l,i d et h ey o k et o t h eb a c ko f
t h et a b l ea sf a ra si t w i l lg o ;l o c ka l l t h e
c l a m posnt h es a wI.n s t a al l na u x i l i a r y
fenceor Iable(page72),Ihenmarkcut-
tinglinesontheworkpiece to showthe
w i d t ha n dd e p t ho f t h ec u t .H o l d i n g
theworkpiece against thefence, slidethe
yoke to alignthedadoheadwiththedepth
markon the faceof the stock(left),To
helokeeptrackof thedadohead's loca-
tionwhenit is hidden bytheworkpiece,
m a r tkw ol i n e so n t h et a b l et o d e l t n -
e a t et h ec u t t i n gs w a t hI.n s t aal l d a d o
headguard, lowering itsshieldontothe
workpiece. Spinthedadoheadbyhand
to makesurethatit rotates freely.Slide
t h ey o k eb e h i n tdh ef e n c e .

r) Cutting thegroove
L guttthe workpiece against thefence,
thenclampa featherboard table to the
to holdthestockin alignment; clampa
support boardat a 90' angle to the feath-
erboard forextra pressure. Then, slide the
w o r k p i e cbea c ku n t i ly o uc a n l o w er
thedadoheadto alignitsblades and chip-
perswiththewidthmarksontheendof
thestock.Turnonthesawandusethe
thumbsof bothhands to feedthework-
piecesteadilyintothe blades(right);
straddle thefencewiththefingers of your
r i g hht a n dt o h e l pm a i n t a icno n t r o T
l .o
keepyourhandsfrom getttng tooclose
to thedadohead,usea pushstickto
nnmnloto tho e ri

73
 RADIAL ARM SAW

MAKING
A STOPPED
GRO()VE
1l Setting
-
upandstarting
thecut
I S e tu p t h e c u t a s o n t h e p r e c e d i n g
page,but addonemoresetof cuttinglines
o n t h e f a c eo f t h e w o r k p i e cteo s h o wt h e
b e g i n n i nagn de n do f t h e g r o o v eS. t a n d i n g
o n t h e r i g h t - h a nsdi d eo f t h et a b l e ,p i v o t
t h e l e a d i n ge n d o f t h e w o r k p i e c a
ew a y
fromthe fence.Turnon the sawandalign
t h p c r r t t i n o l i n e f n r i h p h p o ' i n n i n on f f h c
groovewith the blademarkon the table
surface(right).Keepingbothhandswell
c l e a or f t h ed a d oh e a d ,h o l dt h e t r a i l i n g
e n d o f t h e w o r k p i e caeg a i n stth e f e n c e
w h i l ep i v o t i n tgh e o t h e re n d i n t ot h e
DladecuLLingmarka
b l a d e sa n dc h i p p e r u s n t i lt h e w h o l e
e d g ei s f l u s hw i t h t h e f e n c e .
CuLttnq ltneo

r) Cuttingthe groove
L W t t ny o u rr i g h th a n dg r i p p i ntgh e t r a i l i n g
e n do f t h e w o r k p i e c ep,u s ht h e s t o c ks t e a d r l y
f o r w a r dU . s ey o u rl e f th a n dt o k e e pt h e w o r k -
p i e c ef l u s ha g a i n stth e f e n c e .M a k i n gs u r e
t h a t b o t hh a n d ss t a yw e l lc l e a ro f t h e d a d o
h e a dc, o n t i n ufee e d i n g u n t i lt h e c u t t i n gl i n e
f o r t h e e n do f t h e g r o o v ei s a l i g n e dw i t ht h e
b l a d em a r kn e a r e syto u .

1<' Finishins
thecut
r . , l S l i d ey o u rl e f t h a n dc a r e -
f u l l ya l o n gt h e w o r k p i e cteo w a r d
its leadine g d g e ,p r e s s i n tgh e
workpiece a g a i n stth e f e n c e .
Keepingbothhandsclearof the
d a d oh e a du, s ey o u rr i g h th a n d
t o p i v o t h et r a i l i n ge n d o f t h e
stock awayfrom the fence(right)

/+
 MOLDINGS

uttingmoldingsis anotherof the
f
\-r wood-shapingchoresthat falls
within the repertoireof the radialarm
saw.The samewide rangeof cutters
availablefor the tablesaw(page40)can
alsobe usedon the radialarm sawto
transformboardsinto piecesof trim.
Multiple boardscanbe shapedindiv-
iduallyandthen gluedtogetherto form
an impressivearrayof designs.The
resultscanrangefrom cornicemolding
for a cabinetto decorativedoor and
frametreatments.
Startby fitting a setofthreeidentical
cuttersinto a moldinghead,which is
then attachedto the saw'sarbor in the
samewayasa blade.Althoughtheillus-
tration belowshowsthemoldingheadin
the horizontalposition,the radialarm
sawcan turn this deviceat any angle
between0oand90o,significantly extend-
ing the rangeof designsyou canpro-
duce.Regardless of the moldinghead
angleyou decideto use,the workpiece
shouldalwaysbe fed repeatedlyacross
the spinningknives,with eachshallow
passcutting a little deeperuntil the
desiredprofileis milled.
Wittrthe moldingheadin the hori-
zontalposition,installan auxiliarytable
(page72)to raisethestockto thelevelof
theknives.Installa moldingheadguard
to protectyour fingersfrom the cutters,
positioningits shieldjust abovethe
workpiece.Do not cut moldingsfrom
stockshorterthan 12incheslong.And
ratherthanworkingwith narrowstock,
usewider boardsand then makea riP
cut to trim them to their final width.

A MOLDING
CUTTING
Setting upandmaking thecut
Fit the cutters into their slotsin themold-
ing h e a dt,h e nu s ea h e xw r e n c tho
tighten the setscrews (inset). lnstallthe
molding head on the saw with theflat
side of the cutters facing the direction of
blade roiation. Mark a line for the width
of cut on the leading endof thework-
piece,thenposition thestockflush
against thefence.Tosecure thework-
piece,clamponefeatherboard to the
fenceto the left of the moldtng head
anda second featherboard to the table.
Bracethe second featherboard with a
support board. Holding the workpiece
against thefence,slidetheyoketo align
themolding headwiththecuttingline,
setting upfora 7e-inch-deep cut.Remove
theworkpiece and turn on the saw.Use
yourrighthandto feedthestockslowly
intothemolding head(right);useyour
left handto press theworkpiece flush
against thefence. To keep your hands
fromgetting toocloseto thecutters,
f inishthe pass witha pushstick.For
deeper cuts,makeas manyPasses as
necessary, moving the molding head 7e
inchfartherintotheworkpiece at a time.
Aftersuccessive Dasses havereduced the
stockto thedesired depth, make a f inal,
veryshallow pass,feeding moreslowly
to help produce a smooth finish.

75
 RADIAL ARM SAW

RADIALARM SAWIOINERY
I shop-builtjig canrransformthe complicated---or time<onsuming-than boardsaresecuredtogetheron the jig
A radialarm sawinto an efficient makinga seriesof crosscuts. Al"though and the bladeis pulledthroughthem.
joint-makingtool.Usingthejig shown thebladeis setin its horizontalposition, Sincethe boardsareoffsetby the thick-
belowanda standardsawblade,you can theworkpiece is not fedinto it, asis the nessof the sawkerf, the fingersand
producefingerjointsthatarewell-suited casewith mostotherhorizontal-blade notchesarecut at thesametirie, guar-
for draweror carcase construction. operations.Instead,the two mating anteeinga perfectjoint.
Thesetupshownin thissectionlends
itselfto productionwork.Onceyoursaw
hasbeensetup to cut onefingerjoint,
producingseveral suchjointsis no more

A variationof theboxjoint, thefingerjoint

derivesitsstrengthfrom thelargegluingarea
providedby its interwoven fingersand
notches. It is an attractiveand solidioint.

CUTTING
A FINGER
J()INT

jointjig
1 Making a finger
r Buildthetableandfenceforthefinger-joint jig fromvz-inch
plywood; usesolid
woodforthe legs.Referto the illustration
forsuggested dimensions.
Screwthe legsto
theunderside of thetable.Cuta 3-inch-by-25-inch cornersection
fromoneendof the
fence; thecutoutwillprovide clearance
forthemotorandblade guard. thejig,
Toinstall
slipthefenceintotheslotbetween theauxiliary
tableandthetablespacer, thenposition
the leftedgeof thejig tableagainst
therightedgeof thefence'scutout.Screwthetwo
piecesof plywood together.

76
 RADIAL ARM SAW

r) Making thefirstcut
L Rotut"thevokehandle to the left
sideof thearm,thentilt themotor to the
h o r i z o n tpaol s i t i o nA.l i g nt h ee n d so f
theworkpieces andplace themagainst the
f e n c eT . os e tt h e d e p t ho f c u t ,e x t e n d
theworkpieces overtheedgeof theblade
bythethickness of onepiece of stock.Slip
a shimthesamethickness astheblade
underoneof theworkpieces, thenclamp
Handacrew
bothpieces of stockto thefence.Next,
adjust thebladeguardto cover asmuch
t f t h eb l a d ea sp o s s i bal en d
o f t h ef r o n o
slidetheyokebacktoward thecolumn to
check forobstructions. Install a handscrew on
thearmto stopyoketravelassoonasthe
blade completes eachpass. Withtheyoke
behind thefence, raise theblade tothesame
l e v eal st h es h i mt,h e nt u r no nt h es a w
andpulltheyokesteadily through thecut
(right).Returnthe yoketo its placebehind
thefenceandturnoffthemotor.

theremaining notches
Q Cutting
r-,1 andfingers
Foreachof theremaining cuts,raise
the blade(page59)by an amount
equalto twicethethickness of the
shrm,Pulltheyokehandle withyour
l e f th a n dl,e a v i nygo u r i g h ht and
o nt h ee l e v a t i nc gr a n kt o r a i s e
the
armaftereachcut;besureto slide
t h ey o k eb e h i n tdh ef e n c eb e f o r e
r a i s i ntgh ea r m .C o n t i n ui net h i s
manner untilallthenotches andfin-
sershavebeencut (/eft).

77
,,,..;i;1'ffi
'1{,i: qii

,'.j.,
I

ff1" ,"1".* -;

I : , "
 BATDSAM

or easeof operationandwide- towardthe operator,kickbackcan-

rangingutility thebandsawis not occur.Forthisreason,theband
hard to beat.It is the only wood- sawis thetool of choicefor ripping
workingmachinecapableof making short or narrowstock.
both straightand contourcuts.In Bandsawsareclassified accord-
additionto crosscutting andripping, ingto theirthroatwidth-that is,the
it iswellsuitedfor cuttingcurvesand distancebetweenthebladeandthe
circles,enablingthewoodworkerto verticalcolumn,which supports
produceanythingfrom a dovetail the machine'supperwheel.Band
joint to a cabrioleleg. sawsfor homeworkshoosfall in the
Both roughand detcatework fall 10-to l4-inch range.Siwsarealso
within its domain.Fittedwith a categorizedaccordingto theirdepth-
7z-inchblade-the widestsizeavail- Thisquarter-circle-cuning jig isan ideal of-cutcapacirywhichcorresponds
able for most consumer-grade time-saverfor roundingcorners for tabletops. to the maximum gapbetweenthe
machines-a band sawcan resaw Thejigpivotsaroundafixedpoint,takingthe tableandtheupperguideassembly
6-inch-thicklumberinto two thin- guesswork out of cuttingperfectarcs. (overleaf).
Althougha 4- to 6-inch
ner piecesin a singlepass.And with depth of cut is typical for con-
a %o-inchblade,a bandsawcanzigzagitsway througha board sumer-grade saws,thebandsawshownon pagesB0-Bloffers
at virtuallyanyangle,evenmaking90oturnsduringa cut. a heightattachmentthat extendsthe verticalcolumn to
But do not let thistool'sversatilityintimidateyou;theband providea l2-inchdepthof cut-handy for resawing particularly
sawis surprisinglyeasyto use.Manycutscanbe madefree- thick stock.But evenwith a standardmachine,you cantake
handby simplypivotingthe workpiecearoundthe blade. advantage ofthe bandsaw'sunsurpassed depth-of-cutcapacity
With thecuttingtechniques andshop-made jigspresented in by cuttingidenticalpatternsinto severalpiecesof wood
this chapter,you will be ableto turn out intricatecurves) stackedone on top of another.Imaginethat you wantedto
cut perfectcirclesand produceuniformlysquare-edged rip makethe samecurvedcut on 12piecesof Vz-inchplywood.
cutsandcrosscuts. With a bandsawyou wouldsimplystackthepieces, raisethe
One other advantaseofthe band sawoverotherwood- guideassembly so that 6 inchesof the bladeis exposedand
workingmachines is itsielativesafeness.
Compared to theradial cut themin a singlepass.
arm sawor tablesaw,thebandsawis a quietmachine,sonoise- In choosinga bandsaw,look for onewith a sturdytablethat
relatedfatigueis rarelya problem.Moreover,verylittle of the cantilt 45oin onedirectionandat least10"in theother.In addi-
blade-usuallvonlv 7einch-is everexposed whileit is run- tion, consider spending a littlemorefor a 3/+-horsepower motor.
nirrg.And sincethe cuttingactionof the bladebearsdown Forcertainjobs,suchasresawing a thickpieceof stock,youwill
on theworkpiece, pushingit againstthetableinsteadof back be sladto havethe extrapower.

A %-inch band saw bladeweavesits way along

a curvedcuttingline,paring away a blockof
mahogany to form a graceful cabrioleleg.

79
 Tenaionhandle
Kaisea and loweraupper wheel
to adjuat blade tenaion
Wheelcover
Frotects operator
from wheeland blade; Elade guard
may be removableor Frotecta operator from blade:moved
hin4edto provide up and down with quide aooembly
accega to whael

Upper guide aaaembly

Kaised and lowereddependin4on
thickneaa of workpiece;includeablade
6uard, thruot bearinqand 7uide bloaks.
Wheel )atacrewa releaae7uide blockofor
Rimmedby a Iateral a djuotm ent; th umbacrewa
rubber tire that releasebearin7and blockaforfront-to-
cuahionsthe back adjuatment b5rmeano of adjuat-
blade and keepa inq knoba.(A fixed quide aaeemblywith
it from alippinq thruat bearingand 6uide blocks locat-
ed under table inaert.)

Miter gauge
Guides workpiece
acro66 table for
Throat aolumn
cro69cut9 0r
9upporta blade miter cut6
beiween wheels Rip fence
and protecta oper' Ouides workpiece
ator from blade acro66 table for rip
cuto, croaacuto

Table lock knob

Allowa table to be
tilted for bevelor Table leveling pin
compoundcuta: Adjuatable to keepmifnr
a oecond knob ia qauqeolot prvperlyaliqned
located on
aite aide of

Tablelneert
Freventswoodoiecesfrom
fattin7into tableand oupporte
workpiece whencloaeto blade;
uauAlly madeof aluminum

Duet epout
Forduat collectionayatem

OnlOff ewltoh
Can be padlockedin Off
poaition for oafety
 ANATOMYOFABANDSAW

I s thenamesuggests, a bandsaw
A bladeis a continuous steelband.
Varyingin lengthfromroughly72inches
to 104inchesdepending on thesizeof
themachine, thebladerunsaroundrub-
ber-rimmed wheels andpasses through
anopeningin thesawtable.Oneof the
wheels-typicallythelowerone-is the
drivewheel,whichisturnedbya motor.
Thebladeis not fastened to thewheels
butisheldin placebytension andturns
throughits ellipticalpathat roughly
3,000feetperminute-theaverage cut-
tingspeed for a l4-inchsaw.
Thebladeis kepttautby meansof
atensionhandle. whichraisesandlowers
theupperwheel.A tilt knobthatcants
theupperwheelisusedto keeptheblade
centeredonthewheels. Thebladeiskept
steadyon its pathby thrustbearings
locatedbehindthe bladeaboveand
belowthetable,andby guideblocks,
which prevent lateral movement.
Althoughsomecutscanbemadefree-
hand,a rip fenceandmitergaugeare
availablewith manymodelsto guide
workpieces across thetable.

Thethree-wheelbandsaw'swide throat
capacity- typically20 inches,ratherthan
the10to 14inchesavailableon mosttwo-
wheelmodels-makesit moreconvenient for
workingwith particularly largeworkpieces.

81

he band saw has a reputation
amongsomewoodworkersasa rel-
ativelyimprecisecutting tool. And yet
bandsawsareroutinelyusedin industry
to cut veryhardmaterialssuchasmetal
to very close tolerances.The fact
remains,however, that thetool canonly
be madeto cut straightedgesand pre-
cisecurvesif it is kept finely tuned.
The ideal is for the blade to cut
squarelyinto the workpiece,producing
a smooth,accurateresult.But thepecu-
liaritiesof bandsawgeometrycanmake
this idealdifficult to achieve.After bend-
ing aroundthe machine's wheelsat 35
SETTINGUP
milesperhour,a sectionof theblade
muststraighten outbythetimeit reach-
esthesawtablea splitsecond later.
Forthisto happen, theadjustable
partsof thesawmustbekeptin proper
alignmentso that the blade runs
smoothlyand squareto the table.
Particularattentionshouldbepaidto the
wheels, theguideassembly andthesaw
tableitself.
Totuneyourbandsaw,unplugit,
installandtensionthebladeyouplanto
use(page87)thenfollowtheset-upsteps
detailedonthefollowingpages. lakethe
timeto do it right.Adjustingtheband
sawmaybemoretlme-consummg than
learninghowto operate thetool.Butthe
advantages of awell-tuned machine will
benoticeable not onlyin thequalityof
theresultsbut in thelongevityof your
bladesand of the band saw itself.
Misaligned wheels or poorlyadjusted
guidebloclscanleadto premature blade
wearor breakage.
Installing
nonmetallic guidebloclson
a bandsawcanreducewearandtear
appreciably (page B3),but thereis no
substituteforgettingaroundtheneedto
checkthrustbearings, guideblocksand
wheels for properalignment.

ALIGNING
THE
WHEELS
1 Checking wheelalignment
I Tomakecertainthatthewheels areoarallel
to eachotherandin thesamevertical plane,loosen
thetablelockknobs andtilt thetableoutof theway.
Openbothwheelcovers andholda longstraightedge
againstthewheelrimsasshown. Thestraightedge
shouldrestflushagainst the top andbottomof
eachwheel.lf thewheels areoutof alignment,try
to bringthetopwheelto a vertical positionby
means of thetilt knob.lf thestraightedgestillwill
notrestflush,youwill haveto adjustthe position
of the upperwheel(step2).

r) Shifting theupperwheel
1 Movethe upperwheelin orouton its
h e i n s t r u c t i o innsy o u r
a x l ef o l l o w i nt g
owner's manual. Onthemodelshown, you
mustfirst remove the blade(page87)
andthewheel.Thenshiftthewheelby
eitheraddingor removing oneor more
washers (/efD.Reinstall thewheeland
tighten theaxlenut.Installtheblade
andrecheck wheelalignment.

82
 BAND SAW

ASSEMBTIES
THEGUIDE
ADJUSTING

thethrustbearings r) Settingtheguideblocks
1 Sefting
I Setthe upperguideassembly @age 85),thencheckby L fo setthe upperguideblocks, loosen theguideblock
eyethatthe upper thrust bearing is square to theblade.lf setscrewsandpinchtheblocks togetherusingyourthumband
not,loosenihe guide assembly setscrew, adjust theassembly indexfingeruntiltheyalmosttouchtheblade.Alternatively,
sothatthe bearing is square to the blade,and tighten the usea slipof papertosetthespacebetween theblocksand
Then,
setscrew. loosen the bearing thumbscrew and turnthe theblade.Iightenthesetscrews.Next,loosenthethumbscrew
adjustment knobuntil the bearing just touches the blade. andturntheadjustment knobuntilthefrontedges of theguide
Backthe bearing off slightly(above) andtightenthethumb- blocksarejustbehindthebladegullets(abovd. Tightenthe
screw.(The lowerthrust bearing, which is located directly thumbscrew. Setthe lowerguideblocks thesameway.
underthetableinsert, is adjusted the same way.)To check
thesetting,spinthe upper wheel by hand. lf the blade makes
eitherbearingspin,backthe bearing off slightly and recheck.

Heat-resistantguide blocles
Designed to replacethemetalguideblockssupplied
with mostsaws,nonmetallicblocks aremadefrom
a graphite-impregnated resinthat containsa dry
lubricant.Because theybuild up lessheatthan con'
ventionalguideblocks,thenonmetallicvarietylast
longer;theycanalsobesetdoserto theblade,pro-
motingmoreaccurateand controlledcuts.In addi-
tion,contactbetweenthebladeand nonmetallic
blocksdoesnot dull theblade,asis commonwith
metalblocks.Toinstall,unscrewtheguideblock
setscrews,removetheold bloclcsand replacewith
thenewblocks;tightenthesetscrews.

83
 BAND SAW

SOUARING
THETABLE
ANDBLADE
'l Aligningthetable
I Toensure thatthemitergauge slot
is properly
alignedon bothsidesof the
tableslot,setthe mitergaugein itsslot
andslidethegaugebackandforthacross
thetable.Thegauge shouldslidefreely
withonlymoderate pressure. lf thegauge
binds,uselocking pliersto remove the
levelingpin.Then,insert
thepinintoits
holeandusea ball-peen hammer to tap
the pin deeper(left)unlilthe miter
oarrop clidcc froolv

r) Ghecking thetableangle Adjustingthetablestop

L Wttnthetablein the horizontal position, remove the Tiltthetableoutof thewav,thenusetwowrenches as
t a b l ei n s e r t ,h e nb u t ta c o m b i n a t i so qn u a raeg a i n st ht e shownto adjustthetablestop.Usethe lowerwrench to hold
s a wb l a d ea ss h o w nT. h es q u a rseh o u l d f i t f l u s ha g a i n s t thenutstationary andthe upperwrench to turnthetable
thesawblade.lf thereis a gapbetween thetwo,loosen stop:clockwiseto lowerit; counterclockwise
to raiseit.
thetwotablelockknobsandmakesurethetableis seated Recheck thetableangle.
properly onthetablestopunder thetable. Tighten thelock
knobs. lf thegapremains, adjustthetablestop(step3).

84

omparedto thetablesawor radial
f
U arm sawthebandsawseems Iikea
relativelysafemachine.There is no
aggressive whine of a IVz-or 3-horse-
power motor turning a lO-inchsaw
blade;instead,thebandsawproducesa
cuiethum that somewoodworkers liken
tb the soundof a sewingmachine.And
with its bladeguardproperly set,no
morethan% inchof thebladeis exposed
abovethe table.
Still,it is impossibleto betoo careful
with anywoodworkingmachineandthe
band sawis no exception.Bandsaw
bladesoccasionally break,and when
SAFETY
they do they tend to fly to the right of
wherethe operatornormally stands'
Therefore,it is wiseto standslightlyto
the throat column side of the blade
wheneverpossible. If a bladesnaps,turn
offthe sawand do not openthewheel
coversto installa new bladeuntil the
wheelshavestoppedcompletely.
Althoughthebladeguardadequately
coversthe bladeabovethe table,there
is no guard at the level of the table
or underneathit. As a result,you need
to keepyour handsout ofthe holecov-
ered by the table insert and refrain
from reachingunder the tableto clear
debrisfrom the bladebeforethe blade
hascometo a stop.
Mostof theaccidentsthat occurwith
thebandsawarea resultofexcessive feed
pressureandpoor handposition.Feeda
workpiecesteadilyinto the blade,but
with a minimal amountof pressure'oth-
erwisetheblademayjam andbreak.For
mostcuts,feedthe workpiecewith one
hand,usingthe otherhand to guideit.
Keepyour fingersout of line with the
blade.Hook thefingersof thefeedhand
aroundan edgeofthe workpieceto pre-
vent them from slippinginto the blade
asyour hand nearsthe cuttingarea.

SAFELY
CUTTING SAW
WITHTHEBAND
TIPS
SAWSAFETY
BAI{D
o Except a blade,
whenchanging
keepthewheelcovers
always closed.
r Makesurethatsawbladesaresharp,
cleanandundamaged. Disconnect
thesawbeforechanginga blade,
o Standslightlyto the leftof the
bladewhencuttingat thefrontof the
bandsawtable.Donotstand,or allow
anyoneelseto stand,to the rightof
theblade.Thisis thedirection in
whichthebladewillfly if it breaks.
o Donotcut untilthebladeisturning
at fullspeed.
. Keepyourhandsawayfromthe
bladewhenthesawis on.Usea Push
stickor a jig to cut smallor nanow
oieces.
r Avoidmaking
turnsthataretootight
forthebladeyouareusing.
Thiscan
breaktheblade.
. Cutwiththe bladeguardno more
than% inchabovetheworkPiece.
r Beforebacking
outof a cut,turn
off the saw.
Settingtheupperguideassembly andbladeguard
Before turningonthesawto begina cut,settheupper guideassembly 7ainch
above theworkpiece. Useonehandto holdtheguideassembly in position
and
theotherhandto tightentheguideassembly lockknobbbove). Alternatively,
usetheworkpiece to levertheguideassembly up slightly,thentightenthe lock
knob.Setting theguideassembly ascloseto theworkpiece aspossible notonly
protectsyou fromthebladewhenthesawis running; it alsosupportstheblade
asit cuts,minimizing bladedeflection.
excessive

85
 BAND SAWBLADES
T umbermill bandsawsregularly use
I-r bladesaswideasl2 inchesto cut
logsinto boards.Blades for consumer-
gradesawsaremuchsmaller-generally
rangingfromrAetoVzinchwide. But
evenwithinthisrelatively narrowspec-
trum,choosing thebestbladeforthejob
isnotalways straightforward. Thereisno
singleall-purpose combination bladein
bandsawing, nor anybladespecifically
designed for rippingor crosscutting.
However, a woodworker shouldkeep
threebasicvariables in mind: tooth
design, bladewidthandbladeset.
Asillustrated atright,bandsawblades
for cuttingwoodareavailable in three
basictoothdesigns; eachdesigndoes
something betterthantheothers.The
chartbelowshowstheimportance of
selecting abladeof appropriate widthfor
cuttingcurves. In general, narrowblades
areusedfor cutswith intricatecurves,
whilewideblades areidealfor resawinq
thickstock.
Bladesetrefersto how muchthe
bladeteethareangledto theside,making
a sawcut-or kerf-that is widerthan
theblade.Thisreduces thechance of the
bladebinding in acut.Abladewithmin-
imalset,calledalightsetblade,produces
a smoothcutanda narrowkerf,but is
alsomoreproneto binding,whichlimits
itsabilityto cutatightcurve.A heavyset
blade-onewith greater set-cutsfaster
thanalightsetblade,andislesslikelyto BTADE
WPES
bind dueto its widerkerf.However, a
heavysetbladeleaves morevisiblecor-
rugated marlain thecutedgeof awork-
piece,aneffectcalled"washboarding."
Thereareenoughstresses on a band ?tandard Elade
sawbladeunderthebestof circum- For atrai6ht cuts acroas the
stances without addingto them by qrain or dia1onalto the qrain.
improperoperationof the machine. ldeal for intricate curveo or
Someof themanyavoidable causes cute whenthe oriantation of
of the bladeto the qrain chan4eo
bladebreakage includeforcinga blade durina the cut,
arounda curvethatis too tight for its
width,improperadjustment of theblade
guides, excessive
feedspeed or pressure,
dullbladeteeth,excessivebladetension,
insufficienttoothsetandrunningthe
5kip-tooth tslade
bladefor extended periodswithoutcut- 9o called becauseeveryother
ting.Tension andtrackablade(page 88) tooth ia miaeing.For lon7,
immediately afteryouinstallit. Incorrect qentle curvea with the qrain.
tensioncanshortenthelifeofa blade. Cuts fasten but more roulhly,
Thetypicalbandsawbladehasaloop than a standard blade.A1/+-
inch ekip-toobh blade with 4
lengthof several feet.To reducethe to 6 teeth per inch ie a gooa
amountof storage space,foldtheblade all-purpoae blade.
intothreeloopsasshownon page87.
Cleanabandsawblade regularlyto keep
it from gummingup with resinsand
pitch.Usea wireor stiff-bristled brush
dippedin solventsuchasturpentine, Hook-tooth Elade
ovencleaneror an ammonia-based For atraight cuta and curvea
cleaner. Beforestoringa bladeor for with the grain; the best blade
for rippinq or reaawing.
removingrust,wipethebladewith an
oilyrag.Forrust,usesteelwool.
Whenchoosing a bandsawbladefor a
contourcut,considerthetightestcurve
that thebladewill turn. (Jsethechart
at left asa roughguide.In general,the
narrowertheblade,the tighterthecurve,
giventhesamebladeset.But because
wider bladesresistunwanteddeflection,
a narrow bladeis not alwaysthe best
choice for a curvedcut.A goodruleof
thumbis to usethewidestblade for the
tightestcurverequired.Thelimitations
1/a"blade
on a blade'sturningcapacitycannotbe
(1/a"radiuo)
ignored.Forcinga bladearounda corner
that is tootight will causeit to bind in
thekerf,twistand,ultimately,snap.
86
 BAND SAW

A SAWBLADE
CHANGING
1 Removing theoldblade
I Raise theupperguideassembly to its
highestsettingandlockitin place(page
85).Backthethrustbearings andguide
blocksawayfromthe blade(page83).
Remove thetableinsertanduselocktng
pliersto remove thetableleveling pin.
Turnthetension handlecounterclockwise
to release thebladetension, thenopen
thewheelcovers. Wearingsafety goggles,
carefullyslidethebladeoutof theguide
assemblies (lefil,lhen
slipit offthewheels
andguideit through thetableslot.

Installingthenewblade
lf thebladeis coiled, uncoilit care-
fully.Bandsawblades storea consider-
ableamountof spring.Wearing safety
goggles andgloves, holdthe bladeat
arm'slengthin onehandandturnyour
faceawayasthebladeuncoils. Guide the
bladethrough thetableslotasshown,
holding it withtheteethfactng youand
pointing down.Slipthebladebetween
theguideblocks andin thethroatcolumn
slot,thencenter it onthewheels. Install
theIeveling pinandtableinsert. Tension
andtrackthe blade(page88).

FOR
A BTAOE
FOTDING STORAGE

Wearing safetygoggles andgloves, graspthe

blade with the teeth facing away from you;
pointyourleftthumbup andyourright
t h u m bd o w n( l ) . T h e n ,p r e s s i nYgo u r
t eb l a d e ,
r i g h tt h u m bf r r m l ya g a i n st h
twistthe blade by pivoting your righthand
upward. The blade will begin to formtwo
loopsQ). Without pausing or releasing the
blade, keep rotating it in the same direction
whilepivoting yourlefthandin theopposite
direction. blade
The willcoilagain, forming a
thirdloop (3).Secure the blade using string,
pipecleaners or plastictwistties.

87
 BAND SAW

TENSIONING
ANDTRACKING
A BLADE
1 Tensioning a blade
I Turnthetension handleclockwise
withonehandto raisethetopwheeland
increase tensionontheblade; deflect
the
bladefromsideto sidewiththeotherhand
to gauge thetension.Spintheupper wheel
byhandandgauge thetension at several
pointsalong theblade. Increasetheten-
sion(lefiluntilthebladedeflects about
% inchto eithersideof thevertical posi-
tion.Avoidovertensioning a blade;this
canleadto premature bladewearand
breakage. Undertensioning a bladewill
allowit to wander backandforthand
sideto sideas it cuts.

"fit-lfllltf
tlf llt-fli'
r) Tracking a btade
I Lower the upperguideassem- 5HO?TI?
bly,thenspintheupperwheelby
handto checkwhether thebladeis Roundingablade
tracking in thecenter of thewheel. To helpprevent,a newband saw
lf it is not,loosen thetilt knoblock bladefrom bindinain Lhe kefi of
a curvedcul, ueea silicon-
screw. Then,spinthewheelwith
carbideelone without oil No
o n eh a n dw h i l et u r n i n tgh et i l t roundile backedqe.Gluethe
knobwiththeotherhand(above)to slone ontn a ohop-madehan-
anglethewheeluntiltheblade dle.Ieneionand t rackthe
tracksin thecenter. Tocheckthe blade,Ihen turn on the saw.
tracking, closethewheelcovers Wearingeafety 6oqqlee,hold
andturnon thesaw,thenturnit the etnneagainoLNhe
aaainsLNhe backof 'lhe
off;adjustthetracking, if neces- bladeand elowlypivol
pivotthe
the otone.
otont Turnoff the
sary.Setthethrustbearrngs and eawafAera few minutee,lnadditionlo rouna-
guideblocks(page83). in6the blade,the etone willgmoothany bumVe
whereLhe bladeends are weldedtoaether,

88
 CUTTINGCURVES
l\ f uch of the curved wood that
lVl sru..r well-madefrrrnitureis cut
on theiand saw,whichcanproducevir-
tuallv anv contour.As shown in the
pageithat follow,you cut curvesin a
varietyof ways:by sawingfreehandalong
a cuttingline, by makinguseof a pattern
(page90)or by relyingon shop-builtjigs.
Whateverthe shapeof the curve,the
biggestchallenge in contour-cuttingis
avoidingdeadends,wheretheworkpiece
hits thethroatcolumnbeforetheendof
a cut.Whenthisoccurs,youhaveto veer
offthe cuttingline andsawto the edge
of theworkpiece, or turn offthe sawand
backthe bladeout of the cut. In either
case,you mustchoosea new starting
point for the cut. The keyto avoiding
suchpitfallsis to visualizethe cut before
vou makeit so you canselectthe best Usingabandsawanda
itarting point. If a deadend seems shop- made circle-cutting
unavoidable, markcuttinglineson both jiglike theoneshownon
sidesof the workpiece.Occasionally, page93,a woodworker
startinga cut on onesideof a workpiece cut thetop of this
and finishingit on the otheris the only Shaker-style
wayto makea cut. table.Thetable's
On many contour cuts,making a legswerealsoproduced
"release"
seriesof straight cutsthrough on thebandsaw.
wasteareasasillustratedbelowwill great
ly facilitatetheprocedure.Ifbacktracking markedline when cutting acrossthe
out ofa cut is unavoidable, try to start grain,but will tendto veeroffwhen fol-
with shortercutsandbackout of these, lowingthegrain.
ratherthan beginningwith the longer For greatercontrol and accuracy,
cuts.Forparticularlytight curves,drill a starta curvewith a cut that runs across
holeat the tightestcurvesand then cut the grain rather than with it. When
to theholealongthe markedcuttingline. enteringa curvefrom a straightcut,
One of the peculiarities of the band rememberto reducefeedspeedslightly
sawis that its bladewill readilyfollow a to helpensureprecision.

FREEHAND
A CURVE
CUTTING

release thecurved
cutsandstarting cut r) Finishing
thecut
1 Making
I Tokeepthe bladefrombinding in thekerfof a curved L fo cutthetightestpartsof thecurve,pivottheworkpiece
cut,makea series of straight cutsfromtheedgeof
release onthetable,shiftingyourhandposition asnecessary.Forthe
theworkpiece to thecuttingline.Theexactlocation of the cutshown, sawto theendof thecurvedportion of thecutting
buttryto makethemto thetightestpartsof
cutsis arbitrary, withyourlefthand.Pivottheworkpiece
line,feeding withyour
thecurve,asshown. Tostartthecurved cut,aligntheblade righthandto avoidtwistingtheblade;veeroffthecuttingline
justto thewastesideof thecuttingline.Feedtheworkpiece andsawto a release Keeptwofingers
cut,if necessary. of your
steadilyintothebladeusingyourrighthand,whileguiding it righthandbraced againstthetableto maintaincontrolof the
withyourlefthand(above). Makesurethatneither handis cut(abovd. Turntheworkpiece around andcut alongthe
in linewiththeblade. portion
straight of thecuttingline.

89
 BAND SAW

MAKING
MULTIPLE
CURVED
CUTS

r) Finishing thecut
L estnetrailing endof theworkpiece
1 Setting upthefenceandstarting thecut nears thetip of thesingle-point fence,
I Toproduce multiplecurved pieces withthesamewidthfroma singlework- s h i f ty o u rl e f th a n dt o t h e b a c ko f
piece,cutthefirstcurvefreehand (page89).Ihen,makea T-shaped single-point t h et a b l et o s u p p o rt ht ec u t p i e c e .
fencewitha rounded noseat the baseof theT.Cuta notchin thebasesothatthe Brace yourleftarmonthefenceand
guideassembly canbelowered to theworkpiece.(Note:Inthisillustration,
theguide hooktwofingers overtheedgeof the
assembly is raised
forclarity.)
Installtheripfenceandscrew thesingle-point
fence tableto keepyourarmclearof theblade
to it withthetip of thebaseparallelto theblade.Positiontheripfenceforthewidth hbove).Continue feeding withyour
of cut.Tostarteachcut,butttheworkpiece against
thetip of thesingle-point
fence righh t a n du n t i tl h ec u t i s c o m p l e t e d .
andfeedit intothebladeusingbothhands(above). Keeptheworkpiece squareto
thetip of thesingle-point
fenceandensure thatneither
handis in linewiththeblade.

PATTERN
SAWING
1 Setting upa double-point fence
I Tocutthesamecurvedpattern from
different workpieces, cutthefirstpiece
freehand (page89);then,useit asa tem-
plateto cut theotherpieces. Prepare a
double-point fencewitha shallow notch
a t t h ee n df o rt h e b l a d ea n da d e e o e r
notchbelowfortheworkpiece to slide
underit. Screw thefenceto an L-shaoed
support boardthathugsthesideof the
t a b l et,h e nc l a m pt h es u p p o rbto a r d
to thetable,making surethebladef its
intotheendnotchof thefence.Usestrips
of double-sided tapeasshownto fasten
eachworkpiece to thetemplate, ensuring
thatthestraight edges of the boards are
aligned. Trimtheworkpiece if necessary
to prevent it fromhittingthefencewhen
youmakeihe cut.

90
 BAND SAW

r) Liningupandstarting thecut
L Nignthetemplate andworkpiece so
thattheedgeof thetemplate is parallel
to
the blade(righil.To beginthe cut, use
yourlefthandto feedtheworkpiece into
theblade.Oncethebladebegins cutting,
applyslightpressurewithyourrighthand
to press
thetemplate squarelyagainstthe
endof thedouble-point fence.Keepthe
templatein contactwithbothpointsof
thefencethroughout thecut.

Q Completing thecut
r-J Continue feeding withyourIefthand
your
whileusing righthandto keepthe
template f lushagainst bothpointsof
the fence (left);Ihetemplateshould
ridealong thefenceasthebladecuts
through theworkpiece. Onceyouhave
p r y
f i n i s h etdh ec u t , t h ew o r k p i e c e
andtemplate apart.

9l
 BAND SAW

ROU N D IC
NOGRN E R S
upa quarter-circle-cutting jig
1 Setting
I Cuta sheetof %-inchplywood slight-
ly larger thanthesawtable,thenfeedit
intotheblade to cuta kerffromthemid-
d l eo f o n es i d et o t h ec e n t e rC. l a m o the
s h e e itn p o s i t i oansa n a u x i l i a tr ay b l e .
Aligna carpenter's square withtheback
oftheblade gullets andmarka lineonthe
a u x i l i atrayb l et h a ti s p e r p e n d i c ut o
lar
thekerf. Then,marka pivotpointonthe
tablethesamedistance fromtheblade
astheradius of therounded corners you
planto cut (right).Cutanotherplywood
sheet asa jig baseandmarka square at
onecorner, withsidesthesamelengthas
the radius of therounded corners. Borea
holefora screwatthemarked corner (the
spotmarked "pivotpoint"on the inset
illustration). Screwguidesto adjacent
edgesof thejig base, thenscrew thejig
base to theauxiliary table,centering the
screwholeoverthe pivotpoint.Leave
the screwloose enough to pivotthejig
onthetable.Round themarked corner of
thejig bypivoting it intotheblade(insef).

r-) Roundinga corner

L fo round thecorner of a workpiece,
turnoffthesawandseattheworkpiece
againsttheguidesof thejig.Turnon
thesaw,thenuseyourrighthandto
pivotthejig,feeding theworkpiece
intotheblade; yourlefthandshould
holdtheworkpiece snugly againstthe
guides.Round eachcorner of a work-
piecethe sameway(lefil.

92
 BAND SAW

CIRCLE.CUTTIT{G IIG
Forcuttingperfect circles, usea shop-
jig custom-made NoLch
builtcircle-cutting for 3/+"x 7"
yourbandsaw.Refer to theillustration Jiq baee
3/+"x20"x24"
at rightfor suggested dimensions.
R o u ta 7 a - i n c h - d e edovetail
l t h e m i d d l eo f t h ej i g
c h a n n ei n
base,thenusea tablesawto rip
a thin boardwitha bevelalongtwo
edgesto produce a barthat slides
smoothly in the channel. (Setthe
sawbladebevelanglebymeasuring
theangleof thechannel edges.) Cut
Dovetailchannel
outthe notchonthe bandsaw,then 3/a"x3/+"x24"
screwthe supportarmsto the under-
sideof thejig base,spacing them
farenough apartto hugthesidesof
the bandsawtablewhenthejig is corners of theworkpiece to keepit
placedon it. Boretwoscrewholes fromhittingtheclamps thatsecure Contact
throughthe bottomof the dovetail thejig to thetableastheworkpiece
channel in thejig base1 inchand'3 pivots.Makea release cut fromthe
inches fromthe unnotched end;also edgeof theworkpiece to the marked
boretwoholesintothe barasshown. circumference, thenveeroff to the
Toprepare a workpiece for circle- edge,Turntheworkpiece overand
cutting,markthecircumference and markthe contactpointwherethe
centerof the circleyouplanto cut bladetouchedthe circumference.
on its underside (farright).Then, Screwthe narrow sideof the
usethe bandsawto cut off the four barto the centerof theworkpiece

Cornercuta

/ throughoneof the bar'sholes.Do

nottightenthescrew;leaveit loose
enough to pivottheworkpiece. Then,
slidethe barintothechannel and
\ pivottheworkpiece untilthe marked
contactpointis buttedagainst
the blade.Screwthrough oneof the
holesin the jig baseto secure
thepivotbarto thebase.
Tousethe jig, pivottheworkpiece
intothe blade(left),feedingwithyour
righthandand guiding withyourleft
handuntilthecut is comoleted.

93
 STRAIGHTCUTS

w:'kf.T*?iil:#,ffi:*:llfillll-ffi
machines,
lll llll'llll
thebandsawis theidealshop
ll|lllllllll1llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
tool for resawing. Whereasa 10-inch
tablesawwouldtaketwo Dasses to resaw
9HO7Tt?
a 6-inch-wide board,a standardl4-inch Compenoaling
band sawcan makethe samecut in a for blade lead
singlepass. Tosetlhe anqleof
Because thebandsawbladeis relatively Ihe riofenceand enaure I
thin, it producesanarrowerkerf-and les acc uraf,e,obraiqhl culo
waste-than is possiblewith a tableor whenuoinqLherip fenceae
radialarmsawResawing canbedonefree- a 7uide,adjueLNhepooition
hand,but for moreprecision,usea pivot of lhe fenceon |he eawtable
blockanda featherboard (page96).The for eachbladein lhe shoo.Mark
bandsawisalsoanexcellent choicefor rio- a cuttinq lineon a boardthat is
parallelIo ite edqe.Then,cut haltway
pingnarrowor round stock(page95).
alonqthe linefreehand.Youmay
Because the thin, flexibleband saw haveIo anglethe boardeliqhLly to
bladehasa naturaltendencyto pulse keepIhe bladeon Ihe line;Lhisis lhe
backand forth and swayfrom sideto resull of bladelead.Marka lineon Ihe Lablealonq
sideimperceptiblyasit cuts,you will the edqeof the board.AlignIhe riVfenceparallel
needto keepyour machinecarefully wiLhthielinewhenever ueinqNhe eameblade.
tunedto getsmoothandaccurate cuts.
Withoutsuchfastidious maintenance,
crosscutting andrippingwill beimprecise.
Bandsawbladesalsohavea tendency
"lead,"
to or veerawayfrom a straight RIPPING
lineduringa cut.Thiseffectcanbemin-
imizedby reducingfeedspeedandusing
sharpbladesthat areproperlytensioned
and tracked(pageBB).
Although more pronouncedwith
narrowerblades,somebladeleadis gen-
erallyunavoidable. However,theleadof
a particularbladeis usuallyconstantand
predictable,so you can usuallyangle
your rip fenceto compensate for it.
Crosscutting is a safeprocedureon
thebandsaw.But remember,oneof the
shortcomings of this machineis that
crosscuttingislimited by thewidth of the
throat:typically10to 14incheson a two-
wheelconsumer-grade tool.

Ripping
a board
Position
theripfenceforthewidthof cut,adjusting
itsangleto compensate for
bladelead.Butttheworkpiece
against thefenceandfeedit steadilyintotheblade
withthethumbsof bothhands(above). Tomaintainpropercontrolof thecut,strad-
of yourlefthandandkeepthreefingers
dlethefencewiththefingers of yourright
handbraced onthetable.Makesurethatneitherhandis in linewiththeblade.

94
 BAND SAW

A SHOP-MADE RIPFENCE
Likea commercial fence,theripfence
shownat leftcanbeadjusted to com-
pensate for bladelead.First,fastena
wooden fenceto a support boardwith
a boltandwingnut.Theboardshould
restflushagainstthefrontedgeof the
sawtable.Ensure thatthefencewill
2"x2"x14" pivotwhenthewingnutis loosened.
Tousethefence,firstmarka line
onthetableforthe bladelead(page
94).Holdthesuppodboardin posi-
tion,thenloosen thewingnutto pivot
thefenceandalignitsedgewiththe
marked line.Tightenthewingnut,
thenclampthefencein place.Feed
shortor narrow stock,asshown,using
a pushstick.

Ripping a cylinder
Ripa cylinder using a shop-made V-block
jig.First,maketheV section of thejig
bybevelcutting(page98)a 2-by-2diago-
nally.Then,screw thetwocutpieces side-
by-side to a baseof solidwoodor 3/q-inch
plywood to forma V.Toprovide clearance
forthebladewhenusingthejig,make
a cut halfway across thecenterof theV
andthebase.
Tomake theripcut,sliptheblade through
t h ec l e a r a n c eu t ,t h e nc l a m pt h ej i g
to thetable.Feedthecylinder intothe
bladeusingthethumbsof bothhands
(left).Keepyourfingersawayfromthe
blade.Fora cylinder thatistoonarrow to
becutthrough fromthefrontof thetable
without endangering yourthumbs, stop
feeding midway through thecut.Then,
moveto thebackof thetableto oullthe
cylinder pasttheblade.

95
 BAND SAW

RESAWING
'l Using a pivotblockandfeatherboard
I Toresaw a board,makea pivotblock
fromtwopieces of woodloinedperpen-
dicularly, withtheshorter piecetrimmed
t o f o r ma r o u n d endo s el.n s t a tl lh er i o
fenceandscrewtheoivotblockto it so
t h a tt h er o u n d et d
i p i s a l i g n ew
d i t ht h e
blade(inset). Position theripfencefor
thewidthof cutandadjustitsangleto
compensate for bladelead(page94).
Tostartthecut,feedtheworkpiece into
thebladeusingthethumbs of bothhands;
useyourfingers to keeptheworkpiece
flushagainst thetip of thepivotblock.
A fewinches intothecut,stopfeeding
andturnoff thesaw.Clampa feather-
board to thetable,propping it ona wood
scrapto support themiddle of thework-
piece.Turnonthesawandcontinue the
cuI1efiluntilyourfingers reachthe
featherboard.

r) Gompleting thecut
Z - W t t nt h es a ws t i l lr u n n i n gm, o v e
t o t h e b a c ko f t h et a b l et o f i n i s ht h e
c u t .U s eo n eh a n dt o k e e pt h ew o r k -
p i e c es q u a r a t ep i v o b
e g a i n st h t lock
w h i l ep u l l i n g
i t p a stth eb l a d we i t ht h e
otherhand(right),

96
 BAND SAW

CROSSCUTTING
Using theripfenceasa guide
Position theripfenceforthelength of
cut,adjusting itsangle to compensate
for bladelead(page94). ButItheedge
of theworkpiece againstthefenceand
feedit intotheblade withthethumbs
of bothhands(left).Tomaintaincon-
trolof thecut,straddle thefencewith
thef ingersof yourlefthandwhilekeep-
ingthefingers of yourrighthandbraced
on thefaceof theworkoiece. Besure
thatneitherhandis in linewiththeblade.

Using themitergauge asa guide

Usea caroenter's souare to ensurethatthe
mitergauge is perpendiculartotheblade.
Marka cuttinglineontheleading edgeof
theworkpiece. Holdingtheworkpiece flush
against thegauge, alignthecutting linewith
theblade. Withthethumbof yourrighthand
hooked overthemitergauge, holdthework-
piece f irmlyagainstthegauge andthesaw
table;useyourlefthandto pushthemtogeth-
erto feedtheworkpiece intothebladetighil.
(Note:Donottryto compensate forbladelead
whenusing themitergauge forcrosscutting.)

Crosscutting a cylinder
Tocrosscut a cylinder, makea V-block asdescribed on page
95 butomitting theclearance cut.ButttheV-block against
thebladeandmarkthecenter of themiterslotonthebase
of theV-block. Screwa narrow strioof woodto the bottomof
theV-block to serve asa miterbar,aligning thescrews withthe
Miter bar centermark;countersink thescrews to keepthemfromscratch-
5 l a "x 3 / + "x 1 2 "
i n gt h es a wt a b l ew h e nu s i n tgh eV - b l o cGk .l u ea s a n d p a p e r
stripto theinside edges of theV-block to keeptheworkpiece
fromslipping during thecut.Insert themiterbarintothemiter
slotandseattheworkpiece in theV-block sothatit overhangs
theedgeof theV-block byanamount equalto thewidthof cut.
U s i n gy o u r i g h th a n dt o h o l dt h ew o r k p i e cf ier m l yi n t h e
V-block, pushit intotheblade(lefil.

97
 ANGLEANDTAPERCUTS
'f)
y settingthebandsaw'smitergauge
l)at an angleor tilting the sawtable
you canmakepreciseanglecuts,suchas
miters,bevelsandtapers.Fora mitercut,
usea slidingbevelto setthemiter gauge
to the desiredangle-the gaugecan
beturneduo to 90"-and thenmakethe
cut asyou would a standardcrosscut
(page97).For bestresults,makea test
cut, checkthe angleof the cut edge
with a squareandadjustthemitergauge
setting,ifnecessary.
For a bevelcut, tilt the tableto the
desiredangle-band sawtablestilt up to
45oto theright and 10oto theleft-and,
for a cut alongthe grain,installthe rip
fenceon therighrhandsideof theblade.
Thiswill positiontheworkpieceon the
"downhill"
sideof the blade,keeping
theworkpiece-andyour hands-from
slippingtowardthebladefor a safercut.
For moreaccuratecuts,adjustthe angle
of the rip fenceto compensatefor blade
Iead(page94} Then,cut thebevelasyou
would a standardrip cut. The simple
setuDsshownbelowcanbe usefulfor
makingmultiple miter and bevelcuts.
Thpercutscanbemadefreehand, but
for severalidenticalpieces,usinga jig
(page99)guarantees uniform results.

MAKING ANGLE
REPEAT CUTS

Miteringbothendsof a board Cuttingbevels

Loosen thehandle of themitergauge andsetthegauge to the Loosen thetablelockknobs andsetthesawtableto the
desired angle.Then,screwa boardto thegaugeasanexten- desiredangle.Screwa boardto themitergaugeasanexten-
sionandcutofftheendto theleftof thesawblade. Gluea sionandcutofftheendof it. Usetheextension asa guide
sandpaper stripto theextensionto minimize thechance of to cutthefirstbevel. Tocutthesecond bevel,marka cutting
theworkpiece's slipping during
a cut.Usetheextension asa lineontheleading edgeof theworkpiece. Then,holding the
guideto cutthefirstmiter,thenmakethemitercutonone workpiece f lushagainst the mitergauge,alignthecutting
endof a stopblock.Tocutthesecond miter,marka cutting linewiththebladeandbutta stopblockagainst theendof
lineontheleading edgeof theworkpiece. Holding thework- theworkpiece. Clamp thestopblockto theextension,then
pieceflushagainst themitergauge, alignthecuttinglinewith hookthethumbof yourrighthandoverthemitergauge to
thebladeandbuttthestopblockagainst theendof thework- holdtheworkpiece thegauge
f irmlyagainst andthetable.
piece.Clampthestopblockandworkpiece to theextension, Useyourlefthandto pushthemitergauge andworkpiece
thenhookthethumbof yourrighthandoverthemiiergauge togetherthrough thecut (above).
to holdtheworkpiece firmlyagainstthegauge andthetable.
Use your lefthand to feed theworkpieceintothe blade(abovd.

98
 BAND SAW

TAPER
MAKING CUTS
Using a commercial taperjig
Install the rip fence to therightof the
b l a d et,h e n h o l dt h et a p e jri g f l u s h
against the fence. Pivot thehinged arm
jig
of the until the taper scale indicates
thecutting angle-indegrees or inches
perfoot.Marka cuttrng lineonthelead-
ingedgeof theworkprece, thenseatit
against theworkstop and hinged arm.
Position thefence so that the cutting line
ontheworkpiece is aligned with the saw
blade, thenadjusttheangleof thefence
to compensate for bladelead(page94).
Tomakethecut,usethethumbsof both
handsto slidetheworkpiece andthe
j i g a sa u n i ta c r o stsh et a b l ef,e e d i n g
theworkpiece intotheblade(left).Usethe
fingers of your lefthandto holdthework-
pieceagainst thejig,ensuring thatnei-
t h e rh a n di s i n l i n ew i t ht h eb l a d e .

TAPER JIG
Marka linewiththedesired taperontheworkpiece, then
placethe workpiece on a boardwitha perfectly square
edge,aligning the markedlinewiththe board's edge.
Tracealongthe longedgeof ihe workpiece to markan
angled cuttinglineontheboard.Sawalongthecutting
linefreehand, stopping fromtheendof thecut
2 inches
at the bottomof the board.Turnthe board90" to cut out
the lip.Tousethe boardasa jig,setupthe rip fence
to therightof theblade, thenholdthejig flushagainstthe
fence.Aligntheedgeof thejig'slip withthesawblade
and lockthefencein position, adjusting its angleto
compensate for bladelead@age94. Seattheworkpiece
against thejig.Usethethumbsof bothhandsto slidethe
workpiece andthejig asa unitacross thetable,feeding
theworkpiece intothe blade.Usethefingersof yourleft
handto holdtheworkpiece thejig,ensuring
against that
neither handis in linewiththeblade.

99
 CUTTINGDUPLICATEPIECES

I n effective methodfor producing saw'suniquecapacityto cut throughvery accidentallystrikesa nail or a clamp.A

A multiplecopiesof thesameshapeis
to fastenlayersofstocktogetherandcut
thepiecesin oneoperationwith a tech-
niqueknownasstacksawing.Not only
is it fasterthancuttingall thepiecessep-
arately;it alsoensures that eachpieceis
a precise copyofthe originalpattern.The
methodis possible because of theband
thickwood.With a 6-inchdeothof cut a
bandsawcancut*rou$ asmanyasei$t
piecesof %-inchplywoodin a singlepass.
Tobond thelayersof woodtogether
in preparationfor thecut,somewood-
workersdrivenailsthroughthe waste
area;othersuseclamps.Bothmethods,
however, canbe hazardous ifthe blade
saferwayis to usedouble-sided tapeto
hold thepiecestogethertemporarily.
A stopblockon thesawtablewill also
savetime when you are crosscutting
repeatedlyto turn out duplicatepieces.
With the setupshownbelow,you can
speedthejob of cuttinga cylinderinto
identicalslices.

TWOSETUPS
FORDUPLICATE
PIECES

Stacksawing
Fasten thepieces together in a stack, thenmarka cutting
lineonthetoppiece. Before turning onthesaw,makesure
thatthe bladeis perfectly square withthesawtable(page
84);anyerrorwill becompounded fromthetopto the bot-
tomof thestack.Tocutthestack,firstmakeanynecessary
release culs(page89. Forthecurveshown, aligntheblade
justto thewaste sideof thecutting line,thenusethethumbs Using a stopblock
o f b o t hh a n d tso f e e dt h es t a c ks t e a d i layl o n gt h em a r k e d Makea V-block witha miterbarasyouwouldto crosscut
palh (above). Keepyourfingersontheedgesof thestackand a cylinder (page97).Toproduce several identical pieces,
braced onthetableto keepthemsafely awayfromtheblade. insert theV-block miterbarintothemiterslotandclamoa
stopblockto thetablesothatthedistance between thestop
b l o c ka n dt h eb l a d e q u a ltsh ed e s i r ecdu t - o flfe n g t hF. o r
eachcut,seattheworkpiece in theV-block andbuttit against
thestopblock.Usingyourrightto holdtheworkpiece firmly
in theV-block, pushthemtogether to feedtheworkpiece
intothe bladehbove).

r00
 BAND SAW

BAND SAWTOINERY
I hallmarkof finecraftsmanship, the
A dovetailjoint iscommonlyusedby
cabinetmakers to join togethercornersof
better-qualitydrawersandcasework. The
dovetail'sinterlockingpinsandtailspro-
vide a joint that is not only strongand
durablebut visuallypleasingaswell.
Cuttingdovetailjoints on the band
sawoffersadvantages overusingeither
handtoolsor otherpowertools.Forall
the artistryand uniqueness ofhand-
crafteddovetails, thehand-toolapproach
is a laboriousprocess. And whilea router
will makequickwork of thejob, it often
Dovetailjoint
producespinsandtailsthat areuniform
in sizeandspacing.Theresultis a strong
joint but onelackingin character.
Cutting dovetailson the band saw
offerspower-tool-qpespeedandpreci-
sion.And asthefollowingpagesshow it
to tailora dovetailjoint on the
is possible
band sawwith the sameflexibility you
mightbringto a handmade joint.
Thesequence ofoperationsis straight-
forward:First,outlinethepatternof pins
on oneendofa pin board.Then,usea
simplesetupto cut all the pins on both
endsofeachoin boardoneafteranother.
Oncethe *aite is chiseledout, you can
usethe finishedpieceasa templatefor
outlinins the tailson the tail boards.

JOINT
A D()VETAIL
MAKING

Shoulderline

1 Marking thepins
I O u t l i nteh ep i n sf o rt h e1 o i n ft o
, l l o w i nt h
ge
sequence shownin thediagram at left.First,mark
t h eo u t s i dfea c eo f e a c hw o r k p i e cwei t ha b i gX .
Then,seta cuttinggauge to thethickness of thestock
a l i n ea l l a r o u ntdh ee n d so f t h ew o r k -
a n ds c r i b e
pieces to marktheshoulder linesof thepins.Next,
usea dovetail square to outline thepinsonanendof
oneworkpiece, starting withhalf-pins at eachedge;
youwantthenarrow sidesof the pinsto beon the
outside faceof theworkpiece. Outline theremaining
pins(above), marking thewastesections withan X as
yougoalong. Therearenorigidguidelines forspacing
thepinsof a dovetail joint,butspacing themfairlyeven-
ly,asshown,makes for a strongandattractive joint.

101
 BAND SAW

r2) Setting upthetableand

L nakingthefirstcut
Cutoneedgeof eachpinwiththesaw
tabletilteddownward to theright.Toset
upthetable,loosen the lockknobsand
setthetableangleto matchtheedgeof
thedovetail square (lnsefl,thentightenthe
l o c kk n o b sS. e tu p t h e r i pf e n c ea n d
screw a wooden L-shaped auxiliary fence
to it. Then,withtheworkpiece onthesaw
tableoutside-face up,alignthemarked
linefortheright-hand edgeof thefirst
h a l f - o iwni t ht h es a wb l a d eB. u t tt h e
auxiliary fenceagainst theworkpiece. To
make thecut,feedtheworkpiece into
t h e b l a d eu s i n gt h et h u m b so f b o t h
hands(left);pressthe workpiece flush
against theauxiliary fencewithyourleft
handandstraddle thefencewithyour
righthand.Stopthecutandturnoffthe
sawwhenthebladereaches theshoulder
lineonthefaceof theworkoiece.

Q Using a stopblockforrepeat cuts

\,, Withthe bladebuttedagainst the
shoulder line,holda stopblockagainst
theworkoiece andscrewit to theauxil-
iaryfence(ilgh).fo cuttheright-hand
edgeof thefirsthalf-pin at theotherend
of theworkpiece, rotatetheworkpiece
1 8 0 ' a n dh o l di t f l u s ha g a i n st ht ea u x i l -
iaryfence.Then,makethecutthesame
wayyoucut thefirsthalf-pin, stopping
whentheworkpiece touches thestop
block.Rotate theworkpiece 180' again,
aligntheblade withthemarked linefor
t h er i g h t - h a nedd g eo f t h e n e x tp i n ,
butttheauxiliary fenceagainst thework-
pieceandcutto thestopblock.Continue,
shifting theposition of theripfenceasnec-
essary andcuttingtheright-hand edgeof
eachpinonbothendsof theworkpiece.

r02
 BAND SAW

Cuttingthepins'left-hand edges
't,{ Cuttheleft-hand edgeof eachpin
withthetabletilteddownward to theleft.
Usethedovetail square to setthetable
angle;remove thetablestop,if neces-
sary.Install theripfenceto theleftof the
bladeandscrew fenceto it.
theauxiliary
Then,cuttheleft-hand edges of theptns
thesamewayyoucut the right-hand
edges. Next,usea chiselto remove the
wastebetween the pins.Withthework-
pieceoutside-face upona worksurface,
strikethechiselwitha wooden malletto
cut through thewoodjustto the waste
sideof theshoulder line.Then,holdthe
chiselsquare to theendof theworkpiece
to splitoff eachwastesection in thin
Remove
layers. aboutone-half of each
section,thenturntheworkpiece overto
remove theotherhalf. Finally, parethe
edges of thepinswiththechisel.

f, outliningthetails 1i cuttingthetails
downona worksurface.
r.,l Setthetail boardoutside-face L.l Returnthetableto thehorizontal position
to cutoutthe
Then,holding thepinboard end-downonthetailboardwith wastebetween thetails.Cutthewastebeside thehalttails
itsoutside faceawayfromthetail board, alignthe pins at the edges
of the workpiece with two cuts.For
intersecting
withtheendof thetail board.Usea penciltomarktheout- waste between nibble
tails, at thewaste withthe blade,piv-
lineof thetailsontheendsof eachtail board(above),lhen oting theworkpiece as necessary to avoidcuttingintothe
markthewastepieces. tails(above).
Test{it the joint and make anynecessary
adiustmentswitha chisel.

103
 DruLLPRESS

woodworkingshops,r,r

ii'taiirl|'.ssa]sod.-,esdut''as.a..@,Somemachinest911u'..i{ol
*na.i*d.ortiserandyetJespite I
ItSvervll*rrr'-tlt1i.\c5xPLrl[\'als\t I L 7-
E-I f L-
rerativervinexpeneive*#il"'#"'$:
a
thismachine
E - E ''il
consider
sitionforthewoodworkerwithlirn-
- ffi'|f*I?tl.#fflJl;f,l.;: a rangeol
of
it J rpu.. undbudget. Althoughthedrill press isusedprimarilytobore andtwo.belts,.providing
Onefeature the
that"distinguishes holes, it can ako perform otherwoohuorking 12 speeds in all.
drill fres fromotherwo|dworking tasl<s,suchai sandingcurvedsurfaces. Drill.presses areratedaccording
.*[in.t is its speedvariabiliti o the distance fromthecenterof
Wh.r.6 po*., toolrsuchastablesaws are preset atthe factory the chuck to the column, a factor that determines thewidest
to op.tuti ata singlespeed, thedrill pressian be adjusted for workpiece a machine is capable of handling. A l5-inch drill
ifr"pU athand.t[. rang.for a typiial Yz-horsepower motor press,for example, can cut ahole through the of
center a work-
extends from400to 4500ipindle revolutions perminute(rpm). piecethatis 15inchesin diameter. Thedistance fromthechuck
Aauingtheabilityto varythespeedallows,you to borewith io the column is onehalf that diametet or TVzinches.
presses for thehomeworksloparein the11-to
eqoalJfficiency throughJoftwo6a andhardwood, rangingin Yqrt drill
thickness fromafractiin of aninchto 3 or 4 inches thick.end 16-inchrange and arepoweredby V+-to 3/+-horsepower motors.
asyouseelateron pagel 15,eventhisouter limit of drilling Laygr.machines-20-inch models, for example-are more
J.fth .unU.clcumueited bymeans of asingle shop-made jig. suitablefor production shops and professional woodworkers.

Equippedwith theappropriatejigsand accessories, thedrill

press canborea varietyof holeswith a precision
unmatched
by hand tools.Here,a shop-made jig allowsa woodworker
to drill a seriesof angledholesin a rail. Theholeswill house
and concealthescrausthat connecttherail to a tabletop.

105
 ANATOMYOF A DRILL PRESS

T-\ till presses comein various models weightof thedrillpress isnormallyade-

LJ andsizes, butthebasic design isthe
same:A steelcolumn3 or soinchesin
diameter servesasabackbone to support
atableandamotorthatdrivesa spindle.
Thespindleisattached to ageared chuck
whose jawsgriptheshankof adrill bit or
oneof a varietyof otheraccessories.
On somemodels, spindlesareinter-
changeable. Thestandard spindleismat-
edto a chuckwith aVz-inchcapacity,
whichmeansthatitsjawscanaccept
shanks ofdrill bitsandaccessories upto
Vzinchindiameter. Otherspindles allow
ttredrill press
to acceptrouterbits,mold-
ingcuttersandmortisingattachments.
The columnis helduprightby a
heavybase,usuallymadeof castiron.
Forextrasupportandstability, thebase
canbeboltedto theshopfloor,but the
quateto keepit stationary.
Thetwomostcommontfpesof drill
presses arethe floor modeland the
benchvariety.Thedistinguishing feature
isthelengthof thecolumn:Floormodels
havecolumnsfrom66to 72incheshigh,
whereas benchmodelsranqefrom36
to 44inches.
Sincethetableof a drill presscanbe
positionedanywhere alongthelengthof
thecolumn,floormodelscanhandle
longerworkpieces.However, youcan-to
someextent-overcome thelimitations
of a bench-model drill presssimplyby
swingingaround the head of the
machine. With the spindleextended
beyondtheedgeoftheworkbench, the
effective
columnlengthis thedistance
fromthechuckto theshopfloor.

Whilemostdrill presses havetablesthat tilt, theradialarm drill

pressfeaturesa headthat rotatesmorethan9tr right and left.
Suchtoolscanperformjobsimpossible on conventional drill presses,
includingdrilling throughthecenterof a j2-inch-diametercircle.

DRIttPRESS
BELTS
ANDPULTEYS

Jaakahaft pulley Eelt Motor pulley

lntermediatepulleyconnect-
ed to epindlepulley eo ae to
increaaethe ranqe of apeede;
drivenby motor pulley
Tranaferapower from
motor pulley to jackahaft
pulley;(other belt trana-
fere powerfrom jackahaft
to epind.lepulley)
Drivenby motor: connected by
belt.to drivejackahaft pulley.
Features different otepe to
providea ranqe of epeede

106
 DRILL PRESS

BelttenElon lever
)lideo motor alon7
Belt tenaion loak knob
Belt guard track to alackenor
Locks motor in poaition
Protects operato r's fi n- tenaion belta
once belt tenaion i6 6et
6ero from turninq belto

Onloff awitah
Kemovabletoq-
qle prevento
accidental
6tarD-up

Quill
Movablealeeve
attached to apindle
and chuck; quill travel
determines maximum
d rillinq d epth--'ty pi'
cally,4 incheo
Depth-etop loak handle
9pindle For aettinj drillinT depth; when
Hold s chuck; i nt erchan6ea ble locked,preventz quill from
to accept variouaaccesaoriea deacendin7past a oet Point
auch as router bita
Feed lever
Chuak Lowerequill; adjuotable coil
Holdadrill bita and aacee' apri nq a uto mati ca IIy retu r ne
soriea for drillin4: ti1ht' leverto original poaition
ened with a qeared key

Tablelook
Holda table in fixed
position on column

Tableheight
adJuatment
handle
Table
Raiaadand loweredto accom-
modate workpieceand drillinq Table rotation
depth; mosttablea can be Ioak handle
tilted up to 45" laft and ri1ht Allowstableto be
for borinq an1led holea tumed on its axia Column
to position work- Supporte table and
piece undar opindle head of drill preaa

to7
 SETTINGUPAND SAFETY
T ikeanystationary powertool,the
I-l drill press
hasto bekeptin adjust-
mentto performwell.Beforeswitching
a machineon,checkit carefully. Make
sureall nutsandlockknobsaretight-
ened.Evenif youboughtyourmachine
new,thereisno guarantee thatit isper-
fectlyreadyto run.Checkregularly that
thetableissquare to thespindle.
Therearealsoadjustmentsthathaveto
bemadedepending ontheparticular job
athand,beginningwithsettingthe&illing
speed.Thespeed is changed eitherby
turningaknoborbyshiftingtheposition
of thebelt-or belts-thatconnect the
motorpulleyto thespindlepulley.
Thedrill presshasa reputation asa
"safe"
machine, andthereisnodenying
thatmachines suchasthetablesawand
jointeraccount for a greater
numberof
seriousaccidents.Nevertheless,it ispos-
siblefor evenseasoned woodworkers to
haveaccidents onthedrill press. Unlike
thetablesaw,a drill presswill not kick
back,but it cangrip a smallworkpiece
andsendit spinningoutof controlif the
stockisnot clamped properly.

SETTING
THEDRILLING
SPEED
Delt tenaion
Changing beltpositionandseftingbelttension
Loosen thebelttensionlockknobandturnthe belttension
levercounterclockwise to shiftthemotortoward thespindlepul-
leyandslacken thebelts.Tosetthedesired rpm,position each
beltonthecorrect stepsof thepulleys, takingcarenotto pinch
yourfingers. (lf yourdrillpresshasa drillingspeedchartonthe
insideof thebeltguard,referto it in selectingthecorrect speed
forthedrillbit diameter youwillbeusingandforthetypeand
thickness of stock.)Tosetthe belttension, turnthetension
leverclockwise whilepressing the beltconnected to the motor
pulleyuntilit flexesabout1 inchoutof line(left).Tighten the
belttension lockknob.Donotovertension thebelt;thiscan
reduce beltandpulleylife.Undertensioned beltsmayslip.

SOUARING
THETABTE
Aligningthetable
Install
an8-inch-long steelrodin the
chuckasyouwoulda drillbit (page111),
thenraise thetableuntilit almost touch-
estherod.Butta trysquare against the
rodasshown; thebladeshouldrestflush
againstthe rod(right).lt thereis a gap,
remove thealignment pinunderthetable
usinga wrench (inset).Loosen thetable
lockingbolt.Swivel thetableto bringthe
rodflushagainst thesquare, thentighten
thelocking bolt.(Sincetheholes forthe
alignment pinwill nowbeoffset,do not
reinstallthepin.Thelocking boltis suffi-
cientto holdthetablesecurely in place.)

r08
 DRILL PRESS

Makesureyou arefamiliarwith your

machinebeforeattemptinganywork.
lli lllllll l]llllllllltllllllltlllllllllllllllll]llllllllllllllllllllll
Run through the drilling procedure
beforeyou turn on the machine,and 1HO?Tt?
neverignoretheinnervoicethatwarns
you somethingmay be amiss.Stop, Cheaking table alignment
TocheckwheNher the table ie
checkthesetupagainandcontinuethe
aauareto Nheepindle,makea 9Oo
operationonlywhenyou arecertainthat bdndat eacheid of a \2-inchlenqNh
whatyou aredoingis safe. of wirecoaNhanqer.
lnserLoneend of lhe
wirein lhe chuckand
adjuet LheNable
h e i q h t ' u n ttihl e
ot'herend of the
wirejuol Nouchee
Nhetable,Rotat'elhe wire;
iNehouldbarelyecra?ethe table at
all ooinbedurinatrherotaLion.lfnor,
,"^or" the aliqi,ment' pinunderlhe
t able,loosen NheLablelockingbolt
and ewivelLhetable Nooquareit'.
TiqhtenLhe lockinqbolL.

OFCTAMPING
THEIMPORTANCE
Ghoosing-or making-the rightclamp
Toprevent thedrillbrtfromgrabbing
theworkpiece andspinning it uncon-
trollably,always clampsmallor irregu-
larlyshaped stocksecurely to thetable
before boring intoit. Whena conven-
tionalclamping setupdoesnotwork-
asforthecylinder shown-improvise.
Cutopposing V-shaped wedges outof a
n dc l a m pt h ec y l i n d ei nr
h a n d s c r ea w
thehandscrew, thenuseC clamPs to
secure thehandscrew to thetable(/eff).

109
 BITSAND ACCESSORIES
-f h. rangeof accessories forthedrill
I press isa testament to itsversatility.
In additionto a varietyof sanding
attachments, thereare alsobits for
&illittg t/az-inch holes,fly cuttersfor cut-
ting8-inchcircles andplugcutters for
makingplugsanddowels. COLUMN-M()UNTED
ACCESS()RY
RACK
Holefor 1%"No.B ecrew
Mostdrillingis donewith twistor
brad-point bits.Bothconsist of acylindri- Diameterof drill
calshanhwhichisheldin thejawsof the preoocolumn
chuc(andspiral-shaped grooves, known
asflutes.Thegrooves allowwastechips
andsawdust to escape fromthehole,pre-
ventingoverheating. Theactualcuttingis
donebyeithersharpspursor acuttinglip.
As with anycuttingtool,drill bits
mustbesharpto workwell.Andlikea
sawblade,adrill bit isactually moredan-
gerous whenit is dull.A bluntbit has
troubledigginginto a workpiece and
tendsto heatup quickly,scorching the
woodandthebit. Overheating canalso
resultif drill bitsaredirtyor gummed up. Jiq aupport
Cleanthemwith finesteelwool.
Foranyaccessory youinstallin the
drill press, besureto remove thechuck Tosavetimesearching forchuckkeys eterasyourdrillpresscolumn. Then
keyaftertightening thejaws;otherwise, anddrillbits,usea shop-madestor- sawonepiecein halflengthwise to
yourisklaunching a dangerous projec- agerack.Cuttwoidentical keyhole- serveasthejig support. Theother
tileonceyou turnonthemachine. Some shapedpiecesof 3/q-inch
plywoodto piecewillbethejig top;sawit across
keyshavea springat the endof the thedimensions shownabove. Usea thecircularcutout.Boresixscrew
gearedsegment. Pressure is required sabersawor copingsawto cuta cir- holesforjoiningthetopto itssup-
wheninserting thekey;onceyouletgo, cleoutof eachpiecethesamediam- ports.Then,boreholesintothework-
thekeyejectsautomatically.

A RANGE
OFBITSAI{DACCESSORIES

MuMapurbit Foretner bit FIycutter

Alao knownae sawDootLt Boreo perfeotly AIao knownaa a circle cutter, Cuts
bit; borea clean, amooth, flat-bottomed holeafrom 11Ato B incheoin diam-
nearly flat-bottomed holes.Razor rim eter. Cutter blade ie adiuoted for
holes.Rim does not guidaabit.while diffe rent diametera by ioooeninq
heat up ae quickly chippero cut. a oetacrew and elidinq the
aa Foretner bit. cutter blade in or out.

Twiat blt tsmd-point bit

The leaat expeneive Froducescleaner holee
of oommonlyuaed than twiat bit; doee not
drill bita; frequently "
akate" offJine. Featuree
sold in aata with a a aharpenedcenterpoint
ran6e of aizea, and two cuttinq epur6.
 DRILL PRESS

A DRILLBIT
CHANGING

Removing andinstalling a bit

Toremove a bit,usethechuckkeYto
loosen thechuckjawswhileholding the
bitwithyourotherhand. Slipthebitout
ingsurface of thejigto holdyourbits Youwillneeda helper to holdthe of thechuck. Toinstall a bit,openthe
andaccessories shank-end down fourpieces of thejig in placewhile jawsaswideasnecessary, theninsert
(above,nghf).Somewoodworkers youscrewthemtogether. Before t h es h a n ikn t h ec h u c kS. t e a d y itnhge
findit usefulto havea smallrecepta- doingthat,however, makesurethat bitto center it in the1aws, tighten the
cleforoddsandendsonthejig;a thejig is turnedsothatit doesnot c h u c kb yh a n dF. i n i sthi g h t e n i nu gs i n g
Forstner bit willmakequickworkof obstruct the rotation of thedrill thechuckkey@bove), f ittingit in turn
cutting sucha hole. press's quilllever. intoeachholein thechuck.Remove
thechuckkey.

Pluq cutter Hole saw

For makin7omall For borin4 larqe
dowelaand bapered holea-ty pica IIy, Ia rqer
pluqeto.conc.eaI than 1%inchea.Available
counterbored gcrewa. in modelawith fixeddtame-
ter or with adjuetabte
bladea,Fitot bit centera
cuttinq edqea,

Dowelcutter
For cuttinq dowels
up to 3 inchealong
4 Planer head
into end 4rain.Ae
cutter bores into Spade bit I For ourfacin7 woodand formin4
rabbeta. The 3%-inch-dia meter
waod,dowelridea For boringholeoup to 1%inch-
up cutter barrel. ea.tharp centerpoint7uideo head holdathree hiqh-epeed
penetration, whileflat blade eteel cuttera that can trim
'elices up to'/aoinch with eaahpaee,
into workpieceand
removeowaote,
 STRAIGHTAND ANGLEDHOLES
f, quippedwith itstiltabletable,thedrill
L presscanboreholesat virtuallvanv
angle.Thesteeperthe angle,however,the
moredifficultit isfor abrad-pointor twist
bit to dig into the stockwithoutskating.
Choosea Forstneror multispurbitwhen
drillingholesat averysteepangle;both of
thesecuttingaccessories featureguiding
rims that providecleanerpenetration.
TECHNIOUES
F(|RBASICDRILLING
Beforedrilling,makesurethatthe
drillbit islinedup overtheholein the
table:Otherwise, youriskdamaging not
onlythebit but alsothetableitself.For
furtherprotection, somewoodworkers
alsoclampa pieceof woodto thedrill
presstable.
Forgoodresults youwill needto find
therightcombination of drillingspeed
Ji4 baoe
7" x 20"
tt2
(page108)and feedpressure-the rateat
whichyoulowerthebit into thestock.
Toomuchspeedor feedpressure can
cause burnmarksontheworkpiece and
biq too littlewill dull thebit'scutting
edge.Withthepropercombination, you
shouldbeableto cutsteadily without
havingto put unduepressure on the
ouillfeedlever.
Setting upanddrilling
Toavoidsplinteri ng-particu larlywith
plywood or particleboard-clamp a sup-
portboardto thetableandsetthework-
pieceontopof it. Marka starting point
ontheworkpiece andalignthebitover
it. Rotatethefeedleversteadily to feed
thebitintotheworkpiece;useonlyenough
pressure to keepthebit cutting(/effl.
Retract thebitoccasionally to clearthe
holeof woodchips,andif themachine
labors orthewoodstaftsto smoke, reduce
thefeedoressure or cut backonthe
drillingspeed(page108).
Toborea rowof uniformly spacedholes,
makea shop-made jig to systematize
the
task,followingthedimensions provided
at left.Screwthefenceto thejig base,
flushwithoneedge,thenattacha wood
blockat the centerof thefenceto serve
asa dowelholder.
Tousethe jig, set it on thetableof
yourdrillpress, thenmarkstarting points
on theworkpiece forthe firsttwoholes
in theseries.Seattheworkpiece against
thefenceof thejig andposition thejigto
alignthe bit-preferably a Forstner-over
thefirstdrillingmark,Butta guideblock
against thebackof thejig andclampit to
 DRILL PRESS

BORING HOTES
STOPPED
Setting thedrilling depth
Fora stopped or blindhole-onethat
doesnotpasscompletely through a
workpiece-mark a lineat thedesired
depthof the holeontheedgeof the
stock. Then,lower thequilluntilthetip
of thedrillbit reaches themarked line.
H o l dt h eq u i l ls t e a dwy i t ho n eh a n d
and,forthemodelshown, unscrew the
denth-stoo lockhandle withtheother
handandturnit counterclockwise asfar
as it willgo (left).Tighten thehandle.
Thiswillkeep thedrillpress fromdrilling
anydeeper thanthedepthmark.

thetable.lf youareboring stopped holes,

setthe drillingdepth(above). Borethe
f irsthole,thenslidethejig alongthe
guideblockandborea holethrough the
dowelholder. Fita dowelthrough the
holein theholder andintotheholein the
workpiece. Slidethejig along theguide
blockuntilthesecond markonthework-
pieceis aligned underthebit.Clampthe
jigto thetableandborethehole.
Toboreeachof theremaining holes,
retract thedowelandslidethe work-
p i e c ea l o n gt h ej i g ' sf e n c eu n t i lt h e
doweldropsintothelastholeyoumade
(right),thenboreanotherhole.

113
 DRILL PRESS

ANGLED
BORING HOLES
Settingthetableangle
Install
a straight8-inch-longsteelrodin the
chuckasyouwoulda drillbit,thenusea pro-
tractorto setthedrilling
angleyouneedona
slidingbevel. Loosenthetableasyouwould
to squareiI (page108. fhen buttthe bevel
againstthesteelrodandswivel thetableuntil
)teel rod thetablerestsflushagainst thehandle of the
beuel(lefl. Remove the rodfromthechuck
andtighten thelockingbolt.Afterinstalling
)lidin7 bevel thedrillbit,setthedrillingdepth(page113)
to preventthebitfromreaching thetable.
Foraddedprotection, clampa pieceof wood
to thetable.

TILTING
TABLE
JIG

Toboreangled holes
without tilting
thetable,usea tiltingjig,shop-
builtfrom7+-inch plywood.Referto
the illustration
aboveforsuggested
dimensions. Connect thejigtopto
the baseusingtwosturdybutt
hinges. Cuta %-inch-wide slotin
the supportbrackets,
thenscrew
eachoneto thetop;secure the
to the basewithwingnuts
brackets
andhanger bolts.
Tousethejig,centerit underthe
spindle.
Clamp thebaseto thetable.
Loosenthewingnutsandsetthe
angleof thejig asyouwouldthe
table(sfepabove), butwithout
removing thealignment pinor
looseningthetablelocking bolt.
Tightenthewingnuts,clampthe
workpiece to the jig andborethe
hole(above,right).

tt4
 DRILL PRESS

DEEPHOLES
BORING

Exceeding thequillstroke
Themaximum length thatthequill
canbeextended-known
stroke-limits
asthequill
mostdrillpresses to
filllllllllllllllll]ilIllllllll]llllfilllllllllllllill llj]llllllllllll
borinn g o m o r et h a n4 i n c h eds e e p
at a time.Todrilla deeper hole,use 1HO?TI?
anextension bitor,if the holeis less
A eimplecenterfinder
ihantwicethequillstroke, perform
Cul a 90"wedqeout of
the operation in twostages, asshown
a7-by-12-inch pieceof
above. First,clampa scrapboard to 3/o-inch
olvwood. 3 crew
thedrillpress tableandborea guide a 12-inchllonq l-by-Z
holeintoit. Then,clamptheworkpiece to Ihe pieceoo lhat
to the boardandboreintoit asdeeply onelonqed4eof the
asihequillstroke willallow. Remove 1-W-2bieeclsthe
theworkoiece andf it a dowelintothe wedgeaI 45".To uee
guideholein thescrapboard. Fitthe lhe centerfinder,eea|lhe
holein theworkpiece overthedowel workpiece in the wedqeand ueelhe 1-by-2ae a guideIo
andboreintotheworkpiece fromthe drawa lineacroeelhe diameberof t'heworkViece. Kolat'e
Nheworkpiece 90" and drawa eecondlineacross it. The
otherside.Thedowelwillensure that
NwolineewillintersectaNt'hecenler of the workpiece.
thetwoholesin theworkpiece are
norfonf lv alionpd

I15
 DRILL PRESS

BORING
INTOCYTINDRICAT
STOCK

V eection
11/2"
x 1'/2"x B"

%"x6"x8"

Using a V block
Thesafestwayto boreintoa cylinder
isto secure it in a shoo-made
jig.MaketheV section
V-block
of thejig by
llllllllllltlllllttllll]illtllltlllllllllllill llllillllll illtlllllllt
bevelcuttinga 2-by-2lengthwise using
a tablesaw(page23) or bandsaw
(page98).Then,screwthetwocut
oieces to thebaseto forma V.Position
thejigonthetablesothatthedrillbit
touches thecenter of theV whenthe
ouillis extended. Clamo thebaseto
thetable,seattheworkpiece in thejig
andborethe holehbovd.
1HO?Tt?
Drillingaompoundangleo
Tohelplineup enNrance and
exit holeewh,en youare drillinq
at an an6le,useNhieeimple jig.
Oluea 4-inchlongcylinderto
a5-by-1O-inch pieceof Vlywood.
Clamplhe basetn NhedrillVreee
Lableso that lhe cylinderie
cenleredunderNhe epindleand
borea holeinlo il.1haroenone
endof a2-inchlonqdowel,Nhen
fiL the dowelinio Nhecylinder.
Mark both lhe enNrance and
exiLholeson the workpiece and
elrikeeachmarkwitha punch.
Tositionthe exit ounchmark
on lhe dowel,holdthe work-
Viecefirmlyand boreinto lhe
entranceounchmark.
(Cautionz DonoI uoethiojiq
wiNheNockNoo shorlto hold
eecurely.)

116
 DRILL PRESS

POCKET H(IIEJIG
Pocket holesarecommonly usedwith
Cradle
6" x 15" screws to attachrailsto a tabletop,
Theyaredrilledat anangleandsolve
theproblem of having to screwstraight
2" x 15" through a 3- or 4-inch-wide rail.A
Ji7 baae pocketholejig (left,fop),shop-built
7" x 18" from%-inchplywood, makes simple
workof suchopenings. Forthejig,
screwthetwosidesof thecradle
together to forman L.Thencut a 90'
wedgefromeachsupportbracketso
thatthewidesideof thecradle will
sitatanangle about15'fromtheverti-
9upport brackeL cal.Screwthe brackets to thejig base
x 1 % "x 4 % " andgluethecradleto thebrackets.
Tousethejig, seattheworkPiece
in thecradlewiththesidethatwill
bedrilledfacingout.Boretheholes
in twostepswithtwodifferentbits:
Usea Forstner bit twicethewidth
of thescrewheadsfor theentrance
holesanda brad-point bit slightly
widerthanthewidthof thescrew
shanks fortheexitholes. (Thewider
brad-point bit allowsforwoodexpan-
sionandcontraction.)
Tobeginthe process, installthe
brad-point bit and,withthemachine
off, lowerthe bit withthefeedlever,
thenbuttthe endof the workpiece
against thebit. Position thejig to
alignthebit withthecenterof the
bottomedgeof theworkpiece (inset).
Clamp thejigto thetableandreplace
thebrad-ooint bitwiththeForstner bit,
Holding theworkpiece firmlyin
thejig,feedthebit slowly to borethe
holesjustdeepenough to recess the
screwheads. Then,installthebrad-
pointbit andborethrough thework-
pieceto complete thepocketholes
(left, bottom).

T17
 DOWELS,PLUGSAND TENONS
f-\ owelsare2- to 4-inch-long wood
I-r' cylindersusedto reinforcesimple
constructionssuchas butt joints in
which two piecesof wood arebutted
togetherandheldin placewith glue.By
drilling perfectlyalignedholesin both
piecesof suchajoint andinsertingdow-
els,you greatlystrengthen the joinery.
Anothervariationis theintegraltenon,
which looksand functionslike a dowel
but remainspart of one of the wood
piecesbeingjoined.
The plug-a shortercousinof the
dowel-servesto concealcounterbored
screws.Dowelsand plugscanbe cut
from eithersoftwoodor hardwood.The
differencebetweenthem-other than
theirlength-is that dowelsarecut from
end grainto givethem cross-sectional
strength.Plugs,on the otherhand,are
MAKING
DOWELS
ANDINTEGRAT
TENONS
not subiectto anyradialstressandcanbe your own if you outfit your drill press
cut eitherwith or againstthegrain.They with a dowel cutter.The bestway to
caneitherbeconcealed or usedasa dec- makeplugsis to cut down a dowelor to
orationdepending on whethertheyare usea plug cutter.Wth the latter acces-
cut from thesamestockastheworkpiece. soryyou caneithercut throughstock
Dowelsof variousdiameters and in thesamethickness astheplugor borea
3- or 4-foot lengthsarewidelyavailable stoppedholethroughthickerstockand
whereverwood is sold,but you canmake pry the plugsout with a chisel.
'l
An integral tenon makes0 strong
joint and is relativelyeasyto cut. The
tenon is produced with a dowel cutter
at the end of a squarepieceof stock.
Usinga dowelcutter
Tocutdowels, clampa blockof wood
to thetableandboreintoitsendgrain
totherequired depthwitha dowel cutter
(farleft).Freethe dowelsby cutting
through theblockwitha tablesawor a
bandsaw.lf youwillbeusingthedowels
forjoinery,crimptheirendswiththeser-
ratedjawsof plrers; thiswillprovide
the
gluewithanescape routeandensure
proper gluecoverage.
Tocut an integral tenonon a long
workpiece, tiltthetable90' andclamp
theworkpiece to thetable,usingpadsto
protectthewood. Alsoclampa support
board to theworkpiece andto thetable.
Usea dowelcutterto boreto therequired
depth(near/eft),thensawawaythe
wasteto expose thetenon.
118
 DRILL PRESS

MORTISINGTECHNIQUES
stock,usea V blockto holdthework-
Q ince the time of ancientEgYPt, chisel.Thebit cutsa roundhole;the
r.) woodworkershaverelied on the chiselthenpunches thecorners square. piecesecurely in place.
mortise-and-tenon joint to connect The matching tenon can be cut on
easiiy The drilling speed(Page108)for
piecesofwood.Today, thejoint iscom- atablesaw(page46). mortising depends on both the tYPe
monlyusedtojoin railsto legsondesls, Chiselscomein differentsizesto cut of stockand the size of thechisel.The
tablesand chairs. Like most joints,the mortises in a varietyof widths.The largerthe chisel, the slowerthespeed,
mortise-and-tenon can be cut by hand. depth is set with thedrill pressdepth- especiallywhen you aredrillinginto
But for ease andefficiency in carving out stop; 7a-inch is typical.As shownon hardwood. For a /r-inch-wide mortise
mortises, the drill pressequippedwith a page I20, it is importantto makesure in hardwood, for example, setuP for a
mortising attachment has become the thit the attachment is adjustedto keep speedof 1200 rpm; for softwood, setupto
choice.The attachment consists the workpiece square to the chisel.If 1500rpm-or even higher ifyou arecut-
toolof
ofa bit thatrotates insidea square-edged you are cutting the mortise in round tingagainst thegrain.

A typicatmortisingattachmentconsists of a chisel
holder(l), whichis securedto thedrillpres quill
by machineboltsat thetopof theholder'Thefence
(2) and thehold-downbracket(3) on thetableare
heldin placewith scrans,washers and wing nuts.
Theverticalbar (4) supportsthehold-downarm
(5), which,alongwiththehold-downrods (6),
hetpsholdtheworlepiecefrrmly against the fence.

ANDSOUARING
INSTALTING ANDBIT
THECHISET

1 Setting thegapbetween thechiselandbit

I Insertthechiselintoits holderandtighten
thelockscrew. Pushthebit upthrough thechisel
intothechuck.Holdthetip of thebit levelwith
thebottomof thechiselwitha scrapof wood,then
lower thebit by%zinch.Thiswillensure proper
clearancebetweenthetip ofthebitandthepoints
thechuckjaws(/effl.
of thechisel.Tighten

119
 DRILL PRESS

SOUARING
THECHISET
r) Adjusting thechisel
1 me chisel mustbesquare to themor-
tisingattachment fenceor themortises
youcutwillangleoff-center, producing
ill-fittingjoints.Tomakesurethatthe
chisel is properlyaligned,butta trysquare
against thefenceandchisel. Thesquare
shouldrestflushagainst both.lf it does
not,loosen thechiselholderlockscrew
justenough to allowyouto rotate thechisel
andbringit flushagainst thesquare. Donot
raiseor lower thechisel whilemaking the
adjustment. Tighten the lockscrew (/eff).

CUTTING A MORTISE
'l Setting
up
I 0 u t l i nteh em o r t i soent h ew o r k -
piece,
centering themarks between the Hold-downarm
edgesof thestock.Tocheckwhether
themortise chisel willbecentered onthe
workpiece, butta scrapboardthe same
w i d t ha n dt h i c k n e sasst h ew o r k p i e c e
against the mortising attachment fence
andsecure it withthehold-down rods. Mioaliqnedcute
Borea shallow cut intothe board. Then,
f l i pt h e b o a r da r o u n a
d n dm a k ea s e c -
ondcutnextto thefirst.Thecutsshould
bealigned. lf not,shiftthefencebyone-
halftheamount thatthecutsweremis-
alignedandmaketwomorecuts(right)
to repeat thetest.(Note: Hold-down arm
raised forclaritv.)

r20
 DRILL PRESS

r) Boring theendsofthemortise
Z. ROjust thehold-down armandrodsto secure
theworkpiece whileallowingit to slidefreely
along the
fence.lf youareboring a stopped mortise-one that
doesnotpasscompletely through theworkpiece-set
thedrillingdeplh(page113).l4akea cut at eachend
of theplanned mortise(above), feeding thechiseland
bitwithenough pressureto allowthemto digintothe
woodwithoutlaboring. Retract thechiseloftento clear
awaywastechipsandprevent overheating.

Completing themortise
Makea seriesof staggered cutsto
complete themortise. Follow thesequence
shownin the inset,making a singlerow
of cutsif youareusinga chiselequalin
widthto the mortise, ortwoparallel rows
i f t h em o r t i sies t o ow i d et o b ec u t i n a
singlepass.In thelattercase,usea chis-
el slightly widerthanone-half thewidth
of themortise.

r2r
 THE DRILL PRESS
AS SANDER

f-\ rill presses makeexcellentsanders.
L) Themachine's tableprovidesgood
supportfor theworkpiece,holdingit at
90oto the sandingdrum to produce
sandededgesthat aresquareto adjacent
surfaces. Andwith helpfrom somesim-
plejigs,thedrill presscansandnot only
straightsurfaces but curvedonesaswell.
Sandingdrums comein diameters
rangingftomYzto3 inches.Theshaftof
a drum is insertedinto the jawsof the
chuckandsecuredin the samewaythat
drill bitsareinstalled.Sandingsleevesto
coverthe drum areavailablein a variety
of grits-from a coarse40 grit to a fine
220 grit. In most cases,sleevesare
changedby looseninga nut at eitherthe
top or the bottom of the drum, which
reducesthe pressureand releases the
sandpaper.Removethe old sleeveand
slip on the new Tighteningthe nut will
causethe drum to expandand grip the
sleevesecurely.
Aswith standarddrilling operations,
sandingrequiresa variety of speeds
dependingon the job. The higherthe
rpm, the smootherthe finish,but high
speeds will alsowearout your sleeves
more quickly.Most sandingis done
between1200and 1500rpm. Sanding
produces finedustsoremember to wear
a dustmask.
In additionto sanding,thedrill press
candoubleasa router,althoughitsrel-
ativelyslowspindlespeed keepsit from
performing aswellasitsportablecoun-
terpart.Whilea drill pressgenerates
roughly3500to 4500rpm,aroutertums
at morethan20,000 rpm,producing
muchsmoother results.
To useyourdrill pressasa router,
youwill needto buya special spindle
to attachrouterbitsto the machine.
Feeding thestockslowlywill helpcom-
pensate for themachine's slowerspeed.

AUXITIARY SAI{DING TABTE AND

PATTERN SAITDII{G II{SERT AUXITIARY
Sanding drumslargerthan SANDING Hole for
7/e-inch in diameter aretoowideto TABTE oandingdrum
31/o"
f it through the holein mostdrill
presstables.Tomakefull useof Table
thesanding surface of widerdrums %"x11"x15"
youwillneedto makea sanding
Iable(nearright, top). Jig baee
Usea copingsawor sabersaw 11,/2"x11/2"x11"
7/+"x31,/2"x11"
to cut a holein the plywood top,
centering theopening 3 inches
fromthebackof thetable.
Assemble the L-shaped jig base
from1-by-4and2-by-2stock,
thenglueit to thetable.
Tousethejig, clampthe base
to thedrillpress tablewiththecir-
cularholedirectlyunderneath the
drum.Adjustthetableheight to
bringthe bottomof the drum
levelwiththejig.
Holding theworkpiece f irmly,
feedit at a uniformspeedin a
directionopposite the rotationof
the sandingdrum(nearright,bot-
tom).To avoidburning or gouging

t22
 DRILL PRESS

llll'Illl'llll"llll
'llll.'fl1.'fi1"ffi""1[l"'lll lll fll
lIlll|lllll'"ffi
lll'"1l|l
1HO?TI?
Shop-madeeandingdrume
lf yoi needa opecialoff'oizeeandinq
drum,youcan makeyourownfroma dowel.
Findthe riqht,oizeof dowel,then cul a
elrip of eandpaperas wideae Lhedowel'e
circumference. Applya thin coat of white
qlueNothe doweland fasten Nhepaper
to iI (top). For a flexiblesander NhaI can
oanAirieqularlyehapedworkVieceo or
enlaryeholao,cut' a slot in a dowel,LhenfiN
a etrip of abraeivepaperiniloit (bottom).

the workpiece, feedthe stockwithone

smooth,continuous motion.Asseg- PATTERN INSERT
SANDING
3'/o"
mentsof thesanding sleevewearout,
raisethedrillpress tableto bringfresh
surfaces to bear.
Usedin conjunction withtheauxil-
iarysanding table,a shop-made pat- Guide poaf,
' 1 "x 1 % -"
ternsandinglig (right,foplwill allow aowet
youto sandparallel curves.Tomakethe
jig, cut a U-shaped wedgeout of the
plywood tablethesamesizeasthe hole
in thesanding tablejig.Then,usea %-
inchForstner bit to borea holethesame
distance fromthe bottomof the U asthe
widthof thestockthatwill besanded.
lnserta dowelintothe holeto serveas
a guidepost.
Tousethejig,clampit to theauxil-
iarysanding tablesothatopposite edges
of the workpiece restagainst the dow-
el andthesanding drum.Remove the
workpiece, thenswitchon thedrill
press.Feedthe workpiece slowlybut
continuously against thedirection of
sandingdrumrotationwithyourleft
handwhileguidingit withyourright
hand (right, bottom).

r23
 /

&
.1j
,l **
l *

"t:
 IONTER
he jointer may seema Althoughthejointer's prin-
ratherpedestrianmachine cipalroleisin surfacing oper-
comparedto the table saw ations,usingit for nothing
or bandsaw,but anywood- morethanthatwouldbe eouiv-
workerdedicated to precision alentto restricting thetible
andcraftsmanship will attest sawto simolecut-offwork.
thatusingthissurfacing tool Thejointerisalsousefulin sal-
properlyis the first stepin vagingwarpedstock(page
turning rough boardsinto I35)aswellasin shaping rab-
well-builtpieces of furniture. bets,bevels andtapered legs
Themachine's mainpurpose With aV-blockjigclampedtothe (pages 1j6-38).
is to shavesmallamountsof jointer infeedtable,you cancut beveled edges Jointersare categorized
woodfromtheedges andfaces into a workpiece accurately
and safely. according to thelengthof their
of boards,yieldingsmooth, cutterhead In practical
knives.
straightandevensurfaces fromwhichallsubsequent measure- terms,thislengthdetermines thewidthof thejointerttableand,
mentsandcutsaremade.Thejointergetsitsnamefromthe moreimportantly, themaximumwidth of cutthatthemachine
factthattwo edges run across its planingblades shouldfit canmake.Sizes forconsumer models rangefrom4 to 8 inches;
together perfectly,forminga seamless joint. 6-and8-inchjointersarethemostpopular.Depthof cut,which
Enorsatthejointingstage of aprojectwill havearippleeffect ranges fromVatoyzinch, isanother distinguishing feature. But
in alllaterprocedures. Withouta perfectly square edgeto set unless youplanto makefrequent useof thejointer'srabbeting
against atablesawrip fence, for example, trimmingaboardto capabilirya shallowdepthof cutis adequate: Thetypicalbite
sizewill producea flawthatwill befurthercompounded when for a surfacing passseldomexceeds t/ainch.
youtry to cuta precise-fitting joint. Whenchoosing ajointer,lookfor a machine onwhichthe
thetaskof creatingsmooth,square
Traditionally, edgeswas tablesonbothsidesof thecutterhead areadjustable. Andmake
performed withhandplanes, apainstaking procesthatdepend- surethemachine hasa rigid,lockable fencethatcanbetilted
edon skillandexperience. Nowadays, woodworkers relyonthe for anglecuts.
jointerto dothejob morequickly,effortlessly andaccurately. Thejointerisoftenconfused withtheplaner(page139),but
Nevertheless, it is usefulto consider theworkingsof a hand thetwomachines arenotinterchangeable. Oneimportantfunc-
planewhenvisualizing howajointerisintended to work.The tionof theplanerthatcannotbeeffectively performed byajoin-
machinefunctionsmuchlike an invertedhandplanewith terisplaningasurfaceto makeit parallel to theoppositesurface.
somewhat largerblades drivenbyamotor,addressing thework- Planers canalsohandlewiderstock,importantwhenconstruct-
piecefrombelowratherthanabove. ingpanels suchastabletops.

In additionto smoothingstockor producing

squareedges, a jointer canbeusedto cut
tapersin a workpiece, suchasa tableleg.

t25
 ATATOMYOFA JOINTER

f hejointerconsissof infeedandout- pointof ttreirrotation.Themodelillus- Depthof cut is determined by the

I feedtablesseparated byacylindrical
cutterhead.Cutterheads typicallyhold
threeknivesandrotateat several thou-
perminute.Forajointer
sandrevolutions
to workproperly,
theoutfeedtablemust
belevelwith theknivesat thehighest
tratedbelowhasanoutfeedtablethatis
adjustableto keepit atthesameheightas
theknives. Formodelsonwhichtheout-
feedtableis fixed,theknivesmustbe
raisedor loweredto bringthemto the
properheight.
amountthattheinfeedtableissetbelow
theoudeed table.Thefenceusedto guide
stockoverthecutterhead isnormallyset
at a 90oangle.Buton mostmodelsthe
fencewill tilt forwardor backwardfor
cuttingbevelsandchamfers.

Outfeedtable Fence Guard

)upporte workpiece Guidea the work- )prinq-activated plate that cov-
at endof cut piecealon4 tablaa ara cutterhead; protecta opera-
tor from knivea.Fivoted away
from cutterhead by workpiece,
than aprin7a back into poaition

Rabbetlng notch
)upporta the
uncut ,urTace
of a workpiece
durinq rabbetin4
operationo

Infeed table
Outfeed table )upporta workpiece
adjuetment handle at the atart of the
Raiaeaand lowara cut; heiqht adjuatable
outfeed table to to aet depth of cut
heiqht of knive7
Depth acale
lndicates
depth of cut
FRONT
VIEW
 JOINTER

Althoughthe guardshouldalways
beleftin placefor standard
operations,
on mostmodelsit hasto beremoved
work,suchasrabbeting.
for specialized
On somemachines, theguardcanbe
behindthefenceto providepro-
installed
tectionduringrabbeting work.

with a jointer on theright and

a planeron theleft,thismachine
combines twofunctionsin a single
appliance.Themodelshowncan
joint stockupto 6 incheswide and
planeboardsaswideas12 inches.

Fencecontrol handle Fenceatop Oib ecrew

Allowa fence to be anqled
45" in either direction or
movedacroas the tablee
and cutterhead; locka
fence in fixed pooitiono
Setacrew and metal etop Adluotable to keeptablee
hold the fence verEicalor parallelto each other and in
'aame
in ita moat frequently horizontalplane;model
ueed an1led eettinqo ahownhaa three such gcrews
on each eide of pulleycover

Friction knob
Ti4htenedto
\eept1lte.
ffom etrPPtn4
from aelected
hei4ht eetting
Tilt eaale
lndicatee lnfeed table
an1leof the adjuatment handle
fence Kaieeeand lowera
infeed table to set
depth of cut

REAR
VIEW
 SETTINGUP AND SAFETY
I ccurate jointingdepends onprecise
A alignmentof thetwotablesandthe
fence-the partsof the machinethat
guidea workpieceinto and overthe
knives.Begurby ensuringthat theout-
feedtableisatthesameheightasthecut-
ting edgesof theknivesat theirhighest
poinr Thencheckthatthetablesarcper-
fectlysquareto the fenceandaligned
properlywith eachother.
Beforestarting,makesurethat the
jointerisunplugged andinstalla clamp
ontherabbetingledge to holdtheguard
temporarilyout ofyour way.
Onceyouhavethemachineproperly
tuned,pauseandconsidersafety. The
knivesof a spinningcutterhead look
seductivelybenign.It is easyto forget
thatthisharrnles-lookingblurcancause
asmuchdamageto fingersandhands as
canatablesawblade.Resist thetempta-
tion to operatethejointerwithoutthe
guardin place.When theguardmustbe
removedfrom its normalpositionin
front of thefencefor rabbetingopera-
tions,installit behindthefenceif your
jointeris setup for sucha switch.
Evenwith theguardin place,always
keepyourhandsawayfromtheknives.
Whenjointingtheedgeof aboard,your
handsshouldridealongtheworkpiece,
ratherthanon thetables.Whenface-
jointing,always usepushbloclsto feed
aworkpiece across theknives.Whatever
thecut,remember to prestheworlgiece
firmly againstthetablesandfence.

SETTING TABTE
OUTFEED HEIGHT
1 Checkingtable height
I Usea smallwooden wedgeto rotate
the cutterhead untilthe edgeof oneof
point,Then
the knivesis at its highest
holda straighthardwood boardon the
outfeedtablesothat it extends overthe
cutterheadwithoutcontacting the infeed
table(left).Theknifeshouldjust brush
againsttheboard.Perform thetestalong
the lengthof the knife,movingthe board
fromthe fenceto the rabbeting ledge.
Repeat thetestfor the otherknives.lf
oneknifefailsthetest,adjustits height
asyouwouldwheninstalling a blade
(page131).lf noneof theknives touches
the board,adjustthe heightof the out-
feedtable (step2).

r) Adjustingtheoutleedtirbleheight
I Keepingthehardwood boardoverthe
cutterhead,
turnthe outfeedtableadjust-
menthandle(right),raisingor lowering
thetableuntiltheedgeof a knifejust
brushesagainst theboard.Thencheckthe
tableheightin relation
to theotherknives.

t28
 IOINTER

ANDFENCE
THETABLES
ALIGNING
1 Aligning thetables
I Remove thefence, thenusetheadjust-
menthandle fortheinfeed tableto bring
it to thesameheight astheoutfeed table.
Usea straightedge to confirm thatthetwo
tables areabsolutely level.lf thealignment
is notperfect, adjustoneor moreof the
gibscrews at thebackof thejointeruntil
thestraightedge restsflushonbothtables;
remove the pulleycover, if necessary,to
access thescrews. Toadjusta screw, first
loosen its locknut,thenmake theadjust-
mentusingwitha hexwrench(left).Trghten
thelocknut. Atthispoint, thedepthscale
(page126)shouldread"0." lf not,move
i h p n n i n t ptrn t h p " O " m a r k .R e C h e C
t hke
tableheight@age128)if youmovedthe
outfeed table.

TIPS
SAFETY
JOINTER

. Checkregularlyto makesure
thattheknivesaresharpandsecure-
ly fastened
to thecutterhead.
. U n p l utgh ej o i n t ewr h i l e
i n s t a l l i nkgn i v eosr p e r f o r m i n g
anysetupoperation.
. Wearappropriate glasses
safety
andhearing protection
whenoper-
atingthejointer.
. Donotjointstockwithloose
knotsortheworkpiece maycatch
i n t h ec u t t e r h e a d .
. Never
jointstockthatis less
lhan 12 innhoc lnno

. Donotface-joint stockthatis
l e s st h a n% i n c ht h i c k .
. Donotjointtheendgrainof r) Squaring thefencewiththetables
a workpiece thatis lessthan6 L Wttnthefencesetin itsvertical position, holda trysquare ontheoutfeed
i n c h ew
side.
tablenearthecutterhead andbuttthesquare's blade againstthefence. The
. When t h em a c h i ni es r u n n i n g , square should thefence.lf thereisanygapbetween
fit flushagainst thetwo,
keepyourhandsoutof thearea slacken thefencecontrol handle andbringthefenceflushwiththesquare
4 inches above andto eitherside pivotthemetalstopoutof thewaywhenmaking
of thejointer'scutterhead. bbove).lfnecessary, this
adlustment. Thentighten thehandle. Thesetscrew of thefencestopshould
. Neverreachup intothedust bebuttedagainst themetalstop.lf it is not,holdthesetscrew locknutstation-
thejointer
chuteunless isunplugged (inset)
arywitha wrench whileturningthesetscrew witha hexwrench unlil
it touchesthemetalstoo.Move thetilt scaleindicator to "0."

t29
 JOINTE,RKNIVES
T T nlikethe bladesof otherwood- sibleto usean oilstoneto honethecut- machinevibrationand alsopossible
L-/ workingmachines, whoseheight ting edgesof slightlydull kniveswhile motor failure.
andangleareadjustable, jointerknives theyarein thecutterhead. But you risk Whenchangingyourjointerknives,
aredesigned to functionatjustoneset- removingmoremetalfrom the cutting removeandreinstall themoneat a time.
ting:parallelto andat the sameheight edgesthan is absolutely necessary and Takingthebladesall offat onceandthen
asthemachine's outfeedtable.As such, this canthrow the knivesout of align- installingthemoneafteranothercanput
the height of all the knivesmust be mentwith theoutfeedtable. stresson the cutterhead,
identical;a differenceof aslittle asa Therearetricksyou canuseto pro- Ifyou areconsidering replacingthe
fractionof an inchcancomoromise the lifeof a setof knives(page
longtheusefi.rl knives,you canchoosebetweenhigh
j o i n t e r ' s - a b i l ittoy p r o d u c es m o o t h , l3l), but onceyourrnachine beginspro- speedsteelor tungstencarbide.Thecar-
squareeoges. ducingunevenlimp shavings or bur- bidevarietyofferssuperiorperformance
Likeall blades, jointerkniveswork nishinglhewood,it is timeto remove in cuttingabrasivematerialssuchasply-
wellonlywhentheyaresharp.However, theknivesandhavethemreground.Be wood;theycostmore,however.Always
because removinga jointer knife for sureto givethepersondoingthesharp- replacethe entiresetofblades,rather
sharpening andthenreinstalling it prop- eningexplicitinstructions regarding the thanindividualknives.In themeantime,
erlycanbea time-consuming operation, sameamountof steelto be removed keepyour knivescleanby rubbingthem
manywoodworkers go to greatlengths from eachknife.Otherwise, thecutter- occasionally with a clothdampenedin
to avoidchanging theseblades. It ispos- headmaybecomeimbalanced, causing turpentineor lacquerthinner.

JOINTER
CHANGING KNIVES

1l Removins-
anoldknife Installing
a newknife
I Remove thefence,theninstall
a clampontherabbeting Insert
theretaining
wedge
in thecutterhead,
centering
ledgeto holdtheguardtemporarily outof theway.Usea i t i n t h e s l o tw i t h i t s g r o o v e ed d g ef a c i n gu p ; m a k es u r e
smallwoodscraoto rotatethecutterhead untilthe lock that the headsof the lockscrewsare buttedagainstthe
screwssecurrng theknifeareaccessiblebetween thetables. b a c ke d g eo f t h e s l o ta s s h o w n W . i t ht h e b e v e l e de d g e
Covertheedgeof theknifewitha ragto protect yourhands, of the knifefacingthe outfeedtable (above),placeit
thenusea wrenchto loosen eachscrewin Iurn(abovd. between the retaining wedgeandthe frontedgeof the slot,
Carefullylift the knifeoutof thecutterhead.Remove the l e a v i n tgh e b e v e l e d p a r tp r o t r u d i nfgr o mt h e c u t t e r h e a d .
retaining
wedge andwipeit clean.

r30
 IOINTER

JIG
A KNIFE-SETTING
USING

settingthe knifeheight
R e m o va e n o l d k n i f ea n d i n s t a lal n e w
one(page130). Usea smallwedgeto
r o t a t et h e c u t t e r h e audn t i lt h e e d g eo f
theknifeheight t h e n e wk n i f ei s a t i t s h i g h e spt o i n t .
Q Setting
r-J Cover theedgeof theknifewitha ragandpartially tighteneachlockscrew T h e nm a r ka l i n eo n t h e f e n c ed i r e c t l y
in turn;thentightenthemfully,beginning withtheonesin thecenter andwork- a b o v et h e c u t t i n ge d g eu s i n ga s q u a r e
ingoutto theedges. Check theoutfeed tableheight(page128)in relation to a n da p e n c i l P . o s i t i oan c o m m e r c i a l
theknifejustinstalled.lf theknifeis settoolow,loosen thelockscrewsslightly, k n i f e - s e t t i nj g i g o n t h e o u t f e e tda b l e ,
thenpryuptheknifeusinga screwdriver (above) whileholdingthecutterhead aligning the reference lineon the jig arm
stationarywitha wedge; if it is toohigh,tap it downusinga woodblock.Tighten w i t ht h e m a r k e dl i n eo n t h e f e n c e a ,s
thelockscrews andremove theclampfromtherabbeting ledge. shown. M a r k a n o t h e lri n eo n t h e f e n ce
directly above the second reference line
onthejig arm.Remove the jig andextend
this l i n e a c r o s t
s h e o u tfeed t a b l e (. T h e
illltltlrur]llr]lllllllltllllllllllllllllllllilllll|lllJilllllllllll line w i l lh e l p y o u q u i c k l y
p o s i t i o tnh e
j i g t h e n e x t i m ey o u i n s t a lal k n i f e . )
R e p o s i t i otnh e j i g o n t h et a b l e a , ligning
1HO?TI? its reference lines with the marked lines
o n t h e f e n c et;h e j i g ' s m a g n e t i a
c rms
Shiftingknivee w i l l h o l dt h e k n i f ea t t h e c o r r e c ht e ight
for lonqer life y o u
while r r s ea w r e n c ht o t r g h t e n e t h
To prolongxhe life ,/
lockscrews. Remove the clampfromthe
of a eeI of jointer knives
r:hhcfino lpdsp
that havebeennicked,
looeenlhe lockecrewo
eecurinqoneknife
and slidethe knife
abouL'/,oinch
in eiNherdirecf'ion.
li4hten the lockocrewoand carefully
rolale the culterhead by handto enoure
Lhat the knifeturne freely.thifXinqa knifelo
oneeidemove6iLodamaqedoeqmenlouNof
ali4nment wilhthe damaqeonlhe oNherknivee,
enabling the seLt'o continue cuLLing omoothly.

131

A n. of thefirstrulesof jointingis
\,/ that a workpiece shouldalwaysbe
fed acrossthe cutterheadso that the
knivesarecuttingwith thegrain,In this
wayyouwill getthesmoothestcut while
reducingtheriskof splinteringor kick-
back.Ifthe grainchanges directionin a
workpiece, feedthestocksothatmostof
the cut is followingthegrain.
Thesequence for jointingoperations
shoulddependon the wood you are
IOINTING
using.Forroughlumber,joint thefaces
first (page 134),then do the edges
(below). Forwoodon whichboth faces
havealreadybeensurfaced, jointingthe
is
edges usuallysufficient.
In general,
seta cuttingdepthof 7s
inchfor softwoods or '/reinchfor hard-
woods.Youcanusuallyjoint theedges by
hand,but alwaysusea pushblockto
face-joint.Whateverthedepthyouselect,
checkthe settingbeforemakingthe first
pass.Unplugthejointeranduseascrapof
woodto rotatethecutterhead sothatallthe
knivesarebeiowthe levelofthe tables.
Then,placea boardflushon theoutfeed
gapbetween
table;the theboard'sedgeand
theinfeedtablewill equalthedepthof cut.
If mostof yourjointinginvolves
work-
ing with boardedges, avoiddullingthe
samenarrowsegment of yourknivesby
routinelymovingthefenceoverslightly
to evenlydistributethewear.

J()INTING
ANEDGE
1t Feedins -
a workpiece intothecut
I Lavtheworkoiece ontheinfeed tablea fewinches
fromtheknives, butting itsfaceagainst thefence. Slowly
feedtheworkpiece intothecutterhead knives(/eff),press-
i n gi t a g a i n st ht ef e n c ew i t hy o u rl e f th a n dw h i l em o v i n g
it steadily forwardwithyourrighthand.Astheworkpiece
crosses to theoutfeed table,gradually shiftyourweight
fromyourbackfootto yourfrontfoot.Continue feeding the
stockuntilyourrighthandapproaches theoutfeed table.

r) Finishing thepass
I Wnenyour righthandreaches theoutfeedtable,reverse
the
position
ofyourhands whilecontinuing tofeedtheworkpiece.
Graduallyslideyourlefthandtoward thebackoftheworkpiece
(right),
mainlainingpressureagainst thefence.Thenshiftyour
righthandfurther backonthestockto maintain downward
pressurejusttotheoutfeedsideoftheknives. Continuethese
hand-over-hand movements untilthepassiscompleted.

132
 JOINTER

ENDGRAIN
JOINTING

pass
a partial r) Reversing
thewolkpiece thepass
andcompleting
1 Making
I Placetheworkpiece end-down onthe infeedtablea few L furntheworkpiece180"andslowlyfeedthestockacross
inchesfromthe knives thefence'
withits faceflat against theknives(above), thefencewithyourrighthand
straddling
thefencewrthyourrighthandandwrap
Straddle yourthumb whilemaintaining withyourlefthand.Thepartial
pressure
aroundtheworkpiece to feedit slowlyintothecutterhead' passmadein step1 shouldprevent at theend
splintering
StopfeedingaboutI inchintothepassandimmediately tilt of thisoass.
theworkpiecebackawayfromtheknives asshown.

TABTE
OUTFEED ATIGNMENT

Workpiece

/ ,//lN
--)
Outfeed 0utfeed 0utfeed lnfeed
table table table table table table
-_l
r------1
I
laPer
I
[l-
I enrPe I
L EvenautI
I I
t l
____l

wrtha jointercanoftenbeattributed
Poorresults to mis- penwhenit is at thecorrectheight.lf theoutfeed table
alignmentof theoutfeedtablein relation
to thecutter- issethigher thantheknives, jointing
willproduce a taper
head.Perfect jointing
dependsonthetable's beingat (lefil;if thetableis toolow,the bladeswill leavea con-
precisely
thesameheightas the knives
@age 128).The cavecut,calleda snipe,at theendof theworkpiece
diagrams whatcangowrongif theout-
aboveillustrate (center). Whenthetableis properly adjusted theresult
feedtableis toohighortoolow-andwhatshouldhap- will bea smooth,evencut tight).

r33
 JOINTER

JOINTING
A FACE
Using pushblocks
Movethefencetoward therabbeting
ledge,if necessary, sothatno portionof
theknives willbeexposed asthework-
piecepasses overthecutterhead. Laythe
workpiece face-down onthe infeedtable
a fewinches fromtheknives, buttingits
edgeagainst thefence.Thenputtwo
pushblocks squarely ontopof thestock,
centered between its edges. (Usepush
blocks withangled handles to keepyour
handsfromhittingthefence.)Slowly
feedtheworkpiece across theknives
(left) applyingdownward pressureonthe
outfeed sideof theknives to keeothestock
flatonthetablesandlateralpressure to
keepit flushagainst thefence.Fora long
workpiece, bringyourlefthandtotheback
of theworkpiece whenyourrighthand
reaches theoutfeed table.

A PUSH BTOCK
Insteadof buyingpushblocks such
astheonesshovrrn above,somewood-
workerspreferto maketheirown.
Referto the illustration
at rightfor
suggested dimensions,although you
cantailoryourdesignto thework-
pieceat hand.
Gluethelipto theunderside of
the base,flushwithoneend,Then
position
thehandle onthetopofthe
basesothat its backendis flush
withtheendof the base.Screwthe
handleto thebase,drivingthescrews
fromthe underside of thebase.
Countersink thescrews to avoid youcanhangthepushblockonthe sothatthelip hugsthetrailingendof
scratchingtheworkpiece whenyou wallwhenit is notin use. thestock.Positionyourleft handon
usethepushblock.Borea hole Usethe pushblockasdescribed theworkpiece nearitsfrontend,brac-
nearthefrontendof the baseso above,butpositionit ontheworkpiece ingyourthumbonthe pushblock.

134
 STOCK
SALVAGINGWARPED
I lthoughthejointer'sprincipalvalue
A restsin its abilityto smoothand
squareroughwood surfaces, it canalso
straightenout stock with other defects.
The jointer is also for
useful eveningout
boardsthat have concave (inward-bow-
ing) or convex(outward-bowing)faces.
Thediagramsbelowshowhow to correct
both typesof irregularities.
In eachoperation,thehighspotson
thewoodsurfacearepassed repeatedly
acrossthe cutterheaduntil they are
removed.Fora convexedge(below,left),
passthe high spotat the middle of the
boardrepeatedly acrossthe cutterheadas
manytimesasnecessary (cuts1 and2).
'hose-dive"
Trynot to or to allowthelead-
ingedgeto rideup whileyouarecutting.
Whenthe surfaceis roughlyeven,make
a final passalongtheentireedge(cut3).
Fora concave edge,passthehigh spot
at oneendofthe boardacrosstheknives
(below, right)asmanytimesasnecessary
(cutsI and 2), then turn the board
aroundto repeattheprocess at theother
end(cuts3 and4).Whenthe surfaceis
roughlyeven,makea final pass(cut5).

EDGES
ANDCONCAVE
CONVEX

3 5

1 :

EDGE
A CURVED
JOINTING
Trimming concave andconvex edges
Tostraighten anedgewitha concave
curve, holdtheleading endof thework-
piecean inchor soabove tablelevelin
frontof thecutterhead guard.Feedthe
workpiece withyourrighthand;useyour
lefthandto maintain pressure against
thefence.Whenthedeepest partof the
concave edgeis overthecutterhead (/eft),
lowerthe leading endof theworkpiece
ontotheoutfeed tableandcomplete the
pass.Continue feeding theworkpiece
pastthecutterhead untilthetrailingend
Thenturntheworkptece
is straight. 180"
andrepeat the procedure fortheother
endof theboard. Makea finalpassalong
theentireedge.Fora convex curve,make
a passoverthe blades asyouwouldfor
a standard jointingoperation (page132),
keeping theworkpiece asparallel aspos-
sibleto thejointer tables. Keepmaking
shallow passesthrough thejointeruntil
theedgeistrue.

135
 JOINTER

RABBETS,
CHAMFERSAND TAPERS
youcan
ith a littleresourcefi;lness, guardmustberemovedfor edgerabbets
do more than producesquare on stockthickerthan3/sinchandfor any
boardson ajointer.Bytakingfull advan- rabbetalongthe faceof a board,extra
tageof the machine'scapabilities, you cautionis essential.
canshapewoodwith tapersandcham- Angledcutsalongthe cornersof a
fers,or evencut rabbetsfor ioinery.In workpiece, knownaschamfers, aremade
[act,manywoodworkers consideithe on thejointerby tiltingthefenceto the
jointer the besttool for cuttingrab- requiredangleor with theaidof a shop-
bets-at leastwhen you areworking madejig. Tapers arealsostraightforward.
with thegrainof a workpiece. With a stopblockclampedto eachtable,
Aslongasyourjointerhasa rabbeting you cancut stoppedtapersthat leave
ledge,it cancut rabbets alongeitherthe squareendsfor joiningto a tabletopor
edgeor the faceof a board,Sincethe seat,or for carvinginto a decorative
foot.

A leg taperedon thejointer provides

gracefulsupportfor this table.

RABBETING
ONTHEJOINTER

Cutting rabbets
M a r kc u t t i n g
l i n e sf o rt h ew i d t ha n dd e p t ho f t h er a b b eotn depthbyincrements nodeeperthanI/qinchandmakeaddi-
theleading endof theworkpiece. Alignthewidthmarkwiththe tionalpasses if necessary.
endsof theknives, thenposition thefenceflushagainst the Fora rabbetalonga boardface(above, right),guidethe
workpiece. Setthe cuttingdepthnodeeperIhanr/,tinch. workpiece nearitsfrontendwithyourlefthand,whileusrng
Fora rabbetalonga boardedge(above, lefil,feedthework- a pushblockto applydownward pressure
andkeepthework-
piecefromabove withyourrighthandwhileyourlefthand piecef latonthetables. Slowly
feedtheworkpiece acrossthe
maintains pressure against thefence.Increase thecutting knives, thendeepen therabbet,if necessarV.

136
 IOTNTER

A V-BI()CKJIG
Tocuta series of chamfers onthejointer, usethissimple
shop-made jig. Referto the illustration shownat leftfor
suggested dimensions.
BegintheV section of thejig bybevelcutttng2-by-2s.
Positionthetwocut pieces sothattheyextendbeyond
oneendof the basebyabout6 inches,andhavea t/z'
inchgapbetween them.Attachthetwopieces through
thebasewithcountersunk screwsto avoidscratching the
tablewhenthejig isclamped
jointer in place.
Tousethejig,clampit in placewithoneendof the
basealigned withthecutterhead-end of theinfeed table.
Lower theinfeed tableto themaximum depthof cut,
typicallyYzinch.Seattheworkpiece in thegapof the
jig,thenfeedit across theknives withyourrighthand,
whileholding it f irmlyin theV withyourlefthand. i
t
t
I
I
*--*J

TAPER
A SIMPLE
MAKING
1 Setting upandstarting thecut
I Usea marking gauge to outline the
taperontheworkpiece (lnset); thenmark
linesonthefourfacesof thestockto
indicate where thetaper willbegin. Install
a clampontherabbeting ledge to hold
theguardoutof theway.Seta 7s-inch
depthof cutand,holding theworkpiece
against thefence, alignthetaperstart
linewiththefrontof theoutfeed table.
Butta stopblockagainst theotherend
o f t h ew o r k p i e acen dc l a m pi t t o t h e
infeed table.Tostarteachpass, carefully
lower theworkoiece ontotheknives while
h o l d i nt gh ew o r k p i efci rem l ya g a i n tsht e
fenceandmaking surethatyourhands
areontheinfeed sideof theknives (/efil.
Straddle thefencewithyourrighthand,
usingyourthumbto keeptheworkpiece
flushagainst thestopblock.

1.37
 JOINTER

Cuttingthetaper
Usea pushstickto feedtheworkpiece
acrossthecutterhead. Withyourrighthand,
applydownward pressureonthetrailing
endof theworkpiece; useyourlefthandto
keeptheworkpiece flushagainstthefence
(right).Makeasmanypasses acrossthe
knivesasnecessary to completethetaper
onthefirstfaceoftheworkoiece. Tocutthe
remainingfaces,rotatetheworkpiececlock-
wise90oandmakerepeated passes overthe
cutterheaduntilyouhavetrimmed thestock
downto thetapermarks.

A STOPPED
IOINTING TAPER

Gutting withtwinstopblocks
Marklineson all facesof theworkoiece to indicate
wherethe endof theworkpiece andclampin place. Tomakethefirst
iapering willbeginandend.Install a clampontherabbeting pass,lowertheworkpiece ontothe knives,keeping
it f lush
ledgeto holdtheguardoutof theway.Seta %-inchdepthof againstthefenceandthestopblockonthe infeedtable.Feed
cut,thenbutttheworkpiece againstthefencewiththetaper theworkpieceusingthethumbof yourrighthandbbove),fin-
startline3/qinch behindthefrontof theoutfeed table.(The gersstraddling
thefence;useyourlefthandto pressthework-
extra3/q inchwillcompensate forthefactthat,whenthe infeed pieceagainstthefenceanddownontheknives. Keepboth
tableis lowered later,it willalsoslidebackslightly.)
Butta handswellabove thecutterhead. Makeonepasson eachface,
stopblockagainst theendof theworkpiece andclampit to the thenlowerthe infeedtabler/ainchandreoeattheDrocess on
infeedtable.Nextalignthetaperendlinewiththe backend allfoursides.
Continue,increasingthecutting
depthuntilthe
of the infeed table.Butta second stopblockagainst
theother taperis completed.

138
 PLANER

N or smoothing roughstock, planing a Planersareeasyto use,but keepthe Someof the tasksyou perform on
I'glued-up p a n e o
l r r e d u c i ntgh e followingpointsin mind to getthebest the jointer cannotbe duplicatedon
of aboard
thickness uniforrnly, the plan- results.Alwaysfeedstockinto the knives the planer.You cannot,for example,
eristheidealwoodworking machine. Its following the direction of grain. Al- straightenout a warpedboard.Sincethe
mainfunctionisto plane wood from a thoughthe maximum depthof cut for waqped
planerproducesparallelsurfaces,
board,producing a smooth surface that mostplanersis 7einch,limit eachpassto stock will emergethinner from the
isparallelwith theopposite face. %oinch and makemultiple passes. machine,but just aswarped.

H(lWA PLANER Chipbreaker

W()RKS Preasurebar
Freaaeaworkptece
Tresaeoworkpiecedown
againot table before
after it ie ehaved,keep-
it reacheaknivee
inq it flat
lnfeed roller

-)
?Fii#i#,",tr
Tableroller
Helpe reduce fric'
Lionbetweenwork-
pieceand table Tableroller

A BOARD
PLANING
Using theplaner
Tosetthecuttingdepth,laytheworkpiece
onthetableandalignitsendwiththe
depthguide.Fora typical Xo-inch depth
of cut,turnthetableadjustment handle
untilthetopof theboardjustclears the
bottomof theguideInset).Tomakea
passthrough theplaner, standto oneside
of theworkpiece andusebothhandsto
feedit slowlyintotheinfeedroller, keep-
ingitsedges parallelto thetableedges.
Oncetheinfeed roller gripstheworkpiece
andbegins pullingit pastthecutterhead,
support thetrailing endof thestockto
keepit flatonthetable(left).Asthetrail-
ingendof theworkpiece reachestheplan-
er'stable,moveto theoutfeed sideof the
machine. Support theworkpiece withboth
handsuntilit clears theoutfeed roller.
To
prevent stockfromwarping, planefrom
bothsidesof a workpiece ratherthan
removing thickness fromonesideonly.

r39

A-B
Arbor: A round shaftprojectingfrom
the sawmotor to turn revolvingsaw
bladesor othercuttingimplements.
Bead:A rounded,convexshapecut
in wood.
Bevelcut: Sawingat an anglefrom
faceto facethrough the thicknessor
alongthe lengthof a workpiece.
Bladelead:The tendencyofa band
sawbladeto drift offthe'intended
line of a cut.
Bladeset:The amount that sawteeth
areoffsetalternatelyto the left and
to the right, allowing a bladeto cut a
kerf slightly wider than its own thick-
nessto helppreventbinding.
Box joine Identicalinterlockingfin-
gersthat meshtogetherto form a
cornerjoint.
C a worKplece.
Carbide-tipped blade:A saw'scut-
ting edgeon which the teetharemade
of a compoundof carbonand steel;
suchbladeedgesarestrongerand
staysharperlongerthan convention-
al high-speedsteel.
Carcase:The box-like frame of a
pieceof furniture,suchasa chest
or bookcase.
Chamfer:A decorativebevelcut
alongthe edgeof a workpiece.
Cheek The faceof the projecting
tenonin a mortise-and-tenon joint.
Chippers:Auxiliary cuttersthat
cleanout the wastewood between
the cuts madeby the two sawblades
ofa stackingdadohead.
Chuck Adjustablejaws on a drill for
holdingbits.orothercuttingor sand-
lng accessorles.
GLOSSARY
Compound cut Sawingthrough a
boardwith the bladepresented at
anglesother than 90orelativeto the
faceand edgeofthe stock.
Concave:A roundedinward shape,
like the insideof a bowl.
Contour cut Sawingalonga curved
line; usuallywith a band saw.
Convex A roundedoutward shape,
like the outsideof a bowl.
Countersink: To drill a hole that per-
mits the headof a screwor bolt to lie
flush or slightlybelowa wood surface.
Cove A hollow concaveform cut
into wood.
CrosscufiSawingacrossthe grain of
a workpiece.
D-E
Dado: A.rectangularchannelcut into
Dado head:A blade-or combina-
tion of bladesand cutters-used
to shapedadoesin wood. The two
main typesarewobblers,one or tlvo
bladesthat wobblebackand forth
on adjustablehubs,and stacking
dadoheads,which arepairsof blades
sandwichedaround one to five inte-
rior chippers.
Dovetail joint A method of joining
wood at cornersby meansof inter-
locking pins and tails;the name
derivesfrom the distinctiveshapecut
into the endsof thejoining boards.
Dowe} Wood pins usedto reinforce
certaintypesof joints.
Edges:The narrowersurfaces
ofa
pieceof wood.
Edgejointing: Usinga jointer to cut
thin shavingsfrom the edgeof a
workpieceuntil it is flat and square
to the face.
140
F
Faces:
Thewidersurfaces
of a piece
ofwood.
Facejointing: Usinga jointer to cut
thin shavingsfrom the faceof a
workpieceuntil it is flat and square
to the edge.
Featherboard: A pieceofwood cut
with fingersor "feathers"at one end;
usedin conjunctionwith clampsto
holll workpiecesagainsta sawtable
or tence.
Feedpressure:Rateat which a work-
pieceis pushedinto the bladeor cut-
tersof a woodworkingmachine.
Fence:An adjustableguideto keep
the edgeof a workpiecea setdistance
from the cuttingedgeof a tool.
Fingerjoint: Similarto a box joint
but with narrowerintermeshingfin-
gers,typically lessthan /a inch wide.
Flute: A roundedconcavegroovecut
with a moldinghead.
Fly cutter: A drill pressaccessory
with a shaftand a sliding cutter blade
that canbe adiustedto makeholesof
variousdiameters.
Freehand:To cut a workpieceon a
band sawwithout usingeitherthe
miter gaugeor the fence;freehand
cutting shouldneverbe attempted
on the tablesawand radial arm saw
G-H-I
Grain: The arrangementand direc-
tion of the fibersthat makeup wood;
grain will look different in different
treesand asa resultof the sawing
technioueusedto harvestlumber
from tlie log.
Gullet: The gapbetweenteeth on a
sawblade.
Hardwood: Wood cut from decidu-
ous (leaf-shedding)trees;sometypes
may actuallybe soft and easyto cut.
Hook angle:Angleof the faceof a
sawblade'stooth in relationto a line
from the tip of the tooth to the cen-
ter of the b-lade.
Infeed:The part of a machine'stable
that is in front of the bladeor cutter
during a cuttingoperation.
In-rip: The positiona radialarm
sawblademust be in to rip a narrow
board;the motor is rotatedto situate
the bladenearthe fence.
I-K-L
fig: Devicefor guidinga tool or
holdinga workpiecein position.
Kerf: A cut madein wood by the
width of a sawblade.
Kickback The tendencyof a work-
pieceto be thrown backin the
directionof the operatorof a wood-
working machine.
M-N
Miter cut A cut that anglesacross
the faceof a workpiece.
Miter gauge:A devicethat slidesin a
slot on the sawtable,providingsup-
port for the stockasit movespastthe
bladefor crosscuts;canbe adjusted
to differentanglesfor miter cuts.
Moldinghead:A solidmetalwheel
that attachesto the arbor and holds
setsof identicalknivesfor carving
moldings;usedon tablesawsand
radial arm saws.
Mortise: A rectangularhole cut into
a pieceof wood.
Mortise-and-tenonjoint A joinery
techniquein which a projecting
tenonon oneboardis madeto fit
into a mortiseon another;in an
openmortise-and-tenon joint, the
mortiseis not stopped,but passes
completelythroughthe workpiece.
o-P
Ogee:A decorativemolding with an
S-shapedprofile.
Outfeed:The part of a machine's
tablethat is behindthe bladeduring
a cuttingoperation.
Out-rip: The positiona radialarm
sawblademustbe in to rip a wide
board;the motor is rotatedto posi-
tion it betweenthe bladeand fence.
Pawls:Pivotingleverswith sharp
endsdesignedto grip a workpiece
and preventit from beingkicked
backtoward the operator.
Pushstick A deviceusedto push a
workpieceinto a bladeor cutterso
asto protectthe operator'sfingers.
Q-R
Quill A sleevesurroundingthe spin-
dle of a drill press;the amount that
the quill canbe raisedand lowered
determinesthe depthof holea drill
presscan Dore.
Rabbet A step-likecut in the edgeor
end of a board;usuallyformspart of
a joint.
Raker:A tooth in a sawbladethat
clearsawaysawdustand wood chips
from the kerf.
Releasecut A preliminary incision
from the edgeof a workpieceto a
line aboutto be cut; suchprepara-
tions enablea band sawto cut along
tighter turns by facilitatingthe
removalof wastewood.
Reliefcut Sawinginto an auxiliary
fenceto provide clearancefor a table
sawor radial arm sawbladeor cutter.
Resaw:To reducethe thicknessof a
boardby cuttingit into two or more
thinnerpieces.
r4l
Reversethread: Machinethreadscut
so that a nut turns counterclockwise
to tighten;commonlyfound on saw
arborsto preventbladefasteners
from workingloose.
Rip cut A cut that followsthe grain
of a workpiece-usually madealong
its length.
S.T-U
Shoulder:In a mortise-and-tenon
joint, the part of the tenonperpen-
dicularto the cheek.
Softwood:Wood cut from logs of
(coniferous)trees.
cone-bearing
Spindle:The verticalrotating shaft
of a drill press;holdsthe chuckthat
gripsthe bit.
StoppedgrooYe:A groovethat does
not run the full length or width of
a workpiece.
Stoppedhole: A hole that doesnot
passall the way through a workpiece;
alsoknown asa blind hole.
Thpercut: An angledcut alongthe
lengthof a workpiecethat reduces
its width at one end.
Tearout:The tendencyof a bladeor
cutter to tear the fibersof the wood
it is cutting,leavingraggededgeson
the workpiece;a problemespecially
when crosscutting.
Tenon:A protrusionfrom the end of
a boardthat fits into a mortise.
V-W-X.Y-Z
Veneer:A thin layerof decorative
wood laid into or overa more com-
mon wood.
 INDEX
Pagereferencesin iralicsindicate taperjigs,99 plugcutters,.111, 118
an illustration of subjectmatter. Drill presses r a c k sl,l 0 - l l l
Pagereferencesin bold indicate aciessory rack,110-111 sandingdrums, 105,122-123
a Build It Yourselfproject. jigs for equallyspacedholes,ll2-ll3 sandingdrums,off-size(Shop
pocketholejigs,l17 Tip), 123
A sandingtableand pattern sanding Alignment,108-109
Ames,Judith,l0 insert, L22-123 checking(ShopTip), i09
Angle cuts,back endpaper tilting tablejigs, 114 B i t s .l I 0 - l l I
Band saws,98 Iointers Clamping,109
fointers,136-138,137 pushblocks,134 Integraltenons,I .18
Radialarm saws,63-64 V-blockjigs,137 Radialarm drill press,106
miter cuts,48-49,63,65 Radialarm saws Safetyprecautions,108,109
Tablesaws,35 fenceand tablefor dado and Sandingtableand pattern sanding
Angled holes: molding cuts,72 rnsert,122-123
Drill presses,104,lI2, 114, Ll4, ll7 miter jigs, 65 S h o pT i p s ,1 0 9 , 1 1 5 , 1 1162, 3
compoundangles(ShopTip), 116 taperjigs,68 Speeds,108,122
jigs,114,117 Tablesaws SeealsoDrilling
crosscutjigs,33 Duginske,Mark, ll
B jigs for repeatnarrow cuts,27
Band saws,9, 78-79,80-81 tenoningjigs,47 F-G-H
Alignment,82-84 Featherboards, backendpaper
Angle cuts,98 C Fingerjoints, 49, 76-77
Bladeguards,8Q 85 Carbide-tipped blades: Grooves:
Blades,79, 81,85, 86-88 Radialarm saws,58 Radialarm saws,71,72,73-74
bladelead (ShopTip), 94, 97 Tablesaws.20-21 Tablesaws,36,38,39
installation,87 Chamfers,136,137 Hold-down devices:
roundingofback edge(ShopTip), 88 Circles: Radialarm saws,60, 6I, 66
Crosscutting,94, 97 Centerfinders(ShopTip), lI5 Tablesaws,15,18,24,25
Curved cuts,78-79, 89-92 Circle-cuttingjigs, 93 Holes.SeeDrilling
blades,86 Quarter-circle-cutting jigs,79,92
circle-cuttingjigs, 93 Clamping: I-J
quarter-circle -cutting jigs, 79, 92 Drill presses,109 Integraltenons,118
rounding corners,92 Contractor'ssaws,13 figs:
Dovetailjoints, 101- 103 Covecutting, 43 Band saws
Guideassemblies, 84 81,83,85 Crosscutting: circle-cuttingjigs,93
Guideblocks,82, 83 Bandsaws,94,97 quarter-circle-attting jigs, 79,92
Multiple duplicatepieces,90,100 Radialarm saws,60, 62 V-block jigs, 95, 97
Pattern sawing,90-91 Tablesaws,30-33 Drill oresses
Pivot blocks,96 blades,20,21 jigs for equallyspacedholes,
Rip fences,80,94, 95, 97 jigs,30,33 lt2-tt3
Ripping,94,95,96 wide panels,34 pocketholejigs, 104,ll7
Safetyprecautions,79, 85 Curved cuts.SeeBandsaws:Curvedcuts t i l t i n g t a b l e j i g lsl 4
,
ShopTips, 88, 94 Cutterheads, 126,130-131,133 V-blockjigs,116
Stopblocks,100,102 Jointers
Tapercuts,98,99,99 D knife-setting jigs, l3l
Three-wheelband saws,8I Dado cuts.SeeDadoes; Grooves;Rabbets V-blockjigs,137
Benchtop table saws,13, .15 Dadoes: Radialarm saws
Bevelclamps,5Q 53 Radialarm saws,69-70 auxiliary fenceand table,72
Bevelcuts, 64, 98 repeatcuts(ShopTip), 70 fingerjointjigs,26
seealsoAngle cuts Tablesaws,36-37 miter jigs, 48-49,65
Bits: Dado heads,36-37, 69-70 taperjigs,68
Drill presses, 110-111 Dovetailjoints, 101-103 Tablesaws
Bladeguards,50,60,61 Dowels,111,118 box joints, 13,45
Band saws,80 Drilling, 112-118 crosscuts, 30,33
Radialarm saws,50,60,61 Angledholes,104-105,ll2, 114, multiple angledcuts,35
Blades.SeeBand saws;Radialarm saws; tL4. tt7 repeatnarrow cuts,27
Tablesaws compoundangles(ShopTip), 116 taper cuts,29
Boxjoints,44,45 j i g s ,1 1 4 , 1 1 7 tenoningjigs, 12-13,46,47
Fingerjoints,49,7G77 Centerfinders(ShopTip), 115 foinery, backendpaper
ligs, 13,76 Equallyspacedholes,ll2-ll3 Bandsaws,101-103
Build It Yourself: Drill presses,10,104-105,106-107 Drill presses, 118-121
Band saws Accessories. 1 10-111 Radialarm saws,49, 76-77
circle-cuttingjigs, 93 dowelcutters,111,118 Tablesaws,12-13,13,44-47
rip fences,95 mortising attachments,1 19-121 Jointers,11, 124-125,126-127

t42
 Alignment,128-129,133 dadoheads,69-70 Drill presses,105,122-123
Guards,126,127,128,136 installation,59, 69 off-sizedrums (ShopTips), 123
Knives,126,130-131 molding cutters,75 Radialarm saws,58
prolonginguse(ShopTip), 131 Crosscutting,62 Sawyer,Dave,9
Pushblocks.134 Dado cuts,69-74 ShopTips:
|ointing, 132-134 auxiliary fenceand table,72 Bandsaws,88,94
Chamfers,136,137 repeatdadoes(ShopTip), 70 Drill presses,109,115,116,123
Rabbets,136 Fences, 51,57,72 Jointers,l3l
136,137-138
tapercuts, 124-125, |oinery,49,7G77 Radialarm saws,64,70
Warpedboards,135 Moldings,72,75 Tablesaws,17,22,32
Seealsofointers Panels,67 Stationarysaws,13, 14
Portable,5l Stoppedgrooves,36, 39, 74
K-L.M Repeatcuts,62,70 Stoppedholes,113
Klausz,Frank, 8 ShopTips,64,70 Stoppedtapers,138
Lap joints,44 Shortworkpieces(ShopTip),64
Melamineblades,2.1 SeealsosubheadingRadialarm T
Miller-Mead, Giles,6-7 sawsunder figs; Ripping;Safety Tablesaws,6-7, 12,13,14-15,49
Miter clamps,50,51,52 precautions Accessories, l3
Miter cuts,48-49,63,65,98 Resawing,28,96 hold-down devices,15, 18,24, 25
seealsoAngle cuts Rip clamps,51,54 molding cutters,13,40-41
Miter gauges: Rip fences: roller stands,.1426
Band saws,80,81, 84, 97, 98 Bandsaws,80,94,95,97 specializedbladeguards,19
Tablesaws,73,14,15,17,30,32 Tablesaws,14,15,17,18,24 Nignment, 16-17
fixing a loose(ShopTip), 17 crosscuttingguide,3l Angle cuts,35
rip fenceswith, 18,24,30,31 miter gauges with, 18,24,30,31 Bladeguards,13,14,18,19
wide panels,34 Ripping: Blades,20-21,23
Miter jigs, 48-49,65 Bandsaws,94,95,96 dado heads.36-32
Moldings: cylinders,95 installation,22, 37
Radialarm saws,72,75 Radialarm saws,60-61, 66-67 Dadocuts,36-39
"Off'
Tablesaws,40-43 taper cuts,68 Hands-free switch (Shop
Mortise-and-tenon joints: Tablesaws,20,24-25 Tip),32
Drill presses,119-121 anglecuts,35 Moldings, 40-43
Table saws,12-13,44,46-47 narrow strips,27,27 Portable,13,15
resawing,23 Repeatcuts,27,32
P-Q-R taper cuts,29 ShopTips, 17,22,32
Panels: wide panels,26 Tableinserts(ShopTip), 22
Radialarm saws,67 Roller stands,14 26 SeealsosubheadingTablesawsunder
Table saws,26, 34 Routers: Crosscutting;|igs; Miter gauges;
Planers, 125,127,139 Drill presses, 122 Rip fences;Ripping;
Drill presses, lll Radialarm saws,5l Safetyprecautions
Radialarm saws,58 Tapercuts:
P l u g sl ,l l , 1 1 8 S Bandsaws,98,99,99
Plywoodblades,2l Safetyprecautions,front endpaper fointers,124-125,136,137-138
Pdckethole jigs, 104,Ll7 Bandsaws,79, 85 Radialarm saws,68
Pushblocks,134 Drill presses,108, 109 Tablesaws,29
Pushsticl,rs, /ront endpaper fointers, 126,127,128,129,136 Taperjigs:
Quarter-circle-attting jigs, 79,92 guards,126,127,128,136 Bandsaws,99
Rabbets: Radialarm saws,58,60,62,67 Radialarm saws,68
Jointers,136 bladeguards,50,60,61,75 Tablesaws.29
Radialarm saws,7l hold-down devices,60,61, 66 Tenoningjigs, 12-13,46,47
Tablesaws,36, 38 kickback,58,60,61,66 Tenons:
Radialarm drill presses,106 Tablesaws,13,l& 30 Integraltenons,l18
Radialarm saws,8, 48-49,50-51 bladeguards,13,14,18,19 SeealsoMortise-and-tenon joints
"Off'
Accessories, 5& 75 hands-free switch (Shop Three-wheelband saws,8l
hold-down devices,60,61, 66 Tip),32 Tiltingtablejigs,l14
router bits, 5-l hold-down devices,15, 18,24, 25
specialized bladeguards,60,61,75 kickback,18,L9,20,24,25 U-V.W-X-Y-Z
Adjustment,49,52-57 moldingcutters,40 V-block jigs, 95,97, 1 16,137
Angle cuts, 48-49,63-64,65 tableinserts(ShopTip), 22 Warpedboards,135,139
Auxiliarytables,51,57,72 Sanding: Yoke clamps,5Q 53
finger joints,49,76 Drill presses,122-123
Bladeguards,50,60,61,75 sandingtableand pattern sanding
Blades, 49,58,59,62 inserL,122-123
alignment,55-57 Sandingdrums:

143
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Theeditorswish to thank thefollowing

TABLESAW
Delta InternationalMachinery,Guelph,Ont.; FreudWestmore
Tools,Ltd., Mississauga,Ont.; LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,
Ont.; LeichtungWorkshops,Cleveland,OH; Makita Canada
Ltd., Whitby, Ont.; HTC Products,Inc., RoyalOak, MI;
RichardsEngineeringCo., Ltd., Vancouver,BC; Sears,Roebuck
and Co., Chicago,IL; Shopsmith,Inc., Montr6al, Que.;
Vermont AmericanCorp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY

RADIALARMSAW
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; FisherHill Products,Inc.,
Fitzwilliam,NH; FreudWestmoreTools,Ltd., Mississauga,
Ont.; G & W Tool, Inc., Tulsa,OK; Jon Eakes,Montrdal, Que.;
RichardsEngineeringCo. Ltd., Vancouver,BC; Ryobi America
Corp., Anderson,SC;Sears,Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL;
Shopsmith,Inc., Montr6al, Que.;Vermont AmericanCorp.,
Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY

BANDSAW
Delta InternationalMachinery Guelph,Ont.; GarrettWade
Co., Inc., New York, NY; LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont.;
Mohawk FinishingProductsof Canada,Montr6al, Que.;
Shopsmith,Inc., Montr6al, Que.;Vermont AmericanCorp.,
Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY

DRILLPRESS
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; Delta International
Machinery,Guelph,Ont.; G & W Tool, Inc., Tulsa,OK;
LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont.

JOINTER/PLANER
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; Hitachi PowerTools U.S.A.
Ltd., Norcross,GA; LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont.;
CommunicationMasters,Norcross,GA; Shopsmith,Inc.,
Montrdal,Que.;UniquestCorp.,Murriy, UT

Thefotlowingpersonsalsoassistedin thepreparation
of this book:

Nyla Ahmad, RenaudBoisjoly,MaryseDoray, Lorraine Dor6,

Naomi Fukuyama,Graphor Consultation,fos6eLaperrilre,
G6rardMariscalchi,JenniferMeltzer,NicolasMoumouris,
Maryo Proulx, ShirleySylvain,JamesTherrien

PICTURECREDITS
Cover PaulMcCarthy/Au Puits de LumiEre
6,7 RobertChartier
8 PatrickHarbron/Outline
9 Carl Valiquet Photographe
l0 RaymondGendreau
11 GlenHartjes/ImageStudios

144
I
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WORKSHO
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MAKINGYOUROWNFEATHERBOARDg
t Fealherboarde,also knownae fin7erboarde,are ueed'I'o keepolock
Sincethey 7ermit'
I Vreooedenuqlyaqatnellhe fenceor Lableof a eaw'
a w o r k p i e c eL o m o v eo n l y i n o n e d i r e c t i o n - f o w a r d t h e b l a d e -
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I i n c h - l h i c k b o a r d :c h o o s eL h i c k e re t o c k i f y o u w i l l b e r e e a w i n qo r
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