Dr. Wood Discusses:

Table Saws:

Remember that all power tools are potentially dangerous. Always wear eye and ear protection when using woodworking tools. Read and understand the manuals and instructions provided with your tools, and never use a tool in a way that endangers you or those around you.

Regardless of whether you are interested in adding a room onto your house, making furniture, or constructing small decorative boxes, the table saw and the router are the two most functional and versatile tools to begin your shop. Walk into any shop and the first tool that you usually see, the one sitting out in the middle of the shop floor, is the table saw. This workhorse is the centerpiece of any shop that produces quality, precision woodwork. The reason for this is the tool's unique ability to rip and cross-cut both lumber and plywood with speed and accuracy. Because the table saw is used to cut the wood into usable sizes, it must generally be positioned in the middle of the shop with plenty of maneuvering room around it.

The table saw is, as it's name implies, a table surface through which the saw blade extends. Wood is laid on the table surface and pushed past the blade. It must be stressed that the table saw is responsible for more shop accidents than any other tool, and it demands your respect and undivided attention if it is to be used safely. Analysis of most table saw-related shop accidents reveals that injures occur when the operator is tired, is rushed or distracted, or has removed important safety features from the saw. Never remove the blade guard and splitter from your saw unless the cut you are making demands it, and then reinstall the guard before proceeding. There is no substitute for safety.

Before we discuss the features that you should consider when purchasing a table saw, let's go over a few woodworking terms. Cutting a piece of lumber lengthwise along the grain is called 'ripping', while cutting across the grain is called 'cross-cutting'. A cross-cut that angles across the grain is called a 'miter'. The table saw does all of these cuts well, although some precision mitering jobs are best done on a motorized miterbox or 'chopsaw'. The saw itself consists of the table surface, which is usually cast iron, a stand or cabinet that houses the saw blade, a trunion that attaches the blade to the saw and holds it in alignment, and a motor to power the blade. Two standard accessories found with all table saws are the rip fence and miter-gauge. As their names imply, these accessories are used to rip and cross-cut or miter wood. All table saws will also feature two hand wheels, one to raise and lower the blade (usually located on the front of the saw under the table surface) and another hand wheel to tilt the blade for mitered cuts (located on the side of the saw). The surface of most table saws has two slots machined from front to back. These are the miter-gauge slots in which the miter-gauge slides.

When looking for a table saw, several features must be considered. The first is the type of saw you will need. There are three basic styles of table saw: Contractor saws, cabinet saws, and table-top models. Unless you need to carry your saw around with you to do light trim work I recommend that you consider one of the first two types of saws over the table-top models. Table-top saws use smaller blades and motors, and have much lighter overall construction than full-sized saws. They will not cut larger pieces of wood and can be dangerous if you try to use them for a job that is too big. Contractor saws are full-sized saws with an open style base. If the saw is direct-drive the motor will be housed within the base, while most belt-driven contractor saws have the motor suspended off the back of the saw. Belt-driven saws are preferred over direct-drive models because the belt isolates the blade from motor vibration. Contractor saws are the most popular style of table saw for both the tradesman and the home hobbyist because of their ability of combine function with affordability, plus they use common 115V house current. Cabinet saws are larger machines with enclosed stands, and are usually found in cabinet shops. Their motors are typically 3HP or larger and require 220V service. Although the power, precision, size, and mass of cabinet saws make them attractive to the tool buyer, their cost can be prohibitive for the home shop. A new entry in the table saw market is the 'Hybrid' saw. A hybrid looks outwardly like a cabinet saw with an enclosed base and more efficient dust collection, but closer examination will show that it is a contractor saw at heart: It runs on 115V and has a contractor-style trunnion mounted to the underside of the table.

Consider the features that make fast, accurate cutting possible. I recommend only a full size saw that uses a 10 inch blade. Saws with smaller blades are usually under powered and will quickly show their limitations. Look for a smooth, flat, well-ground cast iron table surface. I would stay away from saws with aluminum tops and open or ribbed surfaces. Aluminum is flexible, not what you want in a saw. Ribbed surfaces are designed to hold sawdust and provide a cleaner working surface, but my experience is that these ribs are notorious for catching the edge of your work. Make sure that the saw you are contemplating has sufficient power to do your work. Ignore the horsepower claims of the manufacturers and look at how much amperage the motor draws at a given voltage. For instance, I would not consider a saw that drew less than 15 amps at 115 volts because it will bog down on hard woods or deep cuts. Finally, I would stay away from saws where the table tilts for beveled cuts. Most table saws today have tilting arbors that allow the table surface to remain horizontal. Tilting tables are dangerous to use and can cause problems if the table moves unexpectedly during use.

One of the most important features in your table saw is the rip fence. Make sure it is easy to set up and accurate. Manufacturers sometimes skimp on the rip fence, but this is false economy. Quality fences are available to retrofit saws that lack a decent fence, so if you are buying a used tool or if you want to up-grade the fence on your existing saw I recommend that you look into fences made by Biesemeyer, Delta, or Jet. The T-square fence concept was pioneered by Biesemeyer, and this fence is generally considered to be the best on the market today. Miter gauges are fairly standard on most table saws, although saws with a T-slot design are superior to those with a straight channel. You will want to add a wooden auxiliary fence to your miter gauge to increase accuracy and safety. Consult your owner's manual or a book on table saws to get ideas for auxiliary fences.

When you get your new table saw you will need to 'tune' it to ensure optimum performance. Do not assume that the manufacturer has adjusted the saw to meet your needs. A little time invested in tuning your saw at the outset will pay off later in more accuracy and smoother, safer performance. All adjustments to the saw are made relative to the miter slots machined into the top of the table. UNPLUG THE SAW! The first thing to do is assure parallel alignment of the blade to the miter slots. To do this extend the blade fully out of the table and place a combination square against the edge of the miter slot, extending the ruler so that it just touches one tooth on the front edge of the blade. Mark that tooth and rotate the blade until the marked tooth is at the back of the blade. The rule should again just touch the tooth. If you have a contractor-style saw and you find that the blade is not parallel to the miter slot you will need to loosen three of the the four bolts that fasten the sawblade trunion to the underside of the table and move the trunion until the blade is aligned. Then tighten the three bolts and loosen the forth bolt to release any tension. Then retighten that bolt, as well. If you have a cabinet saw you will loosen the four cap-head screws that hold the table onto the cabinet and move the tabletop to align the blade. Then retighten the screws. You will not need to do this often, but it will ensure straight cuts and safe ripping for as long as you own the tool.

Next adjust your rip fence so that it is parallel to the miter slot, and thus to the blade. A rip fence that is closer to the back of the saw blade than it is to the front can cause the wood to bind between the blade and fence during ripping, a leading cause of kick-back. Kick-back is when the saw blade throws the wood back at the operator, and can be extremely exciting at the least, and dangerous at worst. When ripping boards, push the wood against the table and fence as you feed the wood through the blade. Stand to the side of the work to protect yourself against injury in the event of a kick-back. Use push-sticks or other safety devises whenever possible to keep your hands away from the blade.

Adjustment of the miter gauge is simply a matter of squaring the gauge fence to the blade. Use a square or other layout tool to insure an accurate setting. If the bar of the miter gauge has too much play in the miter slot, increase its width by peening a small dimple into the side of the guide bar using a center punch. If the bar is then too tight, file down the dimple until a satisfactory fit is achieved. Many fine after-market miter gauges are available to replace the marginal gauges provided with most saws. When crosscutting your stock, stand behind the miter gauge with the wood securely held against the gauge and the table surface. As you push the wood through the blade do not try to hold onto both pieces of wood. Let the cut-off fall away from the piece you are holding against the miter gauge. The cut-off will 'die' on the table and rest there until you have turned off your saw and can safely remove it.

There are a number of blades on the market, and each style of blade is designed to accomplish a particular task. Blades are available in either high-speed steel or carbide-tipped configurations. Steel blades are less expensive, but as with all aspects of woodworking, the less you pay the less you get. I recommend using only carbide-tipped saw blades because they cut faster, cooler, and more smoothly than steel blades. Blades intended for ripping wood have fewer teeth (24 to 40 in a 10" blade) with deep gullets between the teeth. Cross-cut blades have more teeth ( 40 to 80 ) and shallow gullets. A compromise between these choices is a combination blade, which will do an adequate job of both ripping and cross-cutting, but will not do an outstanding job at either. If you can afford only one blade at first make it a carbide combination blade. Thin-kerf blades are used if you are trying to conserve precious woods or if your saw is under powered. If you plan to work in materials other than wood, such as plastic, aluminum, Corian® or laminated particle board choose blades specifically designed for these materials. Accessory cutters are available for table saws to do moldings and dados. My recommendation is to stay away from so-called 'wobble dados' that cut a groove by moving back and forth across the wood. Instead, I would opt for a stacked dado with carbide teeth. The test of a quality dado blade is its ability to cut a groove across the grain in oak-veneered plywood without causing chipping of the veneer. Inferior dado blades will cause significant damage to the veneer, while quality cutters will yield a satin-smooth edge.

A number of commercial and shop-made safety devises are available for the table saw. The blade guard and splitter that come with your saw are the most important devises, but you will want to have a variety of push sticks, featherboards, and hold-downs at your disposal during your work. Keep these aids near you when you are working so that they are easily available. Push sticks help you to advance the wood past the blade without getting your hands near the blade, while featherboards help to hold the work against the table or rip fence. Roller-style anti-kickback systems are useful for holding the wood securely against the table and fence during ripping, and are a big help in one-person sawing operations.

Finally, if you are interested in table saws and want to know more about them and how to use them, several fine books and videos are available dealing specifically with table saws. These sources deal in depth with many of the topics I touched on in this article, and they will help you to get the most out of your table saw. Ask your book seller or woodworker's supply for available titles.