Here’s what went wrong as I worked all weekend on a kitchen table for my daughter.
(Most ambitious project to date for two year woodworker)
1) Underpowered saw continually stalls and trips breaker as I try to cutoff and rip legs from a length of 12/4 maple.
2) Find that I don’t have a wide enough table to glue up a 36 inch panel for the table top. Bring it down to 32 and do it in stages.
3) After glue up I have to belt sand the panel level because during the harried glue up I failed to get all the boards flush. During sanding, a shop rag gets pulled into the belt sander. I have to disassemble it to remove the rag. A small part falls out that I never can figure out how or where to replace. The sander works anyway.
4) I run out of maple (on Sunday) and am two side aprons short.
5) Realize that I have tapered the legs without chopping the mortises first. Now I’m having a bugger of a time flushing them up against the fence on my hollow chisel mortiser in order to chop straight mortises.
6) Wake up this morning to find that my tabletop has cupped slightly. Call a lumber yard that has a 36″ drum sander and the guy says wait a couple days.. it’ll probably cup some more. (Joy!)
Wish I hadn’t told my daughter I was making her a kitchen table until after I’d done it. (Sigh!)
Replies
I know how you feel. I have a cradle I started building two years ago. My buddies kid, obviously too big for it now. I have learned that it is best to keep your mouth shut until the project is done.
derek
All of us have been there, done that. Hang in there!
A few lessons you have now learned, that each of us learned the hard way:
1) Tackle projects that your tools will handle. There's nothing worse than not having the right tool for the job. There are plenty of great projects that your tools will handle.
2) Let the wood sit and dry for a long time before using it, or get a cheap moisture meter to make sure it's dried.
3) Make sure the wood is flat before doing anything else. This step alone makes woodworking 10 times easier.
4) Make sure the edges of the boards are square before gluing them up. This can be on a table saw, jointer, or with an edge plane.
5) Forget the belt sander. A decent handplane is a lot more fun and makes you feel as if you know what you're doing.
6) Cut the mortises first.
7) In general, spend about five minutes thinking for every one minute you spend cutting.
Believe me, I have made mistakes far worse and far dumber. I make fewer now, mainly by rigorously following #7, but those I make still drive me crazy. I'm hoping that someday it will be easier, but I doubt it.
Thanks for the encouragement, Mark.
Everything that went wrong this weekend could have been avoided, as you say, with a little careful consideration.
I mean, what was I thinking buying 12/4 maple when I own a Craftsman contractor saw? You should have smelled the electrical smell in my shop (garage) after a I finally succeded in getting my four leg blanks out of that monster board.
As for the handplane, I have a LN #5 but I am horrible with it.. plus it was ineffective against the edges sticking up on my panel. I really had no choice but the belt sander.
I've made two smaller tables out of walnut that I was happy with. Maybe I'll just stick to that species since it is apparantly more stable than others.
bill
If you have a bandsaw, try cutting those leg blanks of 12/4 maple with it, instead of the table saw. Back when I had only a contractor's saw, I could never cut 10/4 or 12/4 anything, and someone tipped me off to the bandsaw. Just clean it up at the jointer after. If not, never mind!!!!
JC
I do have a bandsaw. I thought of using it.. but then I looked at that 10 ft X 5 1/2" 12/4 maple monster and flopped it on the TS instead.
bill- Unless I'm mistaken, I though you said you were using the maple 12/4 for table leg stock. Cross cut it to length, first, and then rip it on the bandsaw. Much easier that way, and with an outfeed support of whatever you have in the shop, you don't have to worry about it falling off the end of the bandsaw. You can also taper the legs on the bandsaw, and clean up the rough cut to your line with your jointer, or better yet, a hand plane. I make tapered legs frequently, and this process has been fool proof for me. Also, you won't have any 'hail damage' from planing the taper, or even sanding it with that belt sander of yours. Eventually, you'll want to replace that belt sander with a smoothing plane and card scrapers, though.
JC
In addition to be a lousy woodworker I am also, apparantly, not very good at making myself clearly understood.
I did crosscut the leg stock first. Even so, ripping it proved to be difficult.
I taper on the jointer which works well for me. I just wish I'd mortised first because even though I have a six inch "post" it was still tough to set up for mortising on my HCM.
Bill,
Crosscut to length first, then rip. Trying to rip 12/4 anything in ten foot lengths is doing it the very hard way.
You should take some courses or read about the basics of woodworking, everything you described as going wrong is due to poor technique.
John W.
Er, I did crosscut first. Thanks, John
There is no reason why a well tuned Craftsman Contractor Saw should not cross cut and rip 12/4 maple if, and this is the big IF, you use the correct blades. For ripping, use a job specific 24 tooth rip blade and use a good 40 or 50 tooth combo or crosscut blade.
In addition, be sure your saw in plugged into a dedicated 20 am circuit with a 20 amp breaker.Howie.........
Well, it did the job. Just not happily.
The #5 is still more of a smoothing plane I think, so you're not going to take off much material. I have the L-N low angle jack, but any similar plane would do the same thing. Takes off material much faster than a belt sander.
Bill, what kind of blade are you using? I use a Craftsman (not proud of it, just true) contractor saw, and do OK on 12/4 maple. But I have a higher end saw, belt driven, and use a thin-kerf Freud rip blade that really cuts well. Also, there's no need to do it all in one pass; just straighten the side that goes against the fence and raise the blade a bit more for each pass.
Other folks are right, we've all had these problems and they never completely go away. It's really about taking your time, and planning well.
CharlieI tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
Using a Freud combo.. but never thought about making multiple passes and raising the blade. Dern good idea! Thanks. But.. wish I had a 3hp, 220 v, cabinet saw anyway.
Hi, Bill,
It was actually a piece of maple furniture that enabled me to justify replacing my 10" Craftsman TS with a Unisaw. It was an entertainment center that now sits in a neighbor's family room becasue my wife decided it was too big for our living room. I remade the piece and still have the Unisaw...
PS 57 is young. What is troubling your efforts is a lack of patience. So slow down, as everyone has suggested, and use woodworking as a means of gaining patience. It's working for me...
I'm going to make a sign out of your list, and post it in the shop!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Bill,
Welcome to the world of woodworking! Seriously, we've all been there, done that. Anyone who says they haven't is lying. <g>
Planning cannot be replaced by anything. As markroderick said, you'll spend more time planning than actually performing any work; but it will save you time in the long run.
Example: I've been working on a pair of end tables for my wife's mother. We're driving up for a visit next week. I'll get them completed including all the finish steps, but it'll be close. Regardless of that, I took about an hour one day last week to plan for my next project -- a mahogany side table. I rough cut pieces out of 8/4; ripped pieces for the legs; resawed other blocks for the aprons and the top frame; resawed a figured piece for the top panel; all of which needs to sit for a couple of weeks to equalize. The hour I spent on that task will pay off when I start on the side table in a couple of weeks.
I didn't say all of that to pat myself on the back; there are other times that I don't plan so well and really have to scramble. Others can give even better examples of planning steps.
Hang in there!
Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
The single biggest mistake I made, I think, is not letting the wood equalize after rough cutting.
I went straight to the jointer, planer and tablesaw with 5/4 maple boards of 10' to 12' in length. They had been stickered in my shop (garage) since May so I thought they were ready to go.
I knew from reading and from my tape tutorials that I should have waited.. but I didn't.
Maybe I'll stop being so hard headed one of these days. But at age 57, I'll be somewhat surprised if I make any significant personality improvements.
Thanks for responding.
Bill,
I think using maple is your first issue..I have had nothing but bad luck with that stuff except in a workbench. It sems to me you've really got to know how to read the wood, etc. with maple..
I made a table for my daughter using Ash with turned legs. It came out well...luckily I'm against cloning so having the legs all the same was not required....lol
I must be against cloning, too. None of the four legs I tapered look alike, either. I do 'em on the jointer and continually forget which side I just ran.. and how many times I've done each side.
Yeah, I'm done with maple. Going back to walnut.. maybe some cherry and quartersawn oak.
The maple boards I milled.. never could tell grain direction going across the jointer and into the planer.. until I saw the "hail damage" on it after the run.
"None of the four legs I tapered look alike, either. I do 'em on the jointer and continually forget which side I just ran..."
A couple of things here. I just ran eight legs (four each for two end tables) with tapers on both inside faces. After taking the time to decide which two faces should be out, I placed a piece of blue tape on the corner between those faces. I cut the tapers on my tablesaw using a Freud 'Glue Line Rip' blade. On either of the two cuts on a leg, the blue tape cannot be toward the blade. In addition, I make sure to set the new piece in my jig so I turn it clockwise for the second cut. With the blade I mentioned, a light sanding with some 150 on a block is all it takes to clean it up.
Regards,Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
The tape is a great idea!
Bill, follow the link below for a way to do repetitive profiles with consistent results.
Your Lie-Nielsen plane worked fine when I checked it out. it should have no problem handling the tasks you described earlier in this thread.
I guess it's a pity in some ways that I'm no longer still in Hellston. After reading your wee tale of woe here I'm sure I could have got you on the right track in short order with a wee visit, ha, ha. Slainte.
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-knots&msg=19983.1RJFurniture
Richard, I'm certain you won't understand how it is that I cannot decipher the jig you illustrated in the link.. but I cannot. THICK, I am.
As to the LN plane you helped me with.. I was attempting to use it to bring my tabletop panel flat.. but it just skidded right over the wee edges of three boards that were protruding after glue up. I did, however, manage to gouge up other parts of the panel a bit. I am hoplessly inept with a plane.
I'm afraid that were you still here, a visit would only leave you frustrated with my nearly hopless ineptitude. An example:
Chopping mortises today I set up my HCM depth stop for 1 3/8". Then I chopped all eight mortises.. only to discover that I had failed to account for the fact that the leg thickness is different when you turn them from one side to the other. So I had to go back and rechop four of the mortises to the proper depth. On the very first one.. I set the depth stop to reach 1 3/8" at that thickness.. but neglected to lock it down.. and didn't realize my error until I had stair stepped the entire length (3") at ever deeper increments. I'm just lucky I didn't plunge all the way through!
I've yet to cut the tenons (which I plan to do on the TS with a dado blade) because I feel the need to step back from this project for a few days and collect myself.
I've also come to realize that I don't have clamps that will reach the length (60") of the leg/apron assembly for glue up. I have two pipe clamps that I will have to buy extenders for to reach the distance.
I also want to use my router to round over the table edge all around.. but never having performed this procedure has left me understandably frozen with fear. I have a fence for my Bosch router and I plan to practice on scrap before attempting the actual maneuver.
I wish I would win the lottery. I'd move my family to the UK and enroll in your school.
Cheers!
Bill
There are an infinite number of ways to screw up a woodworking project.
Ain't it fun?
Hang in there.
You are so right. Thanks, I will.
"Maybe I'll stop being so hard headed one of these days."
Not a chance!!!!!!! Hey! We're in this together. I'm age 60 and I decided a long time ago it ain't worth trying to shake the heardheaded attribute. I is what I is and that's that!!!
Be good!Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
LOVE that attitude, bro!
I had to laugh when reading about your lack of "progress" over the weekend. We've all been there. I was in the shop yesterday for about 3 hours. Didn't get a solid thing accomplished. Except that I spent it with my 11 year old son showing him how to do one thing or another(we made wooden dice from scraps, he did all the work). Nothing really accomplished other than screwing around with my little guy. I know it sounds corny but sometimes those hours spent in the shop are the best.
In my opinion, speaking as the father of an 8 year old, (even if I am old enough to be his grandfather), you just spent the most productive three hours a man can spend.
Bill:
I have had many of those days too-- I have spent the entire morning with my 4 year old in my shop. I used to think that I got little if anything accomplished. Till one day my little guy said, "Dad I fun with you in the shop can we do it again tomorrow... My first thought was to tell him "no" because I wanted to get my own projects done-- how selfish of myself.
Now I cherish being in the shop "getting nothing done" because I know my little guy appreciates working with dad and will remember it forever.
Although it is nice to get some progress going on projects...
Take care
Mark
bill,
I've been there and will be there again. As others have said planning is a big part. My dad says spending a half hour the night before, setting up will save you time later. I've said this before here but it bears repeating.
The other thing I would like to mention is rushing. There isn't any reason too. If a gift is late, it's still appreciated.
BTW. Were you using a rip blade? It makes a big difference. Spraying on blade coat helps too. I cut 12/4 maple on my Ryobi BT3000. Without buring by feeding it steadly through.
Hang in there. When your finished with the table you'll be rewarded with a very appreciative daughter. I'm sure she will brag to all her friends how wonderful her dad is.
enjoy
Thanks, Len. I'm sure Heidi's going to love her new table.. and the best part.. I know she'll have it long after I'm gone.. and that maybe one day one of my grandkids will have it.
Fine furniture sort of immortializes you that way. I've made my youngest daugther, (5yrs), a corner cabinet for her doll collection.. and I've made my son, 8, a walnut box with handcut dovetails (that look more like finger joints). And I've made them both walnut computer tables.
I've made my wife a small table too and even though they all enjoy getting these things.. it is I who derive the most pleasure and satisfaction.
Ya, happens to all of us.
Ever purchased a new Porter Cable circular saw and when you do the first cut with your saw it's just smoke all over the place? So you stop to figure out that you put the blade in the wrong way around, even although it has a nice big arrow showing direction of rotation!
Jellyrug
I've actually back loaded blades on my TS and BS.. but somehow figured out I'd done wrong before I fired 'em up. Also back loaded the magazine for my Glock 17. Fortunately, the mag won't go in that way.
Hi bill,
I'd like to think that I am starting to get closer to making "Fine furniture" And now about 60% of my income is coming from the shop. About a month ago I built a nice table out of the most gorgous Bubinga burl I've ever seen. I didn't join the table top to the leg/ apron assembly untill the last thing. So I set the top on the legs and stand back admireing my work. Untill I squatted down to center the top to the aprons. THE TOP WAS TOO SHORT. I must have read the wrong cursor on my Unifence when I cut the top to leingth. $500 in lumber and a very long week and the freaking top is one inch too short!!
But wait thats not all. I then drive from Texas to Florida to deliver it to my friend as a wedding gift, I was the best man. To shorten a long story I left the table in the back of my van and it got too hot. The finish blistered all across the top. I had leveled and buffed the Shellac finish to absolute perfection. Now it looked like a 16 year old chocoholic suffering from a horrible acne breakout! The blisters were all the way down to the wood; right through 5 or 6 coats of shellac. I almost cried. He didn't know about the gift and I didn't know what to do. So I showed him his gift and told him "Sorry I'll have to take it back home to refinish it". Of course he loved the table and said no big deal...... But man that table really humbled me. Lessons learned. I hope you don't mind if I include a pic (pre ruined finish) Look real close and you can see the table is to small, the coves under the top should meet the corner of the leg.
Mike,
Nice table and good recovery of making the top work. If you did not tell, I would never have known!
How long after applying the finish did you have the blistering?
Di you take the photo with a normal flash, or used some lighting?
Jellyrug
Thank you for the compliment,
The finish hadn't completely cured. It was maybe 24 hours after the last coat. I still don't know if that had anything to do with it. It was such a bone head thing to do (leaving it in the van in the sun) that I didn't want to post it here. Here is another pic where you can see the mistake more clearly. Even at this angle it is not as obvious as when you look at it from the front. I took the pics from the best angles to hide the mistake. I actually completed the piece at 2:00 AM 24 hours before I had to be in Florida! So I took those pics in the garage at 2:00AM with two dual beam halogen lights shining from two angles. I don't think the flash went off. Honestly they aren't as good pics as I usually try for. There was no space for me to stand because the shop was trashed.
To the poster, I don't think that you made any mistake that even very experienced craftsman make from time to time. And never ever pass on a project that seems "beyond your skill". Wood working is darn easy. Measure and cut is 80% of it, the rest is the order of events. Take your time, do a lot of head scratching and set realistic time schedules, then double that. ;-)
Mike
P.S. I made two bone head mistakes in the shop today. I cut 10 large pieces of a huge library 4 inches too short and dadoed the OUTSIDE face of the sides to recieve shelf standards! (That would be the end of the bookcase where there are no shelves.) Live and learn.please excuse my spelling.
Beautiful table. I can't see anything wrong with it.
I'm dreading completing my leg/apron assembly because that's when I put the top on to see if it's flat enough to attach.
Thanks for sharing your story.. but the table really is beautiful.
"I must have read the wrong cursor on my Unifence when I cut the top to leingth."
Not to pick nits...but this is the second time in as many days I've heard someone mention errors attributed to the Unifence cursor.
I have a Jet JTAS10XL tablesaw. I've confirmed the fence cursor (only has one cursor) is dead-on with the blade I'm using. The last thing I do when I'm preparing a cut is to measure the fence-to-blade distance with the tape measure I'm using for a project. Unless I'm making a really rough cut, I always use the tape measure as the final reference point. Seems only logical to me.
Regards,Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Bill,
The fence is perfectly accurate, and I only ever have to reset it after changing blades or messing with the toe out. Unifences have two cursors right next to each other for the two fence orientations. I actually looked at the wrong one. Not the first time, but it is the first time I didn't catch it before it was too late. I have now put a piece of black electrical tape over the other cursor. I'm sure this happens all the tim to Unifence users; none the less I have used several systems and believe it to be the best.
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
Bill,
I didn't have a chance read everyone's posts so this may be covered. It has been my expereince that after you unclamp a glue-up, it is best to stand it on end to assure equal air circulation rather than laying it flat. Assuming your edges were square, this will help avoid cupping.
As someone said, your worse day in the shop is better than your best day in the office. Hope next weekend goes better.
Doug
Thanks for the tip, Doug. I took my tabletop to the mill today where they sanded it flat as a tortilla. Promptly brought it home and stain/sealed it. Hopefully it stays flat. If not, this will be a table with "character".. like all the other stuff I make. LOL
If you tripped the breaker, there can be a few causes. Mechanically, the blade may not be sharp/agressive enough to do the job or the saw may be out of adjustment, causing the wood to bind against the fence. To cut down on burning, especially maple and cherry, cut halfway through, then reverse the piece and cut through the other side. Just like when cutting a dado, you can't use a splitter or guard, but if you feel a lot of resistance, there's a problem. Is your blade clean and free if pitch & gum?
I don't know what you use for a blade, but a good hollow ground will cut down on friction, especially if you use a blade lube. I use an Oldham 60T finishing blade for normal, everyday cutting that doesn't need to be perfect on a Grizzly 1023S w/ 7' rails. For hardwoods and when the cut needs to be very clean, I use a Forrest Woodworker ll 40T. I actually get a better finish than with my jointer and it glides through with very little friction. I have seen this blade on sale for about $90. It's well worth it. They use a really high quality carbide and offer sharpening services. I just started using it again after resharpening (it took years to get to the point where it needed it) and made drawers for my kitchen cabinets out of Baltic Birch plywood. Totally clean cuts. Can't even see saw marks.
Electrically, the wire going to the saw isn't heavy enough or the saw may be sharing the circuit with something else. Inadequate wire gauge causes the voltage to drop and the current drawn by the saw increases. The power formula (Ohm's Law) states that P(power, usually in Watts) = I(current) x E(voltage). To keep the power constant, if the voltage decreases, the current has to increase. EX. If you have a 120V 2HP motor, it will require about 12.5A @120V. If the line voltage drops to 100, you're now drawing about 15A. Now add wires that get hot when too much current is run through them and the voltage drops more, increasing the current, stressing everything from the breaker panel all the way to the motor.
You may need to spend some time checking and setting up the saw. If the trunions are out of adjustment, nothing you cut will be clean and accurate. Same for the fence. I had a hard time trusting my fence for a long time and since I reset everything, I use the tape on the rail, then occasionally check for accuracy. Consistently on the money, and I usually mark with a knife blade, not a pen/pencil. Also, if you use only one tape measure, you'll have only one reference, not multiple. Tape measures aren't totally consistent, especially if the tape is allowed to snap into the case frequently. The rivet holes elongate and you won't be totally accurate. When there are a lot of parts to a project, tolerance stacking becomes a big problem.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Let me begin by thanking you for taking so much time to address my problem coaxing hard maple through my Craftsman TS.
When I bought the saw I also bought a policy which include annual tune ups by a Craftsman technician. The tech who came a few months ago was really good. She got my saw perfectly tuned.. even though I thought it already was.
I have a dedicated circuit for my TS so I don't think line voltage was the issue. And my blade, although not a WW ll, is a 40 T Freud combo blade which is practically new.
What I experienced was the following. I'm pushing the 12/4 leg blanks (51/2" X 3" X30") along the fence and it's going slowly because of the density of the maple. Suddenly, the blade would slow and the breaker would trip. I'd reset the breaker, turn the saw back on and continue to saw.. until the same thing happened again. It's worth noting, perhaps, that this did not happen on the crosscuts.. only the rip cuts.
Thanks again, but I'm through with maple. LOL
Ripping 3" thick rock maple is one of the toughest tasks a tablesaw will be called on to perform.
I'd rip it by hand before I would dic* around trying to do it on anything less than a beefy cabinet saw.
Roger that. Lesson learned.
You could have a problem with the blade. I have a Freud 8" stacked dado set and although it says it's good for various materials, the tips on most of the teeth were chipped after making some cabinets that are melamine covered particle board. The guy at Rockler told me that particle board has a lot of metal in it and that's the reason they chipped. On teh other hand, he didn't know what hook angle was, either. I have cut a lot of particle board and MDF and don't remember seeing any metal in any of it before. Anyway, the point is, if the carbide is too hard, it will chip and be a problem. Look at the tips of the teeth for chips. With a great blade (and I admit, $90 to $100 for one blade is a lot of money and sounds like it's not a good value), once you use one, you'll be glad you got it. I hemmed and hawed for 2 years at the Woodworker's Shows before buying mine. Now, when I see people trying to justify the price, I recommend the Forrest blades without getting anything in return. The first cut I made with mine was a 3" thick piece of cherry and after I finished, someone apologized for being on the phone while I was cutting. He didn't even know I had cut the 4' piece already. The surface would have needed minor sanding or scraping to be considered ready for finishing.
I don't know if I would stop using maple just yet. It has such beautiful figuring and so many great pieces can be made from it. Were the cuts straight? If they became wavey in the area where the blade slowed, it's likely that the blade was getting really hot and warping. If the motor on your saw is less than 2 HP 220V, I would consider upgrading it just for the safety aspect. Any time a tool slows down while cutting, the potential for kickback increases. Again, if there is pitch or gum on the blade, it will slow down, too.
I'm definitely going to get a WW11 blade. Especially if they last as long before sharpening as you say they do.
My TS is 1.5 HP, 120v.. too underpowered, in my opinion, for the demand I was putting on it.
Bill,
Just want to remind you of what Howie said about a new blade...24 T rip ...I'll go a step farther and say thin kerf too. It really makes a difference for anything over 2" thick...and minimun burning of the wood. I save the 40T for 3/4" stock...
You guys are slowly making a believer of me. I've been a combo blade guy up to now.
Bill,
From what you say, and from my experience your saw just wasn't up to the task. A 24 T blade would help. But three inches of maple is too much. I wouldn't even do it on my Unisaw which has a Forrest blade. I would use the band saw and then jointer and planer.
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
Another way is to cut about half way through, then turn it over and cut the rest of the way. Once it's a bit oversized, you can run it through and shave off a little so it's smooth. With the Forrest, it really is smooth and I need to do very little sanding or scraping. I need to do it this way because I don't have a bandsaw. Yet. I am looking for one, though. 12" minimum that can have a riser block added so I can resaw.
To be fair, when I went as long as I did before resharpening, it was a bit longer than I should have, but I have cut with 1 or 2 year old blades that were more dull. Not cutting MDF, particle board and composites makes them last a lot longer, too, but for that I use my Oldham.
For the odd times when the taper is cut before the mortices, use the material that was cut off, taped to the piece being morticed, to keep it in the correct position when you start. It was there before being cut off, so it will still be correct when it's taped on, just the kerf is missing and it can be slid into position so the face is flat.
True but any time you are making a non-through cut the stock is prone to riding up on the blade. To be safer you have to use feather boards on the fence to hold down the stock. It also heats the blade up a lot. I'll say though that I've never nor would ever do this personally.
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
I do use feather boards, both for holding stock down and to hold it against the fence. If the blade is really sharp, the heat isn't much of a problem. It can be cut through in 3 steps, too. That way, the heat is even less of an issue. I would never cut with the blade at it's maximum height unless the wood is totally dry, old and being reused or very low density and not sappy. I do a test cut whenever I change the setup or if I want to know if whatever I'm doing will work safely and get the desired redults. If the test cut is on something thick, I will feel the blade to see if it got excessively hot. If not, I go ahead and make the cuts. I have always been careful, but after narfing my left index finger on my router in Feb, I'm a safety freak now.
A large part of having a problem when cutting is when the cutter or blade suddenly slows down. It's easier to grab the material at this point and then things go flying.
If you never make partial cuts, is it safe to say that you don't make dado cuts? There can be at least as much friction cutting a dado as making a partial cut. If the stock wants to lift up, it sounds like it's being pinched between the blade and fence or isn't being pushed through straight.
Edited 11/12/2004 6:11 pm ET by highfigh
Actually I use the Dado so much that I have two sets, one is usually being resharpened! I ran a dado for about three hours today. Dados are almost never raised more than 1/2" and that might make a difference, I don't know. Dados don't heat up all that much because they have fewer teeth and the "kerf" is wide enough to allow the blade to cool better, pluss all the space around the chippers. If you have a band saw the job would be faster any way. I've heard of many people "resawing" on the table saw because they don't have a BS. You gotta do what you gotta do.
MIkeplease excuse my spelling.
I agree, and have a question. What size blade would you use on your bandsaw for such a task?
Bill,
I use nice Timberwolf 1/2" blades for every thing. I own one of their good 1/4" blades but have learned that it was unnecessary for my work. With the 1/2" blade I can resaw 8" stock cleanly with no cupping and then I can cut cabrolet legs without changing anything. In fact I can cut as tight as a 12" radius. I never do tight scrolling work though. I never realized this untill I read somewhere that a 1/2" blade will do almost every thing a 14" BS can do. It is nice to not have to change the settings on the saw every time I switch blades.
Have fun,
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
I have a Grizzly 14" w/riser block and also use a T-Wolf 1/2 inch blade for everything.
However, someone on this board once noted that he does everything with a 1/4 inch T-Wolf blade.. even resawing.
I have 3/4, 1/4, and 3/8 T-Wolf blades too but have never used them.
Ive used the 1/4" blade for cutting 6 " and 7" stock because I was too lazy to change the blade. It didn't cut as good as the 1/2". But you could argue that if the machine is set up perfectly it should be able to. I don't think that the blade manufacturers would recomend it though.
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
On your recommendation I went to Rockler here in Houston today and purchased a WW II, 40T, thin kerf blade.
Sorta' glad I didn't have it for this maple table project. The Freud got the job done and now I have a fresh, nifty blade for my next project.
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