I have a board that is 34″ x 7″ x 3/4″. I needed to take out a 1/2″ x 5″ rectangle out of one corner. I was told to crosscut it on a tablesaw and stop short of the endline.
The problem was cutting way past the endline on the underside of the board due to the round shape of the blade. I may be able to repair the groove or I may have ruined the board.
What is the proper way to make this cut?
Replies
Handsaw, jigsaw, bandsaw, tablesaw and finish with a handsaw. That's the beauty of this stuff, there is no "right" way. Desn't matter how you get there, just get there.
I don't like the word "proper" -- but either a bandsaw, saber saw, or hand saw will work.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I'm assuming the rectangle is throwaway. If so, drill a hole to start and then use a hand saw or power tool such as a jig saw. One way of many ways.
If you must do it on table saw, and you have no bandsaw or jigsaw, or any type of handsaw, then I suggest you drill say a half inch hole in the corner, set your t/s blade to maximum height so that the effect of curvature of the blade is minimised and crosscut to the hole-stop when you feel/hear the blade break into the hole. Same for the other way (with grain). Then merely chop the remaining bits with a chisel. That way you get clean edges from table saw and a sharp chisel will complete what the saw could not reach, and the corner to 90degrees.
To repair the extra kerf, rip a kerf-width strip from your off-cut. Use a zero clearance insert and a push stick for this. Glue the strip into the kerf, leaving it slightly above the surface. Level after the glue cures. By using a piece of the off-cut you will be able to closely match the color and grain around the repair, reducing its visibility.
For future reference, you can place tape or a pencil mark on your fence to indicate where the table saw blade stops cutting, i.e. goes below the table. As you cut, stop when the 5" mark (in this case) lines up with the fence mark.
Note that if you change the blade height the fence mark must be repositioned.
Ed
I guess Norm would get out his Powered Large Rectangle Cutter.
Yes, Norm last week seemed awfully heavy on the new gear!
Thanks to all who answered. I have read about "repairs" and want to try that. I like the tape idea, the raising the blade idea. This is being done in a class which lacks (in my newbie opinion) adequate fences for crosscutting on the TS and the bandsaw. I got some bad advice; that's more reason to figure this out for myself.
z3peru
Is that the plug in one or the battery powered one?"... Buy the best and only cry once.........
2 words-
do zuki
The next time I will use my Silky handsaw to cut out the piece. I can't cut a straight line yet, but I'm improving.
I repaired the two errant saw kerfs by cutting two little pieces of the same thickness and gluing them into the defects. After the glue dried, I cut the excess away with the Silky handsaw. It's far from invisible but much better than the slashes.
The answer lies in what tools are in your shop. I would use a plunge router and then square the inside corner with a chisel, but that's only because I have a plunge router and router jigs.
"Roger Staubach for President"
Raise the blade up all the way. Put a square against the leading edge of the blade and the other side against the fence. Along the fence, measure out from the square the distance you want to cut and clamp a scrap stop block to the fence with a Quick-Grip clamp. Fire up the saw, start the cut and when you hit the block, turn off the power. You'll get a tiny nib in the upper corner that you'll have to clean out with a chisel, due to the blade curve.
If you build it he will come.
phillip's suggestion of the hole works well as does marking either the table or the fence with a piece of tape to reference the leading edge of the blade.
any way you choose to make this cut using a round blade is going to require cleanup.
for removing a small piece like that from one piece of a project i think i would just make the cuts with hand saws, seems like it would be quicker than the process involved for doing this on a machine...
cscwem
For a forum where MANY of the participants work with and advocate using hand tools, you are the only guy that suggesting using a hand saw. I agree with you so now we have 2. A sharp hand saw, with all its teeth correctly set will do the job in the time it takes to make the registration marks on the fence of the machine the guys and gals are considering. JL
I suggested a hand saw in the first response, along with several other methods, in the order of preference.
Sorry I missed that Tom. Now we are 3. JL
Not quite , mon ami. A diplomatic answer was given in message #5....
Some time ago it became obvious to me that there were many folk who had all manner of power equipment but absolutely no hand tools to speak of or the inclination to use them. And the converse also seems to apply.Therefore I worded my answer accordingly.Philip Marcou
Philip
Diplomacy has always been a weakness of mine. I will read more carefully and try to develop at least a little as I approach the north side of the slippery slope. JL
I was flip with the Norm comment, but there is a way to do it with power tools. If course if you have a bandsaw, fine. For a tablesaw, ir the cutout is small enough, turn the wood on edge, and using the miter gauge, cut both ends out that way.
If the 'waste' piece is expendable, why not use a simple jig/template and a hand held router to quickly cut out the rectangle
Using a fine tooth offset saw,cut out the radii left at the corners. The beauty of using a template,is it can be used hundreds of times and you don't need a helper to handle a big panel on your table saw. Steinmetz.
z3peru,
If I had a miter guage and a TS, I'd raise the blade to a 1/2" and make several cross cut passes with the board on edge, reset the fense and do my rip cut.
One way not mentioned is to set blade height to 1/2". Using the miter gauge make cut @ 5". Then moving board toward the end make cuts nibbling the waste away. Use sharp chisel to clean up to the line. I don't know where you are taking class, but all tablesaws should be fitted with working fence and miter gauge as a matter of safety. Using my method does require you to remove splitter, but a splitter isn't need for cross cuts. Put the spitter back on when you are finished.
"I was told to crosscut it on a tablesaw and stop short of the endline."
I think that you mean rip on tablesaw--as you have explained what happened to wood when you did it. A cross cut is made with miter gauge(or sliding table or cross cut jig) and cuts the wood at a 90(or other angle). A rip cut is made using the long fence and the cut is parallel to fence and blade.
I have just seen that for some reason I thought you wanted to cut out a 5" by 5" piece. So my suggestion was invalid. You could do as Marion says, but it would be quicker to make the 1/2" deep crosscuts for a short distance, say about 3/4" then rip the rest.(assuming no hand saw).
You just need one of those square table saw blades...I think Lowe's has them. ;-)
Or you can stop a bit early and finish your cut with a fine tooth pull saw...Dozuki if you will, saw a Marples version at HD for $20. Some of these are rip and cross cut, one edge rip, the other cross cut.
Regards,
Ken
"Do as you would be done by." C.S. Lewis
Not to be overly critical, but there are 4 corners on the board in question. Which corner are you referring to? Is the block to be removed parralel to one end and not one side?
The answer might make a difference as to which tool(s) I would use to make the cut.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 2/20/2007 8:55 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
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