Best of Woodworkers Tablesaw Jigs and Tips

WOOD Magazine's

Best

Tablesaw DOSek....PS CONTENTS

Letter from the Editor Thanks for subscribing to WOOD® magazine. Whether you're new to the magazine, or a long-time subscriber, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your business, and to tell you about our commitment to providing you with the very best woodworking magazine available. On the table of contents in every issue of the magazine you'll find our vow to "build every project, verify every fact, and test every reviewed tool in our workshop to guarantee your success and complete satisfaction." To carry through on this pledge, one or more of our staff craftsmen proves every step in every project, every dimension in every drawing, every claim in a tool review, plus hundreds of other details in every issue. This approach is what separates us from our competitors. It's costly and time-consuming, but it's the only way to ensure your absolute trust in everything we show and tell you. If we ever fail to meet your expectations, let me know immediately, okay? Just contact me by any of the means listed in every issue of the magazine. I promise we'll deal with your "issue" immediately.

10 Ways to Tablesaw Success. 3 Must-have Tables.aw Jigs. Rip-fence saddle How to Clean and Lube Your Tables.aw A Safe Way to Make Raised PaneIs.

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SHOPTlPS Ctamp-on Edge Guide Compound Miter Jig Sure-shootin' Hold-Down Making Stronger Doors. Rip Fence on Wheels. Tune in to J-channel Extension Table Rabbeted Tablesaw Fence Glue Your Setscrews. Tables.aw Shelves. CIearH:Ut Uds for Boxes. Cut Slats for Toy Trucks. Safety Tongue Stay Put Micro-adjust Your Saw Coffee-can saw-blade Spacers. Pushblock for Small Pieces. Extend the SCope of Your saw. Cutting Cove Moldings.

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Editor-In-Chief Bill Executive Editor JIM Managing Editor MARLEI Publication Designer RAY Senior Vice PresldentJPublishing IIirec8r Group Publisher TOM Publisher MARK HAGBI

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MEREDITH PUBLISHING GROll' President JACK GRiffiN Editorial Director MIKE LAFAVURE Finance and Administration KARLA JEfRES Manufacturing BRUCE HESTlIlI Consumer Marketing DAVID BAll Creative Services ELLEN de LATHOUIIBI Corporate Sales JACK BRAMBERGER Interactive Media LAUREN WIENER Corporate Marketing NANCY WEBER Reasearch BRmA WARE

A1~~~~ President and Chief Executive Officer STEPHEN M. LACY Chairman of the Board WIWAM T. KERR In Memoriam - E. T. Meredith III (1933-2003) OCopyright Meredith Corporation 2007 All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Subscribe to WOOD magazine and get seven project· packed issues delivered rigbt to your b'!me. Subscribe online at www.woodmagazme.comlsubscripl/ or call800/374·9663.

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Tablesaw Jigs ac Tips

2007

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tablesawsuccess ALITTLE FINE TUNING AND SOME SHOP-BUILT ACCESSORIES ARE ALL YOU NEED FOR ASWEETRUNNING MACHINE. TRY THESE TIPS FOR SMOOTH AND SAFE CUTS.

Get blade height right.

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Everyone has a different idea on how far saw-blade teeth should protrude above the stock. As a general rule, raise the blade Yz" above the surface of softwood stock to reduce heat buildup. For hardwoods, raise it to 3/4" above the surface. You want the blade to eject waste from the gullets between the teeth. That means that the bottom of the blade's gullets should at least be flush with the surface of the stock, as shown above.

True the blade and table.

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For straight, bum-free cuts, the saw blade must run parallel to the miter-gauge slots and the fence. To align the blade, mark one blade tooth and measure, at the front of the throat opening, from one miter gauge slot to it using a combination square, as shown at left. Then rotate the blade and measure to the same tooth at the back of the throat opening. If the distances vary, reposition either the trunnions or the saw table. Check your owner's manual to see which method applies. Also check and adjust the blade's 45° and 90° bevel stops. Procedures for this vary widely, so check your owner's manual.

Finesse the fence.

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I To set the fence parallel to the blade, start by cutting two 2"-long blocks to fit snugly in one miter gauge slot. Position the fence against them, and use a thin shim to check for an equal gap at both ends, as shown at left. Setting the fence exactly parallel yields the best results, especially with dadoes. If the workpiece bums or binds, cant the outfeed end away from the blade between .010" and .030" (about the thickness of a business card).

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Cover the angles.

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To ensure accurate crosscuts, make sure the miter gauge is accurate at 90° and 45°. Rest one edge of a plastic drafting triangle on the blade body-not on the teeth. Loosen the miter gauge knob, slide the head against the triangle, and then lock the knob, as shown at left. Do the same at 45°. These triangles are available in artist's supply stores and are very accurate. Adjustable models also are available.

Get proper clearance.

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The standard throat plate on most saws has a wide opening to allow tilting the blade. This leaves the underside of the workpiece unsupported and susceptible to chip-out, and can allow thin wood strips to drop into the gap. To minimize these problems, make a zero-clearance insert. Just trace your insert onto plywood of the proper thickness (you may have to plane it down) and cut it to rough shape. Plywood is better than solid stock, which may warp. Either sand the insert to exact shape, or attach it to the throat plate using double-faced tape and shape it using a pattern-routing bit in a table-mounted router, as shown in the inset, left. You also can use thinner plywood and drive short flathead scre\ into the bottom face to act as levelers. Lower your saw blade all the way, and check the insert's fit. If the blade doesn't retract far enough to allow the insert to sit flush with the table surface. reinstall the standard throat plate and cut a kerf in the underside of the zero-clearance insert. Recheck the fit, and then clamp the insert in place using a long board. Tum on the saw and slowly rai e the blade to full height to cut through the plate, as shown at left. Use the arne procedures to make a dado insert.

Add function to the fence.

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For some operation . uch as when cutting tenons with a dado blade or cutting with the blade against the rip fence, you'll appreciate having an auxiliary fence face. Easy to make, thi acces ory prevents damage to the fence, and can support a tall face for cutting wide workpieces on edge. For general u e. cut a ¥4" plywood face 4"-wide by the length of your fence. How you attach the face depends on your fence. If your fence has holes through it, attach the face with bolts. Just counterbore the holes in the face so the bolt heads sit below the urface. Or make a "saddle" that lips over the fence, as shown at left. Clamp it at the outfeed end, or mount a pair ofT-nuts in the saddle's back "leg," and use short bolts as setscrews to secure the saddle.

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Tablesaw Jigs ok Tips

2007

create amightier gauge.

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When crosscutting long boards or cutting multiple pieces to the same length, an auxiliary extension board for the miter gauge is a must. Make one from scrap 314" plywood, about 3" wide and up to 36" long, such as the one shown at right. For even greater accuracy, give the extension a grip on the workpiece by covering the face with adhesive-backed sandpaper. Screw the extension to the miter gauge so it protrudes beyond the blade, and then cut a kerf through it. Next, make a clampon stopblock about 1/4" shorter than the fence height to prevent sawdust from building up and causing inaccurate cuts.

Make sacrificial guides.

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Any time you are ripping pieces narrower than 6", use a pushblock to guide your stock while keeping your hands safely away from the blade. Make your own by simply cutting a birdsmouth notch in one end of a 3/4 x2x12" piece of stock. If you have to rip pieces narrower than 1", make a wide pushblock from a 2x4 and a piece of hardboard, as shown at right. The blade will cut into the pushblock, but the hardboard "heel" pushes both the workpiece and waste safely past the blade. Rather than getting fancy, make your pushblocks from scrap stock, and sacrifice them to the blade instead of your fingers.

Wax tables for smooth sliding.

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Cast-iron saw tables will rust if left bare, which prevents workpieces from sliding freely. You can get rid of rust by spraying the table with penetrating oil (such as WD-40) and scrubbing with a synthetic steel-wool pad or 220-grit wet/dry sandpaper. Form a barrier to new rust by coating the table with a commercial product such as Top-Cote (available from Woodcraft at 800/225-1153), or by applying a couple coats of paste wax to the table and buffing it out well. Recoat the table every few months to prevent rust from coming back.

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Take time for regular maintenance.

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Your saw will run better and last longer if you take care of it on a rrgular basis. Do the following every month or two: • Wipe sawdust and debris from the saw table. Spray protectant or polish the table with wax several times per year. • Vacuum, blow, or brush sawdust from the trunnions and lubricate per the manufacturers instructions. • Tum blade-height and bevel handwheels through their full range of motion, and check 45° and 90° stops. • Use blade-and-bit cleaner to remove pitch from your saw blade. Oven cleaner works, but is caustic. Try Formula 409-brand cleaner for minor cleanups. • Check the condition of drive belts, and replace them if cracked or worn. Check pulley setscrews, and tighten if necessary. • Make sure all electrical cords and connections are in good condition. •

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3must-have tablesawjigs Build one or all, and boost your precision for pennies. sk a few seasoned woodworkers about the benefits of stocking your shop with a variety of hardworking jigs. They'll likely tell you that some jigs get used again and again, while others gather dust. These three, we guarantee, won't gather dust. We designed and thoroughly tested

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this trio of tablesaw jigs, building them from scrap to save on cost. Take an evening or two to make them, and we predict that you'll use the crosscut sled constantly, especially for repetitive cuts. The thin-strip ripping jig and the four-sided taper jig provide you with more specialized services.

See the Buying Guide on page 9 for the sources of the inexpensive hardware items you'll need. We used Baltic birch plywood and hard maple for the wood parts. If you prefer, you can substitute medium-density fiberboard (MDF) for plywood and another dense hardwood for maple.

Tablesaw Jigs &: Tips

2007

Simple, handy thin-strip ripping jig

Four-arm knob with V4' insert

) : #8

~V4'

x 314' F.H. wood screW)C§Jt' Indicator

2"

~

, :

o THIN-STRIP RIPPING JIG

flat washer

0/"32" shank hole,

countersunk

I

~

:y.'

Sometimes you need to rip several thin strips of wood to equal thickness

to serve as edging, veneer, or bending stock, but slicing off thin stock on the fence side of the blade could prove unsafe. That's because it becomes awkward to use your blade guard and pushstick when you cut close to the fence. The solution: Run the wide portion of your workpiece between the fence and blade, cutting the strips on the side of the blade opposite the fence. You could accomplish this by measuring for each cut, but that's tedious and inaccurate. This thin-strip ripping jig does the job safely, accurately, and quickly.

First, build thejig Cut a piece of 314" plywood to the dimensions shown for the base on Drawing 1. Cut a dado on the bottom side of the base for the guide bar, where shown. Now, cut the %" dado on the top side of the base for the sliding bar. Cut two pieces of maple to size for the miter-slot guide bar (adjust the dimensions shown if necessary to fit your tablesaw's slots) and the sliding bar. Center the miter-slot guide bar in the bottom dado, and glue it in place. Drill a pair of 5/16" holes in the sliding bar where shown, scrollsaw the material between them, and smooth the inside of the slot with a file. Set the jig in your tablesaw's left miter-gauge slot. Place the sliding bar in the dado with its left end flush with the base. Slide the jig forward, and mark the point where a left-leaning sawblade tooth touches the bar. Make a second mark 1h" closer to the base. Remove the bar, and crosscut it at the second mark. Drill a Y64" pilot hole in the sliding bar, centered on the end you just

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Miter-slot guide bar

cut. Drive a brass screw halfway into the wood. (We used brass to avoid any chance of damaging a tablesaw blade.) You'll tum this screw in or out to fine-tune your jig's basic "zero" setting, or to adjust it for a blade of different thickness or with a different tooth set. From the bottom side of the assembly, drill and countersink a 1;4" hole through the miter-slot guide bar and base for the machine screw that holds the plastic knob. Sand all of the wood parts to 180 grit, and apply three coats of clear finish. Make a mark 1" from the left end of the sliding bar. Cut the first 1Yz" from an inexpensive steel rule, align its left end with the mark, and attach it with epoxy. Cut a piece of 1;4" acrylic plastic to the dimensions shown for the indicator. Drill and countersink the two mounting holes, and scribe and mark a cursor line, as described in the caption of Photo A. Attach the indicator to the base, and add the knob.

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Now, cut some strips To cut a thin strip with the jig, place its guide bar in the left-hand miter gauge

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To make a cursor, scribe a line across the middle of the acrylic indicator with a sharp knife and a combination square. Color the scribed line with a permanent marker. Wipe off the excess ink with a cloth or paper towel, leaving a fine line.

slot on your tablesaw. Loosen the knob, set the cursor to zero (the bottom end of the rule), and retighten the knob. Slide the jig so that the brass screw head is beside the saw blade. Tum the screw in or out with a screwdriver until the head lightly contacts a left-leaning tooth. Pull the jig toward you, loosen the knob, set the cursor for the desired

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strip thickness, and retighten the knob. Position your workpiece against the rip fence, and move the fence to bring the left edge of the workpiece against the screw head, as shown in Photo B. Lock the fence in place, set the jig out of the way, and you're ready to cut a strip, as shown in Photo C. After completing the cut, clean up the workpiece on the jointer. Replace the jig in the slot. Then unlock the rip fence, move it to bring the jointed edge against the screw head, lock the rip fence, remove the jig, and saw another strip. Repeat the process as many times as necessary to produce all of the strips that you need for your project.

Size your thin-strip ripping jig to suit your tablesaw, so that a 1" screw in the guide bar can contact the blade. Install a zeroclearance throat plate to prevent the sawn strip from falling into the saw.

Versatile four-sided tapering jig

Cut a piece of maple to 3 then cut two 3" pieces and one 3112" piece from this blank for the guide bars. For the hold-down bases, cut a piece of 314" plywood to IY2xI2". Cut a W' groove down the center of one face of this plywood, where dimensioned on the drawing. Drill two W' holes near opposite ends of the groove, with each hole centered in the groove and W' from the end. Cut a 3" piece from each end to make two hold-down bases. Next, glue one guide bar piece in the groove on each hold-down base. After the glue dries, drill a W' hole through each

assembly, using the previously drilled holes as guides. Cut a maple blank to 3/4x2xI2" to make the pivot block. (We begin with an oversized piece to assure safety during the cutting process.) Cut a rabbet on one end of the blank, where shown on Drawing 2a. Now, drill two holes to form the ends of the adjustment slot, remove the material between the holes with a coping saw or scrollsaw, and clean up the slot with a file. Cut a W' groove centered on the bottom edge of the blank. Next, drill a W' hole centered in the groove 2W' from the rabbeted end. Glue in the 3W' guide bar piece, making it flush with the rabbeted end. After the glue dries, drill a W' hole through the blank, using the previously drilled hole as a guide. Trim the blank to 3W' in length. Sand and finish the assembly.

After cutting dadoes in the plywood base, glue the hardboard to the dadoed face. Mount the two outside blades of a dado set in your tablesaw, and cut slots through the hardboard centered over each dado.

Diagonal lines on the end of the workpiece locate the hole that fits onto the indexing pin. Draw the cutline for the final shape, and extend the lines to the edges to help you position the workpiece on the jig.

W'-wide cut, put an auxiliary fence on your miter gauge, and cut a slot through the hardboard centered over each plywood dado, as shown in Photo D.

You can taper one side of a table leg without much head-scratching, but tapering all four sides equally presents more of a challenge. With this jig, however, you can cut all four tapers without changing your setup. You simply rotate your workpiece between cuts. Locate the hold-downs to suit the length of your workpiece. (The pivot block can sit at either end of the jig.) If your tablesaw has a 10" blade, you can handle workpieces up to 2" thick.

Remove the jig before making the cut so the workpiece doesn't bind between the rip fence and the screw head. Replace the jig in the slot without making any adjustments to set up the next cut.

3 Y4x /sxI2";

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Time to get started Cut a piece of 314" plywood to the size shown on Drawing 2, and then cut a piece of W' hardboard to the same dimensions for the base. Cut 5/8" dadoes 3/16 " deep in one face of the plywood where dimensioned. Glue the hardboard to the dadoed face with yellow glue. Now, clamp the assembly between two scraps of plywood to ensure even pressure. After the glue dries, remove the clamps, set your dado blade for a

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Tablesaw Jigs'" Tips

2007

~ 1"

___.-/Four-arm knob with '/4' insert

plastic knob

1/2

.J.---- W' flat washer

o TAPERING JIG

~ V4' flat washer Hold-down _ ~Clamp ,I." ", V4" nylon nut

Pivot block

~

9/3 2"

(~~ 0/4 x 1'12 X 3" plywood

------- ~V4" groove-.......-.-/ :

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V4 X 3/8 X 3" deep, , guide bar centered V4 x 3"--..... V4" holes 7/8 " V4" panhead 12"~ machine screw 3/'6"

3/'6"

V4 x 1" brass roundhead ' machine screw, .... -: / nut and washer slot . ::;;; "-0

~ /~

V4' groove ~, deep, centered

==-::-~

----~------

i

i "1 i V4 x 3/8 X 3'12"

~i~9=--uide bar

~ V4 x 3" panhead machine screw

3f4 x 12 x 36" plywood

Assemble the hold-downs as shown. For the pivot block, fIle or grind one edge of the washer flat, as shown on Drawing 2a, and then assemble the nut, screw, and washer as shown. Adjustable up or down in the slot, this screw serves as an indexing pin. Once set for a particular workpiece, it guarantees that every cut in the sequence is an equal distance from the center of the workpiece.

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Tap into tapering To taper a leg, cut your workpiece to finished length, and then rip it to the square dimensions that you want for the untapered section at the upper end. Draw a line on all four faces to mark where the taper will begin. Drill a \4" centering hole 3/s" deep at the center of the bottom end, and add cut lines to show the final dimensions of that end, as shown in Photo E. Draw cut lines on the face connecting the leg-bottom marks with the taper-start marks, as shown in the photo, both to visualize the final shape, and to serve as a safety reminder as you push the jig across the saw. Mount the leg centering hole on the indexing pin. Slide the pivot block until the planned outside face of the leg aligns with the edge of the jig. Turn the knob to lock the pivot block in place. Now, near the upper end of the leg, align the taper-start cutline with the edge of the jig. Slide the hold-down blocks against the leg, and tighten the nylon nut on each one to set the block's position. Tighten the top knob on each hold-down to clamp the leg in place.

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Raise the saw blade \14" above the leg. Butt the jig to the fence, move the fence until the saw blade just clears the left side of the jig, and then make the cut, as shown in Photo F. To make each of the three remaining cuts, loosen the holddown knobs, rotate the leg one-quarter tum clockwise (as viewed from the pivoting end), reclamp, and cut. This jig also serves another purpose, as shown in Photo G. When you need to cut a single taper, mark its start and stop points on the end and edge of your workpiece. Remove the indexing pin from the end block, and nest the end of the workpiece in the notch. Align the marks with the edge of the jig, and clamp. Place your hold-downs against the workpiece. Tighten the pivot block in place, and make the cut.

Hold the taper jig tightly against the tablesaw rip fence as you cut. Before starting each pass, make certain that your left hand is well away from the line.

.

I!I PIVOT BLOCK

'/4' washer, file to allow nut to engage the rabbet

The width and adjustability of the taper jig allow you to handle a wide range of angle cuts. Here, with the jig flipped end-for-end, we're shaping a simple leg.

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ever, with a well-made crosscut sled. Making right-angle cutting easier and safer, our design is both simple and cheap to build. And it includes adjustable, reliable stops for repeatable cuts and dead-on accuracy.

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Dead-on 90 crosscut sled

along the front of the bottom edge and a Vz" groove centered along the top edge. From 314" maple, cut the blade guard sides and end. Glue and screw the end to the sides. Now, screw the blade guard to the fence, where shown on Drawing 3. Cut the front rail from 3;4" maple. Use a jigsaw to cut a notch, where shown, for the blade to pass through. Attach the front rail and the fence to the platform with screws. Cut, sand, and finish two top blade guard supports. Using a fmetoothed tablesaw blade, cut a piece of W' clear acrylic to size for the guard cover. Attach the cover to the supports, the front rail, and the fence. From 3/4" maple stock, cut two strips to serve as miter-slot guide bars. Set your tablesaw rip fence 8lfg" to the right of the blade, and lower the blade below the table's surface.

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Build areal workhorse

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3/4"

Select a flat piece of plywood, and cut the platform to 1 the dimensions shown on

Drawing

3.

Cut two maple pieces for the fence, and cut a ¥s" groove in the face of one piece, where shown on Drawing 3a. Glue the two blanks together, keeping the edges flush and the groove on the interior of the lamination. After the glue dries, cut a W' groove centered on the S/s" groove. Then, cut a rabbet

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A reliable tablesaw miter gauge handles a lot of crosscutting tasks, but not all. It rides in just one slot, and supports the workpiece on just one side of the blade, allowing for slop. This problem disappears, how-

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D CROSSCUTIING SLED #8 x 3/. .' F.H ......... wood screw

""'T T

T

Top blade guard

T

1fa" shank hole, countersunk

T T

3/4 x 3/4 x 161/4' supports

'14 x 3'14 x 223/4" clear acrylic

Front rail

3/4 X18x30" plywood Blade guard

(

#8 x 1V2' F.H. wood screw

3"

t

5/16 X 3/4 x 18" miter-slot guide bars

Platform

1'\

#8 x 1'12" F.H. wood screw

8

V4' dado 1/4' deep 7/a" from top edge

#8 x 1/2' F.H. wood screw

Tablesaw Jigs &: Tips

2007

to the top of each guide bar, and attach the bars to the platform, as shown in Photos H and I. Remove the assembly from the saw, and permanently attach the bars with screws. Cut a piece for the stopblock, and cut a dado in the back, where shown. Cut a guide bar, and glue it into the dado. Drill a shank hole through the block and bar, where shown. Now, cut a piece of 1/4" acrylic plastic to size for the stopblock indicator. See Drawing 3b. Drill, saw, and file smooth the slot, where shown. Make a cursor line, as shown in Photo A on page 5. Remove the top blade guard, sand the jig, and apply three coats of finish. Reattach the blade guard, assemble and. install the stopblock, place the crosscut sled on your tablesaw, and make a cut from the front edge through the fence. Use a rule to set the stopblock 4" from the kerf. Mark the center of the stop block on its top end, align the 4" line on the self-adhesive measuring tape with that mark, and attach the tape in the fence groove. Use tin snips to cut off the portion of the tape extending beyond the left end of the fence. Place the indicator on the stopblock, align the cursor with the tape's 4" line, and attach the indicator to the block with a screw.

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Em FENCE SECTION VIEW V2" groove V's" deep (to fit measuring rule)

L~

1

Em INDICATOR DETAIL 13f4

LI "i '/8 XV2' slot

7/,S" +

7/8 "

1 1"

'/4' groove 5/1s" deep

!----+---___+__________'

\ \

I

5/8" groove 3/,S" deep

1/a" rabbet ------"""'I I 1/a" deep ----l W' wI------

J

Score a line on the acrylic with a knife, and color it with a permanent marker.

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Now, let's go sledding

Two pennies shim the miter-slot guide bars slightly above the tablesaw surface. Place a couple of these stacks in each miter-gauge slot, and set the bars on top.

Keeping the right end of the platform against the rip fence, set the sled assembly on the guides. Press down firmly to stick the bars to the platform.

If a workpiece fits between the fence and the front rail, you can cut it on your crosscut sled, as shown in Photo J. Use the stop block to cut multiple pieces to the same length, provided that length falls within the stop block's range. Remove the stopblock when cutting pieces that extend beyond that range. When you install a tablesaw blade of a different thickness or with a different tooth set than the one used to calibrate your stopblock, check the setting with a rule, and adjust the cursor. •

Buying Guide Hardware. Stainless steel rules no. 06K20.06; 1W four-arm plastic knob no. 00M55.30. Call Lee Valley at 800/871-8158, or go to www.leevalley.com. Hold-down with bolt and knob, no. 145831; self-adhesive rule, no. 08Y42. Call Woodcraft at 8001225-1153, or go to www.woodcraft.com. Written by Jim Pollock with Jeff Mertz and Kevin Boyle Illustrations: Roxanne LeMoine

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Hold the workpiece firmly against the fence as you make a cut. Keep your hands outside the blade guard, and don't cut through its end.

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rip-fence

saddle An inexpensive, shop-builtjig for top-notch machining and joinery

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uild this auxiliary wood fence and mating saddle to support stiles and other workpieces while machining end grain. Use one hand to push the saddle and workpiece across the blade, and your other hand to keep the saddle riding firmly on the auxiliary fence. Wax the mating pieces if necessary for easy sliding.

Note: Our auxiliary fence is screwed securely to our tablesaw rip fence, with the top edge of the fence sitting 1" above the top edge of the saw fence. The auxiliary fence must be 90° to the saw table. Size your saddle support pieces so the saddle rides smoothly, without free play, along the top edge of the auxiliary fence. •

Positioned to center the workpiece over the dado blade, the jig is the perfect setup for machining bridle joints or open mortises and the mating tenons.

'h x 1 x 8" stock (vertical support) % x 8 x 8" plywood Illustration: Roxanne LeMoine; Tim Cahill Photograph: Marty Baldwin

% x 2 x 8" stock

Tablesaw rip fence

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Tablesaw Jigs &: Tips

2007

howtodean &Iubeyour tablesaw Do the moving parts of your most important shop tool offer peak performance with every push of the "on" button? If not, perhaps alittle TLC is in order.

After vacuuming most of the dust, blast compressed air into the saw cabinet to dislodge the remaining deposits.

f your tablesaw creaks and groans when you crank the elevation and blade-tilt wheels, it's long overdue for an inspection and tuneup. Outlined here is the procedure that will get your saw moving smoothly again, along with some important safety issues.

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First, clean your machine Begin by unplugging the saw. Remove the throat plate, blade guard, and the blade. Inspect the blade for resin buildup, and clean it if necessary. Make sure that the washer and blade stabilizer (if used) are clean, smooth, and flat. Removing the drive belt and motor from the back of the saw is a fast and easy step on contractor-style models, and it dramatically improves access to the saw's interior for cleaning and lubrication. A shop vacuum with a crevice attachment will remove most of the chips, and an old paintbrush will help loosen stubborn pockets of dust. Tilt the arbor assembly to dump more dust, and use a couple of blasts of compressed air to complete the job. Make especially certain that you've removed all dust near the stops that limit the tilt control so you'll get full travel. If the worm gears or the rows of teeth have any residue, scrub them with a brass brush. For really tough build-up, you may have to dip the brush in paint thinner. Keep the solvent away from the arbor bearings, which are usually sealed and need no lubrication. Afterward, wipe

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Apply paste wax to the gearing with a toothbrush, and then remove as much as possible. Your goal is to achieve a thin film with no visible residue.

A plastic straw delivers aerosol white lithium grease with precision. This lubricant sprays and penetrates like a liquid, and congeals into grease.

any remaining residue from the worm gears in preparation for the next step.

available at auto-parts stores, sprays and penetrates like a liquid and congeals into grease. Again, wipe off all the lubricant you can with a rag. Inspect the arbor flange, making certain that it's clean and smooth. Turn the arbor by hand, and try to wiggle it. Any noise or sideways play indicates a problem with the bearings that requires immediate attention. Blow any dust out of the fence-locking mechanism. Give the fence and the entire surface of the table and the extension wings a coat of non-silicone paste wax or a special product like Boeshield T-9. (Visit boeshield.com, or call 800/962-1732.) •

Time for alubejob After all of the gearing is clean, lubricate it with a non-silicone automotive paste wax applied with a toothbrush. Also wax the curved slots in the front and rear trunnions. Run the tilt and elevation controls through several full ranges of motion, and remove all the wax, leaving only a thin film. Push a plastic straw tip onto a spray can of white lithium grease, and lubricate the pivots of the arbor assembly (where it swings upward) and the shafts behind the worm gears. This aerosol,

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asafewayto makeraised aised panels have long been viewed as signs of fine craftsmanshipperhaps because they appear difficult to make. But as you'll see here, that need not be the case. We'll show you a method for cutting a raised panel using the tablesaw. Better still, you'll find this method excels at safety and accuracy.

R

Preparing the panels Before cutting the door panels to size, match the wood tones and arrange the grain patterns for best appearance. For example, center the cathedral (inverse V) pattern on narrow, single-board panels. When gluing up wider panels, use pieces cut from the same board for consistent grain and color. Next, decide which style of panel you want, one that's flush with the frame, called a back-cut panel (see the drawing at right); or a proud panel (with the panel raised above the frame). All will give your panels a custom look. Glue up the stock needed to make your panel blanks. Then, cut your panels to finished size. Note: To minimize wood movement, we suggest using boards no wider than 5" when gluing up your panels.

3 POPULAR PANEL STYLES TO CHOOSE FROM PROUD PANEL

BACK-CUT PANEL

PLAIN-BEVEL PANEL

Cut raised panels with atablesaw For the woodworker who doesn't have a router table or the budget for expensive raised-panel bits, cutting raised panels on the tablesaw is an effective alternative. This method does have one drawback: You'll need to invest time and elbow grease into finish-sanding the panel bevels. To solve the challenge of supporting panels safely while cutting bevels, make the easy-to-build panel-cutting sled shown in Drawing 1 and 2 on the opposite page.

3/B"

rabbets

V4" deep

'VB" rabbet

'14" deep

) 1r

Shoulder

Shoulder

'V.' raised panels

Mark the bevels Looking at the end of the panel blank, lay out the desired bevel using a sliding bevel square. Also, if your panel needs a tongue and rabbet lay them out, at this time.

12

Pros • contemporary look • easy-to-sand bevels Cons • no panel detail to catch the eye

Pros • shoulder detail catches the eye Cons' bevels are a bit more difficult to sand

Pros • can decorate shoulder with profile router bits Cons • bevels are a bit more difficult to sand

Tablesaw Jigs & Tips

2007

Build the basic sled

Now add the extras

Combine scrap material with a few hardware items and you'll have a jig destined for a lifetime of service. To make the sled follow these simple steps: 1 Cut two pieces of 3/4' MDF to the dimensions in the Materials List to make the upright (A) and base (8). Scrollsaw or bandsaw the 1W radii on two corners of (8), cutting outside the line, and then sanding to it. 2 Using a dado blade, cut two 3/4 " dadoes W' deep in the top of the base, where shown Drawing 1. 3 After adding a sacrificial auxiliary fence to your saw fence, cut a rabbet :¥4" wide and W' deep along the bottom edge of the upright (A) where shown. 4 Next, drill 5116" holes in the upright (A) and at the ends of the slot locations in the base. Layout the sides of the slots, and scrollsaw them to shape with a #12 blade. S Cut two braces (C), as dimensioned in Drawing 2. 6 Drill 5/32" pilot holes, and then glue and screw the sled together using #8x1W brass screws, where shown. Tip: Use brass screws anytime a jig's screws are close to the saw blade.

1 Cut the guide strip (D) to fit your miter-gauge slot in depth and width. Trim the piece to 28" long, and drill countersunk W' holes centered on the strip 3" from each end. Now, attach the guide strip to the base using the hardware shown. 2 Cut the upright stops (E) to size, and drill the hole and counterbore hole, wl:lere shown in Drawing 2. Secure the stops to the ends of upright (A). 3 Cut the clamping bar (F) to size and drill 5116" holes, where shown. Layout and shape the clamping bar curve, as shown in Drawing 1, using a bandsaw. Sand smooth. 4 Next, attach the clamping bar to the sled using the hardware shown. Tip: If you have trouble finding extra-long machine screws, cut two pieces of all-thread. Then secure the four-arm knobs to the screws using 5-minute epoxy. S Remove the hardware and the clamping bar and guide strip, and sand all parts to 150-grit. Now apply two coats of finish, sanding between coats with 180-grit abrasive. 6 Cut a piece of adhesive-backed 120-grit sandpaper, and apply it to the sled face, as shown in Drawing 1. 7 Reassemble the sled.

o SLED PARTS VIEW

!V16"~Ole__ ~

10/8"

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!V16" slot

14"_ Materials key: MDF-medium-density fiberboard, M-maple. Supplies: #8x1 W', #8x1" brass flathead wood screws; V,-20x2" (2), V4-20x4 W' (2) flathead machine screws; V,-20 four-arm knobs (4); V4' flat washers (8); 1V2xo/a" compression springs (2); V,-20 knife thread insert (2); 4" adhesive backed 120-grit sandpaper. Blades and bits: Stack dado cutter.

J

U ~

0/4:" dadoes

4~: t

j

f-------28"-----------o-j

11V2

7~jp'

'

U PAN EL-CUTTING SLED EXPLODED1VIEW V4' ___

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knob

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F

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"" spnng ( V4' flat washer E Ij: _. !Va" counterbore V4' deep with a I~ 0/16" hole centered inside -""'"0/. %-20 knife thread insert

0/..' rabbet V4' deep 3"Z ~

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