This might be a really dumb question ..
but ..
lets say you have a 1x12 board .. and you wanted to take a half inch off the board (making it 1 x 11 1/2)
now .. do I put it in the saw where the half inch is between the blade and the fence ..
historically, I have always put the fence a sliver away from the blade and ran it through that way .. but .. have always wondered it I should be doing it that way.
mike
Personally, I'd just set the fence at 11-1/2" and rip off the extra 1/2". Or, just a little over 11-1/2" then run the cut edge over the jointer to give it a cleaner edge (if your TS blade is less than perfect).
Well, it depends- If I want a board 11 1/2 inch wide then I set the fence for 11 1/2 inch and make the cut. Of course, the piece that comes off will be about 3/8 inch as the blade will take 1/8 inch or so. However, if I wanted multiple 1/2 inch pieces then I would set the fence for 1/2 inch and let it rip (pun intended).
The piece may get jammed between the blade and the fence. Use a cut off sled that rides in the miter slot or clamp a stand off on the fence. This is an awkward cut for a table saw if the board is long--use a circular saw and clamp a straightedge as a guide. A radial arm saw is probably the best tool if you have one.
Interesting. I haD read the question as a 1x12 of indeterminate length that He wanted to rip to 11.5" wide. And I was wondering where in the heck your advice was coming from! Then I reread the question and realized that you were probably reading it as a 1" wide and 12" long board of unstated thickness (presumably less than 1"), in Which case I agree with your comments.
I'm curious why you say this. The table saw is ideally suited for this cut. I would certainly recommend placing the board between the fence and the blade for this cut though. The alternative is more likely to create kickback but even that can be mitigated with a simple hold-down and push stick. My preference for putting the stock against the fence is that I'm pushing against the work piece with no tendency to pinch or to flex along the kerf this way, while still able to keep a gentle pressure against the fence.
Not really, but poorly worded enough as to cause confusion in the answers you will get.
Is this a rip, or a crosscut?
The assumption appears to be that it is a rip, therefore:
In your example _as stated_ in your post, NO!
In that example _as stated_, the piece you want to keep will be narrower than intended by the width of your saw kerf, you are missing out on the accuracy and convenience built-into the design of the fence system, and you unnecessarily introduce a safety issue inherent in ripping narrow stock.
When ripping stock on the table saw, and although there are a few exceptions, in almost all instances you will be better served by setting the distance between the fence and the saw blade to the desired dimension of your workpiece.
That said, then what about ripping narrow stock?
Should you want to rip a 1/2" wide piece off the stated board, then the answer could be yes (there are other ways to rip narrow stock) ... but be prepared to take some safety precautions for ripping narrow stock.
Sounds like a good book on table saw use is in order. Kelly Mehler has an excellent one. DAGS
Simple rule of thumb. The important dimension goes between the blade and fence.
Hi Mike,
Think if it this way, Which is less trouble and easier, to simply set the fence to the width you need or to take the width you have, subtract the amount that you want to end up with, and then subtract the amount that the blade is going to remove and set the fence at that number?
Hint, there should be no math needed to cut the piece to the correct width correctly.
The piece that you want to end up with should be and will more often end up being the correct size it you adjust the fence for the exact size that you want to end up with.
Now that you know, when you want to end up with narrower pieces, always use a push stick to push the work past the blade. Its OK to cut into your push stick.
I may have misunderstood the OP in thinking this is a crosscut. If it is indeed a rip cut, the preferred way it to put the bulk of the wood between the fence and blade. Kickback becomes an issue with short boards, either ripping or crosscutting.
Ok, you want to rethink your answer. He is describing ripping and using a fence, not cross cutting using a miter gauge.
Sorry for the confusion .. yes it is a rip cut.
I love the advice of letting the fence do the math, thanks .. that is so cool and should have been obvious.
My problem has always been .. at the very end of the cut .. as the board is leaving the area between the fence and blade, the blade will gouge my piece.
Yes .. I know I am going to (rightfully) get comments of "you have to insure you push the piece straight thru till it clears the blade." I just seem to have a problem doing that. Im sure its a newbie thing.
mike
Is this a board 1" thick x 12" wide by ??? long? or is this a 3/4" thick x 12" long x 1" wide? Just a few questions before an accurate answer can be made.
For time sake: Assumption 1 This board is 1" thick x 12" wide by GT 12" long. AND you want a 11 -1/2" wide board. Set the fence at 11-1/2" and rip it.
Assumption 2
3/4" thick x 12" long x 1" wide. Use a miter saw or a table saw sled.Dave
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Not necessarily, your fence and blade may not be parallel. Are your cuts rough and/or burned?
You don't cut it. A 1 x 12 is only 11 1/2".
ROTFL! Dang, I hate it when I miss a trick question like that! Congrats on being the first to get the right answer!
My problem has always been .. at the very end of the cut .. as the board is leaving the area between the fence and blade, the blade will gouge my piece.
Is your piece properly supported on the outfeed side? Can we assume the piece has been edge jointed on the side up against the fence?
Ahh - maybe to the real heart of the question. You should be pushing the piece not only forward into the blade, but also a little sideways, into the fence. This keeps the piece from wandering into the blade, with possibly worse consequences than a little gouging. As other have mentioned, make sure the blade is parallel to the fence. And you also have a splitter (or riving knife) behind that blade, right?
Personally, I like to use feather boards to keep the material snug against not only the fence, but also the table.
Lew
ahh .. actually I didnt have a splitter .. this was on a little ryobi ts.
the other day, I bought an older delta/rockwell contractor ts and didnt want to repeat my old mistakes with this saw.
After your suggestion, I did some research on splitters .. and will definately be adding one to the delta.
I have a thousand questions about restoring my new saw . but .. I will start a new appropriate thread
thanks for all the replys mike
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