Hi
I'm new to the WW scene. Can anyone tell me the best way to square a sheet e.g. 22" x 22".
I have started by making one cut on my TS and then using this as the guide for the next cut, rotating after each cut.
Thanks
Quentin
If your saw is square then this will work. However I'd rip two sides of it parallel first, then determine how much needs to be cut off the other two sides. Then check to make sure that your crosscut is actually square.
The factory edges on manufactured plywwod is square enough for most general work. Use these whenever possible.
The easiest way to check for squareness after you're done is to measure the diagonals. If your piece is square, then the diagonals will be equal. (this works for any square or rectangular object)
Frank
Caveat: "Just because" the diagonals are equal, does *NOT* mean that the piece is square (or rectangular). That particular "rule of thumb" is valid _only_ if the opposite sides (both pairs of them) are the same length.
To wit, consider a piece shaped like a truncated isosceles triangle: _________ / | \ / | \ / | \ +----------------+
The diagonals, from top right to bottom left, and bottom right to top left, are the same length, but it's _clearly_ not right-angle corners.
Technically, the only thing that 'equal diagonals' guarantees is that the object is 'bilaterally symmetric' -- i.e., that there is a 'centerline' (as shown above), about which one side is the 'mirror image' of the other.
On Tue, 23 Sep 2003 22:35:23 +0000 (UTC), snipped-for-privacy@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) pixelated:
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Well, ya takes yer $4 million Starrett try square 'n ye rubs it over the tapers all firm-like until they's scraped all flat and square, son. Ain't that what ther fore?
---------------------------------------------------------- --== EAT RIGHT...KEEP FIT...DIE ANYWAY ==--
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Robert Bonomi spaketh...
Square as in a right angle, not as in 4 equal sides.
It's called a trapezoid, a type of quadrilateral.
Yeah and why would anyone but an idiot be checking a trapezoid for squareness?
To check for squareness, 4 sides are measured and if the opposite sides are equal and the diagonals are the same, then the piece is square (it's corners are right angles for the dense types).
Don't forget that the table saw fence is usually toed out a hair to relieve binding as the material is passed through the saw blade. When cutting keep the material snug to the fence at the point it first touches the blade, not snug to the fence all the way through.
If the fence is straight, it should be snug all the way through. If the fence is not straight, that's the first thing to fix.
Jim
[[.. munch ..]]
By the same token, "Why would anyone but an idiot be checking the diagonals on something *known* to be square?"
The answer, in _both_ instances, is that the party *does*not*know* what the actual shape is. and is measuring to _make_the_determination_.
The 'trapazoidalism', or other out-of-square condition, may not be gross enough to be readily apparent to the unaided eye. Which is _why_ you measure -- to be *sure* it's "right". (yes, pun intended).
I'll readily agree with _that_. The original poster claimed that squareness could be determined by measuring _only_ the diagonals. Which is the point I took issue with.
No I did not claim that. I claimed he could measure his diagonals and it would be square if they are equal. This is in response to his post about ripping each side with the rip fence and then rotating it and ripping the next. This will insure that the sides are equal and my original advice is quite correct.
Frank
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