It occurred to me that if I place a light in the cabinet of my tablesaw below the blade that it would be easier to line up my eyeball exactly parallel to either side of the blade, then line up a mark on the workpiece to that side of the blade, hopefully with a little more accuracy.
Before I go looking for an industrial explosion-proof light fixture for inside the saw cabinet, I was wondering if anyone had tried this to see if it works or not?
Zero clearance table inserts would limit how much light gets through, but I imagine some still would.
Never tried. Don't need it, as far as I can see. But if you do try it, consider using LEDs for light. Lotsa bright; not explosive (at least I don't believe they are).
Charlie Self "When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary." Thomas Paine
I have a saw blade light but its directly over the blade. It really helps. I built a little oak box to hold a 10 watt halogen under counter light. It just sits on top of my home made Lexan blade guard. I'll be glad to post a picture if you like.
How long do you think it will take before a chunk of wood shatters the bulb? I don't know about your saw but I find pretty big pieces down there all the time. Use the cuts on your zero clearance insert to identify where you align the mark in your wood.
That's why the explosion proof light fixture -- they're sealed against dust getting in, and while not quite bulletproof, they're pretty close.
I usually put a mark on top of the workpiece, especially when cutting larger plywood panels on the sliding table. On these even if I transfer the mark around the leading edge, I can't lean over far enough to see the leading edge against the insert. So, I find I'm eyeballing the a line from the mark on the top of the workpiece to the edge of the blade.
Basically, what I'd like to do is eliminate parallax. Analog multimeters (well, the better ones, anyway) put a mirrored band in the scale so that you could line up the needle with its reflection. This put your eyeball directly over it, increasing the accuracy of the reading by that much. Same idea here. Get your eyeball directly over one side of the blade, then line up the mark for cutting.
There's also an overarm guard, which also make it difficult to line up marks with the table insert. I figured I'd put a light on it, too, and make both bulbs the same wattage so I could wire them in series and run them off the 240V supply to the saw.
Ahhh, but LEDs and the supporting power supply would cost real money, whereas a used explosion proof light fixture will probably show up for nothing. I figured I'd put a similar wattage bulb in the overarm guard so they could be wired in series and powered with 240V.
(An incandescent bulb might also keep the table warm enough to ward off condensation rusting... ;-)
OK my light came on now, rereading fixture vs. bulb.
So are you thinking that the light will not defuse after passing through the insert? And, will you not still have to lean over to see the light shining on the wood?
I'd avoid LEDs. Modern white LEDs have enough brightness to do it, but they're horribly intense (a very small point source). If you place them so that you can get any light at all, they're likely to be shining straight into your eye. Staring into an LED torch is something most people only do once. I'd go for something more diffuse, like a compact fluorescent (lightbulb replacement).
BTW - If you don't already have them, stock up on keyring white LED torches. These things are fantastic, and these days they're cheap.
Noticed that Lee Valley's "pre-holiday" catalog has a bunch of alternate lighting options in it.
I've made it known that it's a great catalog with some great ideas for gifts (for me). Now if I could just get Rob Lee to contribute to my kid's education like I do his.
Those are not designed for table saws. You don't want a laser light shooting out of the table where you might look into it. A laser can blind you permanently.
Or back into a satin finish reflector. I didn't say so, but I think shining ANY light directly back into the operator's eyes is a bad idea. LEDs can also be placed behind diffusors, just as can most any other light.
Charlie Self "When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary." Thomas Paine
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