The table saw is the center of every woodworking shop and is the first tool purchased by the woodworker be it a casual weekend woodworker or the busy cabinet shop. Because of the versatility of the table saw the majority of woodworking projects all begin with this tool.
There are a few types of table saws. The portable, contractor and cabinet. The portable saw is normally a tool used by carpenters because they can easily be carried from job to job. The contractor saw is usually brought to a construction site and left until the project is completed. Many hobby woodworkers also use a contractor saw. A cabinet saw is usually found in a woodworking shop and is so heavy it’s rarely moved..
While there are a number of types of table saws they are all used in a similar way. The two primary uses are ripping and mitering. Ripping is the process of cutting a piece along it’s grain while mitering is cutting across the grain. For an ideal cut each operation uses a dedicated blade but most common saws are usually equipped with a combination blade that does a good job at both functions.
All table saws should be checked periodically for alignment. This can be done fairly easily by aligning the fence with one of the miter slots. The fence must be perfectly parallel with the miter slots. If it’s not the saw will be prone to binding and or kickback. Check your owners manual for the fence adjustment for your model.
Most saws today come with a splitter. This mounts in line with the saw blade on the outboard side. What this does is during the ripping process it keeps the two pieces from closing up. Sometimes a piece of wood can have internal pressures that can close up when the wood is cut and pinch the saws blade. With a splitter once the piece passes the blade the splitter keeps the pieces apart.
There are numerous accessories for the table saw. The most important are hold downs and feather boards. These will safely hold the work in place while making your cuts.
If your going to do a lot of mitering a miter sled is an excellent addition to the table saw. A saw sled is much more accurate and safer than the miter gauge that comes with the saw.
A taper jig is also an excellent accessory that adds tapering capabilities to the table saw.
A stacked dado blade can be used in a table saw and will cut accurate dado’s.
You can even get a shaper head that will allow you to make trims like bead board on the table saw. They have changeable cutters for making a variety of different trim pieces.
The most important thing to remember when using a table saw is to wear all your safety gear and never remove safety guards or splitters.
