WoodShop Basic Table Saw Class

Safety

• Think through the cut every time.
  • Failure to do so is the #1 cause of injuries among properly trained users.
  • Can you reach the kill switch with your knee?
  • Where are your hands?
  • Where is the blade?
  • Where will the material go when the cut completes?
• Unplug the saw when setting up the cut.
• Blade guard pros & cons.
• Move smoothly through the cut, give the blade time to do the work.
  • If you hear the motor bog down, you're going too fast.
• Stop if things sound or look wrong.
• Hit the kill switch with your knee if anything seems unsafe.
• Wood and saws are cheap compared to fingers.

Saw Maintenance

• Verify the blade is parallel to the miter slots.
  • Is this done using shims or other?
• Verify the rip fence is parallel to the miter slots.
  • Adjust squareness.
• does the miter gauge have stops? Verify stops are true to their angle.
  • Adjust stops.

Setup & Teardown

Setup

• Use outdoors only.
• Do not leave unattended (theft risk).
  • Plan accordingly, use bathroom, bring what you need.
  • Bring a dust brush.
• Roll gently over bumps, be aware of feet.
• Use an appropriate extension cord (or plug in directly).
• Open the stand.

Teardown

• Brush off the sawdust.
• Stow the miter gauge and push stick.
• Wrap the power cord.
• Wrap the extension cord.
• Close the stand.
• Roll gently over bumps, be aware of feet.
• Vacuum out the sawdust.

Project

The end result is an open top box that can be used for organizing things, but also acts as the bottom portion of an arcade control. A series of classes in different disciplines will complete the rest of the arcade control.

Final Product

13.5" x 7.5" x 3" box with bottom

Cut List

• 1/2" OSB
  • 2@ 7.5" x 3" with 45 degree bevels, rough side in, and a .14 x .14 dado .125 from the bottom edge
  • 2@ 13.5" x 3" with 45 degree bevels, rough side in, and a .14 x .14 dado .125 from the bottom edge
• 1/8" hardboard
  • 1@ 6.75" x 12.75"

Rip

Note: This section needs practical testing.

In this step you will cut two 3" strips along the 24" side of the material.

1. Unplug the saw.
2. Set blade 90 degrees vertical.
3. Set the width of cut. Measure 3" from the fence to the near side of the blade tooth.
4. Set the depth of cut. Set a combination square to 0.6" and use it to set the height of the blade.
5. Install blade guard.
6. Put the push stick where you can reach it.
7. Think through the cut every time.
8. Plug in the saw.
9. Start the saw.
10. Keep the material square to the fence and flat on the table.
11. Move the material through the blade steadily, listening and watching for changes.
12. When the cut completes, hit the kill switch.
13. Wait for the blade to come to a complete stop.

Dado

Note: This section needs practical testing.

In this step you will cut a 0.14" x 0.14" dado in each of the 3" strips, 0.25" from one edge.

Since a dado is a non-through cut, the blade guard cannot be used.

1. Unplug the saw.
2. Set blade 90 degrees vertical.
3. Set the width of cut. Adjust the rip fence to be 0.25" away from the close side of the blade tooth.
4. Set the depth of cut. Set a combination square to 0.14" and use that to set the height of the blade.
5. Install a featherboard to hold the wood down.
6. Install a featherboard to hold the wood against the fence.
7. Put the push stick where you can reach it.
8. Think through the cut every time.
9. Plug in the saw.
10. Start the saw.
11. Move the material through the blade steadily, listening and watching for changes.
12. When tail end of the material passes the edge of the table, grab the push stick and use it.
13. When the cut completes, hit the kill switch.
14. Wait for the blade to come to a complete stop.

Crosscut

Note: This section needs steps and practical testing.

In this step you will cut the two strips into four pieces. Two will be 8" long, two will be 14" long.

Bevel

Note: This section needs practical testing and cleanup of the steps.

In this step you will cut the pieces to their final lengths of 7.5" and 13.5".

1. Unplug the saw.
2. Sharp pencil or knife to mark both ends of the cut.
3. Set bevel angle.
4. Set depth of cut.
5. Set miter gauge to 90 degrees using a square.
6. Plug in the saw.
7. Use a combination square to set the position of the wood against the miter gauge.
8. Start the saw.
9. Do the cut.
10. Stop the saw.

Miter

I haven't figured out how to shoehorn a miter cut into this project, but we'll do one anyway, so you know how to use the miter gauge.

Or maybe I'll just talk about it when setting the miter gauge for the crosscut and bevel cuts.