Miter and Table Saw Questions

[Durnik]

To all,

just purchased my first 'real' tool on getting into woodworking and have a few questions and a dumb one for my next purchase. Now, having been given a gift certificate, I went for the Ryobi 10" sliding compound miter saw and stand ($229 with good reviews and so far with what I've played with, it's pretty good so far) and the new 6 gallon compressor with 3 guns.. For the miter saw question:

- Should you (or do you), create an auxiliary fence to prevent tear out on the wood? Reason I'm asking is that I made some test cuts when I was aligning it and the cuts themselves were buttery smooth but the exit point of the blade cause some tear out and actually pulled some chunks out of the wood. Now, granted I was using some cheap 2x4's to test this out on, but I'm assuming I'd see something similar even with hardwood. I know I'll be upgrading the blade, but I'm thinking I should have some sort of 'zero clearance' type fence attachment when cutting things like face frame stiles and rails.

Now, for table saws. For table saws (looking at the Grizzly G0771), with a 30" cut to right of blade, how do you cut kitchen cabinets carcasses parts that are ~34.5" tall? With a 48" wide piece of plywood, do you just set the fence for 15.5" (sub/adding the blade width), slice it off and you're set with the correct height (48- 13.5 = 34.5")? Believe it or not I've never seen it explained in any reading or web video I've seen. Almost all of the ones I've viewed have saws with 52" cut capacity.

My thanks,

Bob
<aka Durnik>

 

[cyclopentadiene]

I have the Hitachi but all are similar. If you add an auxiliary fence you lose 3/4 inch of cut width. I removed the metal pieces nearest the blade. at least on my unit these are 3/4 inch thick and about 12 inches between the fence sections. I cut mdf pieces that fit in the gap and replace every so often. I also constructed a 8 foot miter station with t track for stop blocks and hold downs, about 3 1/2 feet on each side of the saw. The only problem is I clean the shop between projects only and this area becomes a storage place for tools, cut offs etc. and I have to move everything to use it. I admit I become a pig when working on a project.

 

[JimD]

With a good blade I just live with a tiny amount of tear-out. The more teeth in the blade, the less the tear out will be. Going a little slower helps sometimes too.

I don't cut up full sheets of plywood on the table saw any more. Big pieces get cut with the track saw. Before I had a track saw, I had extended rip capacity on my table saw and would cut to rough size with a circular saw first. Wrestling a full sheet on the table saw isn't a ton of fun. Moving the saw through the sheet (i.e. circular saw or track saw) works better. You can cut to finish size with a circular saw but you have to be careful, use a guide, and have a good blade on the saw. A drawback of a table saw with extended rails is the amount of space they occupy. In my current shop, it is just too much space. The track saw can come out, get used, and get put back. The table saw is always taking up space. Track saws are not cheap although the Grizzly is getting there. But a table saw with 52 inch rip capacity isn't cheap either. I think a 30 inch capacity table saw + even the Grizzly track saw would be a better set of tools than a 52 inch rip table saw.

 

[Canuck]

I too cut my plywood sheets down to more manageable sizes using a track saw (a little oversize) and finish cut on the table saw.

When you get your table saw set up, one of the 1st accessories you should look at building is a crosscut sled and/or a panel sled. This solves most problems with making cuts over the rip capacity of your fence.

​

​

Wayne​

​

​

Wayne

 

[Berta]

I put a quality blade on my miter saw. I also added a zero clearance plate and also for the fence. When I cut my box sides I do not raise the blade until it stops moving. It is a 15 year old Dewalt and works fine.

 

[mquan01]

I sometimes tape a piece of masonite hardboard down to prevent tear out... It is very thin so you don't lose much Cut capacity.

 

[Mike Davis]

80 tooth crosscut blade.

 

[CrealBilly]

Sometime I put a strip of masking tape down it seems to help with chips/splinters. And you can clean the glue/tape residue off the wood with acetone.

Nice looking jigs Wayne

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I have used double stick tape to secure a sacrificial board to the miter saw fence. This works great for eliminating tearout and has the added advantage of showing you exactly where the cut is going to be which comes in handy when trying to cut to a line. By making the sacrificial board sufficiently long, you can clamp stop blocks to it as well for repeat cuts.

 

[Durnik]

To all,

Thanks, learning more and more each day from here

Bob
<aka Durnik>

 

[zzdodge]

I have an old Delta compound miter saw, not a sliding saw. I have some inserts for the table which I cut from Formica scraps. More importantly, when cutting fine work I use a 10" negative triple chip blade (60 or 80, usually the 60).

I use the same blade in a radial arm saw for many cuts.

Your cut speed will be slower, but there will be less tear out.

If you haven't used a negative hook blade, ask around, because my guess is that others will get similar results as to what I get. It doesn't make tear out go away, but it make 90% of it disappear. But you will have to cut a little slower, and the blade will not aggressively bite into the material.

 

[Pyrut]

For your plywood width, there is nothing wrong with subtracting the surplus width in making your cut. I suggest you cut all the side pieces with the same setup - check and double check your math. By doing all the sides or wider parts at the same time will maintain a constant dimension on your cabinets. Not even the best Eye will detect a small dimensional error. If anyone looks that closely, punch him in the eye.
Also, either have a wide and long outfeed table, or a compatible co-worker to assist the initial cut. Either way make a trial run on a piece of thinner MDF or regular flakeboard (underlayment) it's cheap and can be used for divider pieces.
Good luck

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

...Not even the best Eye will detect a small dimensional error. If anyone looks that closely, punch him in the eye....

haha :gar-La;