Popular Woodworking 2004-11 № 144, страница 54

TIPS & TRICKS

PRO TIP:

Tip to be Square

To make sure your blade is running square in your saw, you need two measuring tools - a true straightedge and an accurate try square. To check that a straightedge is straight, use one edge to draw a line along its full length. Flip the straightedge face for face and draw a second line on top of the first, using the same edge. Superimposed, the two lines should appear as one. If they diverge at any point, your straightedge is crooked. To check that a square is square, place the arm against the edge of a board and use one edge of the rule to draw a line. Flip the square face for face and draw a second line right next to the first (shown above), using the same edge. The two lines should be evenly spaced across the board. If not, your square isn't square.

GREAT TIP:

Dado Blade Crib Sheet

Every stack dado set is slightly different when the chippers are in place. Rather than measure each time to set up your dado set, make a sample board using each variation of blades, chippers and shims to make a series of shallow dados. Mark the block as to what combination of blades was used and also mark the resulting dimension of the cut. You may never have to measure your dado set again.

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Two common dado sets are a standard dado (right) that uses shims to fine tune the spacing between the chippers. The dial dado (left) uses a cam dial to fine-tune the width, avoiding the need for shims and allowing for adjustment without removing the blades.

completely through a board. Rather, it cuts a wide kerf with a flat bottom and square shoulders, and it can create dados, grooves, rabbets and a number of other standard woodworking joints.

The most common dado set is a stack dado (above). These sets include two 6" or 8"-diameter outer blades (essentially smaller saw blades) and a number of inner chipper blades that may have four or six teeth per chipper. The outer blades are VS^wide, but the chippers vary in width to allow adjustments of ¹/32" by rearranging the number and type of chippers used.

What Blades do You Need?

With all the choices, what sort of blade should you choose? The answer depends on the type of woodworking you do. However, most craftsmen get by nicely with just three blades:

1. A combination blade for general work. You'll probably keep this on your saw 90 percent of the time. Because you're likely to use this blade more than any other, it should be a premium blade.

2. A rip blade for cutting stock to width. Often, at the beginning of a project, you'll find yourself doing a lot of ripping lumber to size. A rip blade will make this go faster.

3. A crosscut blade for cutting stock to length. A clean, tear-out-free cut when crosscutting makes joinery much easier.

In addition, special types of shop requirements or work will require specialty blades, such as thin-kerf or dado sets. But these can be added as the need (and the funds) occur.

For the Best Blade Performance

The table saw is a precision cutting tool. As such, it must be precisely aligned, operated and maintained if you're to get the best results possible.

Small problems can have large consequences. A rip fence that toes in slightly toward the blade, a miter gauge slot slightly out of line with the blade, a tendency to feed the work too quickly or too slowly, or a blade whose teeth have become coated with pitch - all of these seemingly insignificant problems can completely ruin a cut.

Before you make any cut, you must be sure that the working parts (blade, arbor, trunnions, table, fence and miter gauge) are properly aligned to each other. In Chapter One we covered these important initial adjustments.

Another important set-up step that isn't mentioned often enough is how high the blade should be. Most manuals

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