Popular Woodworking 2005-08 № 149, страница 47

WOODWORKING

ESSENTIALS

BY NICK ENGLER

Advanced Techniques

In this chapter I'll be sharing some advanced techniques you can use on your table saw to do some amazing things. How about cutting coves for crown moulding? That's just one application for a coved shape, and with a couple of simple jigs you can match any size cove you want.

And how do you get an odd-shaped piece of wood such as a tree slab into shape to move on to the next woodworking step? A couple of tricks with a sled make this advanced technique easy.

Pattern sawing is another trick I'll discuss. If you have a project that requires multiple multi-sided shapes, this technique will save you time.

And finally, my favorite: How to bend a straight board into a curved board without steam bending. I'll show you how to do it all with a technique called kerf cutting.

Once you try these advanced table saw techniques, there's no end to the ways you'll be able to put them to work in your woodworking projects.

Cutting Coves

The concept of cove cutting on a table saw might sound strange. You're essentially using the side of the blade's teeth to make a dishing cut along the length of a board. While this isn't an operation most saw or blade manufacturers would suggest, it isn't bad for the blade or the saw as long as the cut is taken slowly and in small increments. And it's also plenty safe as long as you use the correct jigs and techniques.

The depth of the cove is determined by the height of the blade above the table. The width of the cove is determined by the angle of the board to the saw. This is where it gets a little tricky. To determine the coving angle, some woodworkers use a trial-and-error method until they get what they want.

TOOL TIP:

Using The Right Blade

When cove cutting on the table saw it's helpful to use a blade with the proper tooth configuration. I don't say necessary, because you can make this cut with any type of blade. But it's more helpful to use a combination or ripping blade than a crosscut blade because the inside of the cove will be easier to sand. A crosscut blade uses an alternate, top-bevel tooth arrangement that will leave score marks on the cove. Ripping and combination blades add a flat-topped raker tooth, leaving a cleaner surface on the cove.