Popular Woodworking 2007-02 № 160, страница 55

Lock your arms in position before turning on the machine. Make the cut by shifting your weight with your legs, not by pushing with your arms. This will keep you from tilting the machine as you make the cut.

With both hands on the tool, you have more control. When you place the tool on the work, push down with the hand on the handle before pushing in with the hand on the barrel.

Most biscuit joiners have pins or some other device to prevent the machine from shifting sideways as the saw blade moves into the work. When you put the tool in position, put it down, then move it in. This will keep the pins from engaging before you have the fence or base of the tool all the way down.

When you're ready, with the work firmly clamped and your hands on the tool, lock your arms before you pull the trigger. Make the cut by shifting your weight forward from one leg to the other as seen in the photos above. If you keep your arms immobilized while plunging, you won't tilt the tool as you make the cut.

Apply downward pressure with the hand that's on the handle, and forward pressure with the other hand. Take a moment to make sure the fence is flat on the work and the face of the tool is against the edge you want to cut before you turn on the motor.

Another effective way to make a cut without putting your hand at

risk is to hook your thumb over the top of the handle, with your fingers at the top of the fence. From this position, you can plunge the cutter into the work by squeezing

the fence and handle together.

When you make a cut vertically at the edge of a board, only a portion of the tool is in contact with the wood, and the weight of the machine is almost all beyond where the cut will be made.

I extend any registration marks so that I'm lining up the cut with the base of the machine, not the front. This keeps my head and shoulders above the tool. I push

down with the hand on the barrel of the tool, and in with the hand on the handle as seen below.

The action of the saw blade plunging into the wood creates a lot of dust and wood chips. Most machines have a dust bag, but these tend to clog in the narrow chute between the blade and the bag. It's still a good idea to use the bag, even though you'll need to stop and clean it periodically.

To keep from tilting the machine when making a vertical cut, extend your pencil marks so you're lining up with the center mark on the base, not on the fence.

Most of the weight of the tool is off the work, so it's easy to tilt it in that direction as you plunge. Push in with your handle hand and down with the other hand.

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Popular Woodworking February 2007