Popular Woodworking 2007-08 № 163, страница 45
Ripping looks unusual. With a European saw you work to the side of the blade when ripping (above). This different body position allows you to pull your work from behind the blade (right). And the safety equipment allows you to keep your hands quite close to the blade with little risk (below right). This increases your control. and European standards prohibit dado cutting on table saws based on the belief that it can be a dangerous operation because it is difficult to guard. It is better done with a shaper or router. Because the U.S. market has become used to having dado capacity on table saws European saws that are marketed in the U.S. now have adapted these saws for dado cutting and now offer this feature to the U.S. market. Scoring Scoring is making a shallow precut with a small-diameter blade rotating opposite to the main saw blade. Scoring eliminates tear-out and is especially desirable when cutting veneered sheet goods and products such as Melamine. The solid wood woodworker can find it useful for clean crosscutting. This built-in feature is common on large commercial U.S. panel saws and is offered on most European table saws. Scoring can be done on a European saw, but no U.S. saw other than panel saws offer this as an option. Throat Plates U.S. table saws allow up to a 3A" opening on throat plates. The size of this opening is problematic because narrow pieces of wood can drop into the opening and be thrown back out or can be stuck and thereby tempt the operator to reach for the stuck piece when the blade is spinning. European table saws allow no greater than a V2" opening on throat plates and a space on the fence side thereby minimizing the hazard of narrow pieces becoming lost or lodged in the spaces. Space Considerations In Europe space and energy are at a premium. That fact has driven the design and manufacture of some efficient table saw combination machines. Combination woodworking machines are common in Europe, from a table saw/shaper combination to a full combo-sliding table saw, shaper, jointer, planer and mortiser with three motors. These combination machines are not like a ShopSmith that is lathe-based. These combination machines are table saw-based and no change in tools takes more than a minute. There are many advantages for space, energy and dust collection. A full combination machine takes up no more space than a U.S. cabinet saw with typical extension tables. As an added bonus, the shaper gets full use of the table saw's sliding table. Mobility is as necessary on European tools as it is here for the garage and basement woodworker. The difference is that European tools typically have two wheels on one end and a yoke that accepts a wheeled lever on the other. U.S. table saw manufacturers typically install 54 ■ Popular Woodworking August 2007 |
