Safe non-scary advice re cutting coves on the TS

[Howard Rosenberg]

Anybody here with practical advice re how to calculate and create coves on the TS like the title says - in a safe, non-scare-the-fertilizer-out-of-me way?

Thank you.

Howard

[Steve Costa]

If you do some research on the web I think you can find articles describing how this is done. From a demo I saw many years ago a fence is set up at an angle to the TS blade and the material is run against the fence across the blade. Raise the blade in small increments & be sure to keep firm pressure on the work piece. When you have reached the desired depth of the cove sanding may be necessary.

[Larry Edgerton]

I run a fence on both sides. I use a dado blade and the power feeder. Dado means less scraping. I have scrapers ground in curves that match what I am doing and use that instead of sandpaper. Its faster.

Draw out the cove you want, critical are the depth and width. Once you have those established you can go to the saw, raise the blade to the height that you want, and find the diagonal that gets you the width that you are after. A simple shop made jig with two straight pieces connected by two more straight pieces that can swivel on one screw makes setup quick. Remember that you can also change blade sizes to change the shape of the cove.

[Jamie Buxton]

If you're going to make a lot of the stuff, you might consider CMT's blade for cutting coves. Conventional saw blades leave a chewed-up surface in the cove. It takes a lot of scraping or sanding to clean up. CMT's blade has teeth with rounded tips, and leaves a much smoother surface. http://www.amazon.com/CMT-235-006-07-Cutter-800-523-11-Molding/dp/B000P4JP66

[Paul Steiner]

I made a bulldozer for my son and used a cove for the dozer blade. It was easier than I thought it would be and not very frightening. I think you will find that it is easier and safer than you think, but it will be alot of scraping. I used this FFW article, but you need the membership.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2899

[Terry Beadle]

One key is to take very shallow cuts. 1/16 th at a time....certainly not more than an 1/8th. The shallow cuts also cut down on tear out as does a very sharp blade.

Use both side and top spring blocks. The least amount of wiggle in the cutting piece is a no no.

[Michael Weber]

There are lots of cove cutting calculators on the web to help setting up your fence. Can't provide a link since I'm at work and most such sites are blocked but Google "woodworking cove caluclator"

[Max Coller]

A couple of low-tech hints I wish I would have known the first time I tried this:
Take your time setting up. For this to work, the setup has to be accurate and solid.
Try a practice piece of the same dimensions as your actual piece first - and take it through the whole process of cutting the full cove depth.
Take small bites in your cuts - and be patient, taking your time cutting. The slower you go, the better your coves will look.
Add over-the-top rails/featherboards as well as two side rails for consistent downward pressure - and so you don't have to apply downward pressure with your push stick or hands.
Use a dust collector if you have one. If not, wear a mask.

[Grant Wilkinson]

You may want to take a look at this jig from Rockler

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17468&filter=cove

Then, make one yourself, as I did. I've done dozens of picture frames using my home made one and the process is not scarey at all.

[dave toney]

Here is how I do it:
Raise the blade to the depth of the cove.
Mark where the blade begins to cut on the infeed and outfeed side on your tablesaw insert.
Set the angle needed to get the correct width of the cove with a straight piece of wood and clamp to table on the infeed side.
Taking note of where the crank is on the saw, lower the blade until it is barely above the table, about 1/16".
Take slow cuts raising the blade slightly after each cut.
Dave

[Alan Schwabacher]

If what you want is to know how to setup for a cut of any shape, look at woodgears dot ca/cove/calculate.html but replace the " dot " with ".". He has a nice calculator for asymmetric coves you make by tipping the blade as well.

[Norman Hitt]

Another tip to make it a little easier (and usually faster too), is to mark the desired cove shape on the end of your workpiece, and then before you install the guides for the angled cuts, take out the
largest portion of the waste with a few straight passes using a dado stack and normal TS fence and adjusting the height as required. After this is done, set up the angled guide jig and finish the cove cuts with your single sawblade.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Surprisingly, the Sears molding heads with the 1" round nose cutters do a good job.

[Cody Colston]

Another tip to make it a little easier (and usually faster too), is to mark the desired cove shape on the end of your workpiece, and then before you install the guides for the angled cuts, take out the largest portion of the waste with a few straight passes using a dado stack and normal TS fence and adjusting the height as required. After this is done, set up the angled guide jig and finish the cove cuts with your single sawblade.

Good advice there. Even with a good DC, you will generate a lot of sawdust that wants to shoot out the end of the cove. The more of the stock that you can remove prior to making those angled cuts, the less dust on the tabletop.