Safety Question - Crosscutting a wide panel on TS

[Matt Lentzner]

If I had a 2' x 3' piece of plywood could I cross-cut it on my table saw safely using the rip fence? If this is safe, what is the consensus on how wide a piece needs to be in order to be safe? Over 12"?

Thanks in advance,

Matt

[Kyle Kraft]

Matt,

I would say it depends on the length of the crosscut piece. You don't want the blade-to-fence distance to exceed the width of the workpiece when crosscutting with the fence alone. For instance, on your 2X3 workpiece if your cut is along the 2' dimension, you shouldn't set the fence >24". If you want to trim 6" off one end, use the fence @ 6". Your scrap piece will be between the blade and the fence.

[Michael McCoy]

Matt,

I would say it depends on the length of the crosscut piece. You don't want the blade-to-fence distance to exceed the width of the workpiece when crosscutting with the fence alone. For instance, on your 2X3 workpiece if your cut is along the 2' dimension, you shouldn't set the fence >24". If you want to trim 6" off one end, use the fence @ 6". Your scrap piece will be between the blade and the fence.

I would much rather have that 24" piece between the fence and the blade (along with my hand) rather than the 6".

[Mack Cameron]

[quote]I would much rather have that 24" piece between the fence and the blade (along with my hand) rather than the 6". What Mike says is absolutely true! If you attempt to cutoff 6" from the rip fence, you are setting yourself up for a great big kick back. AMHIKT!

[David Weaver]

It's possible to do it, the answer of safety is going to vary by person. If you can keep the whole thing flush against the fence the whole time, then no problem.

I personally wouldn't do it, but I've had a little too much kickback activity lately - especially for being the novice that I am.

If you're going to do this kind of thing a lot, board buddies or the grip tite system (with the wheels that pull the piece to the fence) would be a very wise purchase. The first time that piece doesn't come up, bounce off your belt line and frisbee across the shop is worth the cost of any of them.
Damage assessment after a kickback really sucks.

[Tim Lynch]

The safety aspect can be improved greatly by the answer to this question: Are you using the guard/splitter/anti-kickback pawls that came with your saw?

I could cut that panel either way all day long on my cheap POS Craftsman saw with the stock guard on without flinging anything anywhere.

At least I haven't yet... :D

[Andrew Williams]

Why not make yourself a nice sled to cut that piece with?

[Rod Sheridan]

I agree with the safety aspects of the guard and splitter, as well as making a crosscut sled.

The sled would probably cost less than $20 to make, and improves the accuracy and safety of crosscutting panels.

Regards, Rod.

[Ted Miller]

I would much rather have that 24" piece between the fence and the blade (along with my hand) rather than the 6".

I agree and always use sleds when ever possible or make aux fences with T track so you can use feather boards or board buddies...

[Matt Lentzner]

Why not make yourself a nice sled to cut that piece with?

I would except I'm not clever enough to figure out how to do it on my Bosch 4000. There's only 8" or so of deck in front of the blade so I don't see how a sled is going to work with 24" of panel in front of the blade. If I had the new version of the saw with t tracks instead of miter slots then I could see how a sled could work. Am I missing something?

I normally do all my cross-cutting on my SCMS. The best answer is probably to use my circular saw for a cut like this (Until I get a real table saw). I put a nice Freud blade on it so it doesn't tear the hell out of my plywood like it used to.

Matt