Stupid TS Question...How to use a TS

[matt pickston]

Have a silly question.

Does it matter which side of the blade I use for my finish dimension?

For example, if I am need a 3/4" wide piece, and the fence is to the right of the blade, I set up to cut the 3/4 " on the left side of the blade so it is away from the fence.

However, I was thinking for reptative pieces it would be easier to use the piece between the fence and blade. Does it matter?

[keith ouellette]

If you are cutting a wide piece it won't work. You would be pushing all the weight with a narrow strip.

[David Tiell]

Like the above said, you would not want to do it with a wide piece. For a novice (I'm assuming you are based on the question, and apologize in advance if I'm offending you with the assumption), I think the tendency then would be to push on the wider piece, which is now left of the blade. That leaves the narrow piece between the fence and the blade with no force pushing it past the back of the blade once the cut is made. You do NOT want that, because the blade will turn that piece into an arrow and shoot it back at you. Best technique is to keep the good piece between the blade and the fence. And it's a little easier to get a precise cut that way too.

[Bryan Berguson]

Matt,

You can certainly cut boards that way but it takes more measureing and it's not as accurate. If you want more than one from the same board, you'd have to measure, mark and reset your fence for every one. The normal way to use the TS is to cut so your finish dimension cut is the one between the blade and the fence.

Please, please, please use a push stick for these cuts though. You don't want your hand that close to the blade.

Bryan

[Jim O'Dell]

David, the way I read this is the good piece is the 3/4" piece, and he may want to do repeated cuts of this size.
I'd say at minimum, use a push stick and feather boards AND be very very careful. The best thing would be a set of Grrrippers so that the piece is held down and pushed through the entire cut. (I need some of these myself!!) or a home built sled and some feather boards so that the piece can't come up or back at you, and again, be able to push the wood through the entire cut. Jim.

[David Tiell]

David, the way I read this is the good piece is the 3/4" piece, and he may want to do repeated cuts of this size.
I'd say at minimum, use a push stick and feather boards AND be very very careful. The best thing would be a set of Grrrippers so that the piece is held down and pushed through the entire cut. (I need some of these myself!!) or a home built sled and some feather boards so that the piece can't come up or back at you, and again, be able to push the wood through the entire cut. Jim.
Jim, Agree with how you are reading it. I was just trying to follow up and clarify my thoughts when reading Keith's response.

[Thom Sturgill]

There is one way to do repeatable cuts where the finished piece is on the off side, and is recommended for THIN cutoffs (3/4" would be borderline IMHO).

You can use a stop mounted in the left slot in front of the blade. You would slide the wood up to the stop and set the fence. Cut and repeat. Use this when the cutoff is too thin to push through. I believe Rockler has been selling such a jig, and one of the recent magazines had plans to build one.

[Randy Cohen]

if the finished piece is between the blade and the fence its easy to use scraps to make a test cut. if the finished piece is on the far side of the blade you would need a piece of the same dimension to test the cut.

[Todd Franks]

Matt,

I'm no expert either but I always have the "good" dimension between the fence and blade. I'm really uncomfortable with stock narrower than an 3/4". I will typically use a GrrRipper for stock that narrow. Using the left side of the blade for final dimensioning is more error prone for my simple brain.

Too digress slightly however, lately I've been using the bandsaw for ripping narrow stock. I joint one edge, rip on the bandsaw, and use the planer to "rip" to final dimension. Another thing I've found when ripping narrow stock out of wide stock is that sometimes tension is released and your narrow piece is no longer straight. I usually rip oversize go back to the jointer if need be to take out the warp and use the planer for final dimensioning.

[Thom Sturgill]

BTW, Occasionally there are stupid answers, but the only stupid question is the one you don't ask, then regret not asking.:)

One of the best things about this forum, is the number, variety, and sometimes detail of answers available.

[keith ouellette]

Jim, Agree with how you are reading it. I was just trying to follow up and clarify my thoughts when reading Keith's response.


I also read it as the good piece being the 3/4. I was trying to say if you want to cut 3/4 of an inch off of a 30in board it wouldn't work well because you would be pushing that wide board with a narrow strip.

[glenn bradley]

There are a couple good videos here (http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesDirectory.aspx?dir=Power+Tool+S kills). Well worth the price of admission. The public library is an often missed resource for good info as well.

The keeper is generally between the blade and the fence for accuracy. Thins strips can be dealt with using GRR-Rippers or any number of safety accessories. For repeated thin strips I use one of these (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18056&filter=thin%20strip). I was going to make one but they were on sale for like $12 with a coupon so I just bought one.

[David Tiell]

I also read it as the good piece being the 3/4. I was trying to say if you want to cut 3/4 of an inch off of a 30in board it wouldn't work well because you would be pushing that wide board with a narrow strip.
Understand what you were saying Keith. I'm just a little concerned that maybe a novice would try to make this cut pushing on the wider piece left of the blade, which is a recipe for disaster.