What Can You Do With a Table Saw?

The table saw is a piece of incredibly handy equipment. It is a woodworking tool that one can use for a couple of things but has a lot of application.

The principle of using the table saw is straightforward. It consists of a circular saw that is mounted to an arbor.

The circular saw is then used to cut any piece of wood into the desired shape or size.

Of course, there’s more to it than simply cutting. As the blades rotate, it’s not only a reliable tool to cut wood but can also be a potential danger to the hands.

The proper way of using the table saw must be observed. Otherwise, a kickback can occur.

A kickback is when the wood launches itself back to the operator. The wood can be propelled so powerfully that it can stick itself to the walls.

This can cause devastating damage to a person. A kickback happens when the wood is ripped or when the wood pinches the blade because of it releasing stress.

A kickback can occur so fast that an operator can still have his or her hand on the wood as it gets pulled towards the saw blade.

However, a kickback can easily be prevented by using tools such as a riving knife.

It’s essential to let you know the dangers of using this device as not everyone who is about to use or purchase one knows about kickbacks.

Now that danger is out of the way, we can proceed with what one can do with a table saw.

Cutting Wood

The primary function of the table saw is to cut wood primarily. Size and design of table saws can vary.

With a modern table saw, the height of the saw blade can be adjusted. When more blade is exposed, the cut done by the saw is deeper.

When less of the blade is exposed, the cut is more shallow.

In other words, the height of the blade will decide just how deep or shallow the cut will be. In older table saw designs, it is the table itself that needs to be adjusted.

The table will have to be raised or lowered for the depth of the cut to be adjusted. The same goes with the angle.

With more modern designs, the saw blade’s angle can be changed. As for older models, it is the table that still needs to be adjusted for the angle.

The table saw is very reliable when it comes to cutting wood. In fact, it does it fast, clean, and seemingly effortlessly.

You can even consider it as the best wood cutting tool compared to other handheld wood cutting ones.

As mentioned earlier, there is a proper way to use the table saw. So, although you may use it to cut wood of any size and shape, you need to consider just how you position the piece before you go about cutting it.

Otherwise, a kickback can be imminent. The table saw makes woodworking also very convenient because it can cut through larger or thicker pieces of wood that other tools may find very difficult or impossible to work with.

When cutting wood with the table saw, you can make different types of cuts other than merely cutting wood in halves.

Probably the most common type of cut, a rip cut (the one that splits the wood parallel to the grain) can be done with the use of a table saw. This is just cutting the wood along its grain.

A rip cut is the specialty of a table saw. In fact, no other tool does it better than a table saw.

The only equipment that can come close is a circular saw. But even a circular saw isn’t as fast nor as accurate as a table saw.

Ironically, making smaller rip cuts are more dangerous than that of bigger ones.

This is because the fence of the table saw is very near to the blade, which makes the probability of a kickback more likely.

Also, only using the hands just won’t be an option when making a small rip cut.

A push stick needs to be used when making tiny rip cuts.

Also, one must wear proper protection in case a piece of wood gets propelled back. Another type of cut that can be done with the use of a table saw is a cross cut.

Doing cross cuts are more complicated than the rip cuts. This is because cross cuts are cuts that are done against the grain of the wood.

This is also one of the most common types of cuts done not only to wood but also for other kinds of materials such as plastic and metal.

Unlike the rip cuts, there are actually other tools that are better than the table saw at making cross cuts.

However, with proper handling, the table saw can still do the job very well. Since the angle of the saw blade can be adjusted, it can also be used to make beveled cuts.

More than rip cuts, cross cuts, and beveled cuts, a table saw can also be used to make miter cuts. Although to create miter cuts, a miter gauge will be needed.

This is so you get a firm grip on the wood piece and that it will be positioned well on the table as you go about making the miter cut.

Moreover, a table saw can also create a dado cut (a type of cut that creates a slot space on the wood). All these different types of cuts can be used in various projects to create a better finish or to make a better way of assembling a piece.

In other words, once you know what the capabilities of a table saw, you can create just about any type of woodworking project.

You can build cabinets, chairs, tables, and any other kind of wooden furniture.

From cutting and shrinking pieces to shaping them as different types of joints or connecting portions, all one will ever need then is a way to glue or screw in all the pieces together.

It is accurate, easy to learn, works fast, and can handle just about any type of wood.