Cherry Ridge Woodworks

Every once in a while, something goes wrong with one of the machines in the shop. And it usually happens at the worst time…when you need that machine the most.

In a previous post, I talked about routine maintenance on the table saw. This was the first time since I purchased it that I had taken the time to tune it up. The benefit of doing this meant that I learned a lot about the mechanics of my saw. This will help troubleshoot any problems in the future.

The other day, I noticed the quill on my radial drill press was sticking as I was drilling holes. So I had to stop in the middle of my project and spray the quill with a little lubricant. While I was doing that, the collar that holds the depth rod in place let loose and fell off. So I had to reinstall that, as well. There’s not much else that needs attention on a drill press, so after doing these two things, I’m confident it will provide many more months of service without requiring attention. But that doesn’t mean I don’t keep my eyes and ears open for potential problems.

So the key for me is not to let frustration get the best of me when a tool breaks down. I try to take a deep breath and slow down and take the opportunity to learn.

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Back in 1982 I was a newlywed and setting up a shop in the basement of our first home. My income wasn’t all that great, so I was on a tight budget.

At that point in time, I was a subscriber to Woodsmith magazine. In issues 20 and 22 of that year they published plans for a router table and stand. I don’t have a photo, but I drew up a SketchUp model you can see and download here:

It’s made from a few 2×4’s, ¾” plywood, and hardboard. It has served me well all these years.

Some time ago, I added a new 1″-thick laminated top to the router table. I didn’t even bother to remove the old top. But lately, the clear acrylic insert plate was showing signs of sagging.

So I decided it was time to give this old router table a little more attention. I started by removing both tops and discarding the original top. Next, I cut out the recess to fit a larger Kreg insert plate. I used Kreg’s insert plate levelers. They’re easy to install and it means I don’t need to create a rabbeted opening for the insert plate.

With the insert plate fitted, I turned the top upside down and added a 3″-wide apron at the front and back. Finally, I added a short rail at each end to engage the top of the legs of the router table base. I redrilled pilot holes and installed the original lag screws to hold the top in place.

Now I’m back in business and will find out soon how much of an improvement this will be over my old setup.

I spent about an hour last weekend going over my table saw and giving it its annual tune-up.

Master Plate with Super Bar Tune up your table saw to the peak of perfection… Master Plate with Super Bar

The first thing I did was use my shop vacuum to remove as much sawdust as I could from the cabinet (it’s a hybrid saw I talked about in this post). One of the minor complaints I have with this saw is its poor dust collection. The airflow isn’t well-directed inside the cabinet so dust seems to build up fast. You can use an air compressor outfitted with a blowgun nozzle to remove dust from hard-to-reach areas.

Once the sawdust was removed I took an old toothbrush and set about cleaning off the gears used to elevate and tilt the blade. I found it helped a lot to remove the insert plate and blade. This way you can get at some of the components from the top. I tilted the blade to 45° and raised/lowered the blade to be able to clean all of the trunnion gear teeth.

Satisfied that I was able to remove as much dirt as I could, it was time to lubricate the gears. The owner’s manual suggests graphite powder or white lithium grease. I didn’t have graphite on hand and I didn’t want to use the grease since it attracts sawdust. So I used the only “dry” lubricant I had, Boeshied T-9. We’ll see how it works over time. The can says it’s okay to use on gears.

My saw has a feature that allows you to adjust the backlash on the blade lowering/raising and tilting mechanisms. I noticed the handwheels do have a little slop in them, so I’ll work on that next time.

The next thing I worked on was checking to see that my miter gauge was 90° to the blade. I hadn’t really checked it since I bought the saw and calibrated it the first time. My cuts were square, so I hadn’t been too concerned about it. But upon checking it with my square, I noted it was off just a bit. So I took the time to reset the 90° stop on the miter gauge.

Next came the rip fence. A quick way to check to make sure it’s parallel to the blade is to snug it up against the blade and tighten it down. Then check for a difference in gaps at the front and rear of the blade. You can also use the miter slot to help you align the fence. Just align one face of the fence with the edge of the miter slot at the front of the saw, then lock down the fence. Check the fence at the rear of the saw to ensure that it’s also aligned with the miter slot. Most fences have a set of screws you can loosen to square up the fence if it’s out of alignment.

The final thing to check is that the blade itself is parallel to the miter slot. For this, you can use a combination square. For the geeks, you can rig up a dial indicator to check this.

Superbar Table Saw Gauge Prevents kickback by keeping saws aligned, tuned up and calibrated to with in a thousandth of an inch!.. Superbar Table Saw Gauge

In either case, mark one of the teeth on your saw blade with a permanent marker. Rotate the blade so this tooth is at the front. Check the distance from the miter slot to this tooth. Now rotate the blade so the marked tooth is toward the rear and recheck the distance from the miter slot. If there’s a difference, you’ll want to pull out the owner’s manual and find out how to adjust the trunnion. For most contractor-style and hybrid saws, it means getting underneath, loosening the four bolts that hold the trunnion to the table, tapping the trunnion with a mallet and block of wood, then rechecking the blade alignment. Once that’s done, you can tighten down the bolts. You shouldn’t have to do this very often, if at all. But my experience has shown that if you move the saw a lot, it’s worth checking every so often.

I don’t know about you, but when my car is clean, it seems to run better. Same thing with the table saw. It just takes a little time to make sure you’re getting the most out of your saw.

The only two table saws I have ever owned since I started working were Sears Craftsman contractor-style saws. They got the job done but not without a fair amount of frustration. The rip fences constantly needed tweaking to remain parallel to the blade. And the blade-raising and tilting mechanisms were pretty weak. They sometimes required a lot of effort to adjust the blade, in spite of frequent cleaning and lubrication.

That all changed when I bought a new Jet Supersaw a couple of years ago. It’s just like the one you see in the photo. It was a floor model and had a few dings and scratches and had been around for a few years. I got a great deal on it.

I couldn’t believe the difference in the quality. It was a definite step up in every measure from my old Craftsman saws. Jet doesn’t make that particular model anymore, but they have newer models that still incorporate the sliding table.

But what I like most about this saw is the sliding table. It replaces the miter gauge. There is no slot for the miter gauge on the left side of this saw.

I thought I’d miss having a miter gauge, but that’s not the case. The first time I calibrated the fence on the sliding table, it hasn’t budged since. I get repeatable miters and square cuts all the time, every time.

A friend of mine has the same model of saw, so we’re always trading ideas on adding jigs and fixtures to it. He came up with a miter sled that replaces the miter head on the sliding table. He gets perfect miters every time with no setup time.

Where the sliding table really shines is in crosscutting wide stock. I built a cabinet that was about 22″ deep. I had no problem cutting the plywood cabinet sides square. Perfect.

Then there’s the rip fence. I’m going to stir up the pot here when I say that I never was a big fan of Biesmeyer-style (or T-square type) rip fences. Oh, they’re a huge improvement over stock fences that come on some saws (particularly Craftsman contractor-style saws). But what I don’t like about them is how hard they are to tweak in small increments. Lifting the cam-action locking lever always moves the fence more than I want. After tweaking the setting by tapping it with my knuckles, it still may move when you lock it down. I supposed you get used to it.

My fence is the older style Jet Xacta fence. It has a micro-adjust wheel and only requires a feather touch to move it or lock it down. Both sides and the top of the fence have T-tracks that I can use for attaching all sorts of jigs and accessories.

I outfitted the saw with a Freud Premier/Fusion blade and the cuts couldn’t be cleaner.

So here’s the bottom line…if you’re frustrated with your old table saw, save up your pennies and invest in a good-quality hybrid or cabinet saw (and blade). It’s a lifetime investment you won’t regret. And you won’t believe how much enjoyment it’ll bring back into your woodworking.

Cabinet saws, hybrid table saws, contractor saws and portable table saws. You’ll find the perfect saw for your woodworking style and budget at Rockler.

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Titebond® Original Glue

I’m in the middle of repairing an antique table. There’s nothing really broken, but most of the joints are loose. So I’m carefully prying apart the old doweled joints and removing the old glue, then reassembling the joint with Titebond wood glue.

As is the case with most old furniture, someone had used copious amounts of glue in an attempt to fix the loose joinery. To remove the glue, I carefully pare the joint down to bare wood with a sharp chisel or block plane. Some would argue that doing so dulls the blade, but nothing a quick touch-up won’t fix.

To repair the dowel joints, I’ll just clean the glue off the dowels as much as possible if they’re still solid. On this particular table, it’s a pedestal style with four legs attached to a center, turned column. The original ½”-dia. dowels had been drilled out and replaced with ⅜”-dia. fluted dowels at some point. They were in poor condition, so I cut them off flush with the joint.

I’m not a fan of dowel joinery, so I set up my router table with a ½”-dia. spiral upcut bit. I routed a long mortise between the two dowel locations on each mating piece. Then I formed loose tenons using ½” Baltic birch plywood and reassembled the joint.

But here’s where you have to pay attention. On this table, the curved legs were each capped with a gothic-style cap piece. But I had failed to follow one of my own rules. I didn’t mark how each piece was oriented. After the glue set up, I noticed one of the pieces was turned 180°. Fortunately, the piece was symmetrical, so visually, it didn’t make a difference. But it could have been a disaster, or at least a big problem.

So the lesson here is this: Whether you’re repairing old furniture or dry-assembling a new project to test for fit, make sure to mark the pieces. Mark the joinery and the orientation of each workpiece.

You’ll be thankful later when the glue and clamps go on.

There’s a study that was recently released in The Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection and Critical Care.

Here’s a summary of the findings:

• An estimated 565,670 table saw-related injuries were treated in US Emergency Departments from 1990 to 2007.
• Children (younger than 18 years) were more likely to be injured at school, whereas adults were more likely to be injured at home.
• Fingers/thumbs were injured most often  and lacerations were the most common type of injury.
• Amputations were associated with 10% of the injuries, and most of the amputations involved the finger/thumb.
• Eight percent (47,916 of 565,458) of patients were hospitalized.

Conclusions: Most table saw-related injuries result from contact with the saw blade. Passive injury prevention strategies focusing on preventing finger/thumb/hand contact with the blade need to be implemented.

As a victim of a table saw injury that partially amputated my right thumb, I have to state my observations and address those critics that say, “You shoulda’ had a SawStop!”

First of all, I consider myself an experienced woodworker. I’ve been around saws ever since I was five years old. And I guess that since I get paid to write about woodworking, that must make me a professional. So I ought to know what I’m doing.

Let me just say that first of all, it was an accident. Without going into all the details of what happened, I took all reasonable precautions and proceeded to make the cut. The workpiece grabbed and jammed into the blade, taking my thumb with it. It happened within a split second.

Anyone who has experienced an injury like this will tell you of the weeks of mental anguish that follow such an accident. I blamed myself. I blamed the saw. I blamed the weather. I replayed the incident over and over again in my mind, wondering what went wrong and what I could have done differently. After several months, I resolved that it’s just one of those things that happens and life must go on. I had to learn to live with a shorter thumb without a thumbnail.

Now, about the SawStop proponents. I agree that Steve Gass’ invention is groundbreaking and will prevent many injuries. If I had the money, I’d probably own a SawStop table saw instead of the 10-year old Sears contractor-style saw that claimed my thumb. But I couldn’t afford the $3,000 price tag at the time.

I can hear you now:  ”$3,000!  How much did your thumb cost you?!”  Well, if we use that logic, we’d all be driving armored tanks on the roads because they’re safer, right?  But you can’t afford them, so you go with what you have.

As great as the SawStop technology is, I disagree with the way Mr. Gass has tried to force the technology onto us by lobbying that this technology be required on all table saws. Let’s face it…Mr. Gass has a financial incentive to make this happen.

I believe in a free-market enterprise and consumer choice. I can’t believe that other saw manufacturers aren’t watching closely what happens in the marketplace. If consumers demand safer technology, they’ll have to provide it to stay alive. And I believe that the SawStop technology isn’t the only route to a safer saw.

For more background on Steve Gass and his invention, there’s a great article here.  And here are a couple of articles about a landmark award brought against Ryobi because a table saw caused an injury. And Glass’ reaction.

Oh…by the way….it’s alleged in court documents that the user of the table saw that brought the original suit against Ryobi wasn’t using the guards designed to prevent the injury in the first place.

I’ll be watching this one.

In the meantime, you can look for one of these blades I talked about in a previous post.

If you appreciate the history of woodworking, you know that computers and woodworking haven’t coexisted until recently. In a former career, I was a computer geek. I got paid to teach and consult with others about how to maximize their productivity with CAD (Computer-Aided Drafting/Design) applications, specifically AutoCAD.

When I first learned CAD software back in the 1980’s I immediately started to put it to use designing woodworking projects. I would produce working drawings that I could take to the shop.

My career changed directions as I become an editor for Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines, but I still dabble with CAD software, primarily Google’s SketchUp.

So, it was with interest and sadness that I read about the passing of one of the early pioneers of the personal computer as we know it. Dr. H. Edward Roberts was the inventor of the Altair computer. And he was a mentor to none other than Bill Gates, cofounder of Microsoft. What I found most interesting was that Dr. Edwards never lost his love for tinkering and was an accomplished woodworker.

Who says woodworking and computers don’t mix.

Here’s the article in The New York Times. It’s worth reading just for the historical information.

A small startup company in Togul, Kyrgyzstan has caught the attention of several major tool manufacturers with a new product guaranteed to reduce or eliminate table saw and miter saw injuries. Vogelis Enterprises representative Nahgjhal Swarovjoskit has stated that they are in negotiations with several saw blade manufacturers to license the technology for their toothless saw blades.

The blades are to be manufactured from a lightweight, proprietary granular alloy and coated with a frictionless material similar to polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), known by the trade name Teflon®. An early engineering and marketing drawing is shown here. Note that no arbor hole is shown. This is so the customer can drill an arbor hole to fit their saw. A normal spade bit is said to be the recommended tool for this task.

Testing has shown that upon accidental contact with human flesh, the blade will self-destruct into a powdery substance easily removed by a dust collection system or swept up with a broom. The blade remains intact when in contact with cellulose material such as wood. It’s ultra-thin kerf (0.04″) is said to require much less power and remove less material than conventional blades.

Samples are en route to distributors but there have been some issues with packaging and handling since gloves must be worn while handling the blade.

I for one am anxious to see how well the blade cuts and how it compares to my Freud Premier Fusion blade.

Freud® 10” x 40T Hi ATB Premier Fusion General Purpose Blade Delivers a quieter, smoother cut with a superior finish and extended cutting life. Unique design and special polymer filler reduces vibration above and beyond any other blade for superior performance… Freud® 10” x 40T Hi ATB Premier Fusion General Purpose Blade

Happy April Fool’s Day!