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.

Get to know the tools in your shop. Find books and videos on power and hand tool and techniques.

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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.

Contractor Saws	Cabinet Saws	Portable Saws
Hybrid Saws	Contractor Saws	Contractor Saws

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.

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!

I’ll start with a confession. I don’t like red oak. I don’t like it mostly because it was so overused in the 70’s and 80’s I got sick of looking at it.

I don’t mind actually working with it. But only if I’m making parts with straight edges. Once I start rounding corners and forming arcs, you might hear me say a swear word or two.

Take a look at the part below.

The grain runs in the long direction. To cut out the shape, I fastened a 1/4″-thick plywood template to the blank and used a shop-made template jig on my band saw. (I’ll talk more about the band saw template jig in another post.) Cutting it this way on the band saw got me within about an eighth of an inch of the final shape. This is key to the success of the following step.

Leaving the template in place, I headed over to the router table. I used a flush-trim bit to do the final shaping. That’s when the trouble began.

Freud Downshear Helix Flush Trim Bits

When routing at the router table, you rout from right to left. I placed the template against the bearing on the bit and started rotating the piece counterclockwise. As I progressed over top of the semicircular shape, I was essentially routing against the grain. Chunks started flying. That piece went to the scrap bin.

So I tried again with another workpiece. This time, I slowed down the feed rate a bit. This seemed to help, but wasn’t a perfect solution.

So I backrouted. This means routing the piece in a clockwise direction. This requires a lot of nerve and extreme control of the workpiece. The bit wants to grab your workpiece and rip it out of your hands. But the advantage of backrouting is that there is always wood backing up the cut and this technique greatly reduces tearout and chipping.

Freud Quadra-Cut™ Rounding Over Bits Freud’s exclusive Quadra-Cut™ 4 cutter design provides the smoothest cuts possible. You’ll get crisp, clean edges every time, even with cross-grain cuts in difficult materials.Rounding over bit a.. Freud Quadra-Cut™ Rounding Over Bits

Later, when I needed to add the 1/4″ roundover with bead profile, backrouting was the answer to getting a smooth edge. (The next time I do this operation, I’m going to try the Freud Quadra-Cut bit and see if it helps.)

It’s okay to backrout to improve your results. Just use caution.

The last few months, my Freud Premier/Fusion saw blade has been causing some minor frustrations. It’s the blade that’s in my saw 95% of the time. It’s an exceptional blade. As a matter of fact, I’m a fan of all Freud blades and bits. (Their thin-kerf glue-line rip blade is a winner, too.)

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. Ideal for hard and soft wood, veneered plywood and melamine. Freud® 10” x 40T Hi ATB Premier Fusion General Purpose Blade

The problem I had with it had nothing to do with the quality of cut. By that, I mean the smoothness of the cut edge. It has always cut like a dream. But the problem was I was getting some burning. At first I thought my rip fence was out of alignment. But after checking, it seemed to be aligned just fine. Then I started noticing some burning when crosscutting, too. Today, I decided to take the blade off and give it a good cleaning. It had been a while since I gave it a thorough scrubbing.

But looking through all the chemicals I had on hand, I didn’t have any blade cleaner. I scrounged through our household chemicals and found a gallon jug of ZEP General Purpose Cleaner I had picked up at the Home Depot at some point in the last few years. You’re supposed to dilute this cleaner, but I used it full-strength. I placed my blade in the bottom of a 5-gallon plastic pail with a few ounces of the cleaner. I let it soak for 5-10 minutes then thoroughly rinsed it with water. It removed all the pitch and dirt without me touching it with a scrub brush.

After drying off the blade, I set about inspecting the teeth. I was shocked to discover that one tooth was half-gone. And three or four others had sizable chips out of them.

I was faced with a decision. Should I find a sharpening service that knew how to replace the teeth and grind the blade per Freud’s specifications? Wait…I had used this blade for almost three years. Forget it. I won’t bother with sharpening. I think I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it.

I needed a blade right away, so I decided to head off to the Woodsmith Store. My old Fusion was a standard 1/8″-kerf blade. But I have a 1-3/4HP saw, so I thought I’d try a thin-kerf blade. Wouldn’t you know, the thin-kerf Fusions were out of stock, so I put my name on the list to be notified when they come in.

But I needed a blade today. Right now. So I chose a Freud thin-kerf combination blade. It was considerably less expensive than the Fusion blade anyway. I have to say, I was very impressed. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t really tell the difference between that and the Freud Fusion. I’ll probably get the thin-kerf Fusion anyway. It’s always good to have at least two good combination blades. Eventually, one of them will need sharpened and you need a backup.

You can’t have too many blades, can you?

I grew up watching my dad building projects and doing a lot of remodeling on our home. He’s a master at using power tools and has built some fantastic-looking pieces. But I never recall seeing him use a hand plane all that much. He learned how to tweak joinery and thickness a workpiece using sanders, jointers, and planers. And if he needed to nibble the end of a workpiece for a tight fit, he’d do it at the table saw.

I remember dad having an old hand plane in his basement workshop. One day after school, I picked it up and tried to use it. After a few swipes and not getting any results, I gave up.

Fast-forward about 15 years. He showed up one Christmas with a paper bag. “Here. I found these in my shop. You can have them.” Inside was a No. 4½ Stanley smoother and a No. 78 duplex rabbeting plane.

I did a lot of research on the internet to figure out how to restore, tune, and sharpen these old planes. I remember the day like it was yesterday. I took those first few swipes on a piece of scrap wood and discovered the magic. I was able to get thin, whispy shavings.

That day changed my woodworking forever.

I learned how to use a hand plane to remove machining marks left by a jointer or planer. I learned how to tweak the fit of a joint using a hand plane. I was bitten by the bug. Next thing you know, I was shopping on eBay for old planes.

Have I given up on power tools? No way. I use the right tool for the job. And sometimes, a hand plane is the right tool.

Rob Porcaro wrote a blog post over on Fine Woodworking’s web site about his philosophy of using hand tools. I agree with everything he says.

It’s nice to drive to the mountains and even drive through the mountains, but it’s not as nice as hiking them. Power tools drive you there, but hand tools walk you through.    –Rob Porcaro

In my 40+ years of woodworking, I’ve managed to accumulate quite a lot of hardware. You know what I mean — all sorts of screws, nuts, bolts, etcetera, etcetera. Most of which sat in a box and was never used. The funny thing is, I was stupid enough to move them when we moved out of state a few years back.

When I set up shop in my new location, I decided it was time to sort out all that hardware and get it organized. I had acquired an old, heavy-duty file cabinet that was designed for index cards. This meant that the drawers were only about 6″ high. I thought this would be perfect for storing hardware. To store the hardware, I used some small containers that were used in the days of film photography for holding 35mm slides. They fit perfectly in neat little rows in my file drawers.

So I set about one Saturday finding all the boxes, bins, and plastic storage cabinets full of hardware. I organized all the fasteners by type and size. Woodscrews, machine screws, sheet metal screws, bolts, and everything in between. Each found a home in a little container in the file drawer.

But as I progressed through this reorganization, it occurred to me I had a wide variety of traditional slotted or Phillips-head woodscrews. I’ve vowed long ago to give up slotted screws because the screwdriver always seems to slip at the most inopportune time, ruining or scratching my project. So I set those aside to give away to fellow woodworker friends.

In a previous post, I mentioned how I had used modern woodscrews to repair an antique cabinet. The ones I had grown to like and use are made by GRK Fasteners. I like them so much, I really didn’t see the need to keep any of my traditional woodscrews. So I set the remainder of those aside, too. I did manage to keep all the brass woodscrews, and I have a separate collection of pocket hole screws.

So my friends benefited from my culling of the hardware. I took inventory of the GRK R4 screws I had on hand then purchased additional sizes to round out my collection. I’ve got most sizes from #6 x ½” to #8 x 2″. If I need other sizes for a project, I’ll buy a box only as I need them. The other great thing about these screws is that they come in handy, reusable snap-close containers. And they fit perfectly in my file drawers.

GRK R4™ Multipurpose Star/Torx Screw In addition to a Torx-head design that eliminates cam-out slippage, these innovative self-countersinking bits feature six cutting pockets beneath the head and sharp, saw-like lower threads. GRK R4™ Multipurpose Star/Torx Screw

Why do I like GRK screws so much? Well, first of all the Torx head means I can drive them home without fear of cam-out. I can use them with an impact driver. They’re self-drilling, so you rarely need to drill a pilot hole. (You’ll still want to drill a pilot hole if you’re near the edge of a workpiece or working with hard woods.) Finally, little nibs under the head form their own countersink. This makes assembly go much quicker.

My suggestion is to spend a few hours (or a day or two) going through your hardware and give away what you don’t really need. And step up to a modern woodscrew.