Table Saw - Woodworking 101

[DreamWeb]

Ok guys.. this may be a ridiculous question... but...

My brother and I are in the middle of building my CP for my cab.

And we're stumped..  I need to cut a couple of pieces of wood that will act as the sides of my CP.  They need to be cut at a slope of 8 degrees.  The problem is.. is that my brother's table saw only goes down to 30 degrees.  So.. how do we make an 8 degree cut?  I'm assuming we have to cut another piece of wood and somehow use that to guide the uncut sidepanels towards the saw..  but, I really don't have much of a clue.

Is what I'm asking making sense?  Is there a tutorial somewhere that someone could point me towards?

Thanks guys...

Dave

[mccoy178]

I would recommend using a circular saw.  You could use a four foot level or some other straight object to use as a guide.  Clamp the guide to your board, and you could cut any straight line you wanted.  To make both sides match, cut the second piece within a quarter inch of the other, and then use a router with this bit to make them match.  It is called a flush trim bit.  You could find a cheap one at Lowe's for $10.

[Paul Olson]

Do a google search for a Taper Jig.  You should find pictures of them and plans to make them.  It probably would be easier to just use a circular saw for just two cuts, though.  The table saw blade can be tilted to 8 degrees to cut the front and back pieces of your CP, so they will match up with your side pieces.

Paul

[crashwg]

I'm not quite sure exactly what the pieces that you're trying to cut out due to lack of description but 8

[DrewKaree]

Are you trying to cut the EDGE at an 8^o angle (the ³/₄" edge), or are you trying to cut an angle on the side piece from front to back?

That's what we need to know to help you better.  It sounds like you're trying to cut an angle on the side piece.  Let us know.

[DreamWeb]

Thanks for your help so far, guys.  It's leading me in the right direction.

DrewKaree, it's the second illustration that we're working on.  The side panels of the CP.

Thanks guys!

d.

[javeryh]

I would definitely just draw the line on your panel and use a straightedge and a pattern bit to cut it.  If you need to make an identical panel for the other side yopu can easily do it with the pattern bit as well.  It is very accurate and works like a charm!

[Nannuu]

If that is your only tool you can just draw a line and push it through by hand.  That can be dangerous if you don't have any jig clamping though.

[mmmPeanutButter]

Just make a jig like the pic attached.  you can just make it out of scrap.  All your cuts will be the same.  The red denotes the piece to be cut.  The green is the path of the saw blade, and the black is the jig.

Just rest the piece on the stop block on the jig, and slide the whole thing through the saw - making sure that the right side of the jig runs along the fence.

Am I talking crazy talk?

[Jabba]

I cut mine using a Jig saw and then a sander to get the edge nice an clean.

If you were to use a table saw, then you would have to create an angled piece anyway. That would be useful if you were going to make many copies of the same cut. Prolly not worth the effort if you just need two cuts.

If you have a routter, then doc mccoy's would work equally well (and quicker).

[FractalWalk]

I don't understand.

What you are making is called a mitre cut. Most table saws already come with a mitre attachment to handle that.

[wj2k3]

It is sometimes awkward to run panels through the table saw at an angle (more so larger panels).  I recenlty built a corner booth in my basement using a straight edge that I built using some scrap 1/4-inch paneling that worked excellent.

The images below are from the website I saw this on.

Basically you cut a piece of 1/4-paneling about  4-inches wide on the table saw to get your straight edge. 



You glue this to another piece that is about  12-inches wide.  This second piece doesnt need to be exactly straight because you then run your circular saw down the straight edge to finish the saw board.


Now you just clamp the sawboard to your board aligning your marks to the edge of the saw board and cut away.  This should also work for jigsaws.

[mmmPeanutButter]

I think that there are basically three good ideas here with the table saw (or circular saw).  I think it ultimately depends on the size of the piece to cut. 

The smaller the piece, my idea would probably work the best. 

For medium size pieces, perhaps FractalWalk's method will work (at least you wont need to build anyhting). 

And for the biggest pieces, you should probably use wj2k3's.

[iplay72]

that sawboard is a great idea for large cuts! i'm definately gonna make one of those

[FractalWalk]

I recenlty built a corner booth in my basement using a straight edge that I built using some scrap 1/4-inch paneling that worked excellent.

Those sawboards are a must have. I also made one of those for my plunge router. Very quick and very precise. Of course with a router you have to make sure that you use the always use the same bit that the jig was made with.

[Wienerdog]

The smaller the piece, my idea would probably work the best.

[Matt Berry]

If that is your only tool you can just draw a line and push it through by hand.  That can be dangerous if you don't have any jig clamping though.

Please don't try free handing anything on the tablesaw. Some people do it, but it is highly dangerous. The board can bind or contact the rear of the blade causing a kickback with a lot of force (very dangerous) it could also pull you into the blade. Always use a jig and or fence for this type of cut. If you are crosscutting with a sled or the mitre gauge Do not use the fence, as it is easy for the cutoff to bind between the blade and fence causing a kickback. I've saw a lot of experienced woodworkers seriously injured by a tablesaw, it isn't pretty, and makes it a lot harder to beat your old Donkey kong score  I don't want anybody here getting hurt. For large sheets of plywood you are safer using a circular saw or jigsaw with a straight edge.