Kickbacks Aren’t Just for Illinois Governors
December 11th, 2008Table Saw Planer = FAIL
I learned some stuff today. I learned that a table saw will put a straight edge on a two-by-six in nothing flat, so it’s a pretty good jointer. I also learned that trying to do the same thing with the broad side of the same piece of wood is like walking a greased tightrope naked over a pond full of piranhas. So it’s a very lame planer. If I had all the right featherboards and something decent for outfeed support, MAYBE. But as it is, it’s terrifying, and the results are bad.
I also hate the table saw.
I have always said that if I got filthy rich, I’d invest in a Sawstop saw immediately, because it’s safer than an ordinary table saw. But this week I saw a safe, versatile, compact, relatively cheap substitute for a table saw, and I refused to buy it. So in the future, I would spend $2000 or whatever on a big cabinet saw, but in the present, I am too cheap to lay out $200 for something that will outperform a table saw 80% of the time.
Clearly, I am a slave to logic.
I’m talking about the EZ Smart track system. I know it’s a good product; too many good woodworkers say so for me to deny it. But I already invested a surprisingly large amount in a pretty good jobsite saw, with related paraphernalia. Therefore, faced with the prospect of spending more money, I would prefer sawing my fingers off.
The only obvious drawback to this thing is that it’s based on a circular saw with a small diameter. My table saw has a 10″ blade, and a circular saw would be a little over 8. So you get limited depth. The system involves an extra plate that goes on the bottom of the saw, so that makes it even worse.
I don’t know what I’m going to do for a router fence. I would feel like an idiot, going to a lumber yard and paying them to plane down a board for me.
December 11th, 2008 at 9:48 PM
You can buy planed dimensional stock. If you go to the trim aisle, you can usually get a single piece (say, the top) of a pine exterior door jamb. They’re usually finished on all the appropriate sides and are quite smooth and flat. You could also attach a finished 1×4 in oak or poplar to a 1 x 2, making it an L shape. Bolt the long leg of the L to your table, use the short leg for your fence.
December 12th, 2008 at 1:01 AM
Did someone actually *recommend* that you try to use a tablesaw as a *planer*???
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Umm, a TS makes an adequate jointer (especially if you lightly touch up the “jointed” surface with a handplane).
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But if you don’t have a planer, a couple of hand planes – a jointer and a smoother – are your best bet. (Yeah, uniform thickness will be a *slight* issue, but there are work-arounds.)
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Of course, those little portable planers are really sweet (if noisy …but what’s a little noice amongst friends). And they don’t take a LOT of space up, y’know. The Ridgid is pretty nice: easy blade changes (changing blades is a big deal on most planers and jointer btw: it can be an exercise in frustration …not with the Ridgid …to which I can personally attest, heh).
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December 12th, 2008 at 3:31 AM
To make a router fence or any other kind of fence take a long level and put it on its side and hold it where you want it with two of those Quik-clamps. Done and done. Dude get your setup done so’s you can actually do some projects with it!!!
December 12th, 2008 at 8:42 AM
D’oh, DAve! Been doing that for years, and didn’t think to mention it.
I have an old four-foot carpenter’s level that was tossed out because it only has two of the bubbles left, and it’s the first thing I reach for when I need a straight guide. I’d have to look, but I’d almost bet that a three-footer (especially a plastic one) would be cheaper than a piece of planed hardwood stock.
Regards,
Ric
December 12th, 2008 at 10:01 AM
I know levels are straight in the vertical plane, but can I count on one being straight when viewed from above?
December 12th, 2008 at 8:57 PM
I have used my 24″ level for various circular saw jobs as DAve and Ric mentioned. They are usually straight in both axes – unless you accidentally drop an 8′ 4X4 on it from your half built deck. Not that I would know anything about that…
December 12th, 2008 at 9:05 PM
“I would feel like an idiot, going to a lumber yard and paying them to plane down a board for me.”
Use a hand plane. They cut a far cleaner line than any power tool.