Saw Sows Seeds of Confusion
December 22nd, 2008Already
I joined the forum at Sawmill Creek to get info on moving my saw. They said I was required to upload photos, so I have done that. Some guy already wants to buy my oversized rails!
The sad thing is, I don’t see how I can sell them. I can’t find used rails in the shorter length, and new ones cost a lot. I can take my dry cut saw and cut these down in fifteen minutes, and they’ll be perfect, and it will cost NOTHING. But people will spaz out if they find out I’ve done it.
I already got a recommendation for a guard. One of the disadvantages of this saw is that it has no riving knife, so I would like to get some kind of guard that will be convenient and highly resistant to kickback. But it’s a hard decision, so I want to take my time.
I suppose I need a zero-clearance insert. I should be able to make one. Maybe I can find a splitter for it.
After all this, STILL, I am not making anything with my tools.
The Doug Stowe box-making video is tremendous. It seems like it’s three times as long as most woodworking videos. I should clean the dust out of my hair and turn on the DVD player.
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:33 PM
The people who make the Gripper – MicroJig – also make the MJ splitter. It can work with any guard. Here: http://www.microjig.com/MJ%20Splitter.htm.
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But since you’re going to make your own insert anyways, you can make a perfectly functional splitter with a rear kerf (in the insert) and a thin-ish piece of wood.
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Or you can buy the Biesmeyer splitter for your saw here: http://tinyurl.com/727p8f (this is the right one for your saw, the Biesy 78-441, for pre-2000 PM66’s). And this one will work with the Unisaw guard I’d previously mentioned.
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Or heck, just get a PM guard/splitter: http://www.tools-plus.com/powermatic-2250116.html
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December 22nd, 2008 at 7:52 PM
Steve,
We had to cut the rail for the Biesemyer fence on my wife’s Delta, it was no big deal. If we (or someone else) needs the extra length, we (they) can always buy a replacement.
Congrats on getting the saw, you should be very happy with it.
Be careful when you reinstall the top to get those shims right. One rule is that there should be no gaps for the bolts to pull together. That’ll put a strain on things and may break or warp the top.
December 22nd, 2008 at 7:57 PM
Davis, I just happen to have an MJ splitter. I never got around to installing it on my portable saw.
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J, thanks for the advice. I think you’re right about the rails. I can cut these long rails down and have what I want for nothing, or I can pay a fortune for new rails that are no better. And what are the odds that I’ll ever need an extension big enough for wall paneling?
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:27 PM
Cut them to what’s useful for you. If you can make a small shed/shop on your property you might not need/want to. Plus it will allow the saw fence to be used as the router fence.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:39 AM
“…what are the odds that I’ll ever need an extension big enough for wall paneling?”
Unknown, until you cut the rails, whereupon p approaches unity.
The genuinely sure way of making certain that any given tool is necessary is to make it unavailable or unusable: sell it, give it away, modify it for some other purpose, or break it. I hope the gentleman who sold you the saw is retiring.
Regards,
Ric
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:31 AM
Looks like a great size saw for making cabinets or desk-tops or the like.
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 AM
People use guards on their table saws? I’ve never been able to find one that isn’t a PITA to use. Featherboards, hold-down rollers and pushsticks are plenty of guard. But I suppose if you can find one that works for you, safer is always better.
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As to kickback, in 20 years of professionally using table saws from tabletop to cabinet units, I’ve only seen a bad case of it once. An ex-employee banged the fence on a contractors saw and didn’t tell me. He then proceeded to rip a small piece of lumber that ended up shooting back at him and hitting him in the gut. Didn’t require a hospital trip, but the next day it looked like he took an ungloved punch from Mike Tyson.
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Keeping the fence perfectly aligned is paramount. I don’t use a splitter on my jobsite saws, but that MJ unit looks pretty keen.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:32 PM
The overhanging, suspended type guards like the Delta 34-976 Uniguards are pretty much *not* PITA’s to use (and they fit on a bunch of things, with little in the way of mod’s necessary for different brands). They flip out of the way in a half second; you DO have to use them with a splitter though. And your fence needs aligned.
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Especially if you’re mating them to an Incra fence/rail system: the combo is almost made for each other, and way easier to mount than the stock Delta bolt-on treatment.
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That said, the suspended guards may not work with some of the Jim Tolpin-type fence jigs I’ve seen that sit relatively high (they wouldn’t be an issue with Dubby-type sleds). But, again, they’re easy enough to flip entirely out of the way as necessary.
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The worst thing about any of them is the expense. But, umm. how much would you say an emergency room visit was these days?
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Recommend.
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December 23rd, 2008 at 7:01 PM
My cousin did a dumbass thing with his tablesaw: set the fence to cut off a piece of plywood, which kicked back and broke his arm. The E.R. nurse said they got 3 or 4 tablesaw injuries in there, every week.
Basically, my cousin was using the rip fence for a length stop, something you must never be tempted to do. Clamp a piece of wood to the fence and bump your to-be-cut piece against that instead of the fence, so the cutoff is “free” when the cut’s complete, not jammed between the blade and the fence.
But you knew that, right?
December 24th, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Thanks jdunmyer, I hadn’t thought of that.
I’ve only seen kick back once, at work, someone else. No harm, no foul, lot’s of amazed looks.
December 25th, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Heh. I’ve seen kickback exactly once, too. It was on my first radial arm saw, some 30 years ago or so. I hadn’t had it very long, didn’t know a thing about it really (I was pretty proud of it though: my first big tool purchase).
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I was ripping my first board, and BANG, that puppy went slamming into the garage wall. Scared the high holy heck outta me.
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It also taught me a lot about safety in that one instant.
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I learned to practice “safe sawing” on that Craftsman RA in that instant of time, and continued to do so over the years …and if you can safely use an RA, a TS is no big deal (my cautionary level remains preternaturally high for EVERY power tool).
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