If you walk into just about any woodshop in America, you’ll find a table saw right in the middle of the room. This essential piece of technology can perform numerous tasks like cross cutting stock to length, ripping boards to width, as well as sawing on the money miters, dadoes, box joints, bevels, and more.
Whether you have a hybrid grizzly g0715P table saw or another model, you obviously want to get the most out of this versatile piece of equipment. So, we’re going to provide you with some table saw tips that will help you make your saw more productive than you ever imagined possible.
Always Keep Your Tabletop Clean
To get the most out of any table saw, you’ll get the cleanest, most expert cuts as long as you’re capable of smoothly feeding the wood across the tabletop. Having sawdust, chips, debris and such going across the tabletop won’t make for a smooth surface and your cuts won’t be that clean.
So, always keep a shop vac handy at all times in your workshop. By having a shop vac on hand, you can turn it on whenever it’s needed and use it to vacuum the tabletop so that you can make it completely clean. During the vacuum process make sure you get all the sawdust and chips off of the fence, miter slots, and top. You can even apply a wax paste or spray lubricant on the surface. This will prevent cast-iron surfaces from rusting.
Leave Plenty of Space to Operate Your Table Saw
As you decide on the perfect spot in your workshop or on the job site to place your table saw, you have to leave plenty of room to correctly operate it. In fact, it’s recommended that you leave at least 4 feet worth of space on each side of the blade to provide ample room. On the flipside, you also need to leave 8 feet worth of space behind the blade and in front of the blade. By giving this additional breathing room, you’ll be able to work safer, more effectively and efficiently as well.
Align the Blade Properly
The ideal saw alignment will give the user burn free, clean cuts. To achieve this goal, the fence and blade need to be parallel to the miter slots. If they aren’t, your cuts aren’t going to be that smooth.
The best way to ensure your blades are properly aligned is to actually use a tape measure and measure the distance between the front of the blade and the slot. The more precise the measuring instruments the better. So if you’re afraid a measuring tape isn’t going to be precise enough, you can always use a dial indicator gauge for profession precision measuring purposes.
Next, it’s time to measure the distance between the back of the blade and the slot. You want both of these measurements to be exactly the same. If they aren’t the same, you have to either adjust the table or loosen it, then measure it again to test the effectiveness of your adjustments. To get the best results, look at your saw owner’s manual and see the instructions on how to make the necessary adjustments.
Now that the blade is parallel to the miter slots, check if the fence is properly aligned and parallel to the slots. Measure just like you did in the previous step and make adjustments according to the owner’s manual if need be.
Conclusion
Please use these recommendations to get the most from your table saw.
