Table saw fences are important in the process of rip-cutting and cross-cutting lumber. What function does a table saw fence serve? A saw fence, just like many other woodworking tools, is typically used as a table saw guide to secure a workpiece while it is being sawn, planed, routed, or marked. A saw fence kit helps reduce the struggle that is otherwise experienced when making basic cuts.
A saw fence will also increase safety and make your router table saw easier to use with maximum accuracy. To get the most out of your table saw rip fence and increase your capabilities at the table saw, you should consider making an auxiliary fence.
What is the Importance of a Table Saw Fence?
Top Accuracy
Accuracy is important when working on any construction or project, including woodwork. A table saw fence helps to increase your efficiency because it locks the workpiece in place for properly aligned cuts. It also allows you to dictate the thickness of the cut you are making.
Improved Work Rate
After you set up the saw table to the desired rip capacity, your work will be quite easy and fast. Each cut will be precise, with an eliminated need for you to keep checking your measurements.
Cost-Saving
A table saw fence saves you money as it reduces the chances of making any mistakes. All your cuts will turn out exactly to the standard and measurement you want. Once you set it up correctly, you can get through many cuts in a short period.
Safety Issue
Using a table saw fence reduces kickback because you can apply steady pressure on the material to feed it toward the spinning blade (get, my another discussion: which way the table saw blade should go). You can use a toggle clamp to ensure just the right amount of pressure is required. A saw fence will also reduce accidents because it keeps the workpiece in one place rather than freehand cutting.
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Critical Tips and Techniques of Table Saw Fence
There are common tricks and techniques for table saw fences. They include making a super-stable plywood base, cutting blocks for duplicate lengths, making dadoes without the appropriate dado blade, and how to cut a rabbet joint with a table saw. Another important trick is that you can easily cut longboards with an easy-to-make outfeed sliding jig screwed to your plywood base. Below are some of the most important techniques for your table saw;
What Side should the Fence Be on a Table Saw?
If you are right-handed, you can push the work into the fence on the right side of the blade as well as along the blade while standing to the left of the blade. A left-handed operator standing to the right of the blade with a fence on the left side of the blade can do the same.
How do you Keep Wood Against Fence on Table Saw?
To keep wood against the fence on a table saw, use feather boards to hold the wood against the fence for a straight cut. You can also pull out a feather board for smooth, straight cuts. Featherboards have wooden “fingers” that hold wood tightly against the saw fence.
How Do You Make Sure Fable Saw Fence is Straight?
You will need a miter saw station to ensure that the table saw fence is straight. Use a straight edge and check that the front and back of the fence align with the miter gauge. If the measurements you get by the miter saw station are different, then the fence is not straight. Another accurate way to check is to align the blade with the miter gauge, then check the distance between the front and back of the fence to the blade.
What is a Tapering Jig Exactly?
Simply put, a tapering jig is a crosscut sled that works with your table saw to make rip cuts at an angle. It can be used to add a taper to furniture legs, cut plywood on an angle, straighten a live edge or cut an awkwardly shaped board and reestablish a straight edge.
How is a European Style Table Saw Fence Different from an American Style Fence?
Rigidity is the main primary difference between the two. The American-style saw fences, especially the Biesemeyer type, are far more rigid than most European saws. This is because the American saws cut panel goods against the fence, while European saws generally use a sliding table to cut panels.
How can I Build a Simple Rip Fence for My Table Saw?
Wondering how to make a table saw fence? It is effortless to make a homemade table saw fence system. Here are a few tips to guide you through your DIY fence;
Build the Fence
Rip a 1.1m long melamine board into three strips around 8cm wide with a circular saw, then screw them together to make a u-shaped profile. Then screw square scrap pieces of MDF into the inside of the assembly to stop the melamine from warping inward. It makes a very stiff and square section that will become the fence.
Build the Fence Guide Channel
Scrap timber formed into a u-shaped profile and bolted to the end of the saw bench to create the mounting point for the rip fence to slide within.
Putting it Together
Now that you have a fence and a guide channel join everything together by cutting more scrap MDF. The final shape is a fat inverted T that will be screwed to the rear of the fence and drop into the guide channel. The thickness of the MDF T track table saw fence ensures a tight fit. Ensure the fence is parallel to the blade, and then screw the fence and T-shaped mounting piece together with lots of wood screws.
Locking Mechanism
Using the slots for the original fence system allows for an easy way to lock the fence. A tee nut in a block of wood and a bolt create a simple locking mechanism. The bolt is threaded through a hole drilled up through the underside of the rip fence. Tightening the woodblock pulls the fence down to the tabletop for a very firm hold.
Which Material is Better for Constructing a DIY Table Saw Fence?
Most of the parts in a DIY table saw fence that is constructible are made with uncomplicated square cuts on your table saw. You do not require many skills to construct a saw fence, however. You will need materials such as a drill, plywood, ½ inch-thick plywood, screws, and wood glue.
What is a Riving Knife?
A riving knife is a flat piece of metal mounted as a safety device on a table saw, circular saw, or radial arm saw used for woodworking. When you push a workpiece through the saw blade, the riving knife is designed to keep the two cut sections of the board from closing up, thus pinching the saw blade and causing dangerous kickback.
What’s the Difference between a Bevel and a Miter?
Bevel cuts are angled cuts that are relative to the face of the material. They can be angled cuts along the entire side of a plank of wood or cut at the end of the wood. On the other hand, a miter is an angled cut relative to the square side of the material. It is common on wood picture frames.
Conclusion
Just like a jigsaw, band saw, or any other type of saw, you will need a saw fence that ensures safety, straight cuts as well as maximization of the saw by any woodworker. You can do numerous things that make life easier and save money when it comes to table saw tricks and techniques. Some are more complex than others, but you will be much better than before with your woodworking with enough experience. Remember that you should never sit on the saw’s fence rail and should always have a saw blade guard when not in use for safety purposes.