Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on January 10, 2025, 05:39:34 PMInteresting thread.  I have two table saws, but I wouldn't say I'm "comfortable" with them.  I really like the Sawstop, if I were getting a new saw, I'd buy one.  Very clever design. I have seen many finger/hand injuries from table saws. 

Jeff

I'd say "keep your eyes out" to anybody in the market for a new table saw.  SawStop released their patent on the safety device last February.  I can't say when the technology will show up in competitors' saws,  market factors beyond this humble almost-retired carpenter's comprehension are at work here.

https://www.sawstop.com/news/sawstop-to-dedicate-key-u-s-patent-to-the-public-upon-the-effective-date-of-a-rule-requiring-safety-technology-on-all-table-saws/

The tech isn't cheap, but a trip to the ER is way more nowadays than the price difference.

FWIW, Festool bought SawStop in 2017 from the American Inventor, and original manufacturer, Dr. Steve Gass

Quote from: deemery on January 09, 2025, 06:50:58 PMAnd my contractor bought a Sawstop.  He learned a valuable lesson with it on a jobsite:  Don't cut foil-back products.  (The foil conducts and triggers the stop.)

dave

There is a surprisingly long list of stuff that can teach these lessons.... I keep a hand-held metal detector near my saw when I am re-sizing old trim to put back up, as I don't want to find an old nail fragment that I missed earlier with the blade.

Quote from: Bernd on January 09, 2025, 06:45:35 PMHey Mark,

You were on Freerails? I was a moderator on the forum toward the end and got involved in trying to buy it with others to save it. Didn't work out.

Nice SBS on the using the table saw.

Bernd

Bernd, I was there (Almostretired) and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the numerous scratch-building threads, I haven't got time or room for a layout, but do enjoy my bench time.

Thanks for your efforts there, too bad it ended. Mark

Amazing work, Matt.  I have also spent a little time on your Youtube channel and Instagram pages, and want to explore more there. 

Thanks for sharing your techniques.

Dave, when I took those pictures and posted my technique earlier on Freerails and Railroad-line both, I was using a big old 12" table saw that resided in my home shop.

Since then, I did extensive trim work in a 150-year old house and needed to upgrade my portable 10" job-site saw. I'm not going to share what it was, as its low-end questionable quality certainly wasn't up to what I needed for custom trim work inside this house.

After much thought, I purchased a SawStop Jobsite Saw Pro 10" portable saw.  Not a cheap investment, but another person would be using it onsite, and the safety factor is worth it, IMHO.  Because this saw holds value, I had initially intended to sell it on after the job was done, but I like the saw so much, I'm definitely keeping it.

Not only is it a very safe table saw, it is high quality tool that has a bunch of well-thought out features. It also has good dust collection for a job-site saw when coupled to a shop vac.

As for blades, you can buy blades engineered for all kinds of uses.  Cross-cutting, ripping, and combination blades are common categories.  Blades can also be configured for plywood, particle board, laminates, etc. etc.
 
A "finishing" blade is typically thin, with small teeth and a high tooth count, perfect for making narrow rips.  I use "finishing" blades for trim work.

40 teeth on a 6-7" blade would probably be considered a finishing blade, but on a 10" blade you'd want 60 teeth or more to get a fine finish.  Along with ripping and combination 10" blades for general work, I have 60 and 80 tooth finish blades.

Ripping a 2x4 or 2x8 isn't a job for a thin finishing blade, but ripping a 1x6 door side jamb is.

While it is possible to spend significantly more, I find Freud/Diablo blades to be a good value for the money.

While I found the Jobsite Saw Pro model perfect for my use, SawStop does make a 10" Compact Table Saw model for half what I paid, and could be considered a "desktop" saw. Same safety feature.

Dave, if you do consider this brand, be advised that to cut plastics, or anything else that might generate static electricity, the saw should be operated in "bypass" mode, where the safety sensors are turned off.  Static electricity can fool the electronics into thinking there is something that is conductive contacting the blade and will trigger the electronic stop mechanism.

Once the mechanism is triggered it's a $100 replacement cartridge, plus it wrecks the blade.  My son triggered a SawStop by hitting the little staple on the end grain that some dimensional lumber has holding a tag on.  Treated lumber is also a concern and reason to operate in bypass mode as it often has a very high moisture content

Anyone interested in seeing how this saw protects fingers, should visit the website

https://www.sawstop.com/
 

I am a new member and thoroughly enjoy looking/reading on this forum. 

I would like to make a small submission of my  of my own, so here goes..

I am a retired shop teacher and worked most of my summer "vacations" as a carpenter.   I still work at occasional carpentry jobs, so I'm comfortable around table saws.

This is not meant to be a tutorial on the use of full-size or otherwise table saws, just a "how I do it".

I offer my technique here, for milling small strip wood on a full-size (12" diameter in my case) table saw, to those who are comfortable with table saws. 

I saw the basics for this jig on a wood working website I would like to credit and acknowledge, but I cannot recall.  I made some adjustments of my own.

I hope my description and photos give enough information to understand how I made and use it.

For reference, the pencil lead is .7mm




I put what is called a "finishing" blade in my saw for this, as it has a very narrow kerf and a large tooth count.

I also use a push stick.


I started with an old shelf that had a smooth laminate on it.  Then I glued a  wood spline to the bottom.   A 1/2" by ¾" spline fits the miter slots in my saw's top, fairly common, but your mileage may differ.

After the glue dried, I fed the shelf carefully into the blade, stopped the cut half-way through, and carefully shut the saw off.   This made what's called a zero-clearance auxiliary table,

It is held in place laterally by the spline, and longitudinally by a clamp (not seen) at the off-board end.




Along the right edge of the shelf, I attached a fixed fence with glue and screws from the bottom, being careful to keep it parallel to the spline.  To this fixed fence, I then attached a movable fence, which is adjusted by 2 pairs of carriage bolts.  One pair is shown below.


Note that the movable fence ends just before the blade.  This is to mitigate the binding and subsequent kick-back that can occur when ripping next to a table saw fence conventionally.

Not seen is the long, thin wood splitter that I insert into the kerf of the auxiliary table top to the left of the blade.

The upper carriage bolt is threaded into the fixed part of the fence, but not threaded into the movable, left fence.  It serves to move the movable fence predictably 1/16" per turn, as it's a 16 TPI thread.

The wing nutted bolt is fixed into the left fence piece,  and has a clearance hole in the right, fixed piece.

After I adjust the movable fence, I fix the it in position with the wingnuts.






I typically start with ¾" thick or less stock.  If larger than that, I will rip it down conventionally w/o the auxiliary fence.

As always, I stand to the side of the blade trajectory, as I do occasionally get small pieces kicking back.   Since the pieces are small and not in a tight blade bind situation, they are far less exciting. 

This process yields more sawdust than scale lumber, so I mill found free material.  My 1:1 work brings me into contact with plenty of spare lumber.

Here's some 1/4" by 1/4" for a trestle I milled from a very old redwood fence.   I have ripped other pieces of this tight-grain redwood down to 1/8" by 1/16".  I have also milled poplar, tight grained cedar, and clear pine.



Hope this helps someone who is comfortable and safe around table saws.  If you aren't and wish to learn, I suggest you learn live from someone who is.  Someone who can watch you and then suggest corrections.  I see some sketchy wood-working techniques on amateur videos.   

Thank-you for the question, and thank-you for welcoming new members here!

What I personally enjoy most about any model RR forum are the scratch-building threads.  It takes me back to when I entered the hobby in junior high and high school. Space and finances dictated scratch building as a way of participating.

Kalmbach's  Easy-To-Build Model Railroad Freight Cars and Easy-To-Build Model Railroad Structures were my guides and companions for countless hours of fun at the bench in our basement with my brother.

Now, 60 years later, as I am re-entering the hobby, scratch-building is what occupies my bench time.  Lacking space, time, and finances for a layout, scratch-building structures and rolling stock currently scratches my itch for model railroading. With a little luck, perhaps a shelf layout is in my cards.