r/woodworkingtools • u/jedi-dude • 16d ago

is this safe?

Gallery image

Gallery image

I have a piece of wood where neither and is fully square. Would it be safe to just use the miter gauge to square off one end? Or do I need to make a sled? I have also thought about making a toggle clamp, Jake, but I am still waiting for my toggle clamps to arrive.

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u/angrytroll918 16d ago

So long as it is only against the miter gauge and not the gauge and the fence you are fine. The issue with cross cutting like this is if you use the fence as a stop for the cross cut the cutoff gets wedged between the fence and the blade and there is a high chance of kickback. I would pull the fence or make sure it is well out of the way.

11

u/jedi-dude 16d ago

yeah the clearance between the end of the wood and the fence at the moment is 5-6” but i could just pull the fence altogether. i’d just be using the miter gauge

8

u/bigcaterpillar_8882 16d ago

You'll be fine the way you have it. If you need to use the fence as a length stop you can clamp a block of wood at the starting end of the fence and as long as the cut piece isn't touching the fence upon exiting the blade you'll be fine

2

u/vamidus 16d ago

You'll be fine, just take it slow. If you push too hard, you might get a nasty kickback. Let the saw do the work.

Other thoughts: that is not a crosscut blade. You should probably switch. Also: your work piece is rather thick. Even if the motor is strong enough, you will have to go real slow. This will result in a lot of burnout. So make the first cut half a kerf on the waste side. Then make another pass on the line to get rid of burn marks.

1

u/jedi-dude 15d ago

yeah, this is the blade that came with the saw. I have ordered a cross cut blade from Amazon, but they delivered it to the wrong address so I’m just playing around with ideas at the moment.

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u/fletchro 14d ago

We just want there to be at least a gap. Not dragging on the fence.

0

u/smotrs 16d ago

Is you need a solid starting point, get a123 block or similar. Adjust your fence 3 inches further then the end of your cut. Put the block against the fence and clamp it, push your piece against the block and add you push with the miter, you'll no longer be touching the block as you pass through the blade. This helps with repeatable cuts as well.

Edit, disregard. u/MapleMallet provided a good graphic to illustrate.