How To Woodworking - Why a Table saw is a Must have

It doesn't matter what make or brand you have, all I know is if you have a table saw you understand the benefits of having one.

I picked my Power craft table saw for £10 from a house clearance store local to me and thought it would just make cutting sheet timber easier but it's much more than that.

Different table saws have different cut depths.

My table saw can cut 43mm thick timber in one go, which for me is more than enough for most jobs, but others can cut up to 80mm.

There are other saws that look like something out of a James Bond movie that have no fence or blade guard but I wouldn't want to use one on the need for my fingers and I can imagine if the timber kicked back it would hurt.

Standard table saw manufacturers supply a - 

• fence. A fence is a straight edge which can be locked in place at a certain distance to allow straight and repetitive cuts of the same size.
• Spreader / splitter. This is mounted behind the blade to stop work pieces coming back together and pinching the blade leading to the blades being under extra pressure and causing damage to work pieces.
• Blade guard. No one wants to lose fingers.
• Measuring guide for you to have a fast way of setting up the fence.
• Mitre gauge.
• Extraction port for removal of sawdust.

Table saws also come with other features such as -

• Blade tilt to cut mitre joints which is really good for a way of overlapping sheet material.
• Blade height adjuster. This is useful for cutting slots into wood to a certain depth and also if your cutting a lot of timber at the same thickness adjusting the blade to just over the timbers thickness will reduce stress on the machine and also reduce the chances of catching the blade whilst cutting.
• Laser line to show the cut path.

My number one reason for having a table saw is so I can make certain sized timber from larger pieces. 

I turn fence posts, pallet wood and planks into 1" x 1" or 2" x 2" etc. 

Pallet wood is mostly free from most places and are usually made with 1" thick slats which can be easily turned into 1" x 1" for small light weight framing projects.

Be careful to look for hidden nails and staples as they can and will hit the blade and hit you in the face and it hurts.

I'd suggest buying a metal detector/ stud detector to save on injury and damage to blades. 

Click here to see my stud detector which is a nice alternative to more expensive models at just over £6.

Fence posts are a good source of timber if you can find them at a low cost. You can cut a 4" fence post into quarters for 2" x 2" or half for 4" x 2" which is great if you have to go to a local DIY store an 8 foot 2" x 2" can cost £9 and a 10 foot fence post from a timber yard local to me is £10.

You can take any timber and make your own smaller batons for building your own projects and yes it is more time consuming but if like me you take pride in making things from scratch this really is from scratch and the amount of money you will save makes it even better.

 A few other uses for a table saw include 
adding a triangular cut out by two 45 degree cuts to the same point. This is helpful for trailing cables along flooring or walls. It can also be used for decorative purposes. I'm sure there are other uses but this is the main one I use it for.

 This is another use, cutting multiple slots down the length of a piece is a useful way of reducing cupping (warping along the width of the timber) without losing the thickness of the boards by planing. The picture slots are quite deep for this purpose so maybe stick to no more than half the board thickness.




Third example is a good way
for making an overlap finish that could be a good idea to use on shed builds using pallet slats as the exterior or a decorative wall design.
Altering the angles and joining the pieces the same direction (widest sides both face down) would be a good way of making wooden buckets and barrels for the garden.