- Read Time: 6 mins
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From time to time, I like to stop all jobs in the workshop to fine tune. This could mean sharpening tools or it could be repair or re-adjusting things to make them work better. Recently I had a good look at the where the Riving Knife and the Splitter are attached to my table saw. What I noticed is that in the lower part of the attachment block there appeared to be some bolts that looked like, if they were taken off, I might be able to fix the positioning and alignment of my riving knife and splitter.
Table Saw Riving Knife / Splitter Set-up and Alignment. Prevent Table Saw Kickback.
I don't use my Riving Knife very often but I DO use my splitter a lot because it helps with the dust extraction and keeps the shop cleaner and more dust free. Every time I have to take the splitter off, it annoys me that the block it sits in is out of alignment and I have to use shims in order for it to work. I paid a lot for this saw and that one thing should have worked better than it does. I should not have to use shims that fall off into the base of the saw every time I have to take the splitter off to use a table saw jig or cut vertical wood, so it's time to fix this ...
- Read Time: 3 mins
- Hits: 12226
For many years I have heard people using things like Salt and Sand as a medium between 2 boards being glued, to help eliminate the slippage that happens when we try to glue boards together. I have never used the technique but recently I have had a flurry of people asking me if the using Salt as a grit when gluing boards together, does that weaken the joint?
Strength Testing Salt and Grit on Glue Joints
It sounds plausible that it might, but it could also strength the joint ... or it might do nothing noticeable, but I will never know if I don't test it, so that's exactly what I set out to do ...
- Read Time: 3 mins
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There are always pros and cons to making things yourself in your own workshop because sometimes they are better than what you can purchase commercially and other times they are not, and often it depends on the materials being used. Commercially we don't have access to some of the material for building things, like stronger plastics and resins. All we can rely on in most cases is wood and sometimes with some sorts of metal accessories or parts.
How to Make Push Blocks for Table Saws, Router Tables and Jointers
These shop made Push Blocks are no different in terms of challenges, but in this case, although the materials may not seem as heavy duty, the end result is that they actually work much better than the commercial ones I have ...
- Read Time: 4 mins
- Hits: 10388
If you are following along with these tests and have looked at the melamine tests I did a few weeks back using masking tape and Frog tape to see if either one of them will reduce or eliminate tear out, the results are quite clear, the tape did nothing to reduce tear out, in fact, it could be argued the Frog tape made the cuts slightly worse.
Since most people are using natural wood, it only follows that I should be testing natural wood as well to give some conclusive results to these tests.
Table Saw Tape Tear-Out Test: Part 2 / Woodworking Fact or Fiction
Does Tape on Wood Give Less Tear-Outs (Part 1)
I had many people provide many suggestions in the comments section of the last test offering their knowledge on how to better cut melamine, but the test was not how to cut melamine, the test was to see if tape could actually make a difference in the cuts, and in that case, it did not ... check out the results of what it did on natural woods here ...