Q&A – Will You Be Selling Your Tablesaw?

Several people asked me that question as I’ve made comments about my tablesaw being little more than a table in my shop as, more and more, I use handsaws to do my work.  The short answer is “No.”.  The not so short answer is “Heck No!”  But the only answer worth writing about is a bit longer still.

Admittedly one can discuss the value of a table saw forever and not find common ground that all woodworkers would agree with so I’ll only talk from my perspective.

I’m not one who believes there is anything more ‘pure’ or ‘better’ about using hand tools exclusively any more than I believe another common view that power tools are the only way to be precise in one’s work.  I bought my first table saw because I grew up in the Norm-era, watching the New Yankee Workshop.  I read all the books that told me that “the table saw is the center of any woodworking shop.”  I believed it.  I no longer do.  THAT, in a nutshell is my “philosophy” about table saws.

But my planer isn’t the center of my woodworking shop either but I wouldn’t sell it.  My lathe isn’t the center of my woodworking shop and you’ll not pry it from my dead cold hands.   Once purchased, I see little reason to get rid of a table saw.  But it is true that the table saw requires more space than any other tool in the shop.  It is also the most dangerous and messy tool in a shop.  The multitude of jigs and fixtures required to do things with it exacerbates the space problem.  We often ignore these downsides of table saw ownership.  Particularly those with small shops should keep these in mind before accepting the need to own a table saw.

Most jobs the table saw does can be done quite well on a bandsaw or by hand, often in less time.  When people imply in forums the need for this tool in cabinetry I have to chuckle as much fine furniture was created during the 17th and 18th Centuries without table saws.  It wasn’t until the mid- to late-19th Century that table saws became common and even these did not provide the precision of the modern table saw.  Take a look at my blog header for an indication of what early 19th Century table saws looked like and think of the “precision” one could achieve with such a device.  Modern table saws are marvelous, but several centuries of furniture production have demonstrated that they are not required to produce fine furniture.

But, Chippendale  and Hepplewhite produced their furniture from solid wood exclusively.  They had none of the plywoods and composites we currently have available to us.   When one starts working with any of these modern materials, a table saw is far superior to any hand tool.  When I want something built from plywood, MDF or some other constructed material, I don’t reach for my Disston saws.  The top comes off my table saw and I put it to work.   If I’m cutting ply inserts for frame-and-panel construction, the table saw will get the nod for cutting those panels even though I’m using hand tools to create the rails and stiles.

So, will I be selling my table saw?  No.  But if I had it to do over again, I probably wouldn’t own one.  I’d much prefer to own a large bandsaw and have the room devoted to my tablesaw available for other things.  I might own a track saw for cutting plywood.  These days, however, I’m content with having my tablesaw shoved out of the way and used as an assembly table, abeit an expensive one.

Cheers — Larry

larry@woodnbits.com

Jim Tolpin – Still Teaching Tablesaw Usage

One of the best books on how to get the most from a table saw while keeping all your fingers in the process is Table Saw Magic by Jim Tolpin.  This book has been around a long time and it remains the most recommended text for would-be table saw drivers.  It’s been my go-to table saw book for a long time.  These days, though, I’m using my table saw less and less as I’m learning the joys of working quietly and without all the dust that such machines inevitably produce.

When he wrote the book, Jim Tolpin was a professional cabinetmaker, producing lots of furniture, at least in part, on someone else’s schedule.   But recently Jim has retired and while he’s as popular as ever as a seminar speaker, these days he’s talking about working without power tools, enjoying the process as much as the product.

I smiled today as I realized that Jim was still teaching me table saw usage as I “used” my table saw today.  I was roughing and surfacing maple parts for a cabinet and my table saw was a great place to lay out the parts so I could look at how my grain choices were working out.  So, thanks Jim for once again leading the way.

Cheers — Larry

larry@woodnbits.com

MicroJig Grr-Ripper Use on Miniature Saw

Recently I talked about the new 1/8″ foot available from MicroJig for its Grr-Ripper table saw accessory. This is just a quick note to point you towards a new video they’ve posted from a guy who uses it on his small table saw to make train parts. I thought some of you might be interested.

HTC2000 Mobile Machine Base

Do you ever wish your hobby involved wheels?  Maybe it’s while watching a NASCAR race.  Maybe the lastest extreme skateboard event is on TV.  Guys like wheels.

But while many woodshops have noisy, spinning objects, the wheels in a woodworking world are pretty boring and not worth mentioning.  But, at my house today, four of them are worth mentioning.  I’ve wanted to mobilize my table saw for quite a while but the bases available locally are very lightweight and very pricey, so my saw has been without wheels.

Lee Valley, however, came to my rescue.  Wednesday afternoon I got an email from them announcing one of their “special buys” and this time it was the HTC2000 Mobile Machine Base for only $55CDN.  This is a wonderful, heavy-duty base with larger wheels than most.  I ordered one immediately and in less than 2 days it was on my doorstep.

Assembly is a no-brainer with one exception.  You need to give some thought to how and where you locate the two corners with the lift wheels.  For my table saw I located them as you see in the photo above as I wanted to be able to lift the front of the saw from the front when I moved it.  The instructions show these on the long side of the base which would probably work well for a bandsaw or small jointer.

Mine goes under my saw tonight.  Is it safe to drive a saw without a license?

Cheers — Larry

larry@woodnbits.com

Dancing a Jig Over MicroJig's New Thin Leg

I don’t know if I should admit this but what are you if you can’t laugh at yourself?  You know you’re a woodworker when you’re more interested in the platter the dessert sits on than the dessert itself.  And maybe, just maybe you know you’re a woodworker when you’ve just gotten out of surgery and you’re standing in front of your table saw, with catheter bag hooked over the fence slide bar and you’re playing with your new MicroJig accessory.  Sad, I know and I’ll spare you photos of that.

But I have a defense for my actions.  We miniaturists are always trying to cut thin strips.  One of the limitations on using the MicroJig Grr-ripper in that process is the standard, “thin” (1/4″) leg as this limits how close you can cut to the saw fence without cutting through the leg itself.  It’s problematic cutting thin strips between blade and fence as unless you’re holding it down, it can become a bullet aimed at you, or you’ve properly placed yourself, at least aimed under your arm at the wall behind you.

But MicroJig put up a YouTube video of their newly-released a 1/8″ leg that you add to the Grr-ripper.  I ordered one immediately.  They’re on Twitter so I asked and they graciously supplied me with this PDF file that shows you, better than I can, how cool this addition to the Grr-ripper really is.

Mine showed up while doctors were using their cutting tools on me but even with a catheter bag hanging off the saw, it works great!  I’ve talked about the Grr-ripper before and I highly recommend it for ripping short stock and this new accessory makes it even more useful.  Of course it would be silly to pay attention to my recommendation so I’m going to make you drool.  Watch this:

Cheers — Larry
larry@woodnbits.com

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