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Tips you've learnt; thing's you wish someone had told you BEFORE you started

#41
Im a cabinet maker , been doing it for 15 years , ive had more harm with table saw blade covers than without it , 2 times on 3 you will hit the fence in it and destroy it or doing small cut and your pieces get stuck in it an kick back on you , cant cut in 45 degrees except when using your good side down and get your good side chiped or change the blade every 4 feet of cut , where I work we dont use them and we know its easy to get hurt but i prefer see my work and fingers and get the versatility of the table saw than using the always broken saw cover . Im not saying to do as I do but its better to be working at your ease , ive seen more people get hurt with them than without them .
 
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#42
manupulated said:
Im a cabinet maker , been doing it for 15 years , ive had more harm with table saw blade covers than without it , 2 times on 3 you will hit the fence in it and destroy it or doing small cut and your pieces get stuck in it an kick back on you , cant cut in 45 degrees except when using your good side down and get your good side chiped or change the blade every 4 feet of cut , where I work we dont use them and we know its easy to get hurt but i prefer see my work and fingers and get the versatility of the table saw than using the always broken saw cover . Im not saying to do as I do but its better to be working at your ease , ive seen more people get hurt with them than without them .
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I think the riving knife itself is more important then the blade cover. How many photos of people using table saws labeled "guard removed for clarity" have you seen? Pure horsepuckies, of course, they probably never use the blade guard, but they usually DO show a riving knife. Without the riving function there is nothing to stop the wood kerf from closing up again on the outfeed side if the wood has internal stresses, it's happened to me, hence the small scar and the lucky finger-retention. I'd be curious to know how professional wood shops view the Sawstop system. The inventor tried to license the technology to Delta, Powermatic, Sears, etc, none of them wanted it, so he went out and formed his own company.
 
#43
Maybe yeah , We dont use them too , we have them tho , when we a re training people its on , but i know how it hurts when you got that small fresh cut piece of wood getting the wind of the back of the blade and shoots at you . Forgot to mention to always use a pusher (cant remember in english , sorry ) that have a good push to the top and side of your work piece , 6 inch and under I use it , people tent to push their luck doing 2 inch and less ...
 
#44
We have clear acrylic window on the blade shield of our table saw. I don't really know why you have to see what's happening under the shield. The blade does it's work just as well under the shiel as it does when you can see it. When I come to the class first thing I do is to push down the blade shield as one of our teachers always lifts the shield to see the blade. He can see it thru the shield but somehow this is not enough. I love my fingers so much that I keep the shiel down.
 
#46
Yeah, I do all my ripping on the bandsaw. It's not like I'm ripping 8 foot sheets of plywood. I'm usually just ripping a few inches off one end or another. I don't like table saws, and with my process, I don't need one.
 
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#48
I'd be lost without a table saw. I've used one on every build I've done. I have a lot more fear of a router than a table saw. The table saw is "fixed" in space, so I always know where the spinning blade is. A router is free to move where it will, so the bit could be anywhere. Additionally, my table saw has a couple of small "grippers" that help to prevent kickback. I've had routers grab the piece I'm working on, and spit it out across the room. And I'm sure I heard it laughing while it did it.
 
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#49
Table saws are no more dangerous than a band saw or router table. You just have to be careful and safety minded. Use push blocks and don't put your hands anywhere close to the blade.
 
#50
Router are certainly dangerous, and I didn't mean to imply that table saws were inherently more dangerous than routers or router tables. I just don't like them, so I've learned to work without one. The only thing they can do that I need (that I don't have capacity for now) is cross-cutting, and a sliding miter saw is a better tool for that anyway. I presently use a cross-cut handsaw for that.

I've had a lot more 1-on-1 time with a router and a router table than I have had with table saws. If I was going to buy one, I would buy a Sawstop.
 
#51
HaMMerHeD said:
Router are certainly dangerous, and I didn't mean to imply that table saws were inherently more dangerous than routers or router tables. I just don't like them, so I've learned to work without one. The only thing they can do that I need (that I don't have capacity for now) is cross-cutting, and a sliding miter saw is a better tool for that anyway. I presently use a cross-cut handsaw for that.

I've had a lot more 1-on-1 time with a router and a router table than I have had with table saws. If I was going to buy one, I would buy a Sawstop.
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I don't really use a table saw either. The only reason I would use one would be with a sled setup for cutting fret slots. But I already have a radial arm saw setup for that process that works just as well. I only use a Table saw for non bass/guitar building related projects.
 
#54
Hopkins said:
What do you use it for? Getting a square board for pickup/neck pocket routs?
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Exactly. Just a couple of samples that were not under a pile of other stuff:

308baj4.jpg


I assemble them with 1/4" dowels, using 3/4" plywood. Seems to work out well for me. And the saw has a built-in ruler, so I can make the cross pieces perfectly spaced as well.
 
#55
mapleglo said:
Exactly. Just a couple of samples that were not under a pile of other stuff:

308baj4.jpg


I assemble them with 1/4" dowels, using 3/4" plywood. Seems to work out well for me. And the saw has a built-in ruler, so I can make the cross pieces perfectly spaced as well.
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Ahh, my method is a bit more crude. I draw out my template on a board, mark the center lines, drill out the majority of the cut, then double stick tape some short straight edges along the lines and cut them with a router. I don't really bother much with making sure the template is cut into a square board, as I only use the center line drawn across the center of the cut out to line it up. If that makes any sense at all :D
 
#56
Hopkins said:
Ahh, my method is a bit more crude. I draw out my template on a board, mark the center lines, drill out the majority of the cut, then double stick tape some short straight edges along the lines and cut them with a router. I don't really bother much with making sure the template is cut into a square board, as I only use the center line drawn across the center of the cut out to line it up. If that makes any sense at all :D
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That would work too. I guess my OCD gets the better of me. My template has to be as perfectly square as the saw will make it, inside and out. Your method is likely quicker, as I have to let the glue cure after I assemble it.
 
#57
mapleglo said:
That would work too. I guess my OCD gets the better of me. My template has to be as perfectly square as the saw will make it, inside and out. Your method is likely quicker, as I have to let the glue cure after I assemble it.
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If stewmac, or BBG sells an acrylic template for a certain pickup I will usually just buy it, make an MDF template and keep the acrylic template as a master. Although some of them, especially the P bass pickup template don't fit very well.
 
#58
Hopkins said:
If stewmac, or BBG sells an acrylic template for a certain pickup I will usually just buy it, make an MDF template and keep the acrylic template as a master. Although some of them, especially the P bass pickup template don't fit very well.
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I have not yet actually purchased a template, other than the RIC body template. It's good to know the P bass pickup doesn't fit well - that might have been one I would have purchased at some point.
 
#59
I've been working on a guitar body the last few days "old school" style, aka sans cnc machine due to various reasons. I'm not enjoying going back to templates and holding the router. I'm especially annoyed with the fact that my old templates are .22 thick acrylic, and I have to rig up thicker stock below to route the shallow control cavity plate recess. Really makes me appreciate the cnc for ease of use, and safety factor of pressing a button and walking away.

For me, the cnc is the most used tool. If I were to start over, it's the first tool I'd buy. Then, bandsaw , planer, jointer. Dust collector is a given too. Forgot to mention my 3m full face respirator. I wear it often to protect my eyes from dust.
 
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#60
CholisGuitars said:
I've been working on a guitar body the last few days "old school" style, aka sans cnc machine due to various reasons. I'm not enjoying going back to templates and holding the router. I'm especially annoyed with the fact that my old templates are .22 thick acrylic, and I have to rig up thicker stock below to route the shallow control cavity plate recess. Really makes me appreciate the cnc for ease of use, and safety factor of pressing a button and walking away.

For me, the cnc is the most used tool. If I were to start over, it's the first tool I'd buy. Then, bandsaw , planer, jointer. Dust collector is a given too. Forgot to mention my 3m full face respirator. I wear it often to protect my eyes from dust.
Click to expand...

I have no problem with CNC builds, but for me, and a whole lot of other people, the CNC machine takes away the most enjoyable and rewarding part of the building process. IF the CNC cuts the neck and body, all I am doing is pressing frets, sanding, finishing and assembling.
 
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