Tablesaw Uses

Miter Cut

• The table saw is well suited for executing miter cuts, which is an angled cut on a piece of wood stock. When two pieces receive complementary miter cuts they join together to form a structure. A good example is that of a picture frame. Each of the four elements of the picture frame has two 45-degree miter cuts, one at either end.

Crosscut

• Wood has grain patterns that require different approaches to cutting. The wood grain typically runs parallel to the length of a board, so cutting across the width of a board is crosscutting. The table saw has a guide and a gauge that both guides the piece of wood and fixes the angle of the cut -- typically 90 degrees -- for crosscutting.

Rip Cutting

• Cutting with the wood grain, along the length of a board, is rip cutting. The table saw includes an attachment, the rip fence, for guiding a piece of wood lengthwise into the blade. The fence clamps onto the table and is movable, either closer to or farther from the blade, to allow for rip cutting wood to different widths. This is one of the riskier uses of the table saw and demands extra vigilance from the operator.

Dado

• A dado is a slot in a piece of wood. Its purpose is to receive another piece of wood inserted into it perpendicularly, forming a so-called dado joint. Many wooden shelves feature the dado joint. A special wide blade, called a dado head, designed for the table saw makes this dado slot in the wood. In lieu of the dado head, a skilled woodworker can produce a dado by making repeated passes with the ordinary table saw blade.