How to Cut a Cove on a Table Saw

With a little practice you can cut a cove on a table saw. A cove, or an inverted curve is a handy cut when making decorative details on woodwork, such as moldings, cabinets and furniture. It can be done with several different tools, most of which are expensive, very limited in use and require specialized training and experience to operate. One common tool that many do-it-yourself wood workers have is the table saw.

Table saw
several pieces of hardwood scraps (three-quarters of an inch)
2-by-4
C clamps

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the blade guard if your table has one. Saw guards are typically mounted using Allen bolts on the back edge of the table. Turn them counterclockwise to loosen and remove them.
- 2
  Cut a piece of three-quarter inch hardwood 18 inches long by 7 inches wide. Cut a second piece 8 inches long by 3 1/2 inches wide. Glue and nail the narrow piece to one face of the wider piece, with the ends and one edge flush. Cut a piece of straight 2-by-4 long enough to span your saw's table on a 45-degree angle. Glue and nail the hardwood assembly in the center of this board with the narrow piece flush against one edge and the wider piece overlapping the top face of the 2-by-4. This serves as a cove fence for 1-by-4 stock.
- 3
  Set the blade of your table saw to no more than one-quarter of an inch to start. This adjustment is made with the adjustment wheel under the saw's table, on the right side of the saw.
- 4
  Place the fence across the top of the table on an angle from left to right, with the narrow piece of hardwood over the blade and the 2-by-4's edge an inch from the nearest edge of the blade. Clamp it in place using at least one C-clamp at each end of the table.
- 5
  Choose a piece of hardwood 1-by-4 that is free from large knots, splits and cracks in the grain, and at least 24-inches long. The cove can be cut to any length once it is machined. Start the blade of the saw and feed the work piece over the blade, keep it firm against the face of the 2-by-4. Use a small piece of scrap wood stock or a specially made push stick to complete the feed, (do not use your fingers for this) push against the back left corner of the piece without endangering your fingers.
- 6
  Turn the board around and feed it through with the same face down, and the opposite edge against the 2-by-4 fence. This cuts the cove evenly in the center of the board with the same flat space on the edge making it symmetrical. To make the cove narrower, adjust the fence to make it straighter to the blade, and then rotate the near end to the right and the far end to the left. To cut a wider cove, turn the fence to a wider angle, and then turn the near end to the left and the far end to the right.
- 7
  Run the work piece through multiple times for a smoother cut. Increase the blade height slightly with each pass to create a deeper cove.

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