I'm reading The Joint Book written by Terrie Nolle. On page 46, the author describes how to cut an end lap joint on a table saw. I'm pretty sure I understand the basic methodology described in the book, but for the life of me, I cannot understand how the picture in step 3 relates to what is written underneath it. I'm really wondering if I'm missing something here, or if the author simply got it wrong with the visual description. I know it seems like a detail, but the fact that it doesn't seem make sense is really bugging me.
For example, the text under picture #3 says to "clamp the scrap in front of the blade." The picture shows two pieces of wood clamped with a C-clamp… so I assume one of the them is "the scrap" mentioned in the text… but what is the other one used for and what is it attached to? And what is the purpose of the piece of wood butted against (what I think is) the fence?
I can't figure out the picture either, but the text makes sense. You clamp a block against the fence, in front of the blade, and use that as a stop to set where the kerf for the joint is cut.
It's unsafe to use the miter gauge and fence together for a through cut because of the high risk of kickback. So when using the fence as a stop the solution is to clamp a block in front of the blade. Then the cut off will still have space to sit after being cut off and won't turn slightly and get flung back toward you.
This is not a through cut and there's no cut-off to get flung so it would be safe to do it without the block. But the block may still be useful in case the fence toes in a little bit toward the blade, which will make the cut not quite square.
It just shows making a cheek cut, viewed from the front of the saw at table level. The problem is the trapezoid on the left is wood colored, but should be white to represent the miter gauge.
Thanks for the answer @jdh122. Yes, the text does make sense and is coherent with the way I cut my end lap joints. Again, it's just the picture that gets me confused.
I understand what you mean @BlueRidgeDog and I agree that the view is at table level. I'm just not sure if we're looking from the "infeed" or the "outfeed" side. I assume we are looking from the outfeed side, because the blade is visible in the picture… but if that's the case, the miter gauge should be on the right side, not the left.
Also, if the trapezoid shape represents the miter gauge, then where is the fence? Is it the exterior wood coloured rectangle in the C-clamp (which would again, be the wrong colour, but would actually make sense)? But if that's the case, what is the trapezoid shape butted too? It sure looks like a fence to me.
Picture makes sense to me now thanks for BlueRidgeDog. Key for me was seeing that the white rectangle on the far left is the handle of the miter gauge. Then the trapezoid is half of the miter gauge. Then you have the end of the piece of wood you're cutting, with a small black line to represent the kerf cut by the blade. Then you see the stop block clamped to the fence (with the fence being the small rectangle on the far right).
Oh my, I have finally seen the light, thanks guys! For some reason, this thing was driving me nuts.
Soooo, just to be 100% sure, the view is from the infeed side (or the "user side"). The trapezoid shape on the left and the rectangle on the far right should be white, because they are, respectively, half of the miter gauge and the fence.
Yea…just a table level view of infeed side of a shoulder cut using a miter gauge with a small extension (like we all screw to the miter gauge), pushing a piece crosscutwise over a blade with a spacer clamped to the table saw fence. In essence, standard shoulder cut…assuming the spacer is short and the blade contact point is free of the spacer.
On the subject….I have a EXACT 2" spacer with a clamp hole I use for his. Used a hand plan to get it to 2.000. So if I need a shoulder at 3", I set the fence to 5" and clamp on the spacer.
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