On Jan 20, 9:07*am, Kent wrote:
I would like to know if what I am doing on a table saw is safe. I have
ripped a board to 4" in width. I then have a piece of 3/4" plywood
that is approximately 5" X 5" and I would like to cut this to 4" wide
to exactly match (in width) *the first piece I ripped. I am sliding
the 5" X 5" plywood through by hand holding it tight to the fence.
Pushing it through with a push stick does not "feel" safe to me. There
is plenty of clearance for my fingers when I slide it through.
However, since the board is only 5" across, it also does not feel safe
to me to have the plywood fully behind the blade with nothing on eiter
side as I am sliding it through. Miter saw would liekly be safer,
however, I am trying to exactly match the first board I ripped.

Is what I am doing safe or not?

I see nothing wrong with the operation and do similar operations
routinely -- the bearing side against the fence is long enough that
the prohibition against crosscutting w/ the fence in place isn't a
problem; you're actually making a rip cut albeit on a (relatively)
short piece of stock.

If you're uncomfortable w/ doing it by hand and/or w/ a conventional
dead cat, I'd suggest making a wide push stick (say 3") that would
give more stability. The commercially available "Gripper" would be a
model...

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