On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 17:04:44 +0000, Andy Dingley wrote:

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 07:42:13 -0700, Doug Winterburn
wrote:

What extra gadgert? You consider blade guards, splitters, antikickback
pawls as extra gadgets?

Compared to a table, then yes.

I'd be happier if my cast iron table was actually just a plain rock, as
was good enough for my ancestors thousands of years ago. However ditching
the moving parts isn't a bad start, and ditching a part that has a
safety-critical adjustment that needs setting before each piece of timber
is certainly a good idea in my book.

Why would I adjust before each piece? If I'm cutting 4/4 stock, I set the
saw up and cut all the stock


No, I always use the blade at full height. This is the big advantage
of the TS for ripping - I can use my blade so that the timber passes
through it with the blade travelling vertically and almost all no
horizontal drag forces.

Sorry, but the experts such as Kelly Mehler, Nick Engler & others
disagree with you.

So what ? There are an equal number of "experts" who argue it the other
way. I find their arguments more convincing.

Your choice. As for me, Kelly, Nick or Andy's unnamed experts - I think
I'll follow Kelly and Nicks advice.


Kelly & Nick suggest the blade be adjusted between 1/8" and 1/4" above
the workpiece.

That's just silly - maybe the gullet root should be that low, but
setting it on the tooth tip isn't going to clear the chips properly.

That's really silly. Are you suggesting the chips that are in the gullets
must somehow be carried below the table, around and back up before they
can be expelled over the top of the workpiece at the operator?


So why set the blade low ? It reduces the Scary Whirling Death Blade,
but the best ways to stop that being a problem are to keep your fingers
out, and to use a crown guard. In terms of cutting performance, it's a
bad idea on every count.

No argument on the guard - I use that "gadget" whenever possible.


Why set the blade high ? - because it reduces kickback risk. This is
good - I can't "keep my hands away" from kickback, and I can't really
build a guard against it.

The main cause of kickback is the rear of the blade lifting the workpiece,
and the higher the blade, the more vertical the rear blade motion.
Sorry, I don't buy your argument.


And what about non through and dado cuts? Oh,
that's right - you aren't allowed to use those dangerous devices.

Of course we're allowed to do them. Here in Evil Pinko Europe (motto: a
uniformed nanny in every nursery) we celebrated the fall of the Berlin
Wall by performing dado cuts through old statues of Stalin. Why do
people keep thinking that Europeans aren't "allowed" dado heads?

Maybe because of the (mis)perception that Yurpeen saws are only available
with short arbors?

-Doug