Let me apologize up front if this subject is posted twice. I use
Google Groups to view newsgroups and I thought I sent something earlier
today but I still don't see it after about 7-8 hours.

I did someting really, REALLY stupid yesterday. I wanted to trim off
1/8" of s piece of 3/4" plywood that was 28"x32". My brain told me to
trim it with a striaght edge and a circular saw but the doofus in me
won out.

I have a smaller table saw (Delta 36-600) because I have a smaller shop
and I put a nice Forrest Woodworker thin kerf blade in it. Since the
table is so small, the IDIOT in me tried to trim the 1/8" between the
blade and the fence. Of course it was a STUPID idea and I noticed a
bunch of paint was worn off on the fence behind the blade when I was
done---and I still ended up with a piece of wood that was crooked as a
dog's hind leg. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a chunk of the fence
was taken out as well.

It is probably in my head but it seemed like some scrap wood I pushed
thru was "sticking" in the spot that was worn. I may have done
something really stupid in that I hit the spot with a piece of emery
cloth to smooth out the gash. It seemed like that helped but it is
probably in my head.

I tried a bunch of other pieces of scrap and I think I was pushing them
thru too slowly because I got burn spots on most of the pieces because
I was trying to see if the gouge was hurting me. When I tried to take
an inch off a scrap 2x4, I pushed the wood thru quickly like I am
supposed to do and it came out okay. I think there was ridges but it
may be in my head.

I have two quesitons:

1. How do I tell if the blade is screwed? I can't see anything that
stands out but I may not know what I am looking at.

2. Is my fence hosed? SHould I screw a piece of melamine on it to make
it smooth again?

It's hard to fully imagine exactly what you are describing. It sounds
like you did do some damage to your fence. But, it's hard to tell what
you mean by "chunk". Depending on the size and shape of this "chunk",
you might have completely ruined your fence or just created a small
cosmetic mark. Were there any loud noises or pieces of the fence
flying through the air during the cut?

To see if the saw is OK, I would check for any arbor/flange runout. I
would look at blade runout and inspect each tooth for chips to
determine if the blade was OK. I would check fence flatness to
determine if the fence was OK. Then I would check blade and fence
alignment with the miter slot and correct any misalignment. If all this
goes OK, then your saw will be in tip-top shape and you can move on to
learining the proper techniques for using it.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Ed Bennett


wrote:
Let me apologize up front if this subject is posted twice. I use
Google Groups to view newsgroups and I thought I sent something earlier
today but I still don't see it after about 7-8 hours.

I did someting really, REALLY stupid yesterday. I wanted to trim off
1/8" of s piece of 3/4" plywood that was 28"x32". My brain told me to
trim it with a striaght edge and a circular saw but the doofus in me
won out.

I have a smaller table saw (Delta 36-600) because I have a smaller shop
and I put a nice Forrest Woodworker thin kerf blade in it. Since the
table is so small, the IDIOT in me tried to trim the 1/8" between the
blade and the fence. Of course it was a STUPID idea and I noticed a
bunch of paint was worn off on the fence behind the blade when I was
done---and I still ended up with a piece of wood that was crooked as a
dog's hind leg. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a chunk of the fence
was taken out as well.

It is probably in my head but it seemed like some scrap wood I pushed
thru was "sticking" in the spot that was worn. I may have done
something really stupid in that I hit the spot with a piece of emery
cloth to smooth out the gash. It seemed like that helped but it is
probably in my head.

I tried a bunch of other pieces of scrap and I think I was pushing them
thru too slowly because I got burn spots on most of the pieces because
I was trying to see if the gouge was hurting me. When I tried to take
an inch off a scrap 2x4, I pushed the wood thru quickly like I am
supposed to do and it came out okay. I think there was ridges but it
may be in my head.

I have two quesitons:

1. How do I tell if the blade is screwed? I can't see anything that
stands out but I may not know what I am looking at.

2. Is my fence hosed? SHould I screw a piece of melamine on it to make
it smooth again?

Ed,

When I say "chunk," I mean it is probably more-or-less cosmetic. I can
see an arc made by the blade on the fence at the back of the blade.
The "chunk" is a 1 1/2" arc that is less than 1/64" deep at the deepest
point. It more or less rubbed out with a couple dozen swipes of emery
cloth. I am making it out worse than it probably is.

I do know how to use a table saw, sort of, and I knew in my gut what I
was doing was wrong. I was just being lazy and paid for it.

On the plus side, this may be just the thing I can use to get SWMBO to
allow me to get a 'real' table saw and get rid of this toy. It is
better than a bench top saw but as much as it tries to act like a
contractors saw, it just isn't.

I guess I am mainly worried about the blade. I can't see anything that
jumps out at me and it still cuts nice but I swear I see more ridges
now. I could get it resharpened, I guess, but it is a shame since it
proabbly hasn't cut more than 50bf since I installed it.

Thanks for the suggestions, Ed. No matter what, I will do what you
suggest.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Ed,

When I say "chunk," I mean it is probably more-or-less cosmetic. I can
see an arc made by the blade on the fence at the back of the blade.
The "chunk" is a 1 1/2" arc that is less than 1/64" deep at the deepest
point. It more or less rubbed out with a couple dozen swipes of emery
cloth. I am making it out worse than it probably is.

That never helps a discussion.


I do know how to use a table saw, sort of, and I knew in my gut what I
was doing was wrong. I was just being lazy and paid for it.

On the plus side, this may be just the thing I can use to get SWMBO to
allow me to get a 'real' table saw and get rid of this toy. It is
better than a bench top saw but as much as it tries to act like a
contractors saw, it just isn't.


I'm not sure a "real" tablesaw is your answer. Let's face it - a saw is a
saw at some levels. If you are getting contact between the blade and the
fence it's not a saw problem. If your blade is making partial contact with
the fence, it's not a saw problem. You can accomplish those same things
with a $3,000 saw. If you are getting partial contact between the blade and
the fence, then your saw is mis-aligned. Take the time to align it properly
so that it will rip a nice even arc into the fence the next time to get it
so close.

I guess I am mainly worried about the blade. I can't see anything that
jumps out at me and it still cuts nice but I swear I see more ridges
now. I could get it resharpened, I guess, but it is a shame since it
proabbly hasn't cut more than 50bf since I installed it.

It cuts fine, so use it. What more should it do that you are worried it's
not doing?


--

-Mike-