If you happen to have this book, maybe you can help me. If you don't and
are interested, you can also see the whole page by clicking on the follow
link to amazon.com and then searching inside the book for the phrase "End
Lap on the Table Saw",
http://www.amazon.com/Joint-Book-TER...2854848&sr=1-1

If you've never done that before, searching inside books this way is a nice
way to find useful information.


In "End Lap on the Table Saw", page 46, Step #3, the author writes

Lock the fence and clamp the scrap in front of the blade.
Butt the stock against the block and push the cut through with the gauge.


After considering it over in my head for 3 days, I may have the jist of it,
but I think it may be important so I'll post anyway. It beats reading the
political thread. : ) First off, what the author is doing here is making a
cut one side of which will form the shoulder. I had to wonder why he is
working so hard at it (as a beginner, it would not have occurred to me to
make it so difficult). And that is the reason I am asking. I have decided
that it should probably say, "butt the stock against the FRONT side of the
block and against the fence and push...". Yet the author still does not
explain his rationale.

I can see how using the block and fence help ensure a square cut, but I'm
curious why that should be expected to do better than the gauge and fence
alone assuming the mitre guage is square. I saw a similar technique used on
NYW online tonight (free online episode, 1 per month here), though I don't
recall Norm clamping the block.
http://www.newyankee.com/online.php

So it all boils down to: Why is it worth using/clamping an extra block in
place? The idea of putting a clamps on an expensive TS fence seems
counter-intuitive to me. I hope I haven't beat a dead horse...

Bill