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4.0 Table Saw terminology
Arbor: Metal shaft that connects the drive
mechanism to the blade.
Bevel Edge Cut: Tilt of the saw arbor and blade
between 0° and 45° to perform an angled cutting
operation.
Blade Guard: Mechanism mounted over the saw
blade to prevent accidental contact with the cutting
edge.
Crosscut: Sawing operation in which the miter
gauge is used to cut across the grain of the
workpiece.
Dado Blade: Blade(s) used for cutting grooves and
rabbets. A stacked dado set can be used for wider
grooves.
Dado Cut: Flat bottomed groove in the face of the
workpiece made with a dado blade.
Featherboard: Device used to keep a board
against the rip fence or table that allows the operator
to keep hands away from saw blade.
Freehand: Moving the workpiece into the blade
using only the hands, without a fixed positioning
device. (This is a dangerous, unacceptable
procedure – always use appropriate devices to feed
the workpiece through the saw blade during cutting
operations.)
Kerf: The resulting cut or gap made by a saw blade.
Kickback: An event in which the workpiece is lifted
up and thrown back toward an operator, caused
when a workpiece binds on the saw blade or
between the blade and rip fence (or other fixed
object). To minimize or prevent injury from
kickbacks, see the Operations section.
Miter Gauge: A component that controls the
workpiece movement while performing a crosscut of
various angles.
Non-Through Cut: A sawing operation that
requires the removal of the blade guard and
standard riving knife, resulting in a cut that does not
protrude through the top of the workpiece (includes
dado and rabbet cuts).
The blade guard and riving knife must be re-installed
after performing a non-through cut to avoid
accidental contact with the saw blade during
operation.
Parallel: Position of the rip fence equal in distance
at every point to the side face of the saw blade.
Perpendicular: 90° (right angle) intersection or
position of the vertical and horizontal planes such as
the position of the saw blade (vertical) to the table
surface (horizontal).
Push Board/Push Stick: An instrument used to
safely push the workpiece through the cutting
operation by keeping the operator's hands at a
distance.
Rabbet: A cutting operation that creates an
L-shaped channel along the edge of the board.
Rip Cut: A cut made along the grain of the
workpiece.
Riving Knife: A metal plate fixed relative to the
blade, which moves with the blade as cutting depth
is adjusted. Thus, it maintains not only the kerf
opening in the workpiece, but also the knife-to-blade
distance. A low-profile riving knife sits lower than the
top edge of the blade, for making a non-through cut.
Splitter (Spreader): A stationary metal plate to
which the blade guard is attached that maintains the
kerf opening in the workpiece during a cutting
operation. (Powermatic table saws use the superior
riving knife system instead.)
Standard Kerf: 1/8" gap made with a standard
blade.
Straightedge: A tool used to check that a surface is
flat or parallel.
Through Sawing: A sawing operation in which the
workpiece thickness is completely sawn through.
Proper blade height usually allows 1/8" of the top of
blade to extend above the wood stock. Keep the
blade guard down, the anti-kickback pawls down,
and the riving knife in place over the blade.
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