Steel City 35600 User Manual page 31

CROSSCUTTING
Crosscutting means cutting across the grain of the
wood. In wood products without grain (i.e. MDF,
particleboard), crosscutting simply means cutting across
the width of the stock.
Crosscuts are made with the miter gauge. There are
two miter gauge slots in the table top. Use the one that
works best for the piece being crosscut. To make a
crosscut using the miter gauge:
1. Inspect the board for soundness. You do not
necessarily need a square edge to crosscut with
accuracy.
2. Inspect the miter gauge. Is it properly set and tight?
3. Move the rip fence completely out of the way.
4. Turn on the saw and allow it to come to full speed.
5. Hold the workpiece firmly against the face of the
miter gauge and ease it into the blade and through
the workpiece. SEE FIG. 34.
Fig. 34
6. Turn off the saw and allow the blade to come to a
full stop.
WARNING
!
Small cutoff pieces can contact the moving blade
and be thrown back toward the operator. Always
use the least amount of clearance between the
table insert and the blade to reduce the risk of
injury from these pieces. Never attempt to grab
these pieces while the table saw is turned on.
Your hand may come into contact with the blade.
Turn the table saw off and safely remove these
pieces AFTER the blade has come to a complete
stop.
RIPPING
Ripping means to cut with the grain of the wood. In
other materials such as MDF or plywood, ripping simply
means to cut lengthwise. To rip a board:
1. Inspect the board for soundness. You will need a
straight edge to rip with accuracy. Your workpiece
may need to be jointed flat before attempting to cut
on the table saw.
WARNING
!
Never attempt to rip a board that does not have
one perfectly straight edge and one flat side on
it. Always run the straight edge of the board
against the rip fence. Failure to do this could
result in kickback and serious personal injury.
2. Set the rip fence to the desired distance from the
blade. IF YOU ARE MAKING NARROW CUTS,
USE A PUSH-STICK. Serious injury can occur if
you put your hands close to the blade. A push-stick
pattern has been included at the end of this
manual. Use it to hold the workpiece against the
table and fence and push the workpiece fully past
the blade. When a small width is to be ripped and a
push-stick cannot be safely put between the blade
and rip fence, rip a larger piece to obtain the
desired piece.
3. Turn on the saw and allow it to reach full speed.
Place the straight edge of the board against the rip
fence and the flat side on tabletop. Feed the work-
piece slowly and evenly into the blade. When rip-
ping, always stand off to the side of the workpiece
and push it through, making sure to keep your fin-
gers out of line with the blade. SEE FIG. 35.
Fig. 35
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