Resawing; Crosscutting - Powermatic 66 Instruction Manual & Parts List

RESAWING

1. Resawing is a ripping operation in which thick
boards are cut into thinner ones. Narrow boards up
to 3" can be resawed in one pass. Wider boards up
to 6" must be resawed in two passes.
2. In resawing wider boards, adjust the blade
height so as to overlap the two cuts by 1/2" as shown
in Figure 28. Too deep a first cut can result in bind-
ing and possible kickbacks on the second cut. Al-
ways use the same side of the board against the
fence for both cuts.

CROSSCUTTING

1. Crosscutting is where the workpiece is fed cross
grain into the saw blade using the mitre gauge to
support and position the workpiece. See Figure 29.
Crosscutting should never be done freehand nor
should the fence be used as an end stop unless an
auxiliary block is clamped to the front of the blade
area such that the cutoff piece comes free of the
block before cutting starts. See Figure 30. Length
stops should not be used on the free end of the
workpiece in the cutoff area.
2. Do not crosscut workpieces shorter than 6". Be-
fore starting a cut, be sure the mitre gauge is se-
curely clamped at the desired angle. Hold the
workpiece firmly against the table and back against
the miter gauge. Always use the saw guard and
splitter and make sure the splitter is properly aligned.
2. For 90 degree crosscutting, most operators pre-
fer to use the left-hand mitre gauge slot. When us-
ing it in this position, hold the workpiece against the
gauge with the left hand and use the right hand to
advance the workpiece. When using the right hand
slot for mitre and compound crosscutting so that the
blade tilts away from the gauge, the hand positions
are reversed.
3. When using the mitre gauge, the workpiece
must be held firmly and advanced smoothly at a slow
rate. If the workpiece is not held firmly, it can vibrate
causing it to bind on the blade and dull the saw teeth.
4. To improve the effectiveness of the mitre gauge
in crosscutting, some users mount an auxiliary
wooden extension face (with a glued-on strip of sand-
paper) to the mitre gauge as shown in Figure 31.
5. Provide auxiliary support for any workpiece ex-
tending beyond the table top with a tendency to sag
and lift up off the table.
18
FIGURE 28
FIGURE 29
FIGURE 30
FIGURE 31