BT3100 Basics -- How to do a Bevel Cut?

[tkarlmann]

Brain not working. Here is my small project: ~5/8" thick baltic bearch ply, 8" x 22" size. I need to put a 45 degree bevel on each edge -- 1 side only. I need to remove only a small amount of material -- about 1/2 the board's thickness.

The two short ends went ok, I used the sliding table for a crosscut. Then the long edges came along and...? How do I do it properly?

I have standard BT3100. I have my sliding table to the left of the blade, my rip fence is usually on the right. It seems I cannot do the rip cut without trapping the workpiece between the blade and the ripfence. I did this on an almost identical piece a few weeks ago -- the cut was not smooth and the workpiece was burned.

This time I vowed to do it right. I put the sliding table to the right of the blade, and then ... tried ... to put the aux table to the left of the blade. It won't fit! Parts of the main saw are preventing the aux table from going there!

What to do? Move my carefully positioned guide rails that now cut perfectly to the inch scale or burn another board by the trapping method? Use the Bandsaw instead? What am I missing? Please assist.

[LJR]

If I were doing that cut I wouldn't put the work piece between the fence and blade. I would put the waste piece between the fence and blade. When cutting a bevel like that on the edge of the board the blade will likely be cutting into the fence and thus I would be using a sacrificial fence.

[Uncle Cracker]

You do not want to trap work or waste under the blade and against the fence. Move the rip fence to the left of the blade, and let the little cutoff piece drop to the right, while the main workpiece runs top-down to the left of the blade. You will need to use push blocks or Board Buddies to keep uniform down-pressure on the workpiece (don't use your hands) in order to keep the cut linear. This is one of the reasons that left-tilt saws are popular, as this is an awkward-feeling cut on a right-tilt saw.

Question: Why not just use a router and chamfering bit?

[LCHIEN]

i personally would not hesitate to use the rip fence way to the right and tilt the blade to the fence and run the workpiece between the blade and the fence, what some people here are calling "trapped".

Baltic birch is stable and won't be pinching the work.
the cut off piece is exceedingly small and teh workpiece quite wide- there's plenty of safe area to hold onto and control the main workpiece and not get a kickback
the edges are long enough to use the fence to guide the cut in all cases.

I think this cut is perfectly safe. You're just worried by "conventional wisdom" which is OK to start but you must apply actual conditions to temper the wisdom.

[tkarlmann]

Question: Why not just use a router and chamfering bit?

I have only an older handheld router with no dust collection port. No table-mount router. Oh, and no tuned-up handplanes either -- woking on that. I really don't care for the way my router throws chips EVERYWHERE. Perhaps some day I'll have a better router with DC.

[tkarlmann]

"i personally would not hesitate to use the rip fence way to the right and tilt the blade to the fence and run the workpiece between the blade and the fence, what some people here are calling "trapped"."

Thanks. I am fairly certain the board is square and straight, so I will try this.

[tkarlmann]

Auxiliary Table left of the blade ... ?

I was hoping that perhaps some of you might have solved the issue of the Auxiliary Fence not fitting to the left of the blade.

Anyone suggest moving the guide rails left, then mounting the rip fence to the left of the blade? How about the Miter table? (I have this, but have never used it.)

[dbhost]

I have only an older handheld router with no dust collection port. No table-mount router. Oh, and no tuned-up handplanes either -- woking on that. I really don't care for the way my router throws chips EVERYWHERE. Perhaps some day I'll have a better router with DC.

Do you have sawhorses?

If so take the router, workpiece, sawhorses and all outside. Dust collection on a router is tough at best... There are a few I have used with DC ports (B&D) and they did not work well...

[Bill in Buena Park]

Thom,
I am also not keen about moving my rails - but you can if you need to, and reset to DNO afterward.

I recently cut a bevel with my fence to the left of the blade - just remove the SMT (so the rip fence handle will fit there), and there should be enough of the main table left between the fence and the blade to support your cut, including use of a tall auxiliary fence.

However, if my workpiece had been sufficiently wide, I would have used the method described by Loring (LCHIEN).

[dkerfoot]

I move my rails all the time. I don't hesitate to do it, anymore than I'd hesitate to move my SMT fence. It is one of the very fine features of the BTs and should be used.

.

[LarryG]

I was hoping that perhaps some of you might have solved the issue of the Auxiliary Fence not fitting to the left of the blade.

I'm not entirely sure I'm grasping the problem. The auxiliary table is narrower than the sliding miter table. If the SMT will fit left of the blade, the aux table will fit, too ...

... unless you mean that there is a gap left between the main table (the one in which the blade sits) and the aux table. If so, as Bill says that isn't really a problem as long as the location of the gap vs. the width of the workpiece does not result in a lack of support at exactly the wrong place. With an 8" wide workpiece, I'm guessing this may be the case. If so, then I would again agree with Bill ... I wasn't wild about moving my BT's rails either but I did so when necessary and resetting the scale to zero wasn't that big a deal.

Mounting the dual miter slot table may be your best long-term solution, as it is made to fit snugly against the main table without leaving a gap. This will of course move the SMT about 6" farther from the blade, so you'll have to consider how that might affect your use of the saw, especially if you don't have a conventional miter gauge.

[pelligrini]

The cut the OP describes could be done on the right side of the blade as the whole edge won't be beveled. I'd be really hesitant to do the 8" ends that way though.

If the entire edge was to get a bevel I wouldn't try it on the right side of the blade. The point of the bevel from the opposing edge can slide under the fence. Not only can it provide an uneven cut if that happens, that's where is can get dangerous. If the piece binds it can get pushed at an angle towards the blade.

I tried that a few times beveling some ply on the shop saw in Architectural school. Knowing now of what I had no clue then. I'm surprised it didn't turn into a disaster.

[tkarlmann]

I've tried this seveal times and ...

i personally would not hesitate to use the rip fence way to the right and tilt the blade to the fence and run the workpiece between the blade and the fence, what some people here are calling "trapped".

Baltic birch is stable and won't be pinching the work.
the cut off piece is exceedingly small and the workpiece quite wide- there's plenty of safe area to hold onto and control the main workpiece and not get a kickback
the edges are long enough to use the fence to guide the cut in all cases.

I think this cut is perfectly safe. You're just worried by "conventional wisdom" which is OK to start but you must apply actual conditions to temper the wisdom.

When I "trap" my board and do a bevel cut, I get burn marks on the wood every time. The wood does not really want to move through the cut well either. Sanding the burn marks off is being deemed unnecessary by me.

Does this happen for everyone sawing 'trapped' or just me?

BTW -- I do not think I adjusted my saw 'slightly out' of parallel to allow just the leading edge of the blade to touch the wood. Does this matter? How does everyone adjust their saw?

[leehljp]

Thom,

I may have missed someone's answer but in the original, you said:

This time I vowed to do it right. I put the sliding table to the right of the blade, and then ... tried ... to put the aux table to the left of the blade. It won't fit! Parts of the main saw are preventing the aux table from going there!

Under the rails on the front and back, release the locking clamps to the rails and move them enough to the left to allow for the aux table. I have two aux tables and two SMTs and use them interchangeably. The down side for some is that it moves the rails away from the use of the scale alignment.

This sliding rails offers far more advantage to me than the scale does, but this is not for everyone.

Once you do this, you can put the Aux table on the left and use the rip fence on the left too.

[LCHIEN]

When I "trap" my board and do a bevel cut, I get burn marks on the wood every time. The wood does not really want to move through the cut well either. Sanding the burn marks off is being deemed unnecessary by me.

Does this happen for everyone sawing 'trapped' or just me?

BTW -- I do not think I adjusted my saw 'slightly out' of parallel to allow just the leading edge of the blade to touch the wood. Does this matter? How does everyone adjust their saw?

surprising, my first suspicion would be that the blade is not parallel and toed in towards the fence giving it additional contact time leading to the burn.

Ripping off 1/2 thickness bevel on 1/2" or 5/8" ply is a very small amount of cut - I am surprised you find it does not want to move well. Is it dragging on something somewhere?