Table saw & miter saw issues

Woodshop
#1

I was doing some late night work last night and had issues with the table saw and the miter saw that prevented me from using them. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

TABLE SAW: I was trying to cut thin strips of wood using the table saw, just under 1”. The fence seemed to be binding the wood at the end of the cut and creating kickback. I tried adjusting the fence but I got kickback three times in a row and couldn’t figure out to fix the issue. Any advice?

MITER SAW: I couldn’t get the miter saw to lower. It would track forward and back but wouldn’t drop to actually cut. I researched common causes online and the popular advice was to lubricate the safety mechanism that controls the blade drop. I ended up not using the saw because I didn’t feel comfortable running that fix off a YouTube video by myself. Is there a known issue or way to fix this?

Thank in advance guys!

2 Likes
#2

Miter - This is a known issue with our blade guard due to abuse. When users slam the saw around, the clear plastic guard comes out of the upper body and will lockup the next time someone tries to depress the saw. You have to pinch the clear plastic and help it back into the upper case… don’t do this while it’s running :smiley:

Table - Hard to know without seeing your setup. Was the thin side on the fence side or the “fall off” side? Did you have the riving knife in? etc. Best guess from your description, you were cutting thin side on the fence side with the riving knife in place. The riving knife is ever so slightly larger than the blade body and if your strips are thin enough they will pinch at the riving knife at the tail end of your cut.

It’s safer / less likely to cause pinching to cut the thin strips on the fall-off side, but then you have to re-adjust every time.

There’s a variety of jig’s / setups on google like this one that may help you do this in a safer / easier to cut setup

You can also cut thicker strips and then thin down with a sander worst case.

2 Likes
#3

@IanLee thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.

I suspected the blade guard on the miter saw might be the issue. I pinched it and pushed it back in but it still wasn’t lowering. Maybe it didn’t seat correctly. I’ll keep this kind of it happens again.

Regarding the table saw, you are 100% right. I had the strips between the fence and the blade. I’m working on an American flag build and need the strips to be exactly the same width. I’ll look into a jig solution for next time.

Thanks again!

Where do you recommend buying bandsaw blades?

1 Like
#4

So I’m the cabinet there’s what’s called a thin strip jig it’s a bearing roller that locks in the miter slot that you can set at small increments away from the blade that way your strips aren’t pinched between the fence And the blade, then one you cut a strip, just turn the saw off move the fence and your lumber a little closer till it touches the bearings and repeat that way you get perfect strips without the pinching it’s in a box on the second shelf on the right hand side

1 Like
#5

So I haven’t found a way to fix it but If you look at the miter the actually casing is slightly separating from the body(the part with the trigger) causing the gap that’s making the guard slip, I’ve tightened every screw but there still a visible wobble if you flex it, that’s causeing the guardd to not stay out

2 Likes