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This is the simple sled I use to cut the sides.
It is simply a piece of Baltic Birch glued to a hardwood runner planed to
just fit in the mitre gauge slot. It is then run through the saw about
half way through. A piece of walnut
(straight and available, like the mahogany board on the previous page) is
then glued at a 45 degree angle to the kerf (I used a 45-45-90
triangle. I then have two stop blocks clamped to the walnut fence,
one for the long side of the box and another for the short. The stop
block is also cut at a 45 degree angle so that the blank (which is also
cut at 45 degree angles) is wedged to the fence with less damage to the
point.
I then adjust the blade so it will cut all the way
through the blank. The walnut fence is a little low and I'd rather
not cut all the way through the top of it. That reduces the height I
can raise the blade.
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Next we arrange the blanks. Remember we had
several checks in the ends--I'll start the cuts at the opposite end.
Since we selected the sides/edges for the best condition some of the
blanks will appear to be "upside down". This is not a
problem. It only means on some boxes the blank will go clockwise
around the box and counterclockwise on others.
I clamp the good ends to the fence so that the point
of the corner-to-be is on the edge of the kerf. The full-length
blanks where curved slightly so I only did two at a time. This cut
will give us the 45 degree cut for the starting side. |
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We're now ready to make that first cut. When
clamping the blanks, make sure the clamp won't hit the blade. These
plastic clamps aren't so bad (you just lose a clamp)--The metal spring
clamps will take out the blade (not to mention flying carbide--not a
pretty site (Another voice-of-experience. Several years I accidentally
find out you really could cut a steel rod with a carbide blade--once...)).
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A quick pass with the sled, and two blanks are
cut. Repeat four times, and we have all eight.
When doing multiple passes it's easy to get
careless. What I do is push the sled at the left corner of the
plywood and the right corner of the walnut, keeping the fingers far from
the kerf. To maintain a constant alignment I keep pressure on one side of
the mitre gauge slot (usually the right). This helps keep the sides
identical (or closer to it :-) )
I stand back a little further from the tablesaw so
that I tend to bring the sled back farther after the cut. To remove
the clamps, especially the spring clamps, you may tend to reach in front
of the fence (where the blade is). If you pull the sled back a ways,
that keeps the fingers farther back from the still-spinning blade.
You could (should) wait until the blade stops before removing the clamps,
but patience can wear thin at times. By forcing myself to bring the sled
back a ways, I reduce the chance of the old
"finger-hitting-the-spinning-blade" problem. |
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With a lot of blanks, it's easy to get them mixed up
(especially if they hit the floor). I mark the waste end with a
number. Not the line under the '6' so it doesn't get mixed up with
'9'.
I then mark the face of that first mitre we cut into
each blank. To keep track of the sides for each box, I mark this
first mitre with the letter 'A'.
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I take the first blank and make sure it sits tight
against the fence and stop. Sometimes sawdust/trash will get in the
corner of the stop. A blast of compressed air will take care of
that.
I then clamp the board on both sides of the
kerf. With these metal spring clamps, BE SURE the blade won't touch
them. It's not to hard on the long sides, but you need to be extra
careful on the short sides.
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A quick pass with the saw and we've got the first side
cut. We then do the same with the other seven blanks. I line them up
afterwards and number them on the second mitre cut. I also label
this cut with the letter 'B'. You can probably see where this is
going... |
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I take all eight of the sides and stack them up where
they (hopefully!) won't get lost. |
