DeWalt 36-600 instruction manual Cross-Cutting, Ripping

TYPICAL OPERATIONS

CROSS-CUTTING

Cross-cutting requires the use of the miter gage to position and guide the work. Place the work against the miter gage and advance both the gage and work toward the saw blade, as shown in Fig. 48. The miter gage may be used in either table slot. When bevel cutting (blade tilted), use the table groove that does not cause interference of your hand or miter gage with the saw blade guard. The saw guard must always be used.

Start the cut slowly and hold the work firmly against the miter gage and the table. One of the rules in running a saw is that you never hang onto or touch a free piece of work. Hold the supported piece, not the free piece that is cut off. The feed in cross-cutting continues until the work is cut in two, and the miter gage and work are pulled back to the starting point. Before pulling the work back, it is good practice to give the work a little sideways shift to move the work slightly away from the saw blade. Never pick up any short length of free work from the table while the saw is running. Never touch a cut-off piece unless it is at least a foot long.

WARNING: NEVER USE THE FENCE AS A CUT- OFF GAGE WHEN CROSS-CUTTING.

Fig. 48

For added safety and convenience the miter gage can be fitted with an auxiliary wood facing that should be at least 1 inch higher than the maximum depth of cut, and should extend 12 inches or more on both sides of the blade. This auxiliary wood-facing can be fastened to the front of the miter gage by using two wood screws through the holes provided in the miter gage body and into the wood facing.

RIPPING

Ripping is the operation of making a lengthwise cut through a board, as shown in Fig. 49, and the rip fence

(A)is used to position and guide the work. One edge of the work rides against the rip fence while the flat side of the board rests on the table. Since the work is pushed along the fence, it must have a straight edge and make solid contact with the table. The saw guard must always be used. The guard has anti-kickback fingers to prevent kickback and a splitter to prevent the saw kerf from closing and binding the blade.

Start the motor and advance the work, holding it down and against the fence. Never stand in the line of the saw cut when ripping. Hold the work with both hands and push it along the fence and into the saw blade as shown in Fig. 49. The work can then be fed through the saw blade with one or two hands. After the work is beyond the saw blade and anti-kickback fingers the hand is removed from the work. When this is done the work will either stay on the table, tilt up slightly and be caught by

the rear end of the guard or slide off the table to the floor. Alternately, the feed can continue to the end of the table, after which the work is lifted and brought along the outside edge of the fence. The cut-off stock remains on the table and is not touched with the hands until the saw blade is stopped unless it is a large piece allowing safe removal. When ripping boards longer than three feet, it is recommended that a work support be used at the rear of the saw to keep the workpiece from falling off the saw table.

If the ripped work is less than 4 inches wide, a push stick should always be used to complete the feed, as shown in Fig. 50. The push stick can easily be made from scrap material as explained in the section “CONSTRUCTING A PUSH STICK.” When ripping 2 inches or narrower, assemble an auxiliary wood facing to the fence, as explained in the section “USING AUXILIARY WOOD FACING ON RIP FENCE” and use a push stick.

A

Fig. 49 Fig. 50

20