Craftsman 509398 Cutting Aides, Push Sticks, Material for Push Block, Cutting Out the Base

Cutting Aides

Before cutting any wood on your saw, study all of the Crosscutting and Ripping Instruc- tions found on pages 45 through 57. As you learn new radial arm saw woodworking tech- niques, you’ll see that many types of cuts need different support and feeding devices, known as jigs or fixtures. They can help you make cuts more accurately. By helping to steady the workpiece and keep you away from the blade, they can help you safely use your saw for certain cuts. Many people cus- tom build their own jigs and fixtures. Jigs and fixtures are often designed for a particular cut. You can use your radial saw to easily make many jigs and fixtures. To get you started, we’ve included instructions for some simple ones. After you have made a few practice cuts, make up these jigs before starting any projects. Make the push stick first.

Push Sticks

Make the push stick using a piece of 1 x 2. (see drawing top right for dimensions and shapes)

Push Block

There are any number of ways to properly cut your work pieces to make a push block. The following steps describe one way you can proceed.

Making the base:

•Start with a piece of 3/8" plywood at least

5-5/8" wide or wider and 12" long or longer.

•Make two ripcuts. Perform the first ripcut along the long side of the 3/8" plywood to create a 3/8" wide strip. Next ripcut the 3/8" plywood to a width of 5-1/8".

•Crosscut the 3/8" plywood to 12" long.

•Crosscut a 2-1/2" piece off of the 3/8" wide by 3/8" thick strip and save this short piece for later.

•The next cuts will create the 3/8" by 9-1/2" notch in the base. Mark the long edge of the board 2-1/2" from one end. Make a crosscut into the edge, stopping about 3/4" into the board. Set the saw to the in-rip position and rip the width to 4-3/4" along the same edge as the stopped crosscut. Stop the ripcut where the two cuts inter- sect. Turn off the saw and remove the base piece. The base should now measure as shown.

Push Stick

Slightly Less Than Thickness

Of Workpiece Up To 3/8"

90° Notch

Material for Push Block

		At Least 12"
	3/8" Thick Plywood					At	Least
				Base	5-		5/8"
		At Least 12"
	3/4" Thick Plywood					At	Least
				Handle			5"
Cutting Out the Base
			2-1/2" (save)		3/8"
	4th Cut 1st Cut

3rd Cut 5- 1/8"

2nd Cut 12"

Creating the Notch

1st Cut

2nd Cut

			2-1/2"
					4-3/4"
Finished Base
			12"
At Least	3/8"
5-1/8"
2-1/2"		4-				These Edges
				3/4"
							Must Be
							Parallel

45