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5.0 Glossary Arbo r: Metal shaft that connects the drive
mechanism to the blade.
Bevel Edge Cut: Tilt of the saw arbor and blade
between 0° and 45° to perform an angled cutting
operation.
Blade Guard: Mechanism mounted over the
saw blade to prevent accidental contact with the
cutting edge.
Crosscut: Sawing oper ation in w hich the miter
gauge is used to cut across the grain of the
workpiece.
Dado Blade: Blade(s) used for c utting grooves
and rabbets. A stacked dado set can be used for
wider grooves.
Dado Cut: Flat bottomed groove in the face of
the workpiece made with a dado blade.
Featherboard: Device used to keep a boar d
against the rip fence or table that a llows the
operator to keep hands away from saw blade.
Freehand: Moving t he workpiece into t he blade
using only the hands, without a fixed positioning
device. (This is a dangerous, unacceptable
procedure – always use appropriate devices to
feed the workpiece though the saw blade during
cutting operations.)
Kerf: The resulting cut or gap made by a saw
blade.
Kickback: An e vent in which the wor kpiece is
lifted up and thrown back toward an operator,
caused when a workpiece binds on the saw
blade or between the blade a nd rip fence (or
other fixed object). To minimize or pre vent injury
from kickbacks, see the Operations section.
Miter Gauge: A component that controls the
workpiece movement while performing a
crosscut of various angles.
Non-Through Cut: A sawing operation that
requires the removal of the blade guard and
standard riving knife, resulting in a cut that does
not protrude through the top of t he workpiece
(includes Dado and rabbet cuts).
The blade guard and riving knife must be re-
installed after performing a non-through c ut to
avoid accidental contact with the saw blade
during operation.
Parallel: Position of the rip fence equal in
distance at every point to t he side face of t he
saw blade.
Perpendicular: 90° (right angle) intersect ion or
position of the vertical and horizontal planes
such as the position of the saw blade ( vertical)
to the table surface (horizontal).
Push Board/Push Stick: An instrument used to
safely push the workpiece through the cutting
operation.
Rabbet: A c utting operation that creates an
L-shaped channel along the edge of the board.
Rip Cut: A cut made along the grain of the
workpiece.
Riving Knife: A metal plate fixed relative to the
blade, which moves with the blade as cutting
depth is adjusted. Thus, it maintains not o nly the
kerf opening in the workpiece, but also the knife-
to-blade distance. A low-profile riving k nife is
used when performing a non-through cut
because it sits lower than the t op edge of t he
blade.
Splitter (Spreader): A stationary metal plate to
which the blade guard is attached that mai ntai ns
the kerf opening in the workpiece when
performing a cutting operation.
Standard Kerf: 1/8" gap made with a standard
blade.
Straightedge: A tool used to check that a
surface is flat or parallel.
Through Sawing: A sawing operatio n in which
the workpiece thickness is completely sawn
through. Proper blade height usually allows 1/ 8"
of the top of blade to extend above the wood
stock. Keep the blade guard down, the anti-
kickback pawls down, and the riving knife in
place over the blade.