Thoughts on adding sandpaper to table of SCMS?

[keith micinski]

So, I was looking at my saw and I have never understood why they don't make the surface of the table some sort of non slip surface. The biggest problem I have with my cuts being inaccurate is when the blade wants to pull the work piece into the fence. I don't really want to buy a 40 dollar clamp plus they can't always be used. Does anyone have a reason that it would be an issue to apply a 60 grit sandpaper to the entire surface of the table? The only downside I can see is that eventually it will wear off and then you have to get it all cleaned off but as little as I use my saw I would think I would get a long time out of the sandpaper. I am thinking about trying this on my Dewalt that I replaced with my new Milwaukee. Let me know if anyone sees any downsides to this.

[Rob Bodenschatz]

Not a bad idea but I don't think I'd like it. I'm always nudging the board to get it exactly where I need it & I'm thinking the stickyness would frustrate me. Worth a shot though. Worst case, rip it off.

[Caspar Hauser]

Not being able to move the workpiece smoothly to make tiny adjustments would drive me crackers, but give it a go and let us know how you like it. I'd use something finer than 60 grit though to avoid marring your workpiece.

[keith micinski]

Well, I thought about that but I made a zero clearance insert so that should help with work piece alignment. I also think I would rather fight bumping it around and get a proper cut then have it slide around easy and get unsatisfactory pieces.

[keith micinski]

Well, I have found that if you use 60 grit as long as your not pushing it down it actually doesn't grape the piece as well as a finer grit does. this is my compromise that makes me think can make this work and still be able to bump the piece if I have to.

[Jeff Nolan]

I don't understand why your work piece would not be up against the fence when you are cutting?

You wrote:
"...problem I have with my cuts being inaccurate is when the blade wants to pull the work piece into the fence"

As for the non slip surface, I would want anything that would not allow me to bump a piece over to adjust my cut line, and I would not want anything that would scratch a finish surface. There's certainly nothing that would stop you from putting something down on the table that creates a nonslip surface but it seems like the solution is rather simple... just make sure you piece is pushed up against the fence when you cut.

By the way, are you using the blade that came with the SCMS?

[keith micinski]

I didn't articulate the problem correctly I guess. Most of the problems with joints that people usually have gets blamed on, the blade, or flex in the saw. I would be willing to bet that this is not the case. If you have taken the time to properly set up your saw I have found that I can use almost any blade and get a very good cut. What I should have said was the blade when turned to a 45 wants to pull the work piece along the face of the fence towards the blade. I have found that 100 percent of the time any time I have a cut that isn't fitting perfectly this is the cause. The sand paper would keep this from happening and like I said since I added the zero clearance throat plate the days of bumping for me have almost virtually gone away. Plus I really think from experience with my mitre gauge you can still bump the work piece with sand paper there as long as you don't apply pressure into the paper. I also don't think placing the work piece on the paper to make a cut is going to mark anything up and anyway it will be the bottom of the piece even if it does.

[Jeff Nolan]

okay I understand better now, makes sense.

I probably would not put an abrasive pad on the table, thinking instead that putting it on the face of the fence would be more effective. Try it and see what happens.

[Dan Forman]

okay I understand better now, makes sense.

I probably would not put an abrasive pad on the table, thinking instead that putting it on the face of the fence would be more effective. Try it and see what happens.

That was going to be my suggestion.

Dan

[John McClanahan]

You may be feeding the blade into the wood too fast. That was my problem for a long time before I figured it out.

John

[Perry Holbrook]

I have used double stick tape to put the sandpaper on the fence for years, I think it's 100 or 120 grit. I agree that slight movement is common if you don't do this.

Perry

[Sam Layton]

Keith, I have adhesive backed sandpaper on my SCMS fence. By placing the sandpaper on the fence, I can slide the wood on the table to get the correct length, and when I push it up against the fence it stays. I also have the adhesive backed sandpaper on my Excalibur sliding table fence. It works great on both saws. My sandpaper is around 100 grit. I think I would stay in the 80 to 120 grit range for the sandpaper.

Sam

[keith micinski]

Alright, I will give the paper on the fence a try tonight.

[John Thompson]

Years ago Keith.. I had the same problem with a SCMS on angle cuts. Always a gap.. always. I thought it was blade flex so I tried 2 other brands and then a full kerf. Still got a gap and I was befuddled. I happened to be at my local sharpeners and was speaking to him about what was happening.

A local trim man that was highly experienced waiting for his turn at the counter starting laughing.. After I made his day with the chuckle he explained why I was getting the gap at the angle and not on a 90 degree cut.

When you angle the blade is attacking the stock from a side angle making it more aggressive. If the stock is not held frimlu on the fence you will get a gap. The old trim carpenter had a name for this as used by southern trim carpenters. "WALKING THE FENCE".

He told me to put sand-paper on the fence (I use 120 or 150 grit).. be sure I had a firm hold on the stock to the fence and finally to slow the cut feed rate down to allow the blade to be less agressive at the angle.

From that day forward I don't have any gaps on my angle cuts as I decided to take his advice and Quit "Walking the Fence".. I still walk the dog but.. not the Fence~

Good luck...

[keith micinski]

Ya to be honest with you I don't know why I haven't done this a long time ago. I sometimes get a sore hand from holding the work piece so tight to the saw because am afraid it is going to move on me.