Is there a book available to help you with technique operating a sliding table saw?

[Chris Parks]

I don't understand why a parallel edge jig is needed though I do not cut big panels on it as getting them on the saw is beyond me due to physical issues. I cut smaller panels on it by ripping one reference edge using the slider then using that edge as the reference against the sliding crosscut fence so to speak. Then rip the next edge, flip the panel keeping the same reference edge and cut to size, then turn it 90 degrees, rinse and repeat.

I had a problem with my K3 Winner and I don't know what caused it or whether the saw came from the factory like it but the crosscut fence on the sliding table was not at zero and the panels weren't being cut square. If for instance the fence stop was set to 300mm and the panel cut, the panel would end up 300 one end and 304 the other so it was obvious that the fence was not square to the blade. That should be a simple fix, get a really good square and set the fence using it against the blade. What I found was it was no where near accurate enough over a long panel and the longer the panel the worse the error and using the square did not fix the issue. After scratching my head and getting splinters in the end of my fingers I worked out that it is necessary to actually measure the width of the panel at the start of the cut and make the adjustments until the measurement was the same as the reference stop on the fence using test cuts on the longest panel I could get on the saw. Remember this is the crosscut fence that sits on the rear of the table, not the outrigger though the same deal would apply. Over the length of the long panel the most minute adjustment of the zero stop would change the width of the cut a few mm, a change that could not be seen on the square, when I understood that things returned to normal. Why I did not see that it was an obvious way to rectify the problem I don't know, I guess I was fixated on how to square off on a normal table saw using the blade as the reference.

Clamps are an issue I will have to attack but I have been working on my workshop renovation for months and have not given it much thought. Using the method seen in the YT video I wonder if they are as necessary as we once thought. Certainly just plonking a panel down and not holding it firmly will not give good results as the panel will move. I haven't had to any any long narrow rips on the slider but I will use the video method to hold the material when I start that kind of work. Joe, where did you get your air clamp bits from and have you any pics? Knocking up a few certainly would not when I get the time.

Eventually I will also get the Wixey digital fence on it that I have and buy a big box of batteries! One thing I have done is bought an extra flip stop for cross cutting to save re-setting the single stop when I know I have to go back to the original setting such as when cutting oblong panels. The one annoying thing I have found is that debris build up against the base of the cross cut fence on the slider and they have to cleared out repeatedly due to the fence not having a chamfer where the fence sits on the table. Only the tiniest amount is needed to stop the panel being cut resting against the fence properly and it has become a routine to check and clear any I find.

[Joe Jensen]

The parallel jig is not needed unless cutting a narrow piece. I have used it for example to rip 30 pcs of MDF 3" wide by 4 ft long. They were essentially perfect and required zero sanding to get a large flat surface.