This felt a lot safer on the SawStop

[Peter Quinn]

I work with a guy who free hand copes crowns on a TS (not saw stop) all the time, blade raised full up so its nearly a vertical drop like a key cutter. Some guys look at this and think he's nuts, but its pretty much safe, if you take small bites, no kick back danger, much like a cope master tool except for the template guide, unusual technique thats highly effective on very hard woods. Just saying, like Shawn points out above, lots of ways to use a table saw that are unusual but not necessarily tragic. Its all about understanding stock control and avoiding the pinch points. They used to call it a variety saw for a reason! I have books that show you how to set up the same basic operation JR presented but on a shaper. I've done it with stop rabbits and a 5" cutter head on a shaper, block on each end of a long fence, easy, but you sure had better be fully aware of your stock path, have proper stock control, use a BG test chip limiting head and have the spindle blocked off so your hands don't interact with the spindle as they pass by. First time I did it al the hair was standing up on my neck, then you realize its actually quite simple. No less than Aigner sells a fixture for doing this very thing! They are in the safety business. They can't be crazy too? Just because you don't understand a technique doesn't make it inherently dangerous, but if you don't understand an advanced technique and attempt it anyway missing some of the salient points it could get bad quick. I see other pros at work doing things all the time I would never do, but I don't attack them for the way they work, I do try to understand what they are doing and how I might be comfortable abosrbing some of what they know into my repertoire of tricks.

[Ole Anderson]

If I had to do this I would raise the blade into the wood coming up all the way to the stop, and I would have a solid hold down, possibly using a rabbited piece along the fence and another one on the outboard side of the cut. I am all for jigs.

And every time I hear of someone using push sticks, I cringe as a traditional stick will do nothing to hold the forward portion of the work against the table. I use one of these and either a feather board or another piece of wood to push the work against the fence unless the work allows my fingers to be at least 4 inches from the blade. And I use a SharkGuard whenever possible.

Handle.jpg

[Kent A Bathurst]

ZCIs require that the plate be held down before the blade is raised into the wood. I use the fence on one side and a strip of wood held down by clamps on the other before I cut a new ZCI slot. There is zero chance of kickback doing it that way.

Brian, et al:

Yeah - I got the point that the OP was using a different method: Dropping the target onto the blades v raising the blade into/thru the target.

1. Was offering a different approach to achieve the same result.
2. I have use the OP's method a fair number of times - not a frequent occurrence, by any means - and I have zero problem doing it that way. I stop and think about what I am doing more carefully than other TS ops, but I'm fine with it. The obvious reply to this is: "Well, then....maybe you need to stop and think more carefully all the time." Cannot argue that point.

When I do it, I have a stop securely mounted toward front of the TS table, so the target cannot move / kick back as the blade engages. But other than that, I honestly don't see it as a big deal. Which apparently is not in the majority opinion, but I'm good with it.

Next - there was a comment concerning multiple slots only 1/4" apart. I don't have a problem with that either, but I would darn sure be selective on the species, and especially on the grain orientation for those vent covers.

[Chris Padilla]

Good discussion, Folks. I'd like to add my two cents worth if ya don't mind.

My spidey senses would be tingling all over trying a cutting operation like that so it would definitely NOT be in my realm of comfort.

Many pointed out a router but I'd go a step further and say a router TABLE. I have an Incra fence on my router table and it would excel at cutting nice slots like this, evenly spaced. I also have a lifter on my router so as to plunge it only an 1/8" or 1/4" at a time. It would probably take me 3x as long as J.R.'s approach but it would resonate better with me using my router table over a table saw.

[Wayne Jolly]

Some people mentioned doing a glue-up, but there were two words in the OP's post that makes me wonder. TEAK and BOAT. Wood with a high oil content and a boat that has potential temperature and humidity extremes. Possibly Direct exposure to sun and wind during boat storage, maybe cold and wet when operating the boat. Just how reliable would a glue-up be in a case like this?

Wayne

[Peter Kelly]

Some people mentioned doing a glue-up, but there were two words in the OP's post that makes me wonder. TEAK and BOAT. Wood with a high oil content and a boat that has potential temperature and humidity extremes. Possibly Direct exposure to sun and wind during boat storage, maybe cold and wet when operating the boat. Just how reliable would a glue-up be in a case like this?

Wayne

Either Weldwood Resorcinol or West System Epoxy work fine on teak. Just need to wipe down the surfaces with lacquer thinner before glueing. I'm sure someone will chime in with urethane glue as well, just haven't tried it myself so I can't say.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

No problem. But I'd be wearing one of these:
1108-175x800crests_and_certificates-ar008_torso.jpg

[Ole Anderson]

I am not sure I would do a glue up in this case due to the thin wood section, but that method certainly does have merits.

[John Coloccia]

Good discussion, Folks. I'd like to add my two cents worth if ya don't mind.

My spidey senses would be tingling all over trying a cutting operation like that so it would definitely NOT be in my realm of comfort.

Many pointed out a router but I'd go a step further and say a router TABLE. I have an Incra fence on my router table and it would excel at cutting nice slots like this, evenly spaced. I also have a lifter on my router so as to plunge it only an 1/8" or 1/4" at a time. It would probably take me 3x as long as J.R.'s approach but it would resonate better with me using my router table over a table saw.

FWIW, all of the worst kicks and grabs I've had have all been on the router table.

[Brian Kincaid]

Table saw and router table are both the wrong tool for the job. Plunging tracksaw like DeWalt or Festool would have been completely safe with the proper stops and clamps in place. Faster too since you don't need to gingerly raise the blade into the material.

I am glad you didn't get hurt, but this is clearly a case of trying to use the tool you have/like instead of using the safe tool for the job.

-Brian

[Chris Padilla]

FWIW, all of the worst kicks and grabs I've had have all been on the router table.

I'm not sure I've had the same experience. I've had bad grabs on the router table but that was many years ago when I was a bit more of an idiot than I am now. I was make a totally unsafe/dumb cut and after it was ripped out of my hands, I immediately knew why. But cutting 1/8" slots with an 1/8" router bit is really not a big deal and for me, much safer than the table saw. However any tool with fast spinning sharp metal, things can go wrong quickly.

[Jamie Buxton]

I plunge up on a tablesaw. A key to staying safe is to make sure the workpiece can't get flung by the blade. To ensure that, I drilled and tapped the saw table, directly in front of the blade.

plungeupa.jpg

I bolt a piece of scrap wood of appropriate length to prevent the workpiece from moving toward me. Here's the holder during a plunge-up cut.

plungeupb.jpg

Simple, inexpensive, and safe.

[Chris Padilla]

But...but...but...you put a hole in your table saw top!!!

There is also, perhaps, the issue of the shape of the cut the saw blade makes during a plunge up cut. May or may not be an issue.

[Jamie Buxton]

But...but...but...you put a hole in your table saw top!!!

Yeah I did. That Unisaw has had so many modifications over the years, one more hole is hard to notice. The saw is on its third fence, and its fourth router table. It has a hinged outfeed table hung off the back. It has a shop-made motor cover, and a home-brew kick-to-stop power switch. It has three different big holes in the base for dust collection -- the results of evolving ducting designs. There's holsters bolted on the base for the rip fence and the miter gauge.

There is also, perhaps, the issue of the shape of the cut the saw blade makes during a plunge up cut. May or may not be an issue.

? I don't understand. Explain more?

[Jeffrey Martel]

If you don't do a glue up lamination, then I think my next choice would be to use a plunge router and an edge guide with a spiral bit. Clamp it down to a sacrificial piece. If you leave it extra long, you can cut all the grooves and then cut it free from the long board. Sure it would take longer, but almost no risk of injury.