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Thread: Freehand curve cut on a tablesaw?

  1. #1
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    Freehand curve cut on a tablesaw?

    http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/vide...924478,00.html

    Tom Silva's using the table saw to freehand cut @ 57 seconds into the video.

    I'd think this is a good way to be force fed a piece of material - - but - - this is TOH & Tom Silva.....
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  2. #2
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    I wouldn't do it - but my name isn't Tom Silva.

    To be fair, I know a few older guys (hell, I'm an "older guy" myself - so the folks I'm thinking about are REALLY old) who have free handed on the table saw all their lives. BUT, they're working on jobsite saws (like Tom in the video), with significantly less HP than my cabinet saw. When I first got into this game, I had a little benchtop table saw and when a piece got bound up (either through the wood closing on the blade after I'd removed the splitter and pawls, or through a mis-aligned fence), the saw didn't have the power to kick back, but simply stopped and tripped the circuit breaker.

    All that said - if an old hand like Tom Silva wants to do that, that's fine - but they are leaving the millions of newbies watching their videos open to some major injuries.
    I love mankind. It's people I can't stand.

  3. #3
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    Seeing the pros do foolish things is nothing new. Producers allowing it to be broadcast is the crime.
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  4. #4
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    Look what he's cutting. It's not like it's 3/4" hardwood.

    My biggest concern would be that i'd mess up the cut.

  5. #5
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    Look what he's cutting. It's not like it's 3/4" hardwood.
    Yeah - I wondered if it made a difference that he's cutting MDF.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  6. #6
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    Rich
    ALASKANS FOR GLOBAL WARMING

    Eagle River Alaska

  7. #7
    Pretty much sop for loose stiles most places I've worked. Not my favorite though.

  8. #8
    The quality of workmanship on TOH took a nosedive when Norm stepped back and Tom became the first stringer. The best I can say is that Tom represents what you could realistically expect when hiring an average contractor.

  9. #9
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    The tools used in woodworking have specific purposes. The table saw is used for making straight cuts. People will think it okay until they take a board in the face. Many will talk about getting away with it many times, good. I'll use the right tool to do that.

    As said above I'm surprised the producers didn't ask legal "Should we be doing this?"

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich Engelhardt View Post
    Yeah - I wondered if it made a difference that he's cutting MDF.
    He was cutting the scribed line on the 3/4" poplar used against the floor.

  11. #11
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    There are several tools common on every jobsite that are better suited and much safer.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew Hills View Post
    He was cutting the scribed line on the 3/4" poplar used against the floor.
    I was thinking it was the really thin wainscoting stuff but I think you are right. Looked really thin on the video.

    I vote jig saw or at least circular saw.

  13. #13
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    He was cutting the scribed line on the 3/4" poplar used against the floor.
    Oops- you're right....I had MDF on the mind since I was looking at different ways to make MDF wainscoting.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  14. #14
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    Doing a scribe cut this way it completely unsafe and unnecessary. Use a jig saw if there is a lot of material to remove. Use a hand electric planer for everything else. Hand electric planers can get into surprisingly tight inside curves.

    I consider this forum to be a stronghold of good sense about safety, and I applaud everyone for speaking against this practice. Cheers
    Every construction obeys the laws of physics. Whether we like or understand the result is of no interest to the universe.

  15. #15
    Funny, I think a power plane is crazy dangerous when doing edge work. I've never cared for that method either.

    For almost all scribes, I do a shallow climb cut, basically just scoring the face, with a circular saw. Then plunge in and finish the cut at full depth After that I finish it off with a belt sander to get to my line. I typically cut at an angle to make the final sanding easier as well.

    It's not my favorite, but I've done this plenty of times on a tablesaw, it's seriously not a big deal. I'd much prefer to do it on a jobsite saw rather than a tablesaw with power.

    Back in the day, we had a jig and used to make lazy susans on the table saw. It worked pretty well.
    Last edited by Martin Wasner; 07-11-2016 at 7:26 AM. Reason: just an incoherent post.

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