Crosscutting

• Cutting across the grain of lumber is the most common use of the table saw. Solid wood lumber set against the miter gauge slides quickly and accurately past the saw blade. Good miter gauges include depth stops and hold-down clamps which repeat settings and improve accuracy. Adjustable to more than 45 degrees left and right from the zero, or square, setting, the miter gauge can be used along with the saw's tilting blade arbor to cut compound angles. Crosscutting long pieces of lumber or wide plywood panels on the table saw could be both awkward and dangerous without a helper and extra supports.
  
  

Ripping

• Cutting with the grain--called ripping--requires a strong adjustable fence. Standard equipment on table saws, the fence sets the width of the stock while the blade severs the waste from the other edge of the board. A splitter behind the blade prevents the stock from closing on the saw during the cut. Adjusting the height of the blade so the gullets of the teeth just clear the work prevents the blade from clogging and reduces chances of kickback.
  
  

Tenons

• With either a dado head--a special blade with adjustable width of cut--or the standard crosscut blade, the table saw accurately forms tenons for complicated joinery. Either homemade wooden jigs or special miter gauges make the process simple and precise. Uniform results depend on uniform stock dimensions--make sure all pieces are correctly sized before cutting tenons on the saw.
  
  

Moldings

• Using the ripping function, special table saw molding heads cut sculptured edges both with and across the grain. The interchangeable blades of molding heads lock down with hex wrenches and fit to the head in sets of three. Using the molding head requires extra care since the added width of the blade increases the chance of a powerful kickback. Molding heads also accept blades for dado cutting, groove and rabbet cuts.
  
  

Sanding

• Sanding discs to be used in place of the blade come in handy for precise fitting of small projects like picture framing. Using the miter gauge and the tilt adjustment of the saw's arbor, the compound angles of framing and trim can be ground to perfection on the side of the abrasive wheel. Abrasive cutoff discs meant for chop saws also fit many table saws, but their use on these machines is dangerous and can't be recommended.