45 angle on a wide board?

[jm51]

I'll be trying the same cut soon but with 60"x4"x1/2" BB plywood. Timely thread.

[edflorence]

I was thinking about this thread today and realized that putting a bevel on the long edge of a board could be done pretty easily and very safely with any reasonably long-soled hand plane. Yes, its not a SS solution, but hand planing with the grain is still a pretty effective and quick technique.

But then, the clouds parted for a moment and I made the leap from plane to jointer. A beveled edge is a piece of cake for the jointer. In fact, as soon as I thought of it, I realized I have done this very operation myself. Never on a 6 foot long board, granted, but with strategically placed infeed/outfeed supports is should present no issues.

[algale]

I was thinking about this thread today and realized that putting a bevel on the long edge of a board could be done pretty easily and very safely with any reasonably long-soled hand plane. Yes, its not a SS solution, but hand planing with the grain is still a pretty effective and quick technique.

But then, the clouds parted for a moment and I made the leap from plane to jointer. A beveled edge is a piece of cake for the jointer. In fact, as soon as I thought of it, I realized I have done this very operation myself. Never on a 6 foot long board, granted, but with strategically placed infeed/outfeed supports is should present no issues.

Yeah, but you have to TILT the . . . fence!

[edflorence]

true enough...but tilting is sort of the nature of a bevel. You raise an good point, though, and probably if someone wanted to use the jointer for this purpose a test piece to get used to the tilted fence would be a good idea.

[algale]

true enough...but tilting is sort of the nature of a bevel. You raise an good point, though, and probably if someone wanted to use the jointer for this purpose a test piece to get used to the tilted fence would be a good idea.

Actually I was kind of making a joke and comparing it to the panic that generally ensues when discussing the Shopsmith's tilting table table saw.

[edflorence]

Actually I was kind of making a joke and comparing it to the panic that generally ensues when discussing the Shopsmith's tilting table table saw.

Ah...now I get it.

You are right, it is interesting to see how "off-putting" the tilting table can be. I remember reading that from the birth of the table saw right on to nearly the second World War all table saws had tilting tables. The tilting arbor came about some time in the 30's. Before tilting arbors, the tilting table raised no eyebrows...it just was the way things was.

[JPG]

Actually I was kind of making a joke and comparing it to the panic that generally ensues when discussing the Shopsmith's tilting table table saw.

A tilting jointer fence is ho-hum, but a tilting jointer bed would be interesting!:D

[Ed in Tampa]

Cutting bevels on the Shopsmith is problematic but it is also on tilting arbor saws.

On tilting arbor saws unless the blade is perfectly aligned with the table you can have a problem called heeling. Where the back of the blade tries to cut deeper bevel than the front. It must be perfect or you will have the problem.

Think your saw is immune? Cut a 45 bevel in cherry and see if you have any burn marks.

Also some not all tilting arbor saws have blade movement problems. This is caused by two things. One slop in the gear that tilt the blade and secondly by flexing of the cabinet where the handle comes through the cabinet. If the side of the cabinet flexes it allows the tilt shaft to move and change the bevel.

Again think your saw is immune? Again try cutting a bevel in cherry without burn marks.

I have read enough books on saws, saw techniques, furniture making to know that many of the premier woodworkers NEVER change the bevel on their main table saw. It is locked perfectly at 90 degrees and it stays there.

They use either other tools to cut bevels or jigs on their main saw.

A properly aligned Shopsmith is actually better at cutting bevels than many tilting arbor saws. That is why many of the OLD premier furniture making saws only had tilting tables.

Tilting arbor saws have gotten a lot better now. Gears are cut to a closer tolerance and cabinet sides have been reinforced. Some even offer ways to lock the arbor in position. Note I said lock the arbor not the crank that sets the arbor. Locking the crank still allows movement (gear slap and cabinet flex)

Proper technique the waste cut off isn't going to be a problem riding on the blade.

[tenbears]

Moving large pieces across a blade of any sort presents a challenge. Moving a blade across a large piece is far easier. Without a suitable out feed table arrangement (jointer or table saw) and someone to help on the out feed end I prefer to move the tool across the wood rather than the wood across the tool. The circular saw and guide suggestion is the most straight forward. A #7 or #8 jointer plane for the person with a well appointed tool cabinet a snap. And yes setting the cut up on the Shopsmith® with a high auxillary fence, feather boards, an out feed tables and preferably someone to steady the piece as it exits the cut is quite doable. The same applies to the jointer. For my money the smoothest finish cut would come from the jointer plane. No burn, no dust, no noise. Depending on the wood though, I'd most likely grab the circular saw and guide rail for a piece that size, moving the blade to the wood. Not sexy but very safe.

[charlese]

Moving large pieces across a blade of any sort presents a challenge. Moving a blade across a large piece is far easier. Without a suitable out feed table arrangement (jointer or table saw) and someone to help on the out feed end I prefer to move the tool across the wood rather than the wood across the tool. The circular saw and guide suggestion is the most straight forward. A #7 or #8 jointer plane for the person with a well appointed tool cabinet a snap. And yes setting the cut up on the Shopsmith® with a high auxillary fence, feather boards, an out feed tables and preferably someone to steady the piece as it exits the cut is quite doable. The same applies to the jointer. For my money the smoothest finish cut would come from the jointer plane. No burn, no dust, no noise. Depending on the wood though, I'd most likely grab the circular saw and guide rail for a piece that size, moving the blade to the wood. Not sexy but very safe.

tenbears - Yours' is a very well tought out and well stated post! Thank you! We should always think before sawing.

Just because we all have Shopsmiths - doesn't mean we must use them for absolutely every cut!