Today in the shop (VCA)

[reible]

Visual Cut Assist(VCA). That was your first question right?

I think I've shown this before but if so it was a long while back and we have a lot of new members since then.

This is a beginners tip and it is by no means the only way to do things but a window on to a way.

In order to do this you will need some magic transparent tape, a thin piece of stock and a pencil that can get in close to make some marks. A thin marker of some sort will make the lines much easier to see but that is optional.

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A short strip of tape is placed on the saw insert and you want this as close to the opening as you can. The tape will wear away so plan to do this again when that happen or when you change blades as this is only valid when the alignment is the same which means table placement and blade used. If you change setups it is worth the effort to at least check before you depend on it being the same.

You want to use a thin strip of material so the pencil can get in the kerf and mark both edges of the cut. The cut should be long enough to give you a line. Once the cut has been made you draw the miter gauge back but do not let go of the the work piece. Turn off the saw and wait until the blade has stopped.

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Then make the marks.

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The lines should look something like this:

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If you can see them well enough then just go with those lines. If not a marker can be used to darken them. I use the side of the workpiece to get a nice straight line.

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In the next post I will let you know how to use these marks.

Ed

[reible]

Now you have a pretty good idea where the kerf will be given the restraints mentioned. It is a good idea to check a check cut to make sure you didn't mess anything up. Once you have verified things you are good to go on that aspect of the setup.

Now we will do a quick example of how to use those lines. In this case I have measured a length of wood and wish to cut it off to that length. The pencil mark is just to the right of the pencil and hard to see in this picture.

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I like to use a saddle to make marks on both faces of the workpiece at the same time.

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The result will look like this:

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Having the line on top only make it harder to sight down accurately but if the cuts don't have to be that close then go for it. Other wise you use the additional line that is on the edge of the workpiece and align it with the marks on the tape as shown here.

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This is just an aide in visual cutting and only as good as you are. If you must make a lot of matching cuts it behooves you to set up stops so they all come out extremely close, but a lot of projects don't require as much precision.........

Hope this gives you a few new ideas and gets you out in the shop working on some thing.

Ed

[algale]

Thanks for the tutorial, Ed. Well done, as always.

[reible]

A while later I set up to use the rip fence and wanted to zero the scale for it. This is one of the ways that you can do that once you have the blade marks established. Since I am using a comb blade there was no blade change and the marks I had done earlier were fine to use again.

You simply edge the rip fence up to the line and tighten, making sure you are on the line as best you can.

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Then you slide the scale to zero and it is calibrated.

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It doesn't hurt to check the distance before you start ripping but in my case it was right on and I ripped the 2-1/2" strips I needed.

Ed

[charlese]

Excelent primer, Ed! exceptionally done with beautiful photos, which are your style, always!

This thread should be helpful to many woodworkers, not only those sawing, but also those doing dado and groove work.

[joedw00]

Thank you ED well done.

[Gene Howe]

Thanks Ed. Great tutorial for a very helpful procedure.

[BigSky]

Why do I need the marks on the table insert? Will kissing the blade with the fence not give me the same result?

[JPG]

Why do I need the marks on the table insert? Will kissing the blade with the fence not give me the same result?

The blade will deflect, the marks will not.

The teeth do not all project the same amount.

[Gene Howe]

Exactly. And, woodworking is all about precision, right?
A bit of sarcasm there but, it never ever hurts to get as close as possible.

Why do I need the marks on the table insert? Will kissing the blade with the fence not give me the same result?

The blade will deflect, the marks will not.

The teeth do not all project the same amount.