End-grain (cross-grain) Shaping with the SS

tryinhard · Post by **tryinhard** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 6:35 pm

I need some help trying to shape the ends of boards.

PTWFE says that to shape the ends of pieces "not wide enough to have sufficient bearing against the boards, use the miter gauge and safety grip to secure the workpiece while making the pass."

Every time I try this using the miter gauge and safety grip, I cannot get it to work. No matter how light a cut I try, as soon as the workpiece hits the cutter, it pushes away. I cannot hold the piece in place with the safety grip due to the sideways play in the holddown--it slides sideways about an inch-and-a-half.

Does anyone have success in using this method? Is the problem my safety grip having too much sideways play? Does anyone instead use a sled for end shaping?

Thanks for helping me figure out what to do.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 9:35 pm

No I have not had this problem, but there are a couple of ways to overcome it. Yes, you could use a sled, but my choice would be to use a large square shaped push/backup block. If the block were 8 to 12 inches wide you could clamp your workpiece to the block. You could even put a handle on the top of the block for security.