23
7. Always keep your hands out of line with the saw
blade and never reach past the rotating blade with ei-
ther hand to hold down the workpiece.
8. Use the mitre gauge on the left hand side of the
saw blade when doing mitre or compound miter cuts
to provide more hand clearance and safety.
OPERATING PROCEDURES
RIPPING
1. Ripping is a sawing process where the workpiece
is fed with the grain into the saw blade using the fence
both as a guide and a positioning device to ensure the
desired width of cut (Figure 34).
Many manufacturers make blades specifically designed
for this operation.
CAUTION: Before starting a ripping cut, be
sure the fence is clamped securely and
properly aligned.
Never rip freehand or use the mitre gauge in combi-
nation with the fence. Never rip workpieces shorter
than the saw blade diameter without a push stick.
Never remove the cutoff piece with the saw blade ro-
tating.
2. Always use the saw guard, splitter and anti-kick-
back pawls and make sure the splitter is properly
aligned. When wood is cut along the grain, the kerf
tends to close and bind the blade and kickbacks can
occur. NOTE: A caution decal is installed on the
guard and splitter assembly warning of the hazard of
misalignment.
3. The rip fence should be set for the width of the
cut by using the scale on the front rail or measuring
the distance between the blade and fence (Figure 35).
Stand out of line with the saw blade and workpiece to
avoid sawdust and splinters coming off the blade and
a possible kickback.
If the workpiece does not have a straight edge, nail an
auxiliary straight edged board to it to provide a straight
edge against the fence. To cut properly, the board
must make good contact with the table. If it is warped,
turn the hollow side down.
5. In ripping, use one hand to hold the board down
and against the fence or fixture and the other to push
it into the blade between the blade and the fence. If
the workpiece is narrow (less than 6") use a push stick
or push block. Never push in a location such that the
pushing hand is in line with the blade. Move the hand
serving as a hold-down a safe distance from the blade
as the cut nears completion. For very narrow ripping
where a push stick cannot be used, use a push block
or an auxiliary fence.
FIGURE 34
FIGURE 35
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