How To Cut Thin Strips On A Table Saw
A table saw is a great tool to cut material into precise shapes and sizes. They also have their challenges. One challenge is figuring out how to cut thin strips. I will guide you step by step on how to cut thin strips on your table saw.
In a quick way, to cut thin strips on a table saw, first cut down the middle of the piece youre working with. Then, set the blade to a shallow depth and make another cut next to the first one. Repeat this process until you have the desired number of strips.
Continue reading to learn more!
Steps
Fancy Push Blocks
First, set up your work space. There are many ways to do this, but I prefer fancy push blocks. These allow us to place material in the middle of the blade without having it get kicked back towards us.
They prevent material from jamming in the blade during multiple cuts. Heres what my setup looks like.
I have two pieces of plywood that are about 5 cm thick. The top piece has a 1/10 cm lip around its edge. The bottom piece has no edges or other sticking out. Each piece has a small hole at one end.
Place Plywood On Top Surface Of Saw Blade
Place the plywood top layer on top of your table saw blade, so that the plywood’s lip covers the entire blade’s width (Figure A).
Make sure that the plywood is centered over the blade and that it does not extend past the outside edge of the blade. If necessary, adjust the position of the plywood until it is perfectly centered over the blade.
Drill Small Holes Into Plywood
Using a drill press, make three holes along the centerline of the plywood (Figure B). Each hole should measure approximately 3/41 cm in depth. These holes can be made with a Forstner bit.
Attach Push Blocks To Plywood
Attach two wooden dowels to the bottoms of each side of the plywood using glue and wood screws (Figure C). Attach the third dowel in the middle of the plywood.
Place the dowels so that they touch the plywood. Before gluing, you may need to trim any excess wood.
Cut Strips Of Wood
Once everything is set up, it’s time to start cutting! Use a hand plane to carefully cut the wood strips as closely as you can (Figure D). Make sure to check the thickness gauge included with your table saw.
This will show you how wide your strip should be. The thickness gauge may be slightly different if you use a different table saw.
Sanding Thin Strips
Once you have all of your strips cut, sand down the rough edges of the strips with a random orbit sander (Figure E). Take care not to sand too much though. We dont want to remove too much material because this could affect the strength of the finished product.
Assemble Pieces Together
Once all pieces have been cut and sanded we can put them together. First, remove the push block you used previously. There should be four metal rods inside the block. Take one of the rods, and place it in the hole at the top of the board (Figure E). You can do the same with the remaining three rods.
Next, grab the rod that runs through the hole in the end of your board. Then, insert it into the second hole. Continue doing this for the last two rods. After you are satisfied with the final assembly, attach the rods to your boards.
Glue Everything Together
Wood glue can be used to attach the boards and rods to each other (Figure G). Be careful not to let any of the glue squeeze out between the rods and the boards. Allow the glue to dry completely.
Trim Boards Down
Once the glue has dried, you can trim the length of your boards with a handsaw. This will allow you to create straight lines.
Sand Again
Sand the boards again. This is where you want to achieve a smooth finish. Do not worry about getting rid of any imperfections. They will still look great when they are done.
Final
Finally, stain or paint the boards. Since it already has some natural colors, I decided to leave mine unfinished. But feel free to add another layer of color to yours.
Thin Strip Jig
I know what youre thinking: How do I rip thin strips? Well, its actually pretty easy. All you need is a small router equipped with a 1/20 cm-diameter round-over bit. To set things up, clamp a piece of scrap plywood to the workbench. Place the router on top. Set the depth control to 1 cm.
Adjust the fence until the blade touches the plywood’s bottom edge. Then, feed the wood strip onto the router. When you turn the handle, the blade will move back and forth across the plywood. That’s all!
Conclusion:
These two projects will give you the knowledge and skills to make your own thin strips. These designs can be modified by changing the dimensions of the drawer fronts. If you decide to go bigger, then you may want to consider adding a shelf above the drawers. If you choose to go smaller, you might want more shelves than you have now.
FAQs:
Why Didnt You Use A Circular Saw?
For cutting long lengths of stock, circular saws are ideal. They are not very efficient at cutting narrow strips. A circular saw would probably tear the wood away from the fence before it got close to the blade. That would cause the blades to catch on the fence and kick back.
It would be impossible to move the blade forward while it is being pulled backward. So, a table saw is better suited to making thin strips.
How Wide Should My Strips Be?
The best way to find the right width is to experiment. Here are some guidelines: For most cabinet doors, try using 3/10 cm x 5 cm. For larger cabinets, you might choose
For small cabinets, you could use 1/10 cm x 15 cm. You could also try 5/41 cmx30 cm. Whatever width you choose, remember that it must fit within the dimensions of the cabinet door.
What Type Of Wood Should I Use?
For the face frame, you can use oak or birch. Maple is usually too soft for this application. Pine will not work as pine does not hold its shape well. Avoid cherry and walnut. Those woods warp easily
