I made a handout for Monday's demo.

In this case, I will give you a handout so you can pay attention to the demo without taking notes. Please read before Monday's class. I will make copies for everyone.

Shannon Wright
Woodworking 168
Project 1: Sample Joints
We are using 5/4 (Five Quarter) Poplar boards, 16 feet long.

Milling Your Wood on the Jointer and Planer

What you need:
Starrett combination square (never drop one of these!!!)
Two jointer-specific push sticks
Key to unlock the jointer “on” switch
Pencil for marking
Safety glasses or face shield

1) Cut a 36” length of poplar on the radial arm saw. Let’s save all the 48” pieces that remain, for another project.
2) Use the combination square to “square up” the fence of the jointer.
3) Set the infeed table to remove between 1/32” and 1/16”.
4) Assess “grain runout pattern”, cup and bow of your piece of wood, and joint one face using two push sticks designed for the jointer.
5) Move your whole body with the wood—do not stand in a fixed location and lean forward.
6) Put the letter “j” in pencil on the jointed face so you can identify it later.
7) Joint one edge of your piece of wood, considering the grain runout pattern to avoid tearout. Keep your wood very tight against the fence and do not rock the wood. Mark it with a “j”.
8) Measure the thickness of your wood at each end and set the thickness planer to 1/16” less than the thickest dimension
9) With the jointed side down, assess the grain runout direction by looking at the edge of your board.
10) Place your wood, with the jointed side down, into the planer. You will need to give it a solid push to engage the infeed rollers. Remove your wood as the rollers feed it out the other side.

Ripping Your Wood on the Table Saw
What you need:
Rip blade
Push stick
Yellow anti-kickback roller
Phillips-head screwdriver
Table saw arbor wrench
Starrett combination square
Safety glasses or face shield

1) Check that the power is off at the circuit breaker
2) Remove the table saw insert, then remove the nut and washer from the saw arbor and put the rip blade on, with the teeth facing you, making sure not to bang the blade against metal.
3) Put the washer on and tighten the nut.
4) Replace the blade insert
5) Raise the blade as high as it will go, and place the Starrett square tight against the right side of the blade. If you see light at the top or the bottom, adjust the blade tilt wheel below until no light is visible. Lower the blade.
6) Bring your wood up against the blade to set the height of the blade. Raise or lower the blade until it is ¼” or one carbide tooth’s height above your wood.
7) Lock the lock knob on the blade-height adjustment wheel.
8) Bring the blade guard down over the blade.
9) Attach the yellow anti-kickback rollers to the mounting plate and tighten the screws with the Phillips-head screwdriver. It should be situated immediately behind the blade guard.
10) Pull the rip fence away from the blade to allow you to place your wood under the yellow anti-kickback device. Adjust the pressure until it puts up good resistance, but will not require excessive force to push your wood through.
11) Move the rip fence to set it at 3.5 or 4” (dependent on the width of your board.) To do this, loosen the lock lever, bump the fence over with the heel of your hand until the crosshair reads the desired number on the ruler. Lock the fence-lock lever.
12) Adjust the yellow anti-kickback device side-to-side until it is in approximately the middle of the intended cut. It MUST be located to the right of the blade, or it will defeat its purpose.
13) Remove all wrenches and tools from the work area
14) Turn on the power at the circuit breaker.
15) Put on a face shield or safety glasses.
16) Make your cut. Then cut another piece the same width with the remainder.

Proper Form When Ripping Wood on the Table Saw

Make sure no-one is standing or walking behind you.

Stand to the left of the rip fence and slightly to the left of your piece of wood.

Don’t focus your eyes on the blade, but on the juncture between your wood and the rip fence.

Direct solid pressure forward and into the fence.

Never take your hands off your piece of wood; it can and will kick back at you.
When the end of your piece of wood is fully on the table, you may pick up your push stick, without letting go of the wood.

Keep the push stick close to the rip fence and push your wood ALL THE WAY PAST THE BLADE. If you stop pushing before the wood is past the blade, your wood can and will kick back at you. The anti-kickback pawls on the “splitter” will catch your wood, but you don’t want to make them do their job.

Do not attempt to push the “scrap” piece (left-side piece) of wood past the blade. Only push the piece that is against the rip fence.

Do not allow fellow students to “help” you by pulling your wood through at the other end. You are the only one who should be performing this operation. Helpers cause misunderstandings and dangerous situations.

Turn off the saw as soon as you have pushed your wood through.
Let the blade come to a complete stop before collecting your wood.