Modding Anyone used a table saw?

I am planning in making a couple of wood cases however I cant saw straight to save my life so im considering getting a table saw. These things look awfully brute and I am worried it will leave rough sides. Anyone here used one before? Whats it like? Any pointers?


Cheers

 

Well, there's tons of blades out there that can give anywhere from a rough cut, to a smooth cut. Plus, if you use sandpaper, who cares?

 

exactly

 

Ive used one for 13 years at work and never seen one blade leave a rough cut.

Keep the wood moving on em tho. If you let the wood stop even for a second itll get burns on the side. Watch them fingers too.

 

Cheers for the replies guys and excuse my newbie ignorance, its just I've never used any sort of power tool apart from my dremal clone and the table saw looks a little intimidating. I recon I'll go get one with my next pay cheque .

Oh and thanks for the heads up Exigent, I dont want no burn marks on my new case...or missing fingers

 

you should have a pusher stick - basically a piece of 1x3 about 18 inches long, with a 90deg. notch in it at about a 30deg. angle - so you can push your work thru and keep the digits away from the sawblade.
<ed> http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=49759&category=1,42207&ccurrency=2&SID= <-- some premade options </ed>

and the blades are all rated for thier kerf size (amound of variance in the staggering of teeth - lower number means teeth are closer to the center of blade) - but the speeds involved usually gives a very clean cut.

and like extingent said - keep the wood moving or it will singe the edges. should use a nice smooth, even motion.

 

Yeah they are easy to use, we have big miter saw in our School's shop, use it all the time to cut wood, its really easy to use and leaves a nice cut. That looks like a miter too, but I'm unsure??? Anyways very easy to use, but watch them fingers, GL!

 

could i just throw something into the mix?

how about a radial arm saw?

 

Most good quality radial arm saws are more expensive than table saws although they are an option. If you've never used a table saw before, remember Norm's advice: "Be certain to read and follow the manufacturer's instructions and always wear your safety glasses."