Doors to the '23 Rick

DOOR RESTORATION

PAGE 3 of 5

Fixture made for cutting tenton on table saw

To make the 2" tenons on this piece I decided to use my table saw. I built a fixture to hold the piece in a vertical position at 90 degrees to the table. This fixture also let me keep my fingers back at a safer distance. I built the same fixture on the other end of the piece so while I had the saw set up I'd make the cut on the other end too.

Here you can see my cutting process. I didn't cut all the way through the base fixture board, I stopped just after the top of my blade cleared the edge of my finished piece. By doing this I was able to keep some surface area of my fixture in tack between the blade and fence. This helps keep my material at the 90 degrees position. The center cut you see I'm doing now I had to make a cut then move the fence the width of the blade and make another cut. This is a poor mans datto blade. On the two outside tennon cuts I only cut once, the furthest in cut. I will then remove the fixture board and lay the wood down on the table to cut it cross ways; shown on the next page.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT TIP
When making cuts in any expensive piece of wood you always want to get it right the first time!!! There are many different ways in making sure your first cut is the right cut and I'll tell you my process that works for me. First off I'm always double checking, and triple checking my measurements that I need to cut. I'll draw my cuts out on the wood for visual aids so I always know where my cuts should be.
When setting up the table saw I'll set the depth first then the fence distance. Remember to measure to the opposite side of the blade from the fence, this will take in account the thickness of the blade. Once I have everything set I'll take a piece of scrap wood and run it through the saw.

Now I'll measure that cut to what I'm expecting to see that cut be. Here you see I'm measuring the length from the fence.

Here you see I'm measuring the depth of my cut. If everything looks good then I'm ready to cut, which usually doesn't happen first time. I'll keep adjusting until I'm happy with both the depth & length of my cut before I reach for the real piece of hard wood.
Always wear some sort of eye protection, and hearing protection isn't a bad idea either!!! Use push boards whenever possible. Keep your fingers away from the blade!!!!

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