Table Saw

Overview

A table saw is a stationary woodworking machine built around a circular blade that projects up through a flat cast-iron table. The work is pushed across the table into the blade, so the table flatness and the blade's alignment to the miter slots set the accuracy of every cut. This unit is a 254 mm cabinet saw running a 2 HP induction motor, with a left-tilting arbor for bevels up to 45° and a fence that rips up to 760 mm to the right of the blade.

The Table Top & Extensions gives the reference surface: a ground cast-iron top with bolt-on extension wings and a removable throat insert that surrounds the blade. Underneath, the Induction Motor drives the Arbor Assembly through a V-belt rather than mounting the blade directly on the motor shaft, which isolates motor vibration from the cut. The whole drive sits in the Cabinet & Stand, which also encloses the Dust Collection shroud and port.

Cut quality and safety depend on the guarding and guides: the Rip Fence for straight rips, the Miter Gauge for crosscuts, and the Blade Guard & Riving Knife over the blade.

How it works

Power reaches the saw through the Power Cord & Wiring and is controlled by the Switch & Magnetic Starter, whose magnetic starter drops out on a power cut so the saw will not restart on its own when supply returns. When the switch closes, the start capacitor in the Induction Motor develops starting torque; once up to speed the motor turns its pulley and the V-belt spins the arbor at roughly 4,000 rpm. The blade is clamped between flanges on the Arbor Assembly and held by a handed arbor nut that the cutting forces tend to tighten rather than loosen.

Blade height and bevel angle are set by the Trunnion & Elevation Mechanism: handwheels turn lead screws through gear pairs, raising the arbor cradle or tilting it on the trunnion ways, after which a bevel lock holds the angle. To rip a board, the operator sets the Rip Fence to the measured width and feeds the stock against it; a Push Stick keeps hands clear at the end of the cut. Behind the blade the Blade Guard & Riving Knife carries a riving knife that holds the kerf open so the cut cannot pinch the blade, plus spring pawls that grip the stock if it tries to fly back. As the teeth cut, the shroud beneath the table collects the chips and routes them out the dust port to an extractor.