cutting 45º angle on a left tilting TS

Julio Navarro

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281
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Tampa
I have a Hitachi (strongly regret it) TS whose blade tilts to the left.

I have a 4" wide board about 24" long that I need to put a 45º bevel on one edge.

How do I rip the 45º angle, with the wood on the right side of the blade (cutting from underneath) or the left side (cutting from top)?

Thanks guys.
 
I also have a left tilt saw, and I'd make that cut with the fence on the right aide of the blade. I always want the blade tilting away from the fence.
 
With a left tilting saw, I always cut bevels with the workpiece (and fence) to the right of the blade. That way, you'll never have an offcut trapped between blade and fence (invitation to a kickback).
 
You guys are fast!

The kick back issue also crossed my mind with the wood trapped under the blade.

Thanks guys, I will do that.
 
Turns out I don't have a 45 bit, can you believe that!

I managed to cut it on the TS by raising the blade little by little rather than with one cut. It worked out ok.

I also used the joiner by adjusting the fence.It took a while but it was a nice cut.
 
Hmmm.

My blade tilts to the right. I've made a bunch of french cleats with the fence to the left of the blade and the blade tilted 45degrees. I use 2 board buddies to keep the workpiece flat and held tight to the fence. Never had an issue, or felt like the work piece would/could cause a problem.
 
I recently made a French Cleat in a 6" wide 48" piece of Maple on the TS without any problems, used a feather board on the board and had the cut made in a few second, No muss no fuss.

Julio's talking about putting a bevel on the edge of a board. The offcut's a lot smaller and more likely to get trapped and kicked back than cutting down the middle of a 6" board. The featherboard is a good suggestion, though.
 
I still don't see a problem with the fence on the side opposite the cut.

Yeah, I agree. Fence on the side away from the tilt (the right side in this case, since it's a left tilt saw), with the 'keeper' piece between the fence and the blade, and the offcut on the left side of the blade. Not all that tricky, but it does have higher kickback potential than a 90º cut, and especially if the offcut is small (thin). I just stand out of the line of fire and make sure I'm feeding the wood straight and smoothly.
 
some day when I have nothing better to do I'll set up a 45 degree cut with the fence on the same side as the waste and a piece of drywall in the line of fire and take pictures so that folks can see what happens with a kickback....:eek:

dont do that on my account, I BELIEVE YOU!:thumb:
 
I used two Kreg feather boards to hold the piece flat and tight.

My concern was more that I could not grab the board very well as I ran it through the TS. But using the feather boards and a tall fence it was easier than I had expected.
 
some day when I have nothing better to do I'll set up a 45 degree cut with the fence on the same side as the waste and a piece of drywall in the line of fire and take pictures so that folks can see what happens with a kickback....:eek:

I've seen a guy who caught a kickback of a 4"x5"x3/4" hardwood that he was cutting(free hand I might add) that he caught with his chest. He immediately grabbed his hands to his chest and turned white. I had to ask to see his hands to count his fingers for him, then once they were all accounted for, he lifted his shirt and there was a nasty cut on his chest.

I caught a kickback on my left forearm from some plywood that caught the back of the blade. I bumped the cut off with the keeper as I cleared it off the back of the table and all heck broke lose. I still have a scar that I get odd looks from people on. Looks like I went at myself with a bunch of razors. :p

I would put the off cut on the outside (away from the fence) so it falls clear and keep your body away from the path should something decide to take off.

Not something I would be afraid of, but very cautious and with a feather board etc.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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