- Messages
- 788
- Location
- Central North Carolina
These can be quite handy when the need to cut long stock or cross cutting of pieces using the miter gauge that are wider than the space between your saw blade and the front edge of your saw requires that the miter gauge head needs to overhang the front of your saw. Yes, you can flip the miter gauge around and use it backwards, but not always.
For an outfeed table -
In most cases, extending a groove in line with the miter slots in your outfeed saw table is a good idea, because the bar portion of your miter gauge needs to extend into this area before the head of the miter gauge passes the highest point of your saw blade. These grooves need to be slightly deeper and wider than the bar on your miter gauge, so saw dust and small debris won't bind the miter gauge bar as it moves into these grooves. I have also added a large hole at the extreme end of the slots in my outfeed table, so saw dust and debris will fall through this hole and not build up at the end of the slot. I try to keep my saw and outfeed table clean, but absolutely do not want my miter gauge binding up and totally free to use well past the cutting point of anything that I push through the saw using the miter gauge.
For an infeed table -
You don't usually need one, but a small one that can be installed and removed easily can be very beneficial. Mine even has a groove for the miter gauge, just like the over size groove in my outfeed table, but it runs the full front to back dimension of my infeed table. This infeed table has a cleat on the bottom of it that fits the slot between my fence rail and the saw table, so when in place it is flush with the surface of my saw table. When cross cutting work that is wider than the space between the saw blade and the front edge of the saw table, this table extension becomes very handy. It's shape is much like that of a grand piano, long where the miter gauge slot is, but shorter where I need to be standing. Again, it lifts off easily when not needed. I laminated the top of mine with a scrap of counter top laminate, so the miter gauge and work piece slide easily over it. One of these is very handy to have when cutting larger pieces on a smaller saw that doesn't have the saw blade set back from the front edge of the saw table a sufficient distance. I've made my own infeed tables, one for the right miter slot and one for the left miter slot. I have never seen a manufactured one for sale, likely because it needs to fit the saw and fence rail space, which is frequently different on many saws. Izzy Swan has posted a video on YouTube about making these, and his are much like the ones that I have, and the one in his video seems to be a manufactured kit, but these are quite easy to make yourself, especially after seeing his in the video.
Charley
Central North Carolina
For an outfeed table -
In most cases, extending a groove in line with the miter slots in your outfeed saw table is a good idea, because the bar portion of your miter gauge needs to extend into this area before the head of the miter gauge passes the highest point of your saw blade. These grooves need to be slightly deeper and wider than the bar on your miter gauge, so saw dust and small debris won't bind the miter gauge bar as it moves into these grooves. I have also added a large hole at the extreme end of the slots in my outfeed table, so saw dust and debris will fall through this hole and not build up at the end of the slot. I try to keep my saw and outfeed table clean, but absolutely do not want my miter gauge binding up and totally free to use well past the cutting point of anything that I push through the saw using the miter gauge.
For an infeed table -
You don't usually need one, but a small one that can be installed and removed easily can be very beneficial. Mine even has a groove for the miter gauge, just like the over size groove in my outfeed table, but it runs the full front to back dimension of my infeed table. This infeed table has a cleat on the bottom of it that fits the slot between my fence rail and the saw table, so when in place it is flush with the surface of my saw table. When cross cutting work that is wider than the space between the saw blade and the front edge of the saw table, this table extension becomes very handy. It's shape is much like that of a grand piano, long where the miter gauge slot is, but shorter where I need to be standing. Again, it lifts off easily when not needed. I laminated the top of mine with a scrap of counter top laminate, so the miter gauge and work piece slide easily over it. One of these is very handy to have when cutting larger pieces on a smaller saw that doesn't have the saw blade set back from the front edge of the saw table a sufficient distance. I've made my own infeed tables, one for the right miter slot and one for the left miter slot. I have never seen a manufactured one for sale, likely because it needs to fit the saw and fence rail space, which is frequently different on many saws. Izzy Swan has posted a video on YouTube about making these, and his are much like the ones that I have, and the one in his video seems to be a manufactured kit, but these are quite easy to make yourself, especially after seeing his in the video.
Charley
Central North Carolina
Last edited:
