The panel saw has the ability to rip, crosscut and cut bevels. It's also handy for cutting and routing through sheet stock. A panel-saw table gives the tool greater precision and versatility. A panel-saw table may be locked into place at various angles (figure A). The main component of the table is a large T-square with sliding rails (figure B). The square acts as a guide to ensure the saw makes perfectly straight cuts. A brace locks it in the desired position and ensures the alignment of the T-square. To make a rip cut using a panel saw and panel-saw table, mount the saw perpendicular to the T-square, and lock it into the T-square's compression fittings (figure C). Push the saw down the length of the work piece. The T-square will ensure that the cut is perfectly straight. To make a crosscut using a panel saw and panel-saw table, mount the saw parallel to the T-square (figure D). Push the saw along the T-square's rails to ensure a perfectly straight crosscut. To make taper cuts with a panel saw and panel-saw table, place the work piece in position on the table at the desired angle. Screw a scrap piece of wood at the foot of the work piece to act as a stop. Screw another scrap piece of wood to the side of the work piece to provide a second stop (figure E). Lock down the saw perpendicular to the T-square (figure F), and guide it through the work piece. Faux Raised Paneling A panel-saw table can be used with a lot more than just a panel saw. With the help of a plunge router, the table can be used to create faux raised-panel cuts. It's a simple process you can accomplish without ever moving the work piece. Materials:
Work piece
Four scrap pieces of wood
Screwdriver and screws
Pencil
T-square
Panel-saw table
Plunge router
- Use scrap pieces of wood as fences on all four sides of the work piece. Screw the scraps into place on the panel-saw table (figure G).
- Set the plunge router to the desired depth of the grooves you want in the work piece. Mount the router on the T-square.
- Use a pencil to trace the lines where you want the grooves to be on the work piece.
- Tighten the four stops on the T-square's rails at the ends of the four pencil lines (figure H).
- Set the gauge on the T-square to correspond with the center of the router (figure I). Tighten the gauge in place at that point.
- Turn on the router. Make a pass down the first pencil line, sliding the T-square and router until they hit the stop (figure J).
- Working counterclockwise, make the second, third and fourth cuts just as you did the first one.
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