I needed to joint the edge of a 1-1/2-in.-thick tabletop laminated up from two pieces of 3/4-in. particleboard. The piece was too long and unwieldy for my jointer, and I didn’t want to dull my knives on the particleboard. So I used this technique to joint the workpiece on the tablesaw.

Make an auxiliary fence the same height as your saw’s rip fence. Contact cement a strip of 1/32-in.-thick plastic laminate to the face of the auxiliary fence. Screw the auxiliary fence to the rip fence, lower the blade and adjust the fence location until the plastic laminate is flush with the edge of the blade. Turn on the saw, and slowly raise the blade, cutting a kerf into the auxiliary fence.

Place the piece to be jointed flat on the saw table, hold the workpiece against the fence and push it through the blade. The far end of the fence will act as an outfeed table. Each pass will remove about 1/32 in. of material, the same thickness as the laminate.

Gary P. Westmoreland, Apple Valley, Calif.

Fine Woodworking Magazine, April 1994 No. 105

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