Replies

1. 
   MBerger | Feb 27, 2007 02:08pm | #1

   Good morning Skip,

   You ask a great question and I'm not sure I have an immediate answer for you. I just studied the plan from the article and there is no mention of how Garrett Hack cut that underbevel. It appears to me that the only tool that could do it is a tablesaw with the blade tilted and the tabletop resting on edge.

   The long front and back edge should be easy to cut. The ends will a bit more tricky. Short of another solution, I would build a tall auxiliary fence for your tablesaw, basically a 24 in. tall, rigid sheet of plywood that straddles your fence and clamps on tightly. That will give you a lot of extra support to balance the piece while cutting the bevel.

   I'm out on the road today but I'll contact Garrett later this week to see if he has another solution.

   Matt

2. 
   Bob_Van_Dyke | Feb 27, 2007 09:31pm | #2

   If I may throw in my two cents- In my school we bevel the underside of tabletops all the time (even curved tabletops)The usual one is a hall table that has a top measuring 14" X 46".
   - You do it with a handplane- not the tablesaw- and it only takes about 20 minutes.
   Mark out the final thickness you want on the edge and the final width of the bevel on the bottom (use a small combo square and a pencil for this)
   Now- plane that bevel on the ends first (You are planing diagonally across the grain. You need to adjust your angle from time to time so that the the bevel angle is correct- you are trying to have your final pass with the plane remove both layout lines at the same time. after you do both ends then do the front and the back (They are easier)
   I kid around with my students who ask about doing this on the tablesaw- I tell them to call 911 before they start- the ambulance should be pulling in by the time they need them!
   Seriously- it is very easy to do with a hand plane and very difficult and dangerous on the tablesaw - plus- with the tablesaw you still have the sawmarks to get rid of.

   Bob Van Dyke

1. 
   skipcarlson | Feb 27, 2007 09:45pm | #3

   Cutting it with a hand plane sounds pretty good.   (I'm not a big fan of cutting raised panels on the table saw either  - I have a jig for this (it won't fit the huntboard top) - but I know what you mean about calling ahead for the ambulance.)   

   Thanks

   Skip

    

    

    

    

2. 
   MBerger | Feb 28, 2007 03:26am | #4

   Bob. Thanks for setting me straight. Sometimes I imagine a process in my head and the safety issues don't come through so well.