Replies

1. 
   notDusty | Jan 03, 2005 02:29am | #1

                      Tut ,

            Yes an auxillary fence should be used to protect your fence. As you know a rabbet cut is on the edge of the stock, so which ever side works best for you should be fine. If you are right handed the left side may allow you to push or feed with your right hand or visa versa .The aux fence can be very helpful in other operations as well so go for it and make one. The one I made has 2 sides a front and a top dadoed into the sides about a 1/2" down , and fits snugly .To this you can screw clamp or fasten special operation fences , i.e. mitreing , rabbeting in partial cuts and a number of other uses. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

                      good    luck               dusty

2. 
   efarmer4 | Jan 03, 2005 03:43am | #2

   It could be on the other side but then the width of the rabbet will depend on how well you place the fence to guide the other edge. It somewhat depends on how many you need to do. And if any of your pieces is a different width you'll have to move it and again set it just right for each width. That is why they bury it in a piece of wood on the fence, the same amount of blades sticks out for every piece you run though it, so the width is the same for all of them -once you get it set up on the scrap pieces. As far as "making one" it is not like you really have to get fancy with the wood on the fence, it just has to be a straight smooth piece of wood or plywood you can clamp or bolt to your real fence.

    

     

   Edward
3. 
   DennisS | Jan 03, 2005 06:25am | #3

   Tut -

   The primary reason I prefer to cut my dados next to the fence is a reflection on my yet to be perfected technique in using my table saw. The fence will prevent the dado from being any wider than it should be and if the work wonders away from the fence making it too narrow I can always run it through the saw again. If I were cutting on the outside of the stock and the workpiece wondered ever so much from the fence, the dado would be irreprably too wide.

   For multiple dados I do use a feather board to maintain contact between the work and the fence but it seems I always have something go wrong with whatever setup I'm using. So I opt for the safest (in terms of finished product results) method.

   ...........
   From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
   Dennis
4. 
   JohnWW | Jan 03, 2005 06:58pm | #4

   The only safe way to cut a rabbet with a rip fence is to have the dado set against or partially embedded into a sacrificial facing attached to the rip fence.  Doing it the other way, with one end of the board against the rip fence while you rabbet the opposite end, is guaranteed to cause a nasty kick back.

   John W.