I recently taken the jump into self employment in woodworking getting the bulk of my work from my old shop, mostly commercial cabinetery (kitchens, vanities…) . Their methods of cutting casework did not involve a lot fancy moves. A square table saw, they use factory edges from the start and had consistent good clean square results. I always seem to be out by an 1/8 here and 1/8 there. I don’t want to sound like a novice asking a basic question. It’s just that I need to make this casework quickly and consistantly because my pay is determined by time standards set by my old shop.
Carpenter5
Replies
Hi Carpenter,
My advice (and there may be some who disagree) is that you shouldn't trust a factory edge on plywood. From my experience, factory edges are rarely perfect and can easily account for producing panels that are off in some capacity. They may be produced out of square or be damaged from improper handling at a lumber yard (or in your shop). Additionally, the edges of plywood often are fractionally thinner than the rest of the sheet due to the way the veneer is layed.
I always remove factory edges by over-cutting slightly and then cutting to final size by removing 1/4 in. from the factory edge. This way your final cut is always registered off of a machined edge that you can trust and it is always a consistent thickness.
If that doesn't solve your problem you may need to make some tune-up adjustments to your tablesaw.
Matt Berger
Fine woodworking
Hey Matt, Thanks... I will be doing that in the future from now on.
Regards Carpenter5
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled