Using a Table Saw as a Planer

Can you use a table saw as a planner?

Yes, you can use a table saw as a planner. A table saw might be a suitable alternative if you have a large board to plane. To maintain your board in the proper place, you’ll need to make a jig first. It can be a time-consuming task. However, if you put in the effort at the start, you’ll receive good results quickly when using the saw.

Check the position of your blade if you notice defects in the surface. It’s possible that the table saw isn’t set at an exact 90-degree angle. If you use an engineering square to adjust it, the problem should disappear.

Burn marks are another concern you may encounter. Something can happen if you don’t keep pushing the board smoothly against the saw. It’s a good idea to polish your technique by practicing on a scrap piece of wood. When it comes time to plan the actual board, you’ll be confident in your ability to feed it through quickly.

Difference between a table saw and a planer

The planer creates a parallel second surface to the original one. It achieves a particular thickness for the boards. However, it cannot ensure a perfectly smooth surface on any side of the board. The planer merely duplicates the cover on the opposite side. The planer will also produce a perfectly level surface if the other side is flat. If the other side is wavy, the planer’s side will also be wavy.

Table saws are helpful for DIY projects that demand a more precise cut than handheld or machine saws. On small and longboards, table saws provide straighter lines and cleaner slices. Both serious woodworkers and craftspeople may use this flexible power tool.

Do you need a wood planer?

You can’t deny that wood planers have a lot of advantages. You can use it to reshape the thickness of any workpiece to meet your precise requirements. Furthermore, it is a potent tool in a carpenter’s inventory.

When shopping for wood, a wood planer can save you a lot of time and effort. Instead of searching for your exact specs, you can buy rough lumber and plane it to your desired thickness or smoothness, which may be more cost-effective.

Wood planers also aid in the strengthening and quality improvement of your wood. You can easily avoid tear-outs if you use your wood planer correctly. However, you must carefully position the cutter before letting the tool do the rest.

As long as the wood is still of excellent quality, you can retrieve it from doors, furniture, and even worn-out logs. A wood planer comes in handy most of the time, especially when you’re trying to balance out the thickness of different workpieces for your projects. A wood planer should be at the top of your woodworking tools list, whether you’re a novice or an expert.

How do you fly a 2×4 on a table saw?

Setting up your table saw is the first step. Before you make any adjustments to the table saw, make sure it’s unplugged. After unplugging the table saw, use the nut and arbor wrench to secure the table saw blade to the arbor. Just make sure the nut is snug while tightening it. It’s not necessary to overtighten the nut. 

Make sure the table saw blade’s teeth are facing you. When you use a table saw with the blade set in the wrong direction, it will take the wood and blast it into the air.

After you’ve set up your table saw and followed all of the safety precautions, you’re ready to rip the 2×4. Set up the rip fence as follows: Using the table saw’s rip fence ruler, determine the needed width of the rip cut. Measure 2 inches from the blade’s inside to the rip fence with the table saw’s ruler or a tape.

Always rip the 2 x 4 such that the more significant piece after the cut is on the rip fence’s side and the shorter piece, or cutoff piece, is on the blade’s outside. Make sure the 2 x 4 is firmly against the rip barrier when pushing the work.

Always stand to the table saw side and not immediately behind it; this puts you in line in the event of a kickback. Push the blade against the rip fence with your left hand and the wood forward and downwards with your right. Utilize a push stick or a push block once the 2×4 has entered the blade.

Concentrate your efforts on the rip fence and ensure that the wood piece is forced against it.

How do you flatten a board on a table saw?

Convert your table saw into a jointer to straighten a board’s bowed edge. Start by attaching a wooden auxiliary fence to your saw fence using screws. Raise the blade to the point where it clears the thickness of the wood you’re straightening. Bring the saw fence up to the blade, just touching wood with the teeth. Tack a 1/8-inch thick strip of hardboard or wood just behind the edge with two-sided tape or small brads.

Run the curved board through the saw again, with the concave side towards the fence. The jointer’s infeed table is a wooden auxiliary fence in front of the blade; the jointer’s outfeed table is a 1/8-inch-thick strip behind the blade. This procedure can straighten any badly bowed board by making numerous passes.

Can you mill lumber with a table saw?

Yes, you can mill timber with a table saw; however, this restricts the depth of cut of the saw blade (i.e., @ 3″); thus, you’ll probably have to split the wood down to that thickness.

Does a table saw need a riving knife?

The riving knife is an essential piece of safety equipment on a table saw. A riving knife is a flat piece of metal attached to the saw blade just behind it. The riving knife is essential to keep the two cut parts of the board from closing together, squeezing the saw blade, and producing dangerous kickback, as you put a workpiece through the saw blade. Kickbacks are very common in rip cuts, and this is where the riving knife comes in handy.

Even though a riving knife can help reduce the risk of a kickback, it can’t eliminate it, which is why it’s always a good idea to follow the table saw’s fundamental operating instructions. Wear the required clothing, safety eyewear, and hearing protection when necessary, keep your hands away from the saw blade, and stand in such a way that if the board kicks back, you will be less likely to be injured.

Table saw and planer combo

A circular saw with adjustable height is positioned under the table, and a surface planer with numerous blades on a spindle is mounted on the side of the table saw. The combined machine takes up a lot less area than two independent units of the same size.