Sawing a piece of lumber to precise dimensions is a critical part of any woodworking project.
Whether you are cutting stock to build a piece of furniture or cutting wood to repair and replace a broken board, an accurate, smooth cut is required.
A good-quality cabinet saw can produce a straight, glass-smooth cut for your project and eliminate the need for you to do any further follow-up work on that piece thus saving you time and further effort.
So what are the features of the best cabinet saw? Blade Movement A high-speed unwavering saw blade is needed to cut smoothly and accurately.
The saw blade should be kept sharp and filed at regular intervals.
This is a necessity to produce fine, glass-smooth cuts.
In addition the motor must be powerful and rotate very fast.
A specially designed electric motor can do this in the 3 horsepower or larger rating.
This much power assures that the blade will not get bogged down cutting through denser and thicker woods.
Stability A large, high-speed electric motor as suggested above can produce a lot of vibration which can vibrate the wood and cause a less accurate and coarse product.
A well designed motor will reduce some vibration, but by increasing the weight and various parts around the motor, vibration can be eliminated.
The mark of a good-quality cabinet saw can be demonstrated by placing a nickel coin on edge on its table while it is running, cutting wood.
The coin should remain standing on edge and not be affected by the sawing.
Cabinet saws may weigh as much as 700 pounds and are designed to absorb the high-speed, spinning movement of the blade.
And will give the feeling when touched or leaned on, that the surface is rock solid and vibration free.
Glass-Smooth Surface The table should be wide and long enough to accommodate large pieces of stock.
In addition the table top should be ground to a mirror finish so that lumber may be fed through the blade in a smooth motion and not get slowed by a rough surface.
Other Important Features of the best cabinet saw Other features that are also important are the quality of the fence, the ability to raise and lower the bladeeasily and lock it firmly in place at a precise height, and safety issues such as shutting down and securing the blade for easy removal and replacement.
The fence should be able to be placed parallel to the blade and form a 90 degree angle with the edge of the table.
It should be able to be set firmly in place and after cutting be easily moved to another location for further sawing.
Front and side hand wheels are the usual to raise and lower the blade.
One hand wheel is used to raise and lower the blade the other is used to adjust the blade tilt for miter cuts.
Convenient Lock knobs on the wheels are used to lock the position of the blade height and tilt respectively.
Safety is of paramount importance with a cabinet saw since, if one is not careful, the power of the motor and the sharpness of the blade will easily remove fingers and hands.
This is especially true when changing blades.
All electric power to the tool should be able to be shut completely off and the blade and its arbor should be able to be secured tightly.
The best cabinet saw should be able to meet or exceed each one of these features.