Cutting and Machining
Cutting and Machining
This domain tests safe setup and accurate machining of sheet goods and solid stock. Exam items cover table saws, miter saws, routers, dado stacks, boring machines, blade selection, and tear-out control.
Setup and operations
- Set the blade height so teeth clear the stock by about one tooth; use a riving knife and guard where the operation allows.
- For plywood, a high tooth-count blade reduces chipping. For ripping solid stock, a rip blade with fewer teeth clears waste faster.
- Dadoes, rabbets, and grooves must be sized to the actual mating part, not the nominal dimension. Test on scrap.
- Routers cut against rotation: feed right to left on an outside edge. A climb cut can grab the workpiece and is reserved for controlled trimming only.
- Boring for hinges and shelf pins requires a consistent fence and depth stop; tear-out is reduced with a backing board.
Worked example
You need three 30 in. long parts from a 96 in. board, with a 1/8 in. kerf. Total part length = 90 in. Two cuts create the three parts, so kerf allowance = 2 x 0.125 = 0.25 in. Required stock = 90.25 in. A 96 in. board leaves 5.75 in. of waste, assuming a square end. The reasoning: count cuts, not parts, when adding kerf; the first cut may also true the end.
Traps
- Measuring from the fence to the blade tooth on one cut and to the plate on another.
- Using a crosscut blade for deep rips and forcing the feed.
- Cutting melamine without a zero-clearance insert or backing.
- Burying a router bit too deep in one pass.