How to cut large circles on the table saw All

First be safe. Know what you are doing and don"t push the limits of your skills and equipment. I take no responsibility for your actions!

Now the the "don"t sue me" is out of the way...on the the good stuff. So here was my dilemma, I needed a way to cut a 2 inch thick maple hardwood blank into a 27 inch diameter table with a beveled edge. The beveled edge is the part that makes this hard. A router on a jig can cut the circle but not beveled, dido with a jig saw. The tablesaw was the key to this. Also it gave me a very smooth cut needing little sanding.

The video I made clearly illustrates the process and if you look through the few "you"re an idiot you could of" rage comments you can see how they all neglect to handle the bevel. As to the safety concerns, well I found it to be very stable and smooth, not as safe as a jig-saw but better than a router in my opinion. Nothing is without risk I guess but let me address the main issues:

It will spin, tear your arms off and rape your dog!

-I found no evidence for this. The mechanics are little different than a simple cross-cut sled. If you have a European saw or are left handed and have set up your table to the left then spin of any is impossible as rotation will move the material out of the blade. While mine didn"t move, I feel sure if it had it would have pinched and

jammed the blade. Big deal. Your dog would be fine. If you are worried about it add a clamp to the cutting sled.

The off-cuts will fall alongside the blade jamming it, tearing off your arms and raping your dog!

-I addressed this in the video and stopped the saw every few cuts to remove them. This was clearly written by someone who didn"t watch the video.

You are going to lose a finger! (dog is fine on this one)

-Speaking as someone who has lost a bunch of one finger to the jointer I can say that is something I am very careful of. I think an over abundance of armchair expert caution or bad camera angles made it look closer than it was because my hands never got closer than 6 inches to the blade. Be careful, that is your job, not mine.

NOTE: In the main video I edited the video description to include a link to an online Fine Woodworking article on using this exact technique. I wasn"t aware of it at the time I built this table. Almost instantly all of the negative YOU ARE GOING TO DIE! stopped. I guess when I do it it is ignorant and irresponsible but as long as Fine Woodworking does it well then that is a legitimate way to do it. I maintain this just proves none of the people actually knew what they were talking about or stopped to really think about it. If it was wrong when I did it was wrong when Fine Woodworking did it right guys? Aggahhh the internet some times.

Original article and pictures take http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-cut-lage-circles-on-the-table-saw/ site


>