Making A Crosscut

Before Proceding, CLICK HERE to see a listing of Safety Rules that will help you avoid Personal Injury.

The crosscut (cutting workpieces to LENGTH) is the most basic of all Table Sawing operations.

To view a brief (few-seconds long) video clip of each step being performed click on the video in each section.

Step 1

Start by setting your Miter Gauge to the angle at which you wish to make your cut. A straight, across-the-grain cut is made at 90°. The Miter Gauge can also be set to cut angles other than 90° when necessary.

Set Miter Gauge to 90 Degrees
Set To 90°
Setting Miter Gauge to 45 Degrees
Setting Miter Guage at 45°

Step 2

Put your Miter Gauge into the appropriate Worktable Miter Gauge Slot — position your workpiece against the front edge of your Miter Gauge — and grasp the Safety Grip to clamp the workpiece to the Miter Gauge Bar in preparation for making your cut

Insert Miter Gauge
Drop Gauge Bar Into Table Slot
Position Workpiece
Hand Position Workpiece Against Gauge Face
Grasp Safety Grip To Clamp Workpiece
Squeeze Grip To Hold Stock To Gauge Bar

Step 3

Turn on your Shopsmith, increase your speed to “R” (3500 RPM) and make your cut.

Set Speed To 3500 rpm
Adjust Speed To R (3500 rpm)

Step 4

Adjust your speed to 1050 “D”) or below and turn off your Shopsmith (not required with PowerPro Smart Motor)

Set Speed To 1050 (D) Or Below
Set Speed To Slow

See How Simple That Was!

Now that you’ve made a crosscut with your table saw, CLICK HERE to move on to the second most common Table Sawing cut — the Rip Cut (cutting workpieces to WIDTH)