Stop Block A stop block may be clamped to or placed against the rip fence. See Figure 23-17A. A miter gauge and fence should not be used together for cutting parts to length. The cutoff portion of the workpiece can bind between the blade and fence and possibly be thrown back at the operator. A stop block provides clearance. Use a 1″ (25 mm) block to provide ade- quate clearance and to ease setting of the cutting length using the rip scale. The cutting length is the distance read on the rip scale less the thickness of the stop block. Alternatively, the cutting length is the distance from the block to a tooth on the blade set toward the fence. Measure and set the cutting length with the stop placed tightly against the fence beside the blade, Figure 23-17B. Reclamp the stop several inches in front of the blade. Guide your work with the miter gauge. Sawing Nongrain Manufactured Products Many applications use MDF, particleboard, fiberboard, and similar materials. The cores of these composites lack a grain pattern. Depending on the smoothness of cut required, extra care may be necessary. MDF that is to be painted with a high-gloss, opaque polyurethane requires a smooth finish. Select a blade with teeth that have an alternate top bevel grind. This type of blade is discussed later in this chapter. Panels with wood veneer will require the same rip and crosscut considerations as solid stock. Set the blade height so that the entire carbide tip is 1/4″–1/2″ (6 mm–13 mm) above the material thickness. Make a test cut to determine if the material tears out on the underside of the workpiece. Adjust the blade height up or down to find the height at which the tearout is minimized. Use the rip fence or miter gauge as for sawing solid stock. Many panel saws are equipped with scoring blades to prevent tearout. A small diameter blade prescores the underside of the material before the main blade separates the panel. Beveling Beveling is sawing with the blade tilted. This is typically done as a joint making or shaping opera- tion. On most table saws, the blade tilts up to 45° in one direction only. Some manufacturers build two models of the same saw one tilts to the left and the other tilts to the right. For saws equipped with an accurate tilt scale, set the angle with the scale. Oth- erwise, the blade angle can be set with a T-bevel, Figure 23-18, protractor, or triangle. Plan beveling Patrick A. Molzahn Figure 23-17. A—A stop block next to the rip fence determines the length of parts cut to duplicate lengths. B—Add the desired length of the parts to the thickness of the stop block and set the rip fence scale to the total. Guards are removed to show these procedures. A B Patrick A. Molzahn Figure 23-18. Set the T-bevel angle with a protractor and then set blade tilt. 380 Section 4 Machining Processes Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.