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bench saw plate

paulm

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This year I bought a bench saw - a Makita MLT-100. A lovely saw but my wife didn't love it like I do and wouldn't let it live in the house so I have it in my shed. I turn it on just to listen to the sing of the blade and sometimes cut wood, because now I can. But, being a Silver Back, I just find it imposible to read instructions and have broken the plate that surrounds the blade 3 times now. I did read somewhere that you need to have just 3-4 teeth above the piece of wood without explaination why. When I cut wood, usually a smaller piece, the wood jumps up and smashes through the plate just as it goes through the end. How do I stop this... please don't say read the instructions, it just won't happen :thinks:.
 

paulm

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both Watler but I haven't taken notice of if it does it one way and not the other.
 

Doug

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What is the plate made from? Could you not make one from a more durable material.

Without seeing what you are doing it`s difficult to say what is happening, is it small offcuts dropping down between the blade & plate that are being thrown back up & causing the plate to break? A zero clearance throat plate would stop that as well as giving you a cleaner finish on your cut timber, I used to make them from MDF for my old Wadkin.
 

Jim

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Get your wife to read you the instructions ... :whistling:

I really would love to help you Peter, but for now this is the best i could come up with ... :rolling:
 

Walter

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If you are cross cutting use the mitre fence and clamp the work with the hold down clamp.

If you are ripping make sure the fence is square so it does not pinch the timber.

The height of the blade should be set for the work in hand. For solid wood setting the blade high reduces the risk of kickback, whilst for man-made veneered and laminated boards the best finish is achieved by having the blade set so that the gullet of the teeth just clears the face of the board. Other causes of kickback include a blunt blade, trying to cut wet or warped timber, having the blade set too low or allowing the work to lift from the table whilst cutting.

I am sorry if this sounds patronising but not reading the manual is really not a good ideas and you are putting yourself at risk by using a potentially dangerous machine without doing so. At least read the machine specific safety rules on pages 3 and 4. Ten minutes out of your life might help make sure you retain all ten fingers.
 

paulm

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No Doug, its the piece of timber for some reason gets picked up and smashed down into the plate. Unfortunately the plate is made of a hardish plastic and it smashes. I don't know why its not make of stell or alumiunium.

What is the plate made from? Could you not make one from a more durable material.

Without seeing what you are doing it`s difficult to say what is happening, is it small offcuts dropping down between the blade & plate that are being thrown back up & causing the plate to break? A zero clearance throat plate would stop that as well as giving you a cleaner finish on your cut timber, I used to make them from MDF for my old Wadkin.
 

paulm

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Walter, I'll take on board your remarks regarding the cutting... but reading a manual.... I sort of understand the saftey stuff and use the stick thing to push the wood through. If I've got anything dodgy to do, I get the mrs to do it :banana::banana::banana:

I'll have a go at opening the manual and try to decipher the 'To the bench cut with fence high you must be'......

If you are cross cutting use the mitre fence and clamp the work with the hold down clamp.

If you are ripping make sure the fence is square so it does not pinch the timber.

The height of the blade should be set for the work in hand. For solid wood setting the blade high reduces the risk of kickback, whilst for man-made veneered and laminated boards the best finish is achieved by having the blade set so that the gullet of the teeth just clears the face of the board. Other causes of kickback include a blunt blade, trying to cut wet or warped timber, having the blade set too low or allowing the work to lift from the table whilst cutting.

I am sorry if this sounds patronising but not reading the manual is really not a good ideas and you are putting yourself at risk by using a potentially dangerous machine without doing so. At least read the machine specific safety rules on pages 3 and 4. Ten minutes out of your life might help make sure you retain all ten fingers.
 

paulm

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I took the riving knife off Doug (don't cringe) because it only works if I cut all the way through the wood. I couldn't see a way of getting the knife down the the same hight as the top of the blade. I'm starting to wish I hadn't asked this question because now you'll realise that the blade is also open



Paul.

Is the riving knife spot on inline with the blade?
 

silver

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Hold on.....Who`s Peter ???

Have you not heard of robbing Peter to Pay Paul..:banana::funny:

I'm not sure what you are doing either Peter.. Ooopps Paul... Whatever happens the saw should always pull the material down towards the table and be held firm on the bed..

However if you are referring to the plastic insert between the blade and the bench then this could be down to the insert not being fitted correctly. I like Jim's way to fix it..
 

Grump

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Sounds like you have the blade the wrong way round or the motor in reverse.
Have you wired it correctly?
Are you putting the timber in from the rear of the saw?
 

paulm

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No, its all running the right way round and most of the time cuts good but every now and again it starts to shake the wood up and down and the smash it through the plate, usually with smaller blocks of wood such as a piece of 2" thick, 8" long wood the last time it did it. I was cutting lengths of 4*4 most of the day without any problem.

Sounds like you have the blade the wrong way round or the motor in reverse.
Have you wired it correctly?
Are you putting the timber in from the rear of the saw?
 

paulm

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It does do it on the side closest to the guide so now maybe as someone said earlier, I wonder if its the guide not running square.
 

paulm

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Thats quite a possibility Doug but I never really take any notice when its a smallish block such as 8 X 8 X 2 would it make a difference if its cross cutting or ripping?

Are you crosscutting with the end of the timber against the rip fence?
 

Doug

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If you are cross cutting with the miter square & the end of your timber is against the rip fence then there`s no clearance for the offcut particularly when you get close to the end of the cut & the waste wants to move away from the blade.
It would be quite possible with this scenario for the off cut to travel up the rip fence a little, snag back on the blade & the be shot down onto the plate as that is the direction of travel of the blade.
If using the rip fence as a reference for a finished size when cross cutting it`s best to clamp a block to the fence giving you the size of cut you want but clamp this block infront of the blade so when the cut starts there is clearance between the end of the timber & the rip fence.

If that doesn't make sense I can post a photo tomorrow which will better explain it
 
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