page_title: Table saw
section_title: Blade height
hierarchical_section_title: Table saw / Blade height
caption_attribution_description: English: When cutting (sometimes called "ripping") a board with a table saw, the blade should extend higher than the board by about a quarter of an inch. This lessens the risk of accidents and improves the quality of the cut. Source: here (it says "public domain" at the beginning of the article "Stair Repair" here. Questions? Write to my Wikipedia page or email me at thomaswrightsulcer@yahoo.com
context_page_description: A table saw is a woodworking tool, consisting of a circular saw blade, mounted on an arbor, that is driven by an electric motor. The blade protrudes through the top of a table, which provides support for the material, usually wood, being cut.
  In most modern table saws, the depth of the cut is varied by moving the blade up and down: the higher the blade protrudes above the table, the deeper the cut that is made in the material. In some early table saws, the blade and arbor were fixed, and the table was moved up and down to expose more or less of the blade. The angle of cut is controlled by adjusting the angle of blade. Some earlier saws angled the table to control the cut angle.
context_section_description: There are two competing schools of thought when it comes to properly setting the height of the blade for sawing. The first is commonly expressed thus: "Only allow the blade to rise above the work by the amount of finger you wish to lose." That is, the blade should protrude above the piece as little as possible, to prevent the loss of a finger in case of a sawing accident.
  Another competing view is that the saw functions at its best when the angle of the blade teeth arc relative to the top surface of the workpiece is as extreme as possible. This facilitates chip ejection, shortens the overall distance through which the teeth act on the part, reduces power consumption and heat generation, substantially reduces the peak pushing force required, thus improving control, and causes the blade's force on the wood to act mostly downward rather than largely horizontally.
caption: Ideally the blade of the table saw should extend higher than the board being cut by about a quarter of an inch (7.5 mm); this lessens the risk of kickback and other injuries and enables smooth cutting.
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