Working with Tablesaws: The New Best of Fine Woodworking

Check out from your local library first and see if your skill level is above this book. I found similar information in several other books but this one is very comprehensive and economical.

The author opens with lamenting how he wished he had this book when he bought a table saw at a garage sale and could never get it to cut straight because it was not tuned properly. However the book fails to mention how to properly tune and align a table saw. There is plenty of information on cutting coves but nothing on more likely beginner task cutting the tapers for table legs. While this book does have value to the safe use of a table saw it is a hodgepodge collection of past tablesaw magazine articles.

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There are a lot of table saw books out there. This is not the best of them, though it's not bad for the areas that it covers. The main problem I have with it is that it includes some exotic operations (such as cutting coves into thick wood or pattern cutting) while not covering some essentials.Is it a beginner's book? Yes, but it's incomplete at that. Is it an advanced techniques book? Yes, it includes exotic and advanced techniques that you may never use, and is by no means the last word on advanced table saw use, either. They should really have chosen one direction or the other, or better yet, do two different books to cover both directions well.There isn't a lot here that I have not seen in other books, or the many shop magazines. It fails to cover essential topics. It isn't as well organized as it could be (safety covered in two separate sections, safety combined with dust control, TWO articles on kickback instead of one).Here is the organization of the book:1. Tablesaws and blades - a survey of commercially-available saws and blades2. Techniques - ripping, crosscutting, joint-quality edges, safe procedures, tearout, coves, and pattern cutting3. Joinery - box joings, dovetails, tenons4. Dust control and Safety - containing dust in a contractor saw, shop-made table saw guards, causes and prevention of kickback, and kickback again5. Cross-cutting jigs6. Shop-made accessoriesThe sections consist of articles by many different authors - many of them well-known. This brings in the expertise of many but limits the cohesiveness of the book.If I was the editor, I would have ditched the exotic techniques in favor of including a detailed procedure for aligning a table saw. Sooner or later, you're going to need to learn to do that; it isn't trivial; it has several steps; it requires special measuring guides; it becomes necessary eventually just from using your saw. And it is essential both for getting good cuts as well as for safety reasons. In general, there are advanced topics included here at the expense of essential topics.I laughed when I saw the part about cutting a 4x8 sheet of plywood. One guy feeding it in the front. Only at the end does he suggest a partner for helping with the outfeed. To my way of thinking, cutting a sheet of plywood on a table saw is only suitable for very large, professional table saws like the 7 HP monster at our specialty plywood store, at least if it is 1/2" or 3/4" thick (or more). A much better approach is to ask for the it to be cut into two pieces at the store (with a bit of excess for you to trim to exact measurements on your own saw), or to use a hand circular saw with a guide.The one part I really liked was their approach for dust-proofing a contractor saw. I tried to do that, but my approach meant that the blade could not be tilted with the back cover in place, so I have to take it off every time I want to tilt. I plan to try again using the ideas presented here.BOTTOM LINE: Three Stars - "It's OK". Somewhat useful, but insufficient to be your only table saw reference, whether you are beginner or intermediate.

A GREAT BOOK

I bought this book hoping it would help me to properly set up and fine tune my recently acquired tablesaw but I was a little bit disappointed. There was obviously a bias toward safety - the tablesaw is probably the most dangerous powered machine in a workshop - but I expected more tips on jig making and use especially how to safely overcome the limitations of use due to the fitting of the blade guard. It was generally useful but I am left wanting more!

What an unbelievable cheek from the Taunton press. This book is a compilation of already published magazine articles. So it repeats itself in a way a book that had been written by a single author would not have done. It is also wildly out of date in places and lacks everything that an old magazine does when compared to a book on the same subject. It is always the same with companies that tell you how great they are. If they do not want to mislead they should be more honest about the fact that it is a compilation of articles. I would not have purchased this book if could have browsed through it. Shame on you Taunton press.