Proper Depth of Cut on Table Saw

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

When I was first taught how to use a table saw by my grandfather - a long, long time ago, I was instructed to set the height of the blade so that the bottom of the gullet would just clear the top of the work piece. I think his reasoning was that the gullet would carry sawdust out of the work piece. (He passed many years ago so I cannot exactly ask him). 

So this was what I used for years and years and never experienced any issues that I know of. 

Fast forward to 2018, I bought a new blade - a 40 tooth Freud Premier Fusion Combination blade. I was reading the literature that came with it and it instructs you to set the height so that only about 1/2 of the tooth clears the top of the work piece.    So this is quite a difference. And, I will say that the geometry of the teeth on this saw is kind of funky. 

 

So anyway - I thought I would solicit the opinions of the woodworkers on this forum: 

 

How high to you set the blade when using the table for ripping or cross cuts? 

Do you vary it by blade, or do you use the same general settings for all blades? 

 

Thanks

AJ 

[RichardA]

I generally use a half a tooth above the top of the piece I'm cutting, or just enough so it cuts away  the loose frays it would leave behind if you just barely cleared the top of the piece.  With one exception.  If I'm going to cut to a stop line. I raise the blade as high as it will go, thereby giving me less waste to remove when I flip it over.

[JohnG]

Interested in seeing the responses here. I too had been told, and have since heard many repeat the gullet rule, so that is generally what I do for normal cuts.

I haven’t ever read the documentation that come with blades, but will check what is says on the Freud GLR blade I just bought. 

[Chestnut]

For rip cuts i try and get the blade to clear the top of the material plus a half tooth sounds right. I eyeball it and don't fret over it much.

I raise the blade a bit more for cross cuts. For some reason i feel i get tear out on the top surface with the blade too low. If i raise the blade so that the gullet is above the board it seems this tear out on top is much better. (I need to mount my combination blade in my table saw cross cuts with a rip blade don't work out so hot)

To note on the grandfather reason the blade doesn't cut on the up stroke so the gullet shouldn't have sawdust in it (It will due to it not always fully clearing in the amount of time it takes the blade to rotate). The blade cuts on the leading edge and throws the dust down in to the cabinet (ideally but not always efficiently).

[Byrdie]

I'm guessing it'll be the most common response but I was also taught the "bottom of the gullet" rule.  Can't even remember when or where, it's just what I've done for nearly 40 years.  Like Richard, there are some exceptions in which I raise the blade higher but it always gives me the willies.

[gee-dub]

You get a feel for your cutters, your material and what you are trying to do.  General cuts, I clear the tooth at the top of the material (gullets empty below the table).  For cleaner crosscuts in fibrous material I run the blade very high to alter the surface penetration angle.  I do the same for tough (pecan, wenge) or thicker material as it seems I get less resistance this way; that may be subjective .

I will preach the 'clean cutters' gospel.  When I get enough spoil on the teeth that I notice, I stop and spend a minute of two with some L.A. Awesome and clean the blade.  There are times I feel the blade is cutting like new again even though I don't let them get that dirty.  I imagine this is kind of like when your car drives better when it is clean unless you let your blade get pretty built up.

[drzaius]

I gave up the 'bottom of the gullet' when I got a saw with a decent guard & riving knife. I honestly think the only good reason for that rule is to minimize unguarded blade exposure. Ripping thick stock goes better with the blade higher and crosscutting too, but to a lesser extent. The chances of a kickback are also higher with the blade down low. 

I usually have the top of the blade an inch or more above, unless it's a rare cut where the guard is removed & then I just have the teeth sticking up. Oh, and plywood sometimes cuts better with the blade low.

[wtnhighlander]

My old saw has no riving knife or splitter. I feel safest doing rip cuts with the teeth barely clearing the work, and I use a heavy push-pad with a sacrificial sole. Push it right over the blade as needed to keep everything where it ought to be.

[Coop]

I read recently that having the bottom of the gullet even with the top of the board allows the teeth to have a cutting down motion instead the blade pushing forward on the board as it comes in contact with it, thus making it a safer cut. 

[Brendon_t]

I used to bring the blade up a little over the work piece but noticed that I didn't like the upward pressure from the blade so I started raising to about the gullet depth. 

[Chip Sawdust]

Different blades will need different treatment. Combo blades like the Freud Diablo will work just about any height you care to set it. The 60 or more tooth crosscut blade seems to like the gullet rule, but the 40 tooth blade I got with my saw feels better about half gullet height. I'm a fan of combo blades, but have various blades that are supposed to do certain cuts very well, like crosscut vs rip. Most of the time I have a combo blade mounted. 

Watch your cuts with the material you use the most and go with that for your technique and équipent. If you change from your usual oak, for example, to hard maple or wenge, watch for differences in performance in your setup. It probably won't take a lot of adjustment, but there's always fine-tuning to do in this work.