George Vondriska

How to Make a V-Block on the Table Saw

George Vondriska
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Duration:   4  mins

A V-block is a must-have shop-made jig, especially for safely cutting round stock on the bandsaw. The easiest way to make one? Use a two-cut set up on the table saw and it’ll be V for victory.

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8 Responses to “How to Make a V-Block on the Table Saw”

  1. tom

    I cut my V block and my waste came shooting out right at me. The block turned out perfect but scared me.

    Reply
  2. Kelly

    I’ve had great luck eyeballing off lines for decades. Any reason you didn’t draw lines to follow?

    As to the last cut, a straight up cut could have worked if you were pushing the limit of thickness. No?

    Reply
    • WWGOA Team

      On the Triton 2000, the fence can be adjusted to perform a 45 degree cut. What I would suggest is using a board that is longer than you need, make the first cut all the way through, then stop short a few inches on the second cut. Then cross cut to remove the end that is still attached from where you stopped short. Doing it this way will prevent a kickback that is likely to occur if you finish the second cut which will allow the off-cut piece to slide down into the blade. (ZD: 3598)

      Reply
  3. Wolf Lahti

    You don’t need even elementary trigonometry to determine the require blade height. If you want the cuts to start 3/8 inch from the edge of the block, simply subtract that distance twice from the block’s width. That gives you the length of the base of the isosceles block you’re cutting out, which is twice the height you want. (An isosceles triangle divides into two right triangles, and because you’re cutting at 45 degrees, the height and the base of the right triangles are equal.)

    It’s a lot easier and quicker to do the math than it is do describe it. (Thank goodness!)

    (width of block – twice the distance from edge) / 2 = blade height
    (2.5 – 6/8) / 2 = 0.875 = 7/8 inch

    This provides a quick check to see whether your block is thick enough to accommodate the cuts without trial and error ruining an otherwise perfectly good block of hardwood.

    Reply
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