My tablesaw used to quiver with joy
Tablesaws can be loud, viscious beasts. My old Grizzly contractor saw was so loud that I had neighbors complain when I fired it up. Admittedly it was one in the morning. But still.
These days, my saw hums quietly to itself. I can rip 8/4 maple while my wife sleeps soundly in the bedroom upstairs. If your tablesaw is shaking the shack, here’s what you can do about it.
1. Buy a new saw. What a perfect opportunity! “Honey, I want you to sleep better at night, so…” The truth is, a cabinet saw is much quieter than an equivalent contractor saw, in addition to its many other benefits. That’s because the base is fully enclosed, the motor is housed, and there’s about double the sheer poundage of machined steel on the thing, which damps out a lot of the noise. Plus, new saws are generally in better alignment. Which leads me to:
2. Align your saw. In addition to giving you smoother, straighter, cleaner cuts, tuning up your tablesaw will reduce vibration during the cut, drastically reducing noise. It takes a few hours, but the results are worth the time. You can find instructions here. You’ll need a dial indicator, which is worth it’s weight in gold anyway.
3. Buy some gizmos. Powertwist belts are reputed to be the bees’ knees for smooth, quiet running operation, although I haven’t tried one myself yet. Zero clearance inserts keep sawdust and noise down where it belongs, although you get the most benefit from a saw with an enclosed base like a tablesaw. And finally, upgrading to the best tablesaw blade ever invented (or at least the best one I’ve ever used) chops your cutting noise by ten decibels, ups your feed rate, and improves your cutline, all in one swell foop.
Quit the quivering, vamoose the vibration, and reduce the roar. You’ll thank me for it.
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