cutting scarfs on table saw

[sluggo]

I've cut some scarfs on 6' long boards using my table saw and a jig like John Michne has shown on in the tips and tricks forum. Soon I need to scarf some ash and cherry for the gunwales. However, these planks are 10' long and I'm thinking they will be a bit hard to manage. Even with the 6' boards I noticed that the 5' of overhanging wood puts a lot of torque on the end that passing through the blade. It took a lot of force to keep the jig down on the table and keep it steady. I'm worried that with 9' of overhanging plank, it will be very difficult to keep the plank and jig down on the table. I'll try to get someone to help me with this task, maybe all I need is a bit of human support holding the back end of the plank. But if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions on this, I'd like to hear them.

thanks

[Stencil]

Sluggo,
I use a table the same height as my table saw to support the tail end. You can rig up a support with sawhorses and clamps or a sheet of plywood. This is a safety issue as you have noted. There are a lot of fingers in dustbins when things go wrong. And they usually do.
S

[David James]

Sluggo, for what it's worth, I used a 10" sanding disc to "cut" my scarf joints. Worked like a charm. The two surfaces to be joined come away from the disc ready for glueing. Lots of control and much safer, in my opinion.
If you're interested I'd be glad to provide more info.

Dave

[KenC]

for what it's worth, I used a 10" sanding disc to "cut" my scarf joints. Worked like a charm. The two surfaces to be joined come away from the disc ready for glueing. Lots of control and much safer...

I did the same thing, and was very happy with the result ... each pair of scarf "cuts" took about 40 seconds total, and the fit was very nearly perfect every time.

[BruceNZ]

So when you say "cut" do you just mean sand untill the angle required is attained?

Cheers

Bruce

[sluggo]

thanks for the tips. I don't have a disc sander so I won't be going that route. I do have a belt sander that can get jigged up like a disc sander, but I don't think it would be accurate enough to rely upon. Below is a video of me using my belt/disc sander.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oodlRI139-c

[Jim Dodd]

I love your video !
I'm glad to see ingenuity is still alive out there !
Not all of us have deep pockets !
I didn't invent it, but a skillsaw of 13amps or more, with a fence clamped to it. Makes the best thing to cut strips !!!
Jim

[edmontonian]

Hi Sluggo,

I made a 12 inch compound miter saw jig to make 6.5:1 scarf joints that ended up very tight. Worked equally well on maple/walnut/cedar. All cutting took place on the floor and the overhanging ends were held up to the cut deck height with scrap wood blocks. Simple, fast, and extremely accurate.

edmontonian

[David James]

I used a 10" sanding disc on my table saw and produced an 8:1 joint with it. I found it at Sears for about $15.

Dave