| The quality of cuts produced by a fine Hi-ATB blade such as Amana's MB10800C or FS Tool's SM6251 are truly Instagram Reel worthy. Though designed for producing clean cuts in melamine and similar materials with a table saw without a scoring blade, I use one of these blades whenever the cut needs to be perfect - especially crosscuts in solid wood where all edges need to be crisp and splinter-free. However, the saw that usually lives in my table saw is a humble coarse ripping blade. Why? Because 33% of the cuts I make are rips, and 66% are crosscuts that will be cleaned up in another process later. For the last 1 %, I'll change the blade. |
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| Power saws can produce amazingly clean and accurate cuts with near-perfect repeatability. But sometimes I just want the piece of wood shorter, or the cut is at a weird angle or compound angle. For smaller cuts, I'm more likely to reach down and grab a handsaw and have the cut made in less time than it takes to walk over to a machine and start it. This is especially true if the cut isn't a normal one (e.g. 90 degrees). |  |
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| I have racks and racks of clamps in my shop, from versatile hand screws and strap clamps, to powerful yet non-marring parallel bar clamps. But the ones I reach for most are the unremarkable light-duty F-clamps that have more than enough strength to immobilize a stop block or hold a workpiece to a bench. |  |
Still trying to measure up to Instagram woodworking? If so, you might like the April Fool's Day video I did this year, which gives you a way to get instant approval from your favourite YouTube woodworkers (who, honestly, are also on Instagram, probably).
