Cutting a rabbet on a table saw

[jihhwood]

I learned a long time ago that the way to cut a rabbet on a table saw was with an auxiliary fence that "buried" some of the dado cutters.     Do you use any different method -- for example with the rabbet being cut on the far side of the workpiece, and not against the fence?  If so, are there advantages or disadvantages to doing it your way?
Thanks.

[Aram]

I learned a long time ago that the way to cut a rabbet on a table saw was with an auxiliary fence that "buried" some of the dado cutters.    

I built a set of kitchen cabinets that way, pushing with a wide follower piece. I wouldn't do it any other way. I made a dado sled once, and while it worked fine there was never any reason to use it.

[BobW]

I learned a long time ago that the way to cut a rabbet on a table saw was with an auxiliary fence that "buried" some of the dado cutters.     Do you use any different method -- for example with the rabbet being cut on the far side of the workpiece, and not against the fence?  If so, are there advantages or disadvantages to doing it your way?
Thanks.

I'd stick with the way you learned...You're risking a kickback when trapping the piece between the blade and the fence.

[Steve N]

Router table, and a straight cut bit with the rabbet's width revealed can work. If a person had some stock that wasn't 4 square, and wanted to run a rabbet for some reason they could use finger boards to make it work.

Most conventional way is how you described, and I can't figure what you would be doing to need a rabbet on non prime stock.

And of course the beer powered method. Like this




Or you could even use one of those Stanley thing-a-ma-jigs.....

You know the ones where most of the parts are usually missing.
78's........

[jihhwood]

The project is a fancy game box.  Still planning things out  . . . .  Thanks for the response to my query!
I'd stick with the way you learned...You're risking a kickback when trapping the piece between the blade and the fence.

[jihhwood]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions!

[Stwood_]

If it's a one-off rabbit, I don't even put the dado blade on. Just use the blade that is on the saw.
Make 2 cuts and I'm done.

[TDKPE]

I'd stick with the way you learned...You're risking a kickback when trapping the piece between the blade and the fence.

And any stock movement away from the fence will take off more than you want and leave a wow in the joint.  Burying the dado blade has the opposite effect - stock comes off the fence in any way, and you get a bump, but you can run it again and it will clean up anything errors.

[WilliamHodge]

I learned a long time ago that the way to cut a rabbet on a table saw was with an auxiliary fence that "buried" some of the dado cutters.     Do you use any different method -- for example with the rabbet being cut on the far side of the workpiece, and not against the fence?  If so, are there advantages or disadvantages to doing it your way?
Thanks.

I run rabbets on the table saw, a Powermatic 66. I use a wooden fence, with  a wooden base, or table, under it. The dado blade comes up through the table and into the fence. It's pretty much zero clearance on all sides.

Running the rabbet outboard, with the work between the fence and the blade, is a difficult way to run accurate rabbets. The rabbet in the fence is accurate to a few thousandths. I guess it depends on which dimensions are important.

For safety, I like having the dado blade half covered up by a fence, behind a featherboard, and under a mini stock feeder.

[KC]

And any stock movement away from the fence will take off more than you want and leave a wow in the joint.  Burying the dado blade has the opposite effect - stock comes off the fence in any way, and you get a bump, but you can run it again and it will clean up anything errors.

This is the only 'argument' I can see for 'one way is better than the other'.