Old-Timer's Table Saw Trick: Rip Different Widths Without Moving the Fence

When you set the fence on a tablesaw for a series of identical cuts, someone else on the job inevitably wants the move the fence before you're finished. That is no longer a problem with this old-timer's trick from Herrick Kimball.

Video Transcript:

Well, hey everyone, it's me, Herrick Kimble, back here with another how-to video. Today I'm going to show you a table saw technique that very few people know about. I'm guessing you've probably never seen this before.

I learned this from an old-timer many years ago when I was just starting out in the building trades. Now I'm the old-timer, and I'm going to pass it along to you right here on this old table saw. This is a technique you may not need very often, but it's worth filing away—because when you do need it, it's ideal.

Learning from the old-time carpenter

As I recall, and this was a long time ago, I had my table saw set up on a job site. I was ripping boards to a certain width—let's say something about this wide, which I’ll demonstrate here in a moment.

An old-timer came along and said, "Hey, take a break for a second. I’ve got to rip a couple of strips." The strips he wanted to cut were narrower than what I was cutting.

I told him I was all set up for a specific width, and he said, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to change your setup. I just need to rip a couple of pieces. Let me show you a little trick."

Demonstrating the tablesaw scenario

It was the equivalent of, "Hey, hold my beer. Watch this." So I stepped aside, and what I’m about to show you is what he showed me.

So here’s the scenario: I’m set up to cut boards this wide. I’ll go ahead and rip one right now—let me get my hearing protectors on.

[Cuts board]

Maybe I was ripping door jambs or window extension jambs. Then he comes along and says he needs to cut a few smaller pieces to match an existing one. So, he takes the piece he wants to match in width, places it on the table, and grabs a scrap piece of plywood.

Creating a fence against a fence

He rips the scrap piece first. Then, he places the scrap piece on the table against the fence. What he’s created is a new fence—a fence against a fence.

Now, he didn’t actually clamp it—he just let it float there while he ripped his pieces. But you’d probably want to clamp it down, and there are various ways to clamp something like that. A simple clamp like this one works fine.

With the scrap piece tight against the main fence, you can now run your boards through, cutting them to exactly match the reference piece. No measuring required.

Why this tablesaw trick works so well

That’s the beauty of this trick. If you need to make repeat cuts that match an existing piece, just place that sample against the fence, cut a scrap piece, use the scrap as your auxiliary fence, and then rip your parts.

The old-timer took his pieces, happy as could be, and I got back to ripping my wider boards.

So there you go, everyone—that’s the technique. It’s actually very simple, and there are times when it comes in really handy.

If you liked this video, I sure do appreciate those thumbs-ups. That’s it for now. We’ll see you in the next one.