# Using Miter Gauge & Fence on Router Table



## RossCapolupo (Jan 5, 2016)

I have done a fair amount of reading, and cannot seem to get a straight answer on this: why is it a safety concern to use the miter gauge in combination with the fence on the router table?

I do it all the time on the table saw when I'm NOT throughcutting (like when I'm cutting dados), but I understand that the direction of rotation on the saw blades do not pull the stock into the fence. When reading about this scenario on the router table, I can only infer it has something to do with the rotation of the bit pulling the stock into the fence, and binding somehow? But then I go on youtube, and see videos of people doing it with no issues.

To make a long story short, I want to be able to cut tenons on my router table - have the sled at 90 degrees, and use the fence as a depth stop for the tenon lengths. Is this a safety concern? If not, what situation IS a safety concern that I am misunderstanding?


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## frosty50 (Dec 22, 2011)

I use my router table to cut tenons along with a co[ping sled. The sled is use because it is heavy, abuts the fence and I can clamp the wood down which is more secure than miter guage. Just remember, your router is turning a 10K to 25K revolutions and your saw is at 1750. You think a kick back from a table saw hurts, get one from a router.

Safety comes first, think about what you are doing and of the consequences if something goes wrong.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

Part of it may be due to the fence never being parallel to the miter slot. A typical router table fence does not square up like a table saw fence (it doesn't need to), however unless it is parallel, using it with a miter can cause problems.

This isn't really a safety concern, more of a quality of cut concern.

I hope someone can say what the safety issue is, I'm curious now too!
There are always things that can go wrong.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

If you can attach a stop block the fence before the bit, you can use that as a depth stop when positioning your piece in the sled. You'll want to use scrap to get the tenon depth where you want, then back the sled up and use that to position the fence/block prior to the bit.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Using a sacrificial pusher block to back up the work piece and using the fence to guide would be a safer way to cut the tenon. Any time a work piece is "trapped" between a miter gauge and fence, any small deflection or unintentional motion can cause the cut to go off and possibly bind.


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