The table saw's Achilles' heel is that it only works effectively if your stock has at least one surface that is properly dimensioned. If all of your surfaces are bowed inward, for example, you're taking a big risk by trying to make a cut. This is where a jointer comes in handy. But if you don't have one, a way to work around that is by using a piece of melamine with a straight edge and attaching your stock to it with hot glue or double-sided tape. The downside to this method is that you'll always need to have a piece of melamine on hand that matches the size of the stock you plan on cutting.
Believe it or not, there's an even simpler solution. We'll take a piece of plywood that is slightly longer and the same height as our fence, and we'll raise the blade to the height needed to cut through the stock. Set the blade so that it is absolutely flush with the edge of the plywood and place a featherboard against the face. After cutting halfway along the length, stop the saw, lower the blade, flip the stock over, and place the uncut part above the blade. Use a couple of clamps to attach it to the fence and raise the blade after turning the saw back on.
You'll want to add a featherboard on the side after the blade and be sure to use a push block or a push stick. This setup creates a simple jointer that will easily dimension your stock, allowing you to safely rip or crosscut when you're done.
*Hey Makers!
Really important note: Just like a jointer, you will need to put pressure on the back side of the table. I used a featherboard to put pressure on the back side...but I angled it so that I'm not pressing against the blade.
It's a little more complicated in that way, but it absolutely works as long as you realize that the pressure you put is, again, on that out feed portion.
Of course, you'll also have to realize that if it passes through the blade, it must be parallel with the back of the fence if you're putting a featherboard on it, otherwise it'll give you problems. I'll follow up with this in the future...always remember to be safe. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it.*
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