The easiest place to start-and a good maintenance habit to develop-is blade inspection. We have a saying around here: It’s wise to de-energize. If you take nothing else from this article, unplug your table saw before calibration! Calibrate a Table Saw Starting with the Blade
Although ensuring all components are parallel takes a few minutes, it’s well worth the time.
This can happen due to wood getting pinched between the blade and fence. If the cutting path narrows, the saw is more likely to kickback (send material back at you when it gets launched by the blade). That’s bad enough, but it can also be more dangerous to operate. Telltale signs of a misaligned saw are raggedy cuts, burn marks on the side of the material, and even extra wear on the motor (as evidenced by an audible “dive” it takes during the cut). That applies to cheap saws as well as expensive cabinet saws. If a table saw’s components aren’t properly aligned, your cuts won’t be accurate.
