I did my first raised panels on the table saw today for some doors to a cabinet I'm building for SWMBO's scrapbooking 'tools'. They came out great, after I sanded for 30 minutes. I ended up with a burn mark or two on almost all of the angled cuts.
I spent a lot of time aligning my TS blade so I'm pretty sure its lined up right. I think the issue was just that so much of the blade was exposed to the wood and the fact that it was tilted 14 degrees to the left meant that the panel was resting, so to speak, on the blade as it passed through.
Is there a wax or rub to put on the blade to slow down the burn? Or is this just a thing you have to live with trying to use a TS for something a raised panel bit in a big router should be doing?
What kind of wood were you using? Some woods (i.e. cherry) are more prone to burn than others. Did you cut the whole depth in one pass? Sometimes "sneaking up" on your final depth and making the final pass light will solve burning. I often use a product called "Dri-Cote" (It's made by the same people who make "Top-Cote", just in a blue can) which is a blade lubricant to keep cuts smooth. --dave
May I offer several suggestions for you to try. A number of things can cause the burning you're experiencing and I may not hit on the one (or more) that may be causing your problem but here's some things to consider:
Sharp blade with minimal runout. I would have to research the exact runout for a WWII blade but mine is about .001" and I get no burning - unless I cause it.
Is your fence aligned with the blade or is it kicked out a few thou in the back? Make it parallel to the blade.
Is your fence solid - is it flexing on you as you push stock thru?
Is fence perpendicular to table - for the full length? What kind of TS and fence do you have?
Did you use a zero clearance insert and is it flat to the table?
Some woods burn easier than others (maple for instance) and the slightest misalignment or side pressure will cause a burn.
How did you support the panels as you were cutting them? Attached to a jig or just free-handed it?
You can see where this is headed and you now must realize that a lousy few thousandths of an inch can make the difference between sanding for hours - or not. There are many reasons but you may have the answer already by simply looking at the panels. Did all of them tend to burn at the same spot - near the end? If so, I'd be looking at the fence not being parallel, you're technique of not holding steady pressure (or the jig isn't) etc.
You said you're pretty sure about the TS being aligned. As you can see, "pretty sure" may not be close enough but then again, it depends on how anal you are about these things.......
I made 18 raised panels Thursday night. One pass each, no burn marks, and about one minute sanding on each. I made a quick and dirty jig consisting of a piece of plywood screwed to the fence to give it some height, and a piece of plywood screwed to the mitre gauge. Set the the blade height to 1 3/4" @ 5 degrees. I think the most important part is having a decent blade. I use a Forrest WoodWorker 2. If you like, I'll post a pic of the jig on abpw.
Thanks, Rudolph. I made what sounds like a similar jig. I'd like to see yours so if you would, post it to apbw. I'll post mine there as well.
I, too, have a Forrest WoodWorker II. I was doing my angles at 14 degrees with my blade set probably around 3-4 inches which may have made it tougher for me, but I am going to send my Forrest blade in for a fresh sharpening before I do it again.
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