Hello wood pro's what in your opinion is the most important adjustment or critical requirement to making a straight accurate rip cut on the table saw?I do have difficulty in this area one end of a panel may be off as much as a 1/16"-3/32" . The saw is a Ridged contractor's with folding stand 10".
Sal
Starting with straight wood.
Using a blade that does not flex, that means no thin kerf blades.
Insuring that you fence is "perfectly" parallel to your blade.
Practice
Practice
Practice
I don't think he is using a contractor saw, I think a benchtop, portable saw... which means that it will be using a thin kerf.. since it will have a universal motor.
I bent my Freud Diablo miter saw blade again. Damn thin kerf... I was making a wheel truing stand for my sons bike, and was cutting a piece of wood 5/16 by 3/4 and 2 feet long. The piece that cut off kicked back when the blade hadn't cut all the way through. I came down again and it kicked, bending the blade. I am borrowing a crappy sliding miter saw from a friend since I destroyed mine (dropped down the stairs). The thin kerf is certainly delicate. But I don't see a miter blade that is not thin kerf. Even Forrest's blades are thin for the Miter saw.
The plate is now .004 out on the Freud, very noticeable cut change.. scoring of the side.
"sal" wrote in news:HKtVr.43843$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe18.iad:
I wouldn't say I was a wood pro, but I did cut a board last night.
One of the things I've found essential to making a straight accurate rip on the TS is keeping the board tight to the fence. It's easy to let the board wander that little bit and then the cut is either undersized or wavy.
Puckdropper
Got a splitter?
Put it on.
With the fence, table top (miter slot), and blade parallel, the splitter will protect you from kickback and help keep the stock running straight and against the fence.
The most common cause of a trapezoidal stock cut on the table saw is a poorly setup saw (one or more of the above parameters off).
I agree with the other posters. Also, the board may bend away or toward the fence, while cutting, by virtue of stresses in the board being released and/or moisture release, contributing the board bending as it's cut, especially with air dried lumber.
You say you have this problem cutting a panel. A plywood panel? A regular board as being the "panel"? Identify your "panel", specifically.
Do you have this problem with all your wood cutting?
Sonny
Hi Sonny I should have said plywood. I did some adjustment to my fence and squared up saw blade to miter slots on the table. What a difference , cuts like a charm I guess I got sloppy in my old age. Thanks for the help guys.
One straight edge to run against the fence is essential ...
Nonsense ... thin kerf blades are perfectly acceptable ... especially on an under powered saw.
More nonsense ... there is NO such thing as "Perfect Alignment" ... bring it into decent alignment by whatever means you have available ... then ... make a series of cuts, adjusting the fence as needed to ensure no scoring marks on your workpiece. Many times, this will mean tilting the fence very slightly away from the blade at the rear ... REMEMBER ... VERY SLIGHTLY !!!
Not nonsense, you may have OK results with think kerf but thin kerf is not going to give good results in all situations.
Don't have much experience Bob? Your comments are for dealing with improper procedure to begin with. Perfectly parallel is required if you are feeding correctly. With longer rip cuts not parallel and or tipped away from from the blade at the rear ends up with the waste side being pulled into the opposite side of the blade at the rear. SIMPLE geometry.
Great!, keep in mind also that plywood sheets can be heavy and often are not perfectly flat. Those characteristics tend to add to the difficulty in achieving a good cut.
Still nonsense ... thin kerf is designed for underpowered saws and/or material where excess loss from standard kerf is undesirable.
Plenty of experience ... better than 55 years worth ...that's why my comment(s). "Perfectly Parallel" is not possible, even with exceptional indicators, etc. Since you will ALWAYS have some error, it is best to let it work in your favor by opening it up a bit at the rear such that the teeth rising from under the table do not rub on the freshly cut surface. The length of the cut has very little, if anything to do with the alignment procedure ... yes, you will possibly get some scuffing on the waste side of the material ... ISN'T THAT WHERE YOU WOULD WANT IT TO OCCUR ??? A light pass over the jointer will fix that in a second, or, don't you have the experience to do so ???
Care to show/tell us all EXACTLY HOW you attain perfect parallelism between your blade & fence ??? Maybe all of the experts I've read and watched have it all wrong ... I'd love to see your alignment procedure along with the results of it.
Precisely, but I can assure you that a 1 hp underpowered saw will cut just as well with a quality regular kerf blade as with a thin kerf. Add to that a regular kerf blade is going to more consistently deliver better flatter cuts. Thin kerf blades are not known for delivering as accurate and or the same quality of cut as as a regular kerf blade. Until a thin kerf blade is made that does not flex the results will not be as consistent as those with a regular kerf blade.
Ok I see you are some what AR and take every thing literally. What I should have said is that you ABSOLUTELY want your fence to be as close to parallel to the blade as humanly possible. Happy?
Since you will ALWAYS have some error, it is best to
No, go for a close to parallel as possible. Because "you" cant get close does not mean that you should be happy with .005+ put at the back.
The length of the cut has very little, if anything to do with
Absolutely not if it can be helped. Why make put up with a "scuffed" edge on the waste side which most often will be used again if you don't have top.
And the length is extremely important with having proper alignment. The further past the blade a board travels the more it will want to pull away from the fence and rub against the splitter or blade especially when the fence is tipped out away from the blade. This is not how they demo the procedure at the WW shows when they advise tipping the fence out.
A light pass over the jointer will fix that in a second, or,
Extra steps. My experience is to do it right in the first place and not have to take the extra step.
OK Bob you just gave yourself away, you are reading about what all of the "experts say". I deal with this day in and day out. Simply put tipping your fence out a few thousands at the back of the blade is simply a compensation to make up for another problem.
Years ago I used thin kerf blades, years ago I tipped my fence out at the back. I learned to set the saw up correctly and to buy better blades. I have been there and done that.
And besides regurgitating something you have read to be contrary to actual extensive experience what have you contributed to help the OP solve his problem?
Yes, but what is your point?
Just so you know, 55 years of experience or not, you are shouting at damn-fine woodworker.
Nonsense once again ... a 1 HP saw, in many cases won't even pull a standard blade through any hard or thick stock without bogging down.
Yet MORE nonsense !!!
Thin kerf blades are not known for delivering as
Catch up with the times buddy ... there are now "EXTRA-THIN" kerf blades that will do anything a standard blade will do ...
If I didn't take your words literally, you would then, I am sure, accuse me of taking your writings out of context ... I'd rather be guilty as charged of assuming you know what you said, and meant it as stated.
Well ... if YOU can get it PERFECT ... why not enlighten the rest of us how you did it ???
Life is just full of compromises ... this is just one of them ... AGAIN ... if you have a method of obtaining the mythical PERFECTION you claim ... why not enlighten the rest of us ???
PLEASE ... PLEASE show us !!! !!!
Still waiting ... ...
I read all I can ... then experiment with that information, striving for the perfection that neither you or I can attain ... how & where I get my ideas is of no consequence.
Once again ... I would challenge you to reveal your procedure in a step-by-step manner ... or, does that idea intimidate you just a bit ??
I have BOTH experience AND reading comprehension skills ... STILL WAITING for you to give us the details of your magic perfection alignment procedure.
You have now proven all the above to be highly suspect, lets see some examples of this 55 years of woodworking experience.
IOW, put up, or STFU ...
I agree. And I though *I* was an ass. :-)
Ok Bob you obviously don't have the experience and I am not going to try to change your mind.
If you Google my posts you will find that I have mentioned the steps time and a gain.
I don't do video so next best thing, lets compare results.
Seriously, I have been pretty busy and I would not be putting up with equipment that is not set up to yield the best possible results.
If you are truly interested in setting up your saw and getting the best possible results, go to a pro that makes a living with his tools and ask how he sets his equipment up and see if it comes close to how the "experts" do it.
I will put my money where my moth is.
This is what I have done in the past 20 or so months.
As strident as he is in his writings, I'm wondering if it's not a brand new Wreck Troll that Leon has on the line now. Keep your gaff and net handy; Leon might need some help landing that one.
Don't hold back now, Swingy.
-- The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business of America is justice and securing the blessings of liberty. -- George F. Will
I could be wrong here Larry but I think a troll usually does the fishing/trolling. I think I may have swallowed the hook.
"Leon" wrote
I know that Leon has some fine motor control problems around keyboards. But this was just too good to pass up. So I will just run with it...
Just feeling a bit silly today. :)
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