I know when hand planing one must go in the direction of the grain traveling up and away from the user of the plane... is there such a rule of any kind for either ripping or cross cutting on a table saw?
Thanks all,
Not that I know of. I'm only cautious of wood orientation to avoid cutting through knots were possible or when trying to saw cupped boards etc. If you are ripping, you are working with the grain. If you are corss cutting, well you are cutting across the grain. You can get different blades to perform each of those tasks better however, i.e. a rip blade for cutting with the grain (has fewer teeth, 24 or so) and crosscut blade for cutting across grain (has more teeth, 60 or so). You can get combination blades with around 40 teeth that will both rip anjd crosscut to a reasonable finish if you dont want to change blades frequently.
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Dean Bielanowski Editor, Online Tool Reviews
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If there is a rule, I have never observed it.
Jointers and planers, yes.... some router situations for sure, cuz there is nothing like lifting a 6" sliver off an oak edge with a round-over bit... or so I'm told. But in those situations I climb-cut if the bit isn't too big. I stand (or sit) to be corrected though....
This is one of those questions that makes me go mmmmmm.
0¿0Rob
Would a drum sander give a shit about grain direction, he wonders out loud?
"Every time I close my eyes, I see spots."
"Did you see a doctor?"
"No, just spots."
A lot of people don't know what it is like to own a good ripping blade. They would be surprised to discover how clean an edge those can leave and how effortless they operate. In my line of work (yea, yea, yea...countertops..*G*) I sometimes build custom laminate tops with a wood edge. So long and skinny strips are what I'm after. Cutting with the grain has a nice feel to it. No sawdust. Just a bezillion small curls. Mine is an Optima from Royce/Ayr. 10" 24 teeth... all rakers. I think if Steve Knight were to design a sawblade, it would most likely work like that. A blade like that also makes a wonderful rabbet along the length of a board, nice flat bottom.
0¿0Rob
"Every time I close my eyes, I see spots."
.."Did you see a doctor?"
"Nope... just spots..."
No rule that I know of however on some woods, Poplar for instance, I see a difference when ripping one direction vs. another if my blade has not been to the sharpener recently. From my experience the more dense and harder the wood the less likely of a fuzz edge.
Not that I'm aware of. I might rip one edge or the other if one side has a wild grain and I know I need to join or route it. Otherwise I don't pay much attention to grain direction when ripping.
Mike O.
I think it makes a difference. As a matter of fact I posted my opinion on this a couple years ago when I "discovered" it through my own testing. If the keeper piece is to the right of the blade, you will get a smoother cut (on the keeper) if the grain is angling from the upper right to lower left (12:30 to 6:30 or more clockwise). The off-cut will have a noticeably rougher surface than the keeper. Test it for yourself.
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