Replies

1. 
   ChasStanford | Mar 16, 2003 02:57pm | #1

   Whatever you do do not put a featherboard behind the blade to fix this. 

1. 
   BrianMcG | Mar 17, 2003 06:59am | #4

   Thanks Chas (Charles?). Good advice.

2. 
   BG | Mar 16, 2003 03:27pm | #2

   Brian,

   If everything is parallel..then the stock is moving after being cut.  I have had this happen with some maple taht was 2" thick.  Others can elaborate in more detail..but your stock was not dried poperly.  It's dangerous... 

1. 
   BrianMcG | Mar 17, 2003 07:01am | #5

   Thanks BG, I'll keep an eye on it, Brian.

3. 
   BrianF | Mar 16, 2003 04:25pm | #3

   Brian, I can tell you from my experience that there can be alot of things that can cause this thing. Fist I would look at what kind of blade you are using. Is it a ripping blade? Is it sharp? Your best bet is always the right blade for the job. A cross cut or combo blade have too many teeth and cause heat and pitch to build up, which can cause that problem. It may also be the feed rate you are pushing it at, especially if you are using a combo blade. Pushing too fast will also build up heat and cause "mistracking". As was already mentioned never use feather boards on the back side of a blade it causes the board to engage the back side of the blade's teeth which are comming up and back at you, this creates kickback. The wood also has some degree of internal stress in it, sometimes caused by improper drying. (look around I've seen lots of good threads in the short time I've been here about casehardening etc.) This causes the wood to close behind the blade, again kickback may result. That is where a splitter comes in to help keep that gap open behind the blade.(again more recent good threads on this topic, try a search)You may also want to look at your feeding method. I seem to remember a very good article about ripping in FWW a few years back. I'm away from home and can't go look at my pile. The key is to start with a staight edge to begin with (jointed, straight line ripped) keep the pressure both forward and tword the fence. The other thing that I used if I am ripping long pieces (especially narrow ones, like for face frames) is something called a board buddy. You will see them for sale in most WW supply type places. It is basicly a rubber wheel that as it rotates has some degree of angle to it that keeps the stock on the fence. It also rotates in only one direction (some small kick back help) it also keeps the stock down on the table (more kickback help, but don't trust it to do the job alone). The last hint I have is don't be a constant blade watcher. Please be aware of where the blade is and where your fingers are in relation to that blade, but don't make that your only area of focus. Be aware of how the board is feeding and if it against the fence. When I ran a dept. at a large custom cab. shop I had lots of young guys with little experience on a saw. The biggest problem they had was being so aware of the blade they couldn't keep the stock against the fence. It's kind of like driving down the interstate and looking at the scenery to your left. You will suddenly notice that the car has drifted left. Same thing on a TS, if you watch the blade intently the stock drifts left and it is real hard then to guide it back with getting into trouble.

   Sorry for the long post, I hope that I have given you something to work with. I'm sure that some of the real experts here can add to what I've posted. The day I think I know it all is the day I find out I've bearly started to learn.

   Good Luck, Brian

   
   

   ---

   Edited 3/16/2003 9:42:12 AM ET by BrianF

1. 
   BrianMcG | Mar 17, 2003 07:04am | #6

   Thanks Brian, I'll look for that article and see if a board buddy will fit my fence. P.S. Good to see you spell your name correctly!! Brian

1. 
   scaly | Mar 17, 2003 06:49pm | #7

   Brian, if you had your splitter installed, this probibly wouldn't happen.

4. 
   forestgirl | Mar 17, 2003 07:08pm | #8

   Brian, you've gotten alot of information here, but I'll throw in another .02

   A bit of correction on one of the earlier statements:  internal stresses don't always make the stock close on the blade, it can also make the wood spread apart after it's cut.  I had that happen with some oak, looked like what happens when you slice a carrot stick lengthwise.

   Be sure you're not pushing so hard against the fence on the infeed side that you're causing the fence to move or causing the outfeed side to move in the other direction.  You can even create this pivoting effect if you place the featherboard with too much push toward the fence.  Oftentimes when I've had problems ripping, I've traced it to incorrect pushing technique.

   There's another option to Board Buddies, which will fit any fence and is IMHO more versatile with respect to ripping narrow pieces and also they can be used on jointer tables and router tables.  They're called Grip-Tite Magnetic Featherboard.  Here's the company link:

   http://grip-tite.com/

   There was a long thread on these after Dennis got back from the WWing show last year and set his Grip-Tite Pro system up.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   BrianF | Mar 17, 2003 10:28pm | #9

   Forestgirl,

   Thanks for the additions to my incomplete post. I agree that internal stress can push the wood apart. I actually put that in response to a previous post that said it was a wood problem and was dangerous. I also agree that you can push too hard on the infeed sideand cause problems.

   The thing that I like about the board buddy is that it keeps the stock down AND against the fence on the outfeed side of the blade. I only use one of the buddies and I use it on the outfeed side. I don't like anything in the infeed side, feather board or board buddy. I just feel more comfortable with out it. I have two of those magnetic hold downs. I use them mostly on my shaper. The only thing that it can do on the outfeed side on the saw is hold the stock down. It really won't keep it against the fence. I buy rough stock and staight line rip one edege so I seldom have two paralell edges so a feather board on the infeed side is kind of useless to me.

   I have subscribed to FWW for many years, but only recently checked in here. I think it's great to see that we all can come at the same problem from so many ways. There is nothing like getting lots of good input to think about.

   Brian

   P.S. I just again looked at the website you posted and just noticed that it can come with wheels that do a similar job to the "buddies". I hadn't seen those before. I might have to look into another purchase some how with out the wife knowing.

   Edited 3/17/2003 3:36:00 PM ET by BrianF

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 17, 2003 11:13pm | #10

   Hi Brian.  Yep, those rollers are a relatively new addition to the Grip-Tites, and they really do the job.  You can rip 1/4" pieces off a bigger piece of stock in a production manner (with the 1/4" piece between the blade and the fence) and the unit holds the work solidly down and against the fence.

   Glad you found the forum!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   DennisS | Mar 18, 2003 07:00am | #12

   BrianF

   The "new improved" version of the GripTite mag featherboards have a little abrasive roller that works along the same principle as the Board Buddies. The roller is at a slight angle which forces the work piece against the fence.

   There are two downsides to these devices.

   First you have to install a metal facing to your fence if it's not already steel. The facing on my Bies fence being wood obviously isn't very magnetic. Both the infeed and the outfeed devices need to glome onto something magnetic. They're positioned on the fence as opposed to the saw table.

   Also like the board buddies, you can't rip really thin pieces next to the fence since the roller will engage both the workpiece and the cutoff thus forcing both against the fence. The min. width of rip is in the neighborhood of 1" or so. But at that, it appears from the pictures I've seen of the Board Buddies to allow thinner rips.

   I've got four of these Grip Tite devices now and when I'm doing long runs of a lot of repetitive stuff I'll use the two on the fence and one on the table - on the infeed side of the blade, of course.

   They're still not, in my opinion, the end-all answer to safe sure ripping but seem to work quite well. I've not used the Board Buddies but they look to be easier to set up than the Grip Tites. The Grip Tite magnets are plenty strong! I've got the tendinitis to show for the times I've wrestled with getting them off the fence or table (grin).

   ...........

   Dennis in Bellevue WA

   [email protected]

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 18, 2003 07:57am | #13

   Dennis, at the demo I saw in Seattle he was ripping considerably smaller than 1" strips between the blade and the fence.

   Take a look at this page, second picture down:

   http://www.woodshopdemos.com/grpti-1.htm

   And for those who've never seen them in action:

   http://www.woodshopdemos.com/gclk-2.htmforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   BrianF | Mar 18, 2003 09:19pm | #14

   Dennis,

   I could make a u-shaped "slipcover" for my fence like I use when I want a sacraficial wood face on the fence with some steel on it. I'll have to take a look at them 1st hand though. If I really am not gaining anything over the buddies then I'll have to find another way to spend some money. Once the board buddies are mounted to the fence they slide on and off real easily, and I can use them to about 1" or so. Maybe I could spend some of the money on some fishing equip. the warm weather really has me itching!

   Brian

5. 
   alanplanesaw | Mar 18, 2003 06:27am | #11

   Kelly Mehler has an excellent video out titled, "Mastering Your Table Saw."  Produced by FWW.  Explains the necessity of everything being square, plumb, lined-up, etc.  Including the blade, the fence, the splitter, etc. 

   If you are having the same problem with various types of wood, then something is probably out of alignment on the saw.

   Alan