Do it Yourself: Re: [DIY] Ripping on a table saw

24 October 2013

Re: [DIY] Ripping on a table saw

Why not just pick yourself up a mitre saw and box for a few dollars and do it that way?

http://www.lowes.com/pd_48795-355-20-600Y_?PL=1&productId=3034227

-Lee

On Oct 23, 2013, at 6:55 AM, Frank Ruggiero <frankruggiero@me.com> wrote:

Hi Experts.

Just getting back to you. Thanks for your help. I completed laying down the floor and it came out excellent. I really believe it came out just as good as a contractor would have done it. And I did not lose any fingers on the table saw. It can be tricky for somebody doing it the first time. I went slow, made some mistakes and had to correct them, but I am very confident I can lay down another floor with ease in the near future.

My next question is 3/4 inch round molding. Can I cut that molding on a table saw? Or will it get all shredded up. I do not want to use my hand held box miter saw, but do not want to buy an electric miter saw.

What are your opinions?

Thanks for your help.

Frank

On Oct 16, 2013, at 02:50 AM, subprong <subprong@gmail.com> wrote:

It's good that the guy in the video addressed the saw blade height. The higher the blade, the more likely the kickback (or kickup).

However, I disagree with his preferred height of 1/8-1/4". I do about 1/2" above the wood height. To me he left little room for any slight bowing of the wood or any accidental jumps in the wood while sliding or if the blade hits a knot. On cross cuts, things can get dicey if the piece is slightly undercut (thin layer of wood above the blade). Sometimes if there isn't a clean break, the weight of the piece will pinch the "cut" side back against the blade because it's still hanging on by a thin layer.

Not positive but I don't think he addressed blade kerf. The thinner the kerf on the blade, the easier it runs through the wood. They actually sell "rip" blades. These generally have a smaller kerf (thickness) and usually have fewer teeth. If I'm not mistaken he actually had one installed on his table saw. Looked like a Diablo rip blade.

Another thought is zero clearance throat plates (the plate surrounding the saw blade). The stock plate that came with the saw usually has a small gap on one side of the blade to allow the blade to maneuver when you angle the blade to bevel something. A zero clearance throat plate does not have that gap. There is minimal open area to the left and right of the blade. This is good for ripping (or crosscutting) very thin pieces of wood. With a normal throat plate, sometimes thin pieces will fall into that gap....or much worse will pinch the saw blade and either shoot out or jam your saw.

There are actually some crazy youtube videos of people purposefully creating kickbacks to show how powerful they can be.

Let us know how your bamboo floors turnout and how easy or difficult the install was.

On Tue, Oct 15, 2013 at 11:04 AM, Frank Ruggiero <frankruggiero@me.com> wrote:
Thanks for the info Subprong.

Im glad you sent me that link, as I realize a chickenfoot came with my saw. I can see how that would be very unstable. I am surprised they wold sell it with the saw. Very surprising.

On Oct 15, 2013, at 12:51 PM, subprong <subprong@gmail.com> wrote:

On my table saw I prefer to have slim pieces on the open side of the blade (not on the fence side). When possible it's safer to push the piece of material thru the saw via the piece between the blade and the fence and therefore the bigger the piece on that side the better and easier to do so imho.

Either way either build or get yourself a push stick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU-4p-X8AOg

On Tue, Oct 15, 2013 at 8:09 AM, Frank Ruggiero <frankruggiero@me.com> wrote:
Hi Table Saw experts.

A quick question regarding table saws. I will most likely need to rip some bamboo strips to become one half inch wide. Is it safe to have the piece that will be a half inch wide on the side of the blade that is opposite the fence? Or is it better to have that piece between the blade and the fence? I am trying to prevent any kickback and would like to know which is safer. Does this question make sense to you?

Thanks for your help.

Frank