resawing and blade placement

[zooman65]

2 questions. The first is that I am wanting to do some resawing with the table saw as I do not have a band saw. Is there any particular type of blade that works better or will the general combination ones work okay? Also, any tips? The second is that I was watching a video with Doug Reid on a different topic, and it seemed like he kept the blade to the edge of the blade insert. I had always assumed that you just put the blade in the middle of the insert. Any thoughts?

[dusty]

I consider resawing on the table saw to be a bit more hazardous than other table saw operations; especially if you have to make two passes to complete the cut. Be ever cautious of where that unseen saw blade is located. Use feather boards to keep the work piece tight against the fence. A little twist and you have a flying projectile.

I use a thin kerf rip blade for resawing on the table saw.

I would guess that Doug had a zero clearance insert installed; if so, the blade would be very close to the table insert.

[forrestb]

I would add to Dusty's advice to not try to completely sever the board, but leave a small portion that you can easily cut with a hand saw. That is, IMHO, the safer way since you never have 2 independent pieces of wood in contact with the blade - harder to safely handle.

I would use the normal insert with the blade near the fence side. A zero-clearance insert make it very hard for a DC to remove the copious amount of sawdust trapped in the cut.

Forrest