Ripping long boards

[bobw1953]

I am having trouble ripping long boards and have not found a solution. I have been a shopsmith user for 15 years and have not encountered this issue before.

The problem I am experiencing is only associated with ripping boards longer than 48in.
I have a project in which I have to rip Oregon Alder 5/4 65inches.

What happens is the board begins to creep away from the out feed fence about half way through the cut and stalls the motor.

I am using a feather board on the in feed side of the blade and feeding at a slow rate.
I have a thin kerf woodworker II (brand new) Pro Fence system. I tuned and aligned the table and blade to +-.002 in feed to out feed. I then adjusted the fence using a dial indicator to the same tolerance.

Can anybody help?

[Ed in Tampa]

I am having trouble ripping long boards and have not found a solution. I have been a shopsmith user for 15 years and have not encountered this issue before.

The problem I am experiencing is only associated with ripping boards longer than 48in.
I have a project in which I have to rip Oregon Alder 5/4 65inches.

What happens is the board begins to creep away from the out feed fence about half way through the cut and stalls the motor.

I am using a feather board on the in feed side of the blade and feeding at a slow rate.
I have a thin kerf woodworker II (brand new) Pro Fence system. I tuned and aligned the table and blade to +-.002 in feed to out feed. I then adjusted the fence using a dial indicator to the same tolerance.

Can anybody help?

Are you using a splitter? Once the board passes the blade the splitter should keep the board against the fence. Either you have removed the splitter which is totally dangerous or it isn't adjusted correctly.

Without a splitter in place the board can more off the fence and cause the problem your experiencing but more importantly without the splitter the cut wood can warp back to pitch the back of the blade. Since the back of the blade is spinning up at this point should the board suddenly catch the blade it will be heaved up and directly at you. Not pretty!!! And talking from experience very painful.
Ed

[bobw1953]

Thanks for the Reply Ed! I have a zero clearance insert in the table. I think you have solved my problem. Now how do I get a splitter into that insert. Hmmmm.
I will know later tonight if this really fixes the problem but I bet it does.

I would have dial indicated myself into crazyville!

[Ed in Tampa]

Easiest way to fit a splitter in a zero clearnance insert is to use a dremel tool and cut the slot longer. Another way is to use a hand saw.
You only need to extend the slot far enough to allow you to insert the splitter into its holder.
Glad to help
Ed

[charlese]

I am having trouble ripping long boards and have not found a solution. I have been a shopsmith user for 15 years and have not encountered this issue before.

The problem I am experiencing is only associated with ripping boards longer than 48in.
I have a project in which I have to rip Oregon Alder 5/4 65inches.

What happens is the board begins to creep away from the out feed fence about half way through the cut and stalls the motor.

I am using a feather board on the in feed side of the blade and feeding at a slow rate.
I have a thin kerf woodworker II (brand new) Pro Fence system. I tuned and aligned the table and blade to +-.002 in feed to out feed. I then adjusted the fence using a dial indicator to the same tolerance.

Can anybody help?

Hi Bob: This will be only a list of guesses, as I haven't seen your 65" 5/4 boards. As mentioned by Ed - Do you have your splitter attached? It is necessary to have the splitter.
If your splitter is on, it sounds to me as your issues lay with the wood and not the machine.
65" isn't a tremendously long board, nor is 5/4" too thick. It should rip nicely!

Is your board rough? Has it been jointed on the rip side edge and the bottom face. If not, doing these operations will help. Squared boards saw/rip a lot smoother than non-squared. Also the cuts come out more accurate.

All boards are not equal! Remember, these things were once living growing things that not unlike humans, often developed stresses while forming. How wide is the board you are ripping? A general rule I have found is; "The wider the board - the more chance for tension release upon ripping and resulting new shapes forming. (bends, twists, etc.)

Excuse me, but I also have to ask if these boards have been allowed to dry to around 8% -10% moisture content.

Have you tried to rip the board from the other side of the saw blade and fence? This may aleave your problem.

My major guess is the issue resides in the wood rather than the saw, but perhaps you could try changing blades.

By your description, I assume the piece of the ripped board you want is the one between the rip fence and the saw blade. If nothing else works, try re-setting so you desired piece is the cutoff piece of the rip. This gets a little painful, because you have to re-set for each rip, but if you are ripping oversize, for future sizing - precision is not necessary.

[paulmcohen]

Thanks for the Reply Ed! I have a zero clearance insert in the table. I think you have solved my problem. Now how do I get a splitter into that insert. Hmmmm.

Shopsmith sells a Zero Clearance Insert (555518) with a slot for the splitter, or what I did is purchase a MJ Splitter it works with the insert you have.

[bobw1953]

Chuck, Paul, Ed,

I can't tell you what a pleasure it to have found my way to this forum!

Paul I just ordered the splitter you recommended, Thanks!

Chuck I have jointed one edge and face of the boards and dimensioned them with the planner. As Ed pointed out to me I did not have the splitter installed.

The wood is around 8% moisture.

If any of you are ever in the Kansas City area Id love to have you in my modest shop.

Bob

[Greenvilleguy]

I also have the MJ splitter. It's simple, easy to install and should solve your problem. I used to make my own by just extended the saw kerf and gluing in a small piece of plywood, but the MJ splitter works better and can be moved from insert to insert.

I know I'm old fashioned, but I really don't like the upper blade guard sold on all table saws today (not just SS). They seem to always be in the way. The MJ splitter allows you to have the splitter without the anti-kickback pawls and upper guard.

Sawing without a splitter will cause longer boards to "wander" away from the fence or worse, to bind behind the blade. I believe the biggest danger of ripping without a splitter is on short pieces that can catch on the back side of blade and be thrown back at you. It hurts! I have had personal experience -- fortunately, I only injured mendable body parts.

[Nick]

While the info about the splitter is excellent and valuable advice, you might also take a second look at your brand new blade. The fact that this blade consistently pulls the wood away from the fence is an indication that it is cutting more aggressively on one side (the side closest to the fence) than the other. The Forrest Woodworker II has a steep (20 degree!) hook on its teeth, and this makes it cut more aggressively anyway. If one or more of the teeth are out of alignment, the effect will be all the more pronounced because of the hook.

You might try a traditional old ripping blade with a flat grind. I know that many manufacturers of the new ATB blades pitch these blades as equally well suited for crosscutting and ripping, but I am not convinced. The beveled grind produces an extremely long chip when ripping, and the 50-tooth Forrest doesn't look it has sufficient gullet depth to accomodate this, especially in thicker stock. The 30-tooth might do alright, but I'm more comfortable with my flat-grind 20-tooth.

With all good wishes,

[Bruce]

Is there a reason you are using the zero clearance insert? I wouldn't think you'd need it, especially with the WWII. Also, you said you aligned the fence to within .002. Make sure that if it is out of alignment at all, that the outfeed side is to the right of the infeed side to prevent the fence from pinching the board against the blade.