Bruce wrote: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.
Bruce
I'm of the opinion that any cut, any blade can be improved using a zero clearance insert. So much so I rarely use anything else.
With a nice fresh zero clearance insert and a properly sharpened blade I can get cuts that I view as perfection with absolutely no tear out, no blade marks, nothing left to do with the cut edge but use it. I don't have to joint it, sand it or otherwise sweeten it up in any way.
Ed
First thanks to all who took the time to help me out. I have cut perfectly straight boards after taking the zero clearance insert out and putting the splitter and safety shield in place. This is an operation where its not in the way and sure made my life easier.
Thanks too to Nick and Bruce who chimed in late yesterday. I do not know another shopsmith user in my area and sometimes when I talk to the other woodworkers I know they wrinkle their nose and say well now thats your problem! I usually take out some pictures of the projects Ive built over the years and ask to see theirs. Many times they just have tools!
The support here is awesome and its nice to know other shopsmith users!
"I'm of the opinion that any cut, any blade can be improved using a zero clearance insert."
I second this opinion. I also use a ZC insert for critical dado cuts, particularly when cutting joinery in plywood -- eliminates a great many of the "feathers." We should also point out that it's a safer set-up as well. It reduces the chance that a small piece will drop down into the lower blade guard and the blade will pitch it back at you.
"I'm of the opinion that any cut, any blade can be improved using a zero clearance insert."
I agree with you. However, in this case the splitter was more important than having a few fuzzies on the bottom edge of the cut. If I were cutting off narrow strips, then I would use the zero clearance insert. My WWII blade makes a cut that rivals a jointer in most cases.
This may have been a one time occurrence, but it did happen, and at the time I had a hard time convincing myself I saw what I saw.
Ripping a long 3/4 redwood board (that had been on the stack for years), and using the standard (510) SS guard w/splitter, the board tried so severly (for lack of a better term) to close the kerf that it closed on the blade and caused some burning. After a few "whut da hay"s I remembered that the splitter is not as thick as the teeth of the blade. And the wood was closing on the splitter, closing on the rear of the blade, making for some truly nasty sawdust (splintery redwood's gotta be the worst).
What I wound up doing (with requisite trepidation) was stopping the cut at first sign of rear-blade contact, stopping the SS, and inserting a shim in the kerf beyond the guard, then pulling the board back a bit, til I got no blade contact while moving it by hand, then while holding the board absolutely immobile started the SS and completed the cut.
Musta been some really strange grain in that old board, for I've never had that happen before or since. But it did serve to point out weakness in the splitter of which I am glad to be aware (it's flexible, and it's thin).
keakap wrote:This may have been a one time occurrence, but it did happen, and at the time I had a hard time convincing myself I saw what I saw.
After a few "whut da hay"s I remembered that the splitter is not as thick as the teeth of the blade. And the wood was closing on the splitter, closing on the rear of the blade, making for some truly nasty sawdust (splintery redwood's gotta be the worst).
Musta been some really strange grain in that old board, for I've never had that happen before or since. But it did serve to point out weakness in the splitter of which I am glad to be aware (it's flexible, and it's thin).
Yes, that'll happen! Always best to use the safety guards that you used.
Good job using the wedges!!!
Many straight boards even those that have been well seasoned, contain internal stresses that when released by ripping will cause shape changing. That's just the way wood is!
I think I've found that the thinner blades (closer to the thickness of the Shopsmith splitter) will help avoid some of these issues.
Octogenarian's have an earned right to be a curmudgeon.
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
