Replies

1. 
   dtraversi | Jul 24, 2007 04:52pm | #1

   Hey Stewie-

   Beech and Maple go great together- strong-stable and more attractive over time (even with hard use)

   I would use the 2" and just space it out so it is either symetrical (like one stick every fourth strip)
   -- or completely random if is a large surface and you have enough to make it look random.

   As for the burning - even when your blade and fence are true -maple will burn a little if it pauses during ripping.

   If you are burning alot during the rip I wouuld suggest getting a rip blade here- 60 tooth is a crosscut blade (I might even call it a laminate blade)

   Get a 24 tooth carbide rip blade (inexpensive) and you'll see a big difference- it will also save your 60 tooth for when you need to cut ply-

   Hope this helps-
   Dave

2. 
   BigNat | Jul 25, 2007 02:31am | #2

   Stewie;

   I second dtraversi's advice regarding the 60 tooth blade and would add that ripping thick stock with a crosscut blade is a really good way to toast a blade. The teeth on a rip blade are designed to remove stock differently than those on a crosscut blade also, the deep gullets on a rip are designed to shed chips more readily, thereby reducing friction and, as a result, keeping the heat down. The small gullets on a crosscut blade are inadequate for the kind of stock removal ripping 2" maple requires; they jam up with chips and heat the blade up. I've seen a blade heat up so much it warped in the cut. When the operator shut the saw off (after finishing his cut), the cut in the zero-clearance insert was the standard 1/8" in the middle and 3/8" at either end!!
   Heck. In one shop where I worked, we did all our ripping in stock 2" and thicker with a 10 tooth rip blade. That blade, in a 10"General saw, would cut 2" white oak as fast as I could feed it and I never saw it burn a single piece.
   As a final note, when selecting a rip blade, stay away from thin-kerf blades. It has been my experience that they deflect enough to cause an out-of-square cut in all but the thinnest, most well-behaved stock. And don't believe anyone who tells you it's possible to get by with only one blade unless it's a plywood blade and you do all your work in plywood.

   Nat

1. 
   stewie | Jul 25, 2007 03:32pm | #3

   Nat and Dave Thanks for the info. I'm off to the Depot to buy a couple of blades to tackle the maple and beech. I had asked the guy at our local Timbermart about a blade with fewer teeth for ripping and he didn't know.... Your kind of feedback is the reason I love this site. I also think I read that titebond 111 is the glue of choice for the butcherblock glue up. "Always a new way to screw up :) " Stewie
   The Sawdust Shop