I have run a number of boards thru my table saw and I am getting a clean, smooth cut. Cuts easily. The question I have is this; one side of the rip looks very natural while the other side shows what I would call blade burns.
What should I gather from this? I guess is that the fence is a bit tight on the out feed, thus holding the wood against the blade and resulting in the burn. Am I on the right track?
Also, the surface of the cuts is very smooth as I noted, but it almost has a waxy feel to it. Good, bad, normal?
Tim
Replies
I think you have diagnosed your problem--a fence that toes-in a small amount. I'd change that immediately, since the more serious possibility of that alignment is kickback. Better to toe out a tiny bit than toe in by any amount.
I will defer to you more experienced folk but I was wondering if the blade hitting a nail on one side and dulling the blade could also couse a problem like this.
short fence?
Some folks also like to use a short fence for ripping, or an short auxiliary fence clamped to their regular fence. The idea is to end the auxiliary fence at the arbor, so there's nothing holding the board against the back half of the blade.
Other burn sources
Definitely correct any toe-in of the fence toward the blade. Kickback is not pretty, although the bruises one receives from it turn beautiful colors.
Another source of burn is slow feed rate or a pause while pushing the board past the blade. I've read that maple has a high sugar content which makes it more likely to burn. Even with a perfectly tuned fence on a 3HP saw with Forest blades I get sporadic burning on maple, cherry and purpleheart. A splitter or riving knife can help minimize the burn.
Pete
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