I am now the proud father of a Grizzly 10″ left tilt cabinet saw…all 430 pounds of it. I’m a little sad because I’m still waiting for the electrician to come install the power for it but I figure it would give me the chance to properly tune it up and ask the forum a question or two about saws now that I have a nice one.
I killed my last table saw (A $99 Ryobi) ripping rough sawn 8/4 hard maple. I only have a 6 inch jointer and I needed to get it down to a workable width. Anyway, the board had a pretty good cup in it and I think that’s what did in the saw because while ripping I smelled a burning wire smell and then the saw just cut off never to be heard from again. My questions are:
1. If the board is cupped, which is the best way to rip (cup down or up)?
2. What kind of horsepower does the $99 Ryobi have. I’m curious how it compares with the new Grizzly (3 HP). I’ve worked with a 3 and 5 HP Table Saws before…I’m very excited to get that little saw to work.
Thanks for any answers or comments
aak
Replies
aakBoston
Just one comment; if you don't already have one; get and use a splitter. It sounds like you might have smoked your old saw by squeazing the blade in a rip cut. If you try that with a 3-5 HP saw, it will launch the board and possibly you with it into the next township!!
Regards,
Mack
"WISH IN ONE HAND, #### IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FIRST"
Very, Very (Very) good point. . . . . . . . . . .
With my first saw, at 1 1/2 HP, if a piece somehow got twisted around, it would stop the blade and stall the saw.
After moving on to a 3 HP saw, I was amazed at the power of the motor. It never stalled, and that can lead to some pretty nasty kickbacks -- if you're not using a splitter and holding on tight.
I know what you mean! My first TS was an old (1946) tilting table model Delta with the motor mounted on the bottom of the stand. The single belt was around 48" long and the thing never once kicked back on me. Any bind would stop the blade. When I got my new (1950) Unisaw, I made up my mind that I would not do a single rip operation until I had a splitter installed. Once I felt the power of the new saw, I realized that I had made a real smart (first time ever!!LOL) decision.
Regards,
Mack
"WISH IN ONE HAND, #### IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FIRST"
The best way to rip warped lumber is on a bandsaw.
I'd be pretty nervous about ripping cupped lumber on a table saw. Way too much possibility for unwanted and dangerous movement of the stock in relation to the spinning blade. If you don't have a band saw to use (as recommended above), you might want to consider buying a hand-held planer to use on these wider boards, get them flat enough to rip.
I'm no electrical expert, but fer sure I know that stated horsepower comparisons between a belt-driven motor like your Grizzly has, and direct-drive motors such as those found in bench-top saws are like comparing apples to basketballs. <g> Your Grizzly will feel like a completely different machine than the Ryobi.
Work safely!!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
You're Ryobi had a universal motor that was probably between 1 and 1-1/2hp, while the Griz has an induction motor that is 3hp. Even if they were the same hp rating, the two motors have very different power and torque curves, with a heavy advantage to the induction motor. The loudest thing on your new saw will be the whir of air on the blade, instead of the harsh grating sound of brushes rubbing on a univeral motor.
Congratulations on the new member of the tool family. Which model did you choose? Let us know how the saw goes. I just bought my first Grizzly 17" BS, and so far have been impressed with the machine. After you have had time to kick the tires so to speak, give us a run down of it's good and bad points. I will be in the market for a table saw in the future and will be considering a grizzly. Nothing like first hand knowledge.
aakBoston,
Personally I don't like to rip before flattening....and I don't have a jointer. So I take the cup/bow out with my planer and maybe a hand plane. I put a couple of melomine pieces (12"x 8') on the base of my planer and support the extensions. I take out the high spots with a hand plane and run the stock through bow/cup side down...and repeat till one side is flat...flip it over and repeat.
I like to keep the board as wide as possible to get the most options for grain matching in the panel...
I echo the comments about not wanting to table saw any cupped or warped wood. I had a very serious accident about 10 years ago, and developed a very good healthy respect for Unisaws.
That being said, I'm not sure if I would want to rip your wood or not; only you could decide. If I had to rip it on a table saw, it would be cup up, so the wood would not rock. I would use a hold down and push sticks.
Clearly the safest way would be to use a bandsaw which is the safest tool in the shop.
Next would be an ordinary skill saw.
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Ditto the advise about not ripping cupped wood: it should be flattened first. The big difference with the new saw - I have the same model Grizzly - is that the power can get you into trouble faster and with less effort. A piece of wood that is rocking while being pushed through a spinning blade is never a wise idea.
Enjoy the saw. I think you'll like it.
Doug
Thanks everyone for the questions...for the Ryobi, I just couldn't figure out how to make the splitter work right out of the box so I just threw it out. For the Grizzly, since it's much better made and since I'm still waiting for the electricity, I'll take my time and use the splitter.
How come all th woodworking shows, magazine's I've seen never show splitters in use?
First, to echo others warnings;
1.Never, EVER, rip a cupped piece of lumber on your tablesaw.You'll either fry the motor or experience kickback.Not fun. Square it up first on the jointer and planer.This is a basic sequence in wood prep and perhaps further study will help you.
2. A $99 Ryobi tablesaw has enough hp to rip a stick of butter. But not much more. Fence alignment is a major problem. I'm glad you bought a decent saw.
Splitters are used for solid wood, but are unnecessary for plys and composites.
Most splitters fail to function when the splitter is not in line with the blade. I use a kerf jig to align the splitter.
Remove the splitter and set the fence at 8". Take a 12x20 piece of 3/4 MFD or plywood and saw 15 inches into it, cutting off the saw in mid cut. Don't move the fence.
Unplug the saw and install the splitter. Use the kerfed piece of wood to align the splitter with the blade. Tighten it down.
Your splitter is now perfectly aligned.
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled