Any woodworkers?

[DaveNay]

Today, I finished assembling my new table saw. Obviously, I need to fine tune all the alignments. The most noticable problem is show in the attached picture. When I took a couple of test rips, I get a lot of blade gouging on the finished cuts. I believe that the problem is with the splitter/blade guard, but a looked it over carefully, and it does not appear to be binding in the kerf.

Anyone have some experience with table saws, and could help me out? I am perfectly willing to accept that my problem is with my skills, and not a mechanical issue.

Thanks!

 

[johnday]

Today, I finished assembling my new table saw. Obviously, I need to fine tune all the alignments. The most noticable problem is show in the attached picture. When I took a couple of test rips, I get a lot of blade gouging on the finished cuts. I believe that the problem is with the splitter/blade guard, but a looked it over carefully, and it does not appear to be binding in the kerf.

Anyone have some experience with table saws, and could help me out? I am perfectly willing to accept that my problem is with my skills, and not a mechanical issue.

Thanks!

Dave; were you using a combination blade? On long rips like that, a rip blade makes a difference. Also, is your ripfence exactly parralel with your blade? Once you get the blade parralel with your mitre gauge slot, lineup your fence paralel to the blade. Just measure from the blade at the front and the back to the fence. They have to be the same dimension.

 

[Glenn9643]

After verifying all alignments, you might find the blade to be a problem. I don't know what the Ridgid ships with... it may be OK.
At any rate, my recommendation is Forrest WWII.
http://www.forrestsawbladesonline.com/category_2_Woodworker_II.html

 

[XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq]

Dave, I've got the same saw as you (only it's 2.5 years old now). That gouging looks like it's from you stopping in one place for a while.

I suspect that your blade and the splitter blade guard may be slightly out of alignment. Although, I know that the blade that came with my saw is not the best for ripping large lumber. You may want to get a different blade if you are going to do a lot of that.

PB

 

[HGM]

I dont use a table saw enough to give an opinion, but could the speed be the problem? Looks like some cuts I have gotten from rushing a cut with a medeocre(??) blade.. Just a thought..

 

[BigAl]

Today, I finished assembling my new table saw. Obviously, I need to fine tune all the alignments. The most noticable problem is show in the attached picture. When I took a couple of test rips, I get a lot of blade gouging on the finished cuts. I believe that the problem is with the splitter/blade guard, but a looked it over carefully, and it does not appear to be binding in the kerf.

Anyone have some experience with table saws, and could help me out? I am perfectly willing to accept that my problem is with my skills, and not a mechanical issue.

Thanks!

It looks like not enough blade "set" to me . I would buy a good ripping blade or take your blade to a saw sharpener and have him reset it . You might want to get a hollow ground blade . Expensive but well worth it .Did that piece of wood bind at all when you ran it through?? it may have some stress in the wood . How wide is that cut??

 

[DaveNay]

Did that piece of wood bind at all when you ran it through?? it may have some stress in the wood . How wide is that cut??

The wood did not bind at all during the cut. It is a scrap piece of 2x12 (actually 2" measurement) doug fir that was laying around the shop. I am going to check the blade/table/fence parallelism today, as well as re-align the splitter. The blade is the stock blade from Ridgid, which although not great, supposedly it is far from the worst OEM blade. I have another blade to put on it (new), but I don't recall the brand.

One of the guys on the Ridgid Forum also suggested that the wood was not an optimum choice for a test, due to possible moisture content. Also, i probable should have used a feather board to keep the piece tight against the fence.

 

[beds]

I've got that same saw as PB - yours but 3 years old. I have no complaints about the original blade - good general purpose and served me well. The complaint about mine is the fence, which looks to have been corrected in this fine looking saw!

 

[Cowboyjg]

Dave... the picture suggests (to me) that you ripped the board at an angle. Typically... gouging is the result of only a couple things. Blade choice is important. Rip vs finish vs plywood vs general purpose. Choose the right blade for what you are doing. Fence/ blade alignment. The pressure of the stock against the fence. A feather board is sometimes needed. Inconstant pressure means movement of the stock which can cause gouging (happens alot when ripping long lengths). Ripping at an angle. In most instances, it is very difficult to maintain constant pressue and positioning of the stock on an agnled rip without some sort of jig. last but not so far outside the box is something mechanical. even new equipment can be imperfect. Bad bearings, loose motor or positioning bracket. Have you looked at how the saw starts and gets up to speed?

 

[humor_me]

Dave,
Start with fine-tuning your tablesaw.
Pay particular attention to your ripfence parallelism and your blade/miter slot parallelism. These are the keys to a fine-tuned table saw.
Use a rip blade as suggested before. And, the most time-consuming thing - hone your skills.
When ripping wood, try not to stop the cut, as this effect is a common occurance when restarting the cut. Try to make it in one, smooth, continuous motion.

Another tip, try to always use a zero-clearance insert whenever possible.

 

[humor_me]

Today, I finished assembling my new table saw. Obviously, I need to fine tune all the alignments. The most noticable problem is show in the attached picture. When I took a couple of test rips, I get a lot of blade gouging on the finished cuts. I believe that the problem is with the splitter/blade guard, but a looked it over carefully, and it does not appear to be binding in the kerf.

Anyone have some experience with table saws, and could help me out? I am perfectly willing to accept that my problem is with my skills, and not a mechanical issue.

Thanks!

BTW,
RIDGID has a fine forum also, and you'll find a bunch of info over there on the TS3650.
For instance, some poeple who had gotten their saws "on sale" found out that when they used a dado they had a defective arbor in them (which RIDGID provides a replacement N/C - just that most users will never notice this until they use a dado - they have since fixed the problem).

 

[johnday]

Dave; There is also a book, Tablesaw Technics, by either Richard or Roger Cliffe. You could most likely pickup a copy at one of the bigbox stores. I'va a copy out in the barn, I look at it tommorow and let you know the correct name.
Also, there is a magazine out there called Fine Woodworking. It's a very good magazine I used to subscribe to when I was woodworking. Has a lot of ideas, very well written, and they have a website. Do a search for "Fine Working", their sister mag, "Fine homebuilding", is another excellent resource you might like.

 

[DaveNay]

I picked up a dial indicator today during lunch from Harbor Freight. After....uh, borrowing...some 3/4 x 3/8 aluminum stock from work, I rigged up a fixture for the saw. 20 minutes later, I have concluded that I have .005" TIR on my blade. As I mentioned before, this is the OEM Ridgid blade. My next step is going to be to unmount the blade and make sure there are no burrs or debris between the blade and the arbor shoulder (good time to check if I have the bum arbor too). After that, I am going to mount the new thin kerf blade I plan on buying tomorrow morning.

I didn't even bother to check the blade/miter slot/rip fence parallelism yet.

 

[Junkman]

Faster Horses, Younger Women, Older Whisky, More Money and better saw blades

 

[johnday]

Dave; How'd you make out with your saw?

 

[DaveNay]

Dave; How'd you make out with your saw?

My new blade just came in the mail today. I bought a Forrest WWII online. I probably won't get time to put it on and try it until Saturday.

Last weekend when I measured the parallelism on the blade/slot/rip fence, I was accurate to within .002". Hopefully the quality new blade will be the final piece of the puzzle.

 

[johnday]

Forrest makes quality blades for sure. Hey, I still owe you the correct name and author of that book. I WILL get it tommorow for you.

 

[johnday]

Dave; the name of the book is, Tablesaw Techniques, by "Roger" Cliffe. Well worth the cost. I've books similar to this on all my stationary machines.

 

[DaveNay]

Dave; the name of the book is, Tablesaw Techniques, by "Roger" Cliffe. Well worth the cost. I've books similar to this on all my stationary machines.

Thanks John! I'll definitely put that book on my buy list.

 

[DaveNay]

Dave; How'd you make out with your saw?

My new Forrest WWII blade came in the mail this week, and this morning I was able to find time to mount the blade. I went after the table with a rag and kerosene to clean the gunk off, and I also applied a coating of Johnsons wax. Double checked the blade/miter slot measurements. Parallel to less than .001". Runout on the blade is around .003 TIR. Fence is nearly parallel, about .003" wider after the blade.

Run a couple test cuts, and the finish is nearly as smooth as glass! HOORAY!!!

So why am I not happy?

Because when I loosened the factory blade, using the Ridgid supplied wrenches, the wrench on the arbor (left hand) was not a proper fit, and it rounded over a corner on the flats of the arbor! It left a nice (NOT!) long groove of shiny metal on hte corner.

Not happy at all that the provided tools are not the proper size for the flats and/or the arbor is such soft metal that it rounded over so easily.

 

[Melensdad]

Dave,

• You state that you are not happy the tools provided with your saw did not fit.
• Further you state the arbor metal is soft and that makes you unhappy.
• And if I recall correctly your saw came from Home Depot.
• And if I recall correctly you Mother In Law gave you the gift certificate for Home Depot.
• Therefore I can only conclude that your Mother In Law is the source of your unhappiness.

I got my legal degree by watching William Shatner portray Denny Crain on Boston Legal. I'm sure he would approve of the logic I used!

 

[DaveNay]

Dave,

• You state that you are not happy the tools provided with your saw did not fit.
• Further you state the arbor metal is soft and that makes you unhappy.
• And if I recall correctly your saw came from Home Depot.
• And if I recall correctly you Mother In Law gave you the gift certificate for Home Depot.
• Therefore I can only conclude that your Mother In Law is the source of your unhappiness.

I got my legal degree by watching William Shatner portray Denny Crain on Boston Legal. I'm sure he would approve of the logic I used!

Hey Bob....

 

[Melensdad]

Oh stop it. That tickles.