: I am in need of some assistance. I have a new table saw. I set is all up a
: couple of weeks ago and last weekend commenced ripping my planks. I used a
: DeWalt Hollow Ground Planer blade and attacked my 1"x8"x8' Pine
: planks - everything worked out fine and I now have some nice, fairly
: uniform (all within 2/100 of each other, from 23/100 to 1/4 inch thick -
: is this O.K. for running through the router?) planks.

: Today I turned my attention to the Western Red Cedar I recently bought. The
: first couple of rips on each plank went well and I got my nice, fairly
: uniform planks. Then the saw started to bog, and I burned my way through
: the next few. I slowed my feed rate - still burned boards. I bought a new
: hollow ground planer blade - still burned boards. I have zeroed my fence
: to the mitre slot, even adding +2/100 of an inch to the rear - still
: burned boards. My blade appears to be +2/100 with the rear of the blade
: closer to the fence by that much - is this my problem (why did the pine
: rip so cleanly, though?). Is it the Western Red Cedar - too wet (it is/was
: stored indoors)? Please tell me what I could be doing wrong - I'm no
: cabinet maker. I've blown the breaker once, and I reckon the neighbours
: will be calling the fire department out soon . . .

: Thanks,

: Greg.

Greg: Throw away the hollow ground planer blade; it got dull after you cut the pine with it. Go to Home Depot and get a Thin Kerf Carbide Blade, Freud makes them in the 9" to 10" range, maybe 40 teeth. Set the saw up with the space very slightly wider between the back of the blade and the fence than the front. Use featherboards, or better yet a power feed.

Rip the strips to .280" and then plane them to .250". To measure them you'll need dial indicator calipers.

Beyond that, the quality of your ripping will be determined by the quality of your table saw. A large Powermatic is going to give you a much better ripped surface than a Makita table top contractor's saw.

Michael