Thanks to everyone for their great advice (sorry for getting back to you so late). I reckon that I'm going to re-zero the table saw over the weekend. In the meantime I have put spacers around all my boards to let the air circulate - I don't know if it will have an impact, but those first couple of strips off each cedar plank ripped cleanly. The rear of the blade is +1/100 closer the fence than the front, and the burn marks are punctuated with nice 10" arcs from the rear of the blade, so I definitely think that it is a potential problem to be addressed - trunion here I come. The funny thing is that when I set it up, the blade (a carbide-tipped blade) seemed parallel, so maybe the trunion was loose - I know I did not tighten it.

To answer some specific questions:

To Spidey: That is an interesting offer . . . how about your beaut kayak for some Bob's Special plans, some nicely ripped pine, and some cedar - burnt one side?

To Rehd: My saw is a 10" Ridgid fresh from the Home Depot. She's got a 15A motor and runs off 110V. My blade is a 10" steel hollow ground planer. The fence . . . good question but I reckon it has a long screw through the centre; it locks quite securely, but when I push on it to lock it tends to lock in slightly skewed at the rear - skewed closer to the blade! When I ripped the stock I was sure that I had the space and didn't get "burnt" by the skewing of the rear of the fence. As for the blade to mitre slot measurements, my dial caliper says the rear of the blade is approximately 1/100 closer the fence than the front, both measured off the same tooth. And you were bang-on about the strips bowing when cut; the bow away from the "scrap".

To Tom: Yep, I've got the blade pointing in the right direction.

To Coop: Nope, the blade does not have expansion slots.

Thanks again to one and all. You'll probably be hearing from me again shortly.

Greg.