: Thanks once again for all the suggestions on how to stop that burning
: sensation in my Western Red Cedar.

: I went under the saw and decided to torque up the trunion. Now my saw is
: brand new, a Ridgid from the Home Depot. This is my first piece of advice
: for readers of this BBS - if you've just bought a Ridgid, tighten the
: trunion as soon as you get it. Your's may already be tight enough, but
: just be sure. I zeroed the blade per the instructions and thought
: everything was O.K., but after a series of cuts the trunion must have
: shifted. Not much but the 2/100 it was out seemed to do the trick. Now I'm
: not going to say that the trunion bolts were sloppy, but I was able to run
: them in further with a socket wrench.

: I ended up spending several days (after work) trying to set up my 10"
: hollow ground planer to the mitre slot. I always had the rear of the blade
: closer the fence. Out went the 10" in went the 8" DeWalt I had
: used to rip the pine. Partial success. The rear of the blade was now less
: than 1/100" out from the front, and stepped away from the fence.
: (Complete success would have the blade fully parallel to the mitre slot -
: I will be going to Lee Valley to get the blade truing disc for the next
: project.) I then set up an aux. fence that came in to the blade centre
: then left the rear half of the blade open.

: I now have nice, cleanly ripped cedar planks. Mimimum burning, all my
: fingers.

: Now for a question. My planks vary by about 1/100" over their widths,
: from 24/100" to 1/4". On one of my previous posts, Nick
: suggested the uniformity of thickness was of importance to achieving
: nicely machined stock. How uniform is uniform? Will I still be O.K. if I
: C&B these boards without planing them down? Or is 1/100" nothing that
: will be noticed? I'm a bit AR here - I seek perfection (illusive maybe,
: but I must try . . .).

: I'm frugal too - can I use those burnt boards? (Sand 'em down, dress 'em with
: the planer setup I created - per Nick - on my router table?)

: Thanks for the previous assist, and for your responses to this question. I'm
: about to join the ranks of builders . . .

O.K. Greg !

Now we can get down to some serious fun. :)

Glad to hear that the saw is all set and it was an easy fix. You'll probably find that most of the major supply stores hire young inexperienced people to do the little tasks like setting up tools and the like. My Craftsman, when I purchased it 25 or so years ago was likewise in need of fine tuning. If it has been transported or moved around in the shop or garage, it will probably need an occasional check for accuracy. Another thought: you said you were using different blade sizes, so be aware that the teeth are usually a different thickness and will change your adjustment on the tapemeasure on the saw. I almost always start a project by checking that out against my personal tape and adjusting accordingly.

A zero clearance plate is a good idea when you are cutting small stuff like the strips. It depends on how " Open " your plate is between the blade and the fence. I make plywood plates, flush them with the table and hold them down with the fence, and a piece of wood and then run the blade up through them a little at a time until I get the blade about 1" above the plate. That gives me the Zero Clearance I like to use. No gapping whole around the blade to tilt or swallow my little work.

About the wood. It depends on just how AR you have to be in order to get the job done and be satisfied. I'm hard to satisfy also. But,I wouldn't throw any of the strips away if you are with in a 1/32 or 1/64th of an inch under and certainly not if they are over. If they are over, then run them back through your new, new saw and true them up. Or the planer you have set up with the router. The burnt ones will also suffice. Any time I get a little burn mark I take out the " Belt Sander " and run it down the length of the strip and take it off. You could also rerun them on the saw. The burn usually doesn't run too deep. Also, if they are already the right thickness, then just use them that way. You will be sanding, scrapeing or planing the whole outer and probably the inner surface when you are ready to finish, so, it'll all come out in the wash. If you've got some deep blade scratches on them as well, then you will have to consider how much it will take to get them out. I wouldn't think they'd be too deep, so you can probably get it out during the fairing proccess as well. If some of the strips are a tad thicker than the rest, they will run the B&C just fine. They will possibly have a tiny ridge on the top side, which is fine if it's only a couple thousandths. It will sand off when fairing also. Just make sure anything you don't want on the surface of the boat is facing the surface. That way it is easier to take off and make purty.

Not sure what a blade truing disc is, but, if it's the large flange/washer that goes under the nut, yes by all means get one. All saws should have that included when purchased. They stiffen up the blade considerably. Try to keep it close to the same size as the backing plate the blade rests on. Anything larger or smaller by considerable may tend to push/warp the blade when tightened down.

Sounds like you are READY.

Rehd