: Stan,

: I just finished ripping strips for a kayak I will build this winter using an
: old 10"Craftsman table saw with a 7 1/4 " blade. For some reason
: it left the strips thicker at the top of the cut, which I solved by
: flipping the board over between cuts. I'm not sure what caused the problem
: in the first place, but I suspect the 7 1/4" blade did not have
: enough teeth projecting above the cut. Another thing I noticed was that
: the amount of pressure on the feather board affected the thickness of the
: strips. This tended to vary as the width of the boards I was using was not
: consistent along their length. Due to the uneven strips, I'll use the
: rolling bevel method rather than bead and cove. Next time I think I will
: try "board buddies" and a 10" blade.

Richard,

The number of teeth above the cut has no bearing on the angle of the cut, or consistancy of width. The general rule of thumb on ANY blade is 1/4". Enough to make a clean top cut and low enough not to get your fingers if you are using a push stick. If you are using boards that have uneven width, there is an easy way to true them up, with the nelp of a jig on the table saw. Most cabinet lumber comes with uneven widths ( cheaper when you buy lumber S2S instead of S4S ) and most shops have their own board straightener. If you're interested in making one I will sketch one out and describe how to build and use it, and then email it to you. I don't have posting capability for the BB.

Rehd