I ran some scrap wood through to cut a couple of test strips and test out my setup. If the saw kerf closes up behind the blade, the blade gets pinched and starts to back cut the edge of the plank opposite the strip. How do I keep the kerf from closing up and pinching the blade? About all I can think to do is add a splitter.

My raw planks are 12' long. I'm using infeed and outfeed tables, Board Buddies, a feather board over the blade and ... it's a one man show ... I'm ripping my strips alone so I don't have anyone to control the plank behind the saw. Even though I push the stock through by applying pressure on the strip side the kerf wants to close up on the last few feet of the cut.

Ken