: Good Monday. I finally tried my hand at ripping strips this weekend, with
: almost satisfactory results. I'm using a tablesaw set up gleaned from many
: posts which includes: inexpensive Ryobi saw with bolted-on 3/4" ply
: top; zero clearance insert; aux fence that stops just before the center of
: thin kerf, 24-tooth blade (8.5"); vertical and horizontal
: featherboards (one directly over blade), and 10-foot infeed and outfeed
: tables. I've checked and re-checked for blade-to-table squareness (fence
: to table, too), and I've aligned the fence as close to parallel to the
: blade as I can get it. Possible problems with my set up: no splitter, no
: wax to ease board passage. My known problems are: 1. The last few inches
: of each strip are problematic. I push each strip through by hand until
: about 2 feet until the blade, at which point I switch to a push stick.
: When I get to an inch or so away from the blade, I walk to the other side
: and pull the board/strip through. At this point, the saw whines, and
: yellow dust (from the paint on the blade) is seen. The resultant strip is
: uniform until the last few inches, over which it decreases to the point of
: uselessness. I'm careful to push/pull straight through, but I seem to get
: a bit of angle over the last few inches. Aside from using a powerfeeder,
: how can one ensure consistent feed angle (zero) when there's no longer a
: fence (it having ended mid-blade) to push against?

: 2. My blade (DeWalt, 8.5" thin kerf, general purpose) leaves marks on
: the strips. I can't recall if the Freud Diablo I used before left them,
: too. What level of finish should I expect for strips fresh from the table
: saw? The marks look to be easy enough to sand out, but what's the
: standard?

: Thanks for the help, and have a great day.

I'm hesitant to recommend this as this procedure really isn't very safe, but it's how I do it. I cut the strips like you've been doing up to the last 2 or 3 feet then pull the strip vertically from the saw and stack them. After all the strips are cut I reverse the direction of the pre-cut stock and recut the ends.

I also run the strips thru a planer to insure consistant thickness which helps with any irregularities that occur cutting it this way.

DANGER: there is a very real chance of kickback when you pull strips from the saw this way, I wear heavy leather gloves and never stand directly behind the blade doing this, always stand to one side. I caution anyone without considerable experience with a table saw to not ever do it this way and those with experience to do it very carefully.

But it works and is fast.

Bill H.