The following is an excerpt from my plans on setting up the table saw and safely cutting consistent strips.

I've cut thousands of strips with this method with never a kickback or a nicked finger.

Table Saw Set Up
Cutting strips can be easy and safe when the saw is set up properly and infeed and out feed tables support the board. The following safe cutting method works very well, with no kickbacks. Your hands are never near the saw blade.

Saw Blades
Buy a new saw blade. Buy a carbide tipped ripping blade or combination blade. It will cut fast, cleanly, and save you a lot of grief.

Saw Blade Set Up
Install the new blade in the table saw. Lower the blade all the way. Make an
auxiliary throat plate of wood to fit your saw. Or use double sided tape or hot glue to fix a piece of 1/16” veneer over the blade and the existing throat plate. If you use veneer, make sure the veneer also is trapped under the fence so it won't move.
With the saw turned on, slowly raise the blade up through the throat plate to cut an opening only the width of the blade.

This is important because now the strips won't be able to slide down between the throat plate and the blade.

Next, You may need to screw an auxiliary fence to the saw’s regular fence, of 3/4”
plywood, the length of the saw fence and 10” high. I had to pad out my standard metal saw fence (on a Makita portable) on three sides with 2x stock to make it easier to screw the 10” high fence to it.

Featherboard
A featherboard is a piece of scrap wood with a series of saw cuts at one end creating
a flexible feather edge. This edge is cut at an angle of approximately 20°. When a featherboard is clamped against a board being cut or milled, the board is held firmly and cannot kickback. The feathered edge is angled in the direction of board travel.
Make a featherboard of l x 4 stock with adjustment slots for bolts if desired. Clamp or bolt the featherboard to the fence directly over the center of blade. Use clamps or T nuts on the back of the auxiliary fence to bolt the featherboard on for easy adjustment.

Check that the saw blade and the fence are perpendicular to the saw table. Make sure that the saw blade and the fence are parallel
Set the fence to cut a strip. Take a piece of scrap wood the thickness of the boards to be cut and cut a few test pieces. Measure strips carefully to see if you are getting a consistent cut. Make certain the strips are the correct thickness. If you have to choose between a fat or thin measurement, choose on the fat side.

Position the Featherboard
Use a scrap piece the same thickness as the boards to be cut. Start cutting a strip, but stop the saw part way through the board. Drop the blade flush with the surface of the wood. Press the featherboard down firmly on the wood surface RIGHT ON TOP OF THE BLADE and clamp in place or tighten the hold down bolts. Turn on the saw and raise the blade 1/4” into the featherboard. Finish cutting the strip. The featherboard will completely cover the saw blade. There will be no chance for your fingers to touch the blade.

Once the featherboard is placed and adjusted correctly, with the board properly supported, it will hold the wood so well, that you can take your hands off the board being cut to walk behind the saw and pull the board through to finish the cut. On the last few strips cut from the board, use a push stick to press the wood against the fence.

Please take time for safety. May you always be able to count to ten on your fingers.

Check the thickness of the strips often.

It is important to develop a smooth hand feed rate of the board, with constant pressure against the fence to cut strips that are consistent in thickness. If you wish to control wood color and grain in the finished boat, number strips as they are cut and bundle them together, so you can use strips consecutively from the board.

An option to speed up the job of cutting strips is to set up the saw with two blades spaced with washers to a strip width. Set up a second strip width between the inside blade and the fence as discussed above. Increase the featherboard width to cover both blades. This will allow you to cut two strips per pass. That will “cut” your strip milling time in half!

Feed Stands
The task of cutting strips is a pleasure when you take the time to set up feed stands, so boards roll smoothly and with little friction.

I use 2 feed stands in front and 2 in back of my saw to totally support the boards being cut. This allows me to focus on board pressure against the fence to cut consistent strips. I weigh down my table saw and feed stands so they won't move during a cut.

Build a wooden roller tray with rollers made of 1-1/2” diameter PVC pipe. Cut
plywood plugs for the ends of the PVC pipe with a hole saw and run a dowel through the centers. Mount the rollers in a wood frame. Use spring clamps to hold the roller frame between the uprights of the feed stands at the desired height. I designed the feed stands pictured on this page for use with my table saw. I didn’t like the commercially available feed stands. I wanted something easier to adjust and much more stable.

Another option to support your boards is to place long wide boards or plywood pieces on horses to act as infeed and outfeed tables. Waxed surfaces will reduce friction.

All the best,

Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.LaughingLoon.com