Thread: Ripping banana-shaped lengths particleboard

hi, is the factory edge straight

If your riving knife and blade are aligned and your fence is parallel, you shouldn't really need much sideways pressure; not more than a single finger to keep the board against the fence.

Sheet goods can have internal stresses that cause them to bow as they are cut, just like timber, and narrower pieces will bow more.

What does the gap look like when you take the piece on the fence side and put it back against the piece it was cut from? If the 2 sides of the same cut match perfectly, it's twisting through the cut so something is probably misaligned; if they mirror each other, so there's a gap in the middle, it might be tension in the board.

Also, what happens if you take a strip say 2400x200 and buzz one edge straight, then rip 5mm off it? If the sawn edge comes out bent, it's definitely a problem on the fence side.

Originally Posted by aldav

I'm surprised you couldn't get a better result than that. 3mm is still a huge amount of run off over a 2400mm length, something funny going on there. Have you checked the saw arbor mechanism for play? With the zero clearance plate in place any variability in the rotation of the blade should show up fairly obviously in the alignment and width of the saw cut in the plate.

Haven't measured it but it looks about right--i.e doesn't look like it's wobbling all over. Might give it a closer look


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Originally Posted by Lappa

Have you always used the featherboard when you get the errors?

Yep. I backed off the pressure a bit for my test cut today though. Maybe try a pass without it, you think?


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Originally Posted by 5427 ron

hi, is the factory edge straight

Generally, yes. As far as I can tell That's my biggest problem--finding something long enough to effectively measure the problem! My stack of sheets is pretty much dead flat though so have been using it as a reference (turning the cut piece up on the newly cut edge). Prob not the best way though as I've been surprised how much the particleboard will flex across the cut width of 125mm. Have tried a string line too...


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