Thread: Tasmanian Blackwood burning on table saw

I think something is out of line with the saw. Blade needs to be parallel with the slots on the table and the fence should be parallel with the blade. Do a search on tuneing a table saw.
Regards
John

When I am cross cutting whilst making end grain cutting boards, there is a noticeable change in my band saw behaviour when it hits the blackwood and I can hear it having to work harder.

So, it could be a combination of the timber as well as the alignment.

It's easy to burn Blackwood on all the power tools, usually when you pause to regrip. Your burn sounds a bit excessive. any photos? I assume it's dressed timber.

No photos.... ripping tassie oak on the same causes no burn, so I think alignment is ok.... will check it with dial indicator on weekend though....

I'd be a bit surprised if it burned a lot using a dedicated 24T ripping blade - is the splitter/riving knife correct for the width of blade, and correctly aligned??

I routinely rip 50mm thick blackwood using an Infinity combo blade (40 tooth), which should if anything cause more problems, and it rips just fine with no burning. Have to feed fairly slowly though, as my baby JET tablesaw will bog down a bit if provoked......

Maybe I really do need to check everything.... I picked up a bunch of infinity blades last year, and the 'Super General' blade burnt it black, the 24T blade burnt less so....

That 'Super General' blade is a nice bit of kit....my Infinity combo is the earlier 40T design, and I should have mentioned that it is the thin kerf version. The thin kerf really helps when ripping thicker boards on my gutless saw.....

I like to have the fence kicked outwards ever so slightly at the back of the blade to prevent binding, but I'm talking only about 2-3 thou.

Now that Infinity no longer have a local distributor they are happy to sell direct, and prices are great provided you buy a few items at a time to make the shipping worthwhile. I have my eye on one of their dado sets

Good luck sorting out your blackwood issues.

Yes, I'm waiting for my second box of goodies from Tampa now..... one of their thick kerf box joint blade sets, and other stuff.... I think now a local distributor would just spoil the party!

An update.....
picked up a dial indicator, made a jig, and adjusted my seriously pinching fence! Now - no burning, table saw much less scary....

Good job

A couple of days ago I swapped out a standard kerf Freud combo blade for my trusty thin kerf Infinity combo (just back from sharpening). After months using the Freud I'd forgotten what a difference the thin kerf makes on a relatively low-powered saw like my JET. Worth considering for anyone else with a smaller saw who likes to rip reasonably thick stock - a thin kerf blade makes a BIG difference to ease of cutting, and the Infinity blades give a superb finish.

Have you seen infinity's new "laser thin kerf" blade - 1/16" kerf?? Nothing thin about the price though!

That might be taking the idea a bit far - it would likely flex too much on deeper cuts, even with the blade stabiliser doodads. Would be nice for boards up to about 25mm thick though.....

I'll have to visit their website and check it out.

Cheers

10" x 40T x 1/16" Laser Kerf Saw Blade-Carbide Router Bits | Router Bit Sets | Shaper Cutters | Saw Blades | Planer Knives | Jointer Knives | Infinity Cutting Tools

I see they have already thought of my concerns......

Hi Astrodog,

If your saw checks out OK in all departments I'd suspect that the blackwood has residual drying stress. This is a common phenomenon with blackwood including air dried and including very old kept in the shed for 25 years Blackwood. To cut this material you will need a reliable off- sider on the out feed end of the saw with some very fine start wedges. Get the off-sider to wedge the cut on the first sign of it closing behind the splitter plus subsequent wedges if necessary. Cut the timber over width and let it rest for a couple of weeks after ripping. I'd be expecting some bowing in the freshly ripped boards.

If you haven't got a splitter or a riving knife of the correct thickness on the saw for your blade with timber that behaves this way you are working in the danger zone big time.


Old Pete