Thread: to raise or not to raise? that is the question

Hey, careful, I taught for a while. Taught then went back to doing. So can I or can't I ??

We're all young'n'stupid once, just don't do it again!

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach?

A well known vicious rumour spread by those whom cannot do both satisfactorily.......... do or teach that is & I know plenty of them.

Originally Posted by E. maculata

A well known vicious rumour spread by those whom cannot do both satisfactorily.......... do or teach that is & I know plenty of them.

Ouch! Who sent you a copy of my resume? At least I'm overqualified to be a demonstrator. (Just seeing if I missed offending anybody... )

And just to get back on-topic, I've found there are times when it's safer to set the blade just above the material when ripping. I often rip down 90x45 pine studs to make 40x20 carcase frames and have found that setting the blade high causes severe ceiling dings when the deadknots get sent flying.

I don't use a guard in this case, as the same dead-knots lift and jamb between the blade and guard, but I do use a riving knife and feather-boards to side & top for both true cuts and as an anti-kickback device. Hard-hats optional, it depends on how good you are at avoiding incoming.

Of course, it's a different story when working with "real" wood... and knot this radiata muck.

Ahhh now lets get deep & meaningfull.
Remember If you are taking a test the correct answer is the one they want. Was this covered in class or in any of the prescribed texts? If not then you have a bone to pick.
As far as in real life.
I don't recon there is such a thing as ripping ply or any sheet goods they are all cross cuts. (I supose if your cutting strips you should think about that as ripping, )
Ripping real timber, I tend to agree that full height is probably best for a couple of reasons.
There is less blade in the cut therefore chip clearance will be better and the cut should be faster.
There is less tendancy for the timber to ride up over the blade.
The riving knife will be fully engaged in the cut.
cheers

Originally Posted by vsquizz

. I have come across these characters, some of them selling machinery. Their version of the "right way" is actually the way they have always done it (30 years I been in the trade sonny an thats the way its done). It doesn't mean its right.

Originally Posted by gatiep

Even "more worse" are them fellows that have only heard about or read about how it should be done, never tried it in practice but tell you exactly how it should be done!

The 'most worser ones' wear tool belts in shops. That kills me everytime I see it..... for the pricing gun I suppose.

I went through the text book today and it did state that the blade should be raised to the maximum height, so i guess the teacher was right in a way, but i wonder if the guy who wrote the text book ever done a bit of woodwork in his life?

I agree with statement earilier that their really isn't any 'right' answer.

Agreed higher the better. But sometimes you wouldn't want it as high as possible. Like when ripping a strip that has a small cross-section. Safty aside its much easier to get that push stick in their when its only a few mill over the height of your stock.

Best piece of advice I received:

"If the fence (rip) is tight"
"Give the blade some height"

If you are using a crosscut fence or mitre gauge without the rip fence the risk is less.

Cheers

Originally Posted by joseph84

I went through the text book today and it did state that the blade should be raised to the maximum height, so i guess the teacher was right in a way, but i wonder if the guy who wrote the text book ever done a bit of woodwork in his life?

As far as school goes, you must answer what the text says, otherwise mayhem results.

Full Depends on the saw, 125mm of blade exposed to rip 6mm stock is overkill. On a 250mm blade this may not be too bad. For anything likely to kickback and make holes in me, give me full blade height please. I'm with the others with this being a "general" preference.

10mm over stock. Personally I think this is wrong, and is better stated as raise the blade sufficiently that the gullett is clear of the stock. This allows the blade to clear the chips and stay cooler.

just do what the teacher says or he may fail you , those cranky buggers think just because there teachers they know everything...(if there are any teachers on the forum, don't take this personaly) you awnt the grades so go with the flow and when you get to do you own thing one day then you can do it you way...

by the way both answers are right, although i would not have the blade exposed more than a 10 mm without a guard , and if you clamp a small piece of timber to the fence so the workpiece rides under it when it is being cut , then that will stop it riding over the blade ( when the blade is protruding by 10mm) and avoiding kickback can be helped by clamping a piece of timber to the face side of the fence but it only goes to the blade...have you ever seen a dedicated rip saw (not a table saw) they only have half a fence...

Grab a couple of grrrrippers - no worries mate!

Originally Posted by boban

The 'most worser ones' wear tool belts in shops. That kills me everytime I see it..... for the pricing gun I suppose.

*LOL* you have to have your woodies accesories if you are going to sell tools don't you?

Studley

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach?

And those that can't teach, teach teachers...
And those that can't teach teachers, go into politics...


(lets see what you can do with that one Outback )