Making 'keystock' sizes pieces for inlay

Ladies and Gents,

I made a quick box for drill bits (photo below) with an easy inlay around the box as wide as my TS blade (1/8"). I used maple for the inlay.

I did get it done, but cutting a thin strip down to 1/8" x 1/8" was a bit nasty. I used a table saw. I had a two feet ish long 1/8" thick strip and fed it one way for like half of the blade showing (to keep the strip out of the blade tips in the back of the blade), rocked it up and out the way. Next, I fed it from the other side. Kind of thrilling. My hands never were beside or behind the blade and I was definitely out of projectile way, but exciting none the less. The cut quality of this cut was obviously crap. I don't have a bandsaw though.


Anyway, is there a way to make this second cut and not have such an exciting and terrible cut quality using the TS? Should I raise the blade out of the table more than an inch? Using a zero clearance plate would probably help, eh? (I was using a 40 tooth Forrest)

Attachment 362027

I set my fence to the thickness that I want and then lower the blade and tape a piece of hardboard to the tablesaw. I then raise the blade to slightly more than the thickness of my stock. I use a push stick that will push down on the stock and keep it from raising up. I make the push stick from a 2 x 6 board. Hope this helps.
Joe

40 tooth??? I hope it was a 7" blade, really for a table saw 10" blade 60 to 80 teeth are preferred.

60 to 80 are preferred for cutting such small stuff?

I've been using this blade for a while now and it is awesome

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Something like Jay Bates' "Best Push Stick Ever" (You Tube) might work for you. Kind of a poor man's Grippper, where the push stick becomes kind of sacrificial, but it's just a piece of 2x stock.

Cut the 1/8" square from a corner of a 3/4" piece with the blade exposed about 1/4".

not sure how I didn't think of that...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bradley Gray

Cut the 1/8" square from a corner of a 3/4" piece with the blade exposed about 1/4".

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Yes to this!

Alternatively, Dbl-bk tape a wide 1/8" thk. piece to a board, cut 1/8" strips (actually slots through the wide 1/8" pc. into the board), then use Mineral Spirits, Naptha, Acetone, DNA or other solvent to loosen the Dbl-bk tape & strips from the board. A number of strips can be made from the wide 1/8" thk piece by just moving the fence over for each strip.