Request for brutaly honest Creekers

[Aaron Berk]

Ok here goes.
I've never had a single lesson on any woodworking.
I've been at it the last 4-6 yrs.
I've got big ambitions, and even bigger dreams.
To top it all off, SWMBO is behind me 110%

So here is the nitty gritty where I need some pointers. I took a video of myself today ripping down a full 4x8 sheet. I'm dead set on doing this on my table saw. I have no desire to set up guides for my circ saw. I do however have a slick guide that my circ saw rides on so as to get a tear out free straight cut with no measuring for off set. But I only use it for cross cutting plywood. When I was making this rip cut today I boged down the saw pretty good, and I think I was feeding to fast for the capacity of my saw. So can I get some coments from the penut gallary as well as the guys up in the box office? Lay it on me thick, where can I improve the most here? I added a pic of the blade I was using, which I'll never use again. I'm in the market for a better plywood blade.

Thanks in advance, now bring it on
Aaron.




Wouldn't you know it!! You tube is doing maintenance and I can't get at my video. RATS! I'll add it in the morning, need to get to bed any way. SMC is WAY to addictive.

Ok, youtube is up this morning, so here is the vid of me doing my thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH1iuCshio4


Add a few things here, the saw is a single horse contractor 113. craftsman series upgraded with machined pulleys and a link twist belt. The wood being cut is nothing more than 3/4 sandleply? (spelling)
What may not be apparent in the video was the breaker tripping, I didn't shut off the saw at the end of the cut.

[Mike Henderson]

This is not a comment about you cutting sheet goods.

What you really should do is take a basic course in woodworking. If nothing else, it will give you a good grounding in how to work in the shop safely - and what procedures to avoid. Sure, you can learn it all by experience but that's really painful.

Mike

[Matthew Hills]

Ok here goes.
When I was making this rip cut today I boged down the saw pretty good, and I think I was feeding to fast for the capacity of my saw.

I dunno. Plywood isn't an especially heavy load on a table saw, although not sure how that 200 tooth blade will affect the cut. I'm usually ~40tooth combination blade with carbon teeth. For plywood rips, the cut is usually along the grain of the veneer and I don't have issues with chipping/tearout (cross-cuts require more care--that 200 tooth might come in handy there; I use tape and set blade height carefully)

Going back to the bogging the saw: do you think you might be binding the blade in the kerf -- either by not having the rip fence parallel to the blade or by getting a bit of rotation when handling the sheet?

How high do you set the blade? (reducing the height a bit can help reduce tearout on the bottom, but the cut isn't as easy across the top, as there is more arc in the blades entry into the wood)

Matt

[Mike Gager]

without seeing the video maybe some more info like type of saw, technique, were you using a splitter, do you have outfeed support. that kind of stuff.

it sounds like you probably werent feeding the sheet straight through or your saw isnt set up properly. ive used that same exact oldham blade to cut plywood and it really shouldnt be a problem using it but it wont stay sharp long as its not a carbide blade

[Grant Vanbokklen]

Is there a video of you ripping the plywood missing here?

[Matt Armstrong]

I can't see the video but a 200 tooth blade is going to be really unforgiving with slop. Even the slightest bit of heel is going to bog down the blade pretty bad. I also can't see what kind of saw you're running but my guess is that imprecision + lack of power + too many teeth on the blade = fail

[Rick Fisher]

I dont think I have ever seen a 200 tooth blade before..

I use a 40 tooth WWII on ply.. sometimes a Freud Glue Line Rip..

Okay.. bandsaw has more teeth than that.. so I have seen one..

I would guess you would need to go really slow with that blade.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Brutal & honest = quit fooling around w/the wrong saw.
A sliding table saw is what you want.
The real question is do your ambitions match the price tag of one?

[Andy Bardowell]

I bought one of those blades once, it's been hanging on a nail in the shop after one try years ago.

[Don Dorn]

Brutal honesty - cut it in the manner that works best for the equipment you have (which is the CS). Don't try and cut to final dimensions and with a 4 x 8 sheet, give yourself an extra inch of width. Once you have it cut down, it's much easier to handle on the TS in order to get to final dimensions.

In other words - don't rule something out of which you have the means to complete it in a safe manner, even if it takes a few extra minutes. Lastly, I'd dump the 200 tooth blade and get a good quality 40 tooth - it will do perfectly well.

[Michael Pyron]

so...you have a cross cut jig for a circular saw....nice, I have 3 of them...

one is 30", another is 53", and the last is 8'....

ripping into a full sheet of 4x8 by one's self is rather problematic, and prone to errors...

use the guide made of plywood with a good blade...

I just got done ripping up about 40 sheets of plywood for a rather involved wine display cabinet and used my cutoff guide for everything..there was no way in hell I was going to try and get 3 15 7/8" rips out of a sheet of $100 cherry ply with my table saw...nor was I brave enough to pre-rip the pieces I needed @ 22.5", then trim them down to size from a half sheet...as it was after the owner decided to add a couple of things all I had left of an order of ~50 sheets was one 15 7/8" rip...

the work came out quite good...as good as with a tablesaw...

btw...my experience has indicated that Oldham blades suck a$$...get a Freud....

[Glen Blanchard]

I agree with all that has been posted. I'll add one thing. Be sure your next blade is a carbide blade - it will stay sharp much longer. How long have you been using the blade in the photo? Might it be dull (after all, it's a steel blade....no carbide).

[Myk Rian]

Panel saw.

[Chuck Saunders]

Do what works best for you. There is no reason not to use the circular saw and guide if the guide is long enough to rip the sheet. On the other hand, there is no reason you can't rip a sheet of plywood on the tablesaw. When I was stupid(young in college) we would freehand rip plywood on the tablesaw with no facemask or goggles/glasses. I would not recommend that. About the only recommendation I have is to move away from the plywood blade and get a 30-40 tooth carbide blade. You will be happy in no time.

[Julie Rose]

.... Lay it on me thick, where can I improve the most here? ...
Aaron.

Here's the problem:

"I'm dead set on doing this on my table saw."


~Julie~