I am having a rough time with my table saw. Frequently when ripping wood, the workpiece wants to drift away from the fence at its rear edge. The saw is a 3hp Sawstop PCS, and there are no alignment issues between the blade and the fence. I even pulled out the alignment gauge this weekend and verified that both the blade and fence are within .001" of alignment with the miter gauge.
I am convinced that it is a technique issue, because if I maintain positive pressure against the fence throughout the cut, there is no issue and I get a clean smooth cut. The trouble comes when the piece is short, or I am near the end of the cut and can no longer maintain leverage on the piece to keep it against the fence, then it frequently tends to start drifting again.
I can't imagine that putting a feather board downstream of the blade is a good idea, so what is the solution?