problems jointing board on table saw

[Nathan Callender]

Hey all -

I've run into a problem with my table saw. I'm trying to joint boards (S2S) on it, and I seem to not be able to get a decently straight cut. I've tried all the jig methods available that I've found online (5 maybe) and to no avail. I've also made sure the saw is tuned up (blade parallel to miter slot, fence parallel to miter slot) and even changed out the blade for another one. The odd thing is, about a month ago I jointed a few with a jig that turned out just fine (rough but straight). Have any of you had this problem? I know the answer, go get a jointer, but I really would rather not at the moment (I don't even know where I would put it. :-) )

Any thoughts would really be appreciated!

BTW, it seems that the blade either digs into the wood quite a bit, or I have a really hard time keeping the jig and board against the fence. I'm working on hard maple. I've also tried the straight edge and router technique but it chipped the wood pretty badly going into the grain.

[John Jendro]

Are you saying you can't make a straight cut on your table saw? If you have the right blade and your saw is tuned up like you say, just making a regular cut should give you a straight edge. Make a cut with your board attached to your jig then take it off the jig and place the just cut edge against your fence and make another cut. Thats what I did before I got a jointer.

John

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Have you considered using the one tool that for centuries was the go-to tool for exactly that purpose?

The jack or jointing plane?

If you have trouble managing the thing dead square by hand just set it up in a shooting board configuration and set blade to take shavings so thin you can read through them

It's every bit as fast as a power jointer and in the shooting board configuration it is absolutely idiot proof.

If you absolutely have to do it using a power tool set your router table up with a few sheets of paper ( or little row of playing cards) double sticky tapes to the outfeed side of the fence and treat it like a horizontal jointer.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Have you considered using the one tool that for centuries was the go-to tool for exactly that purpose?

The jack or jointing plane?

If you have trouble managing the thing dead square by hand just set it up in a shooting board configuration and set blade to take shavings so thin you can read through them

It's every bit as fast as a power jointer and in the shooting board configuration it is absolutely idiot proof.

A good ( I mean Screaming top of the line hand jointer) is way cheaper than a good power jointer, and all you need is a decent yard sale bailey or Stanley.
Or buy new:
http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?TYPE=CATEGORY&CATEGORY=PLANES
http://www.stanleyproto.com/default.asp?TYPE=CATEGORY&CATEGORY=PLANES&strSiteName=TOOLS&strDefaultCatalog=HAND%20TOOLS



If you absolutely have to do it using a power tool set your router table up with a few sheets of paper ( or little row of playing cards) double sticky tapes to the outfeed side of the fence and treat it like a horizontal jointer.

[Nathan Callender]

Are you saying you can't make a straight cut on your table saw? If you have the right blade and your saw is tuned up like you say, just making a regular cut should give you a straight edge. Make a cut with your board attached to your jig then take it off the jig and place the just cut edge against your fence and make another cut. Thats what I did before I got a jointer.

John

After thinking about it for a while, I think that there must be some flex in either the blade or the jigs, or something is out of alignment on the saw. I know the various jig methods I'm trying should work (they are revolve around the method of somehow attaching a straight edge to a board), and I can cut plywood and other panels just fine and very accurately, so I'm almost positive it's not the saw. BTW, what would be the tolerance for out of alignment of a blade to fence on a table saw (1/64, 1/128).

It's weird because I can start pushing the board and jig through and then I saw smelling a burning smell and if I stop, I get burn marks on the wood between the fence, but this doesn't happen with plywood. The burn marks form on both the front and back of the blade (very disconcerting, actually) This is also where it gouges badly and goes out of alignment. Could this just be the board releasing stress and deforming as it cuts? I've tried it with and without a splitter. BTW, I usually make sure that I'm taking off about 1/8" sliver off the board in addition to the kerf of the blade - should I only try to remove a kerf at a time with this method?

I'm using a decently sharp standard 40t combo blade, thin kerf.

Thanks for the help!

[Nathan Callender]

Have you considered using the one tool that for centuries was the go-to tool for exactly that purpose?

The jack or jointing plane?

If you have trouble managing the thing dead square by hand just set it up in a shooting board configuration and set blade to take shavings so thin you can read through them

It's every bit as fast as a power jointer and in the shooting board configuration it is absolutely idiot proof.

A good ( I mean Screaming top of the line hand jointer) is way cheaper than a good power jointer, and all you need is a decent yard sale bailey or Stanley.
Or buy new:
http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?TYPE=CATEGORY&CATEGORY=PLANES
http://www.stanleyproto.com/default.asp?TYPE=CATEGORY&CATEGORY=PLANES&strSiteName=TOOLS&strDefaultCatalog=HAND%20TOOLS



If you absolutely have to do it using a power tool set your router table up with a few sheets of paper ( or little row of playing cards) double sticky tapes to the outfeed side of the fence and treat it like a horizontal jointer.

I was actually browsing some 14" hand planes today. Would that be a reasonable length? To be honest, I'm not very good with a hand plane, but I guess now is a good time to change that! If I can't get my saw/jig combo to joint properly, I'll definitely consider this.

[scott spencer]

There should be an assignable cause. Something's not straight in the jig, something's moving on the jig, or something's not right with the saw or the wood. It really should be a simple process...you're putting a reference edge (the jig) against a known straight fence that's parallel to the blade....if the wood is secured, it should translate to a straight cut. If the jig has clamps, are they holding well? Is the fence moving? Is the S2S board really flat?

[Jim Watts]

...against a known straight fence that's parallel to the blade...

Hmmm...we actually haven't confirmed (in this thread) that the fence is straight. Nathan, do you have a reliable 3-ish foot straightedge? Might there be a bow or cup in your fence?

[Andrew Joiner]

Are you using a feather board or some device to hold the stock and jig to the fence?
I use a table saw to straighten S2S lumber all the time. I screw 14' long stock to a straight 1x10. I have a device like feather board. It has a 3'' diameter rubber wheel that forces the stock and 1x10 to the fence.

I get very straight glue joint edges on 14' long heavy thick hardwood. Much easier than a jointer and no knife tear outs. Oh yeah this could be done on a jointer if it had infeed tables over 7' long and spiral heads. Still a lot of work to push long heavy stock DOWN to jointer tables. If that outfeed table is less than 7' long?
Well lets just say you can build rock hard abs pushing long stock thru a jointer.

[Bob Cooper]

My thoughts are blade sharpness and the fact that you're only taking off a small amount on the left side of the blade. You may want to try leaving a little more waste. If the blade is really sharp it wouldn't make a difference but if not, the wood may be wanting to "fit" between the blade and the fense.

Just a thought.

[Joe Scharle]

You also stated that router/straight edge is not working either. Makes me think you've got some gnarly wood there. Using one of your methods; do you have the same problems with a piece of flat, F4S stock lumber? Even pine shelving?

BTW, I use a sled that runs in a miter slot and doesn't involve the fence.

[Phil Thien]

If I was making a jig for jointing I'd try to use the miter slot (like Joe suggests). Attempting to keep long pieces against the fence for the entire rip is challenging.

I see see one reader tip in a magazine where he used a real long piece of U-channel (like 20' long) as a subfence. But that takes a large shop.

[Stephen Edwards]

BTW, I use a sled that runs in a miter slot and doesn't involve the fence.

Joe, Got a photo of your rip sled? Is it like a cross cut sled, only longer? Thanks.

[Jeff Willard]

Is the blade stable in the kerf? Or are you just attempting to "shave" the edge of the board?

[Glen Blanchard]

BTW, what would be the tolerance for out of alignment of a blade to fence on a table saw (1/64, 1/128).

Nathan - I may be wrong, but my first thought is that the fence may not be parallel with the blade. This might explain why the the hardwood burns even though the plywood does not (plywood is softer and more forgiving than hardwood). I think you should be looking for a maximum of .003" with the outfeed end of the fence being further from the blade than the infeed side (to prevent binding). 1/128 = .008". What is your method for determining fence-blade parallelism?

[Dino Makropoulos]

Hey all -

I've run into a problem with my table saw. I'm trying to joint boards (S2S) on it, and I seem to not be able to get a decently straight cut. I've tried all the jig methods available that I've found online (5 maybe) and to no avail. I've also made sure the saw is tuned up (blade parallel to miter slot, fence parallel to miter slot) and even changed out the blade for another one. The odd thing is, about a month ago I jointed a few with a jig that turned out just fine (rough but straight). Have any of you had this problem? I know the answer, go get a jointer, but I really would rather not at the moment (I don't even know where I would put it. :-) )

Any thoughts would really be appreciated!

BTW, it seems that the blade either digs into the wood quite a bit, or I have a really hard time keeping the jig and board against the fence. I'm working on hard maple. I've also tried the straight edge and router technique but it chipped the wood pretty badly going into the grain.

Hi Nathan.
How long/wide is your lumber?
Material support is the very first thing that you need.
Infeed and outfeed tables to keep the wood flat.
A way to secure that the wood is always against the fence.
Side and top pressure to keep the wood flat.
Look at magnetic featherboards.

The easiest way to solve problems like that is to take a look at the industrial machinery.
The Straight Line Rip saw is the right tool for this job.
The very first cut is the most important cut.
You can't use a fence to make a straight line.
The fence is only good when you already have one perfect straight line.

With that in mind, and all the other suggestions
( I owned and operated an industrial dimentional factory for few years )
the easiest way to Straight Line Rip an S2S board is an edge guide with a strong circlar saw.
A worm drive saw with a 24 teeth blade.

Take a look at the SLR saws to get an idea as to what you have to do to your saw
in order to make this task easier and better.

good luck.

[Phil Phelps]

You can clamp a straight edge to the board and use a flush trim bit on your router or use a Skill saw. I have a 12'x1"x3" angle aluminum. Set the board on it and run both along the fence for straight line cutting. Yours is binding somewhere.

[Nissim Avrahami]

You stated that you are using thin kerf blade, maybe, the hard maple is too hard for thin kerf blade and the blade is forced to one direction or another...I would try 1/8" kerf blade and leave more "meat" at the left side of the blade so the blade will not wonder...

The second thing that I don't like is that you get a chipping when using a router and a straight edge....it never happened to me with White Oak (I don't have any experience with hard maple)...I think that you are trying to "Bite" to much in one pass or, using too big bit diameter (or both)...I cut 0.020" (0.5mm) or less and never had a chipping problem.

To see my method with the router please have a look here
http://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15747

Regards
niki

[Joe Scharle]

Joe, Got a photo of your rip sled? Is it like a cross cut sled, only longer? Thanks.

It's only a 4' taper jig. I've also got a 3' version. Clamps go into the T track. Must have been on another jig when I took this pic. For long/wide boards, I'll screw them to a long piece of trued stock (9'), that doubles as a sheet goods cut-down straight edge. http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/1438/thumbs/Taper_Jig1.JPG (http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showphoto.php?photo=28755)

I really hate joiners!

[Jason White]

The Woodsmith Shop (PBS) just aired an episode last week that demonstrated using the tablesaw for jointing. You might try their website to see if the video is available online (or try recording the on-air broadcast).

Jason


Hey all -

I've run into a problem with my table saw. I'm trying to joint boards (S2S) on it, and I seem to not be able to get a decently straight cut. I've tried all the jig methods available that I've found online (5 maybe) and to no avail. I've also made sure the saw is tuned up (blade parallel to miter slot, fence parallel to miter slot) and even changed out the blade for another one. The odd thing is, about a month ago I jointed a few with a jig that turned out just fine (rough but straight). Have any of you had this problem? I know the answer, go get a jointer, but I really would rather not at the moment (I don't even know where I would put it. :-) )

Any thoughts would really be appreciated!

BTW, it seems that the blade either digs into the wood quite a bit, or I have a really hard time keeping the jig and board against the fence. I'm working on hard maple. I've also tried the straight edge and router technique but it chipped the wood pretty badly going into the grain.

[Jason White]

Just a thought....

Do you have a T-square/Biesemeyer type fence?

If so, try clamping the fence in place at the rear of the saw. The fence might be deflecting a bit at the rear because you're pushing on it harder when jointing a board. Clamping it will eliminate the deflection.

Jason


After thinking about it for a while, I think that there must be some flex in either the blade or the jigs, or something is out of alignment on the saw. I know the various jig methods I'm trying should work (they are revolve around the method of somehow attaching a straight edge to a board), and I can cut plywood and other panels just fine and very accurately, so I'm almost positive it's not the saw. BTW, what would be the tolerance for out of alignment of a blade to fence on a table saw (1/64, 1/128).

It's weird because I can start pushing the board and jig through and then I saw smelling a burning smell and if I stop, I get burn marks on the wood between the fence, but this doesn't happen with plywood. The burn marks form on both the front and back of the blade (very disconcerting, actually) This is also where it gouges badly and goes out of alignment. Could this just be the board releasing stress and deforming as it cuts? I've tried it with and without a splitter. BTW, I usually make sure that I'm taking off about 1/8" sliver off the board in addition to the kerf of the blade - should I only try to remove a kerf at a time with this method?

I'm using a decently sharp standard 40t combo blade, thin kerf.

Thanks for the help!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I was actually browsing some 14" hand planes today. Would that be a reasonable length?

14" is a very nice size. I's a size you can apply to a lot of different tasks.


To be honest, I'm not very good with a hand plane, but I guess now is a good time to change that!

Won't take more than a few strokes to get the hang of it.


If I can't get my saw/jig combo to joint properly, I'll definitely consider this.

I can't see how you can run a little wood shop without at least three planes. That'd be like not having any chisels. I suppose guys do it but man, the hoops they gotta go through to do things without planes.

[Nathan Callender]

14" is a very nice size. I's a size you can apply to a lot of different tasks.

Won't take more than a few strokes to get the hang of it.

I can't see how you can run a little wood shop without at least three planes. That'd be like not having any chisels. I suppose guys do it but man, the hoops they gotta go through to do things without planes.

Well, I stopped by a big box store today and picked up a sharpening stone. The only one they had (man, I need to live closer to a wood working store). Anyway, I spent a great deal of time sharpening the little block plane I have, and WOW! I'm a believer. I'm going to buy the jack plane just to have - they are awesome when sharp (and I'm sure I didn't get the sharpest edge, but I did manage to shave hair off of my arm...)

I straightened an edge in about 2 minutes with the block plane - I'm sure the jack plane would make it much faster even. Thanks for the nudge to use a hand plane. BTW, I don't have a set of chisels. :-) But, that may change by this evening. I'm going to try scrapers too, if I can find one around where I live.

I ran that board through the saw, and the edge I got wasn't straight - two waves, but much smaller. So, there's got to be some flex in the blade or fence from some part that's starting to wear or something, but no blade burn marks. Or, maybe I'm not holding the board against the fence properly, but I'm going to use a feather board later just to verify. I'll also try clamping down the fence to see if that improves the cut, and also verify if it's really straight when clamped. I'm wondering if the fence is too parallel with the blade - maybe I need to purposely set it tilting away a hair to provide a better out feed.

I'll keep you all posted - thanks for the help so far.

[Nathan Callender]

You can clamp a straight edge to the board and use a flush trim bit on your router or use a Skill saw. I have a 12'x1"x3" angle aluminum. Set the board on it and run both along the fence for straight line cutting. Yours is binding somewhere.

BTW, where did you pick that angle aluminum up at? I've been looking for something just like that! Is it very rigid?

[Edwin Bennett]

Hello Nathan,
I'm a nubee on this forum, however, I've had the same problem as you, and I fixed it. My saw was Craftsman contractor model. The problem was that there was too much end play in the arbor due to crapsmanship at the factory. I fixed it by putting a shaft collar on the pulley side of the shaft and a couple of precision washer acting as spacers between the collar and the shaft bearing. It seemed to do the trick.
Then I bought Unisaw and gave the contractors saw to my son. He didn't have any problems when he built a kitchen table.
I bought the collar (~$3) and precision 0.625"dia. washers (~$10/set) from www.Mcmastercar.com (http://www.Mcmastercar.com).
Ed

[Edwin Bennett]

Hello Nathan,
I'm a nubee on this forum, however, I've had the same problem as you, and I fixed it. My saw was Craftsman contractor model. The problem was that there was too much end play in the arbor due to crapsmanship at the factory. I fixed it by putting a shaft collar on the pulley side of the shaft and a couple of precision washer acting as spacers between the collar and the shaft bearing. It seemed to do the trick.
Then I bought Unisaw and gave the contractors saw to my son. He didn't have any problems when he built a kitchen table.
I bought the collar (~$3) and precision 0.625"dia. washers (~$10/set) from www.Mcmastercar.com (http://www.Mcmastercar.com).
Ed

[Nathan Callender]

Hello Nathan,
I'm a nubee on this forum, however, I've had the same problem as you, and I fixed it. My saw was Craftsman contractor model. The problem was that there was too much end play in the arbor due to crapsmanship at the factory. I fixed it by putting a shaft collar on the pulley side of the shaft and a couple of precision washer acting as spacers between the collar and the shaft bearing. It seemed to do the trick.
Then I bought Unisaw and gave the contractors saw to my son. He didn't have any problems when he built a kitchen table.
I bought the collar (~$3) and precision 0.625"dia. washers (~$10/set) from www.Mcmastercar.com (http://www.Mcmastercar.com).
Ed

Thanks Edwin - I've got a ridgid 3660. Have other people with this saw experienced the same thing? What collar did you get from them?

[Kirk Smith]

For the s2s, I just glue 2 boards together. Wait for it to dry, then I put the use the cir saw to cut right on that joint line with straight edge. This make perfect joint line every time.

Or you can place 2 boards as you want to glue. Screw each end to a piece of wood to hold them together. Use the table saw and cut along the line between 2 boards. Remember to adjust the height of the saw blade just about 1/8 " so it wont cut off the pieces of wood you screw on 2 ends.
This should give you the perfect line.

I hope this help.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Are you ripping? You mentioned you're using a 40T. Should use a 24T to rip. That may be your problem. IF you have the power, as some has mentioned, swing a full kerf if you can. Blade is much more stable. If you're getting blade wobble, you can also try a stabilizer.

[Mike Gager]

i dont see this mentioned anywhere but may have missed it.

are you using a splitter? if you are having a hard time keeping the edge against the fence i would suggest using a splitter if you are not already

[Bill White]

I'm using a decently sharp standard 40t combo blade, thin kerf

I would not THINK about straight-lining with a combo blade. Use a good 24 tooth glue line blade. If all else is in adjustment, you should be fine.
Bill :)

[Myk Rian]

I can't see how you can run a little wood shop without at least three planes. That'd be like not having any chisels. I suppose guys do it but man, the hoops they gotta go through to do things without planes.
I have 2 planes, one isn't worth using, the other rarely gets used. Don't really need them.

[Nathan Callender]

Last night I found that the blade was about 0.3mm out of alignment (back towards the fence). The fence may be tilting toward the blade still by something on the order of 0.1mm, but that's getting pretty tiny, but I'm thinking of tilting it a little bit away from the blade to see it that improves the cut. The fence adjustment for the TS3660 isn't the best design and I ran out of time last night before attempting it.

From realigning the blade to the miter slot, I got noticeably better performance. Not perfect, but at least straight enough that a pass through the power planer will clean it up.

When I went to realign the blade, I had to loosen all the trunnion bolts on the saw. None of them were very tight at all, so I think that they have been vibrating loose for a little while and the saw finally went out of alignment. Now they are much tighter.

The other thing I noticed is that the bevel lock fully locks, but puts very little resistance on the bevel wheel, so I'm pretty sure that with hard woods the blade is getting pushed around a little because the bevel lock isn't doing it's job. I'll have to see if I can tighten that up snug. Once that's done, I'm going to look for a full kerf (0.125") blade. I'm not confident in the thin kerf blades to not wobble. I'm pretty sure the arbor assemby is not wobbling, but I can introduce flex in the blade pretty easily, and I'm thinking that the wood would do the same as the blade tries to follow the grain.

The saw has a 1.5hp motor. How do you think a full kerf blade will perform cutting through hard maple (13/16 thick)? Any recommendations?

[Bill Huber]

Last night I found that the blade was about 0.3mm out of alignment (back towards the fence). The fence may be tilting toward the blade still by something on the order of 0.1mm, but that's getting pretty tiny, but I'm thinking of tilting it a little bit away from the blade to see it that improves the cut. The fence adjustment for the TS3660 isn't the best design and I ran out of time last night before attempting it.

From realigning the blade to the miter slot, I got noticeably better performance. Not perfect, but at least straight enough that a pass through the power planer will clean it up.

When I went to realign the blade, I had to loosen all the trunnion bolts on the saw. None of them were very tight at all, so I think that they have been vibrating loose for a little while and the saw finally went out of alignment. Now they are much tighter.

The other thing I noticed is that the bevel lock fully locks, but puts very little resistance on the bevel wheel, so I'm pretty sure that with hard woods the blade is getting pushed around a little because the bevel lock isn't doing it's job. I'll have to see if I can tighten that up snug. Once that's done, I'm going to look for a full kerf (0.125") blade. I'm not confident in the thin kerf blades to not wobble. I'm pretty sure the arbor assemby is not wobbling, but I can introduce flex in the blade pretty easily, and I'm thinking that the wood would do the same as the blade tries to follow the grain.

The saw has a 1.5hp motor. How do you think a full kerf blade will perform cutting through hard maple (13/16 thick)? Any recommendations?


I am running a Jet and it is a 1 1/2 hp saw, I cut 8/4 with no problem, but the saw has to be set right and have a good blade on it.
I am using a Freud LM72R full kerf blade to do all my ripping with and it does a really great job. I do not force the wood thought but keep it at an even force and let the blade do the work.

I had a lot of problem with thin kerf blades doing just what you are talking about and that is when I switched to normal kerf blades.

When I am making a cut for jointing I will cut the first cut long and then make a second cut of about 3/4 of the kerf of the blade, smooth as glass and glues up very nice.

Good Luck.

[Nathan Callender]

Hey all - just wanting to close up the thread with some thoughts after a few more days. I think the main causes to this problem were that I"m using a thin kerf blade and that the trunion bolts were not tight enough on the saw which let the assembly go out of alignment a little bit. The missalignment was causing the burning and the flex in the thin kerf blade allowed for it to follow the grain on rips on hard maple. I'll be getting a good full kerf blade.

Thanks for the troubleshooting help!

[Nathan Callender]

Just another follow up to this thread for the archives. I just received the freud LU82M blade in the mail this morning. I put it on my table saw, and all burning and jointing problems went away. :-) Lesson learned, for me, thin kerf is not the way to go. BTW, this blade actually cuts more effortlessly than the thin kerf blades I tried, and of course, there's no flex to cause the burning. Also, this wasn't a very expensive blade - $40. The cut is very smooth. I can only imagine what some of the more expensive blades could do!

So, for anyone who is having problems with burning, flexing and other random issues, if your saw is an alignment, maybe try a full kerf blade.

[Don Alexander]

2 things to consider

1) while thin kerf blades are fine for thin or softer material when ripping hard stock like maple or walnut you will always get better results with a
full size kerf blade assuming its sharp i like the Freud industrial glue line rip blade for these materials it has a much stiffer body to the blade than most
typical blades and therefore resists defelction much better than most

2) i also have the Ridgid saw and have noticed that when ripping hard
maple and walnut that the fence tends to move away from the blade unless you tighten the adjustment screws on the fence tighter than i would like. this makes the fence locking lever harder to operate than should be necessary but at least it locks the fence down tight enough that it doesn't shift during the cut. not the best fence design IMO, but it does work if a bit stiffer than it should have to be

[Nathan Callender]

2 things to consider

1) while thin kerf blades are fine for thin or softer material when ripping hard stock like maple or walnut you will always get better results with a
full size kerf blade assuming its sharp i like the Freud industrial glue line rip blade for these materials it has a much stiffer body to the blade than most
typical blades and therefore resists defelction much better than most

2) i also have the Ridgid saw and have noticed that when ripping hard
maple and walnut that the fence tends to move away from the blade unless you tighten the adjustment screws on the fence tighter than i would like. this makes the fence locking lever harder to operate than should be necessary but at least it locks the fence down tight enough that it doesn't shift during the cut. not the best fence design IMO, but it does work if a bit stiffer than it should have to be

Don, I'll have to try tightening the fence as well. Mine is moderately tight to clamp down, but maybe it should be tighter. Yeah, the fence design isn't fantastic, but I've found that it's better than a lot of the fences on saws of similar value. What I would really like it two adjustment screws to move the fence right/left instead of having to loosen the four screws on top and bump the fence over to get it into alignment. It took forever for me to adjust it correctly! They should call it the Tap-n-Pray fence adjustment system. :-)

[Philip Johnson]

That blade may not be the best option but if every thing else is set right how about the blade height....try and lower it so it just cuts through the board