Burning cherry

[Dave Anthony]

I have a Delta contractors saw. When ripping cherry using a new Forest WWII combo blade I intermittantly get burn marks. If I use a rip blade I get a clean cut without burning. Should I be able to get a clean cut with a combo blade? I guess my question is should I:

A. Check the saw alignment, and if so, what should I check/adjust?

B. Modify my technique and feed faster/slower.

C. Stop my bitchin & change back and forth between blades.

[Chip Lindley]

You have answered your own question! Use a rip blade with less teeth.

Cherry is very prone to burning. Moreso than many other woods. More blade teeth = slower feed rate. And, the cherry just can't stand that slow feed rate without burning.

[Paul Ryan]

Dave,

Cherry burns easy. This is one of the woods that I have better luck using a true rip blade. You also need to use constant pressure when ripping dont stop during the cut to move your hand and adjust yourself. That is true for any cuts but more important with cherry in my experience. If you stop during the cut it will burn. Usually when I work with cherry I rip a little over size and joint the edge to take off any burns if they happen.

[Rod Sheridan]

Dave, the corect answer is "C".

Combination blades are wonderful compromises, however they don't work as well as purpose designed blades.

Regards, Rod.

[Andy McCormick]

I use the forrest woodworker 2 for cutting everything. I do ocasionally get burn marks working with cherry. Here is my question, do you get burn marks due to the stresses of the boards expanding towards the blade during the cut? If so cut the board slightly larger then trim to size. Maybe it will help maybe not. Andy

[Leo Graywacz]

Make sure the blade is up far enough. The teeth should be fully above the wood. Push the wood a bit faster. I use a 60 tooth blade to do a lot of my cutting, and I have no problems with burning Cherry when using it.

[Harry Goodwin]

I had that same problem with same blade. I called forrest and they suggested I raise the blade would help the situation. It helped some. Harry

[Matthew Curtis]

I burn cherry all the time. Stuff works great in the smoker..

[harry strasil]

My old Mentor told me the bottom of the blade gullet should stick up above the material, and on my shop made saw I am running a triple cut 10 inch freud blade and IIRC it only has an old 3/4 hp motor, and I have no problems unless the blade is dull, I got 2 for the price of one on an internet special from ptree a couple of years ago.

[Paul Atkins]

One of the best smells in the shop too!

[Lee Schierer]

I recently made a dresser from Cherry and used my Freud LU82M for cross cuts and rips with no burn marks on a Craftsman 1-1/2 Hp TS. I made some long (44") rip cuts with no problems. Generally since I own a jointer, I use my rip blade and cut the pieces a bit wide and joint the edges to get a smoother surface for gluing or sanding for final finishing. One or two passes on the jointer takes out any teeth marks and would remove any light burn marks if they were there.

Your intermittent burn marks are the result of pausing during the cut to get a new grip on the part. Practice pushing the part all the way through the cut without pausing. Feather boards pushing down and toward the fence will help in this regard.

[Richard Dragin]

It burns from touching the back of the blade for too long. Reducing the number of teeth helps or maybe alignment of fence to blade and then there is technique.

The question is which takes longer and offers the best result, removing the burn marks or changing the blade?

[Ellen Benkin]

Either change your blade or plan your cut sizes so you can joint or sand out the burns.