TS Blade Height

[Sean Troy]

I never thought about it but how high do you all set the TS blade above the wood you're cutting? thanks, Sean

[Dave Gaul]

Just high enough that the gullets break the plane of the board...

[James Baker SD]

almost as low as possible, so I can see about 1/2 to 2/3 of the gullets between the teeth.

James

[Dan Friedrichs]

Setting it a little high results in a lot more of the dust going under the table, rather than getting thrown back at you.

[Tom Esh]

Most always so the gullets just clear. However for the occassional problem with tear out or splintering at the end of a crosscut, I'll set it way up (and use a ZCI of course).

[Sean Troy]

Thank you all, I was keeping the blade a little higher than mentioned. I'll try lowering just a bit.

[glenn bradley]

I expose no more blade than I want to put my hand into :D:D:D Seriously, I show a gullet when crosscutting in general but will raise the blade higher on fibrous stuff like red oak and ash.

Ripping I go a bit higher than the gullet. I don't really apply a lot of science to this. With appropriate blades for the task this becomes pretty flexible.

[Bryan Morgan]

I read that its better to keep the blade up a little higher that you'd think. Helps the blades come down rather than across the material. Supposedly less chance of kickback this way. I set mine to the deepest part of the gullet is ~1/4" above the material being cut. Dunno if thats the best way to do it but it seems to work ok for me.

[Bob Wingard]

I haven't seen him around here lately, but Charles McCracken from FREUD used to post here on occasion. We discussed blade height once at an IWF show, and he gave the absolute, unequivocal answer. For ripping, you should have not mare than XX and not less than XX teeth IN THE CUT at any given time. For crosscuts .. again .. not more than or less than a magic number. For the life of me, I can't remember the numbers he quoted, but then, I don't go by that anyway.

I run a very high blade as per FORREST since that's the blade I'm using. While it DOES expose more of the blade in the event of an accident, it gives a great cut, with less chance of kickback, as the only force working on the stock is in a nearly straight, downward direction. That is, of course, assuming near perfect blade alignment. I use an overarm guard with dust collection whenever possible, and have never felt that a "high" blade was inherently more dangerous than a "low" blade.

[Will Overton]

Charles M mentioned recently, either here or another forum, that Freud blades are designed to cut best with only 1/2 a tooth exposed.

I just picked up a new SS today. The owners manual says 1/8th to 1/2 inch.

Years ago the standard was that the full gullet should be exposed.

I'm thinking the correct answer is;

"Still open to discussion" :)

[Van Huskey]

My practice is to do what the blade manufacturer recommends as it varies, as one can see by reading the thread.

[Don Alexander]

i pretty much use Freud blades almost exclusively and setting those so that the teeth are about half exposed has safely delivered excellent quality cuts.

a friend of mine since HS lost parts of 3 fingers a couple years after HS working in a cabinet shop , he told me that if he had lowered the blade like he had been taught (basically what i described above) he would still have intact fingers albeit likely some scars from getting cut. that was over 25 years ago and i never forgot it. i believe in learning as much as possible from other peoples mistakes so that i hopefully don't have to learn them firsthand.

the other lesson i took from that was to keep my lil fingers away from sharp spinning blades :D

[David Winer]

I haven't seen him around here lately, but Charles McCracken from FREUD used to post here on occasion. We discussed blade height once at an IWF show, and he gave the absolute, unequivocal answer. For ripping, you should have not mare than XX and not less than XX teeth IN THE CUT at any given time. For crosscuts .. again .. not more than or less than a magic number.
I believe this is good advice. It is in keeping with the same notion I expressed in my previous entry in the Am I Using the Correct Blade thread earlier this evening. Given a certain wood thickness, choose a blade with the correct number of teeth that will be in the wood and also set the blade height accordingly. Number of teeth, thickness of wood, blade diameter, and blade height all interact to reach the optimum number of teeth in the wood.

I only wish I could remember that desirable number! (I think it is three or four.)

[Van Huskey]

I believe this is good advice. It is in keeping with the same notion I expressed in my previous entry in the Am I Using the Correct Blade thread earlier this evening. Given a certain wood thickness, choose a blade with the correct number of teeth that will be in the wood and also set the blade height accordingly. Number of teeth, thickness of wood, blade diameter, and blade height all interact to reach the optimum number of teeth in the wood.

I only wish I could remember that desirable number! (I think it is three or four.)

I will hit the Freud guys up at IWF in the next couple of days.

[Leo Graywacz]

Just high enough to prevent splintering on the top of the plywood. With solid wood a little higher using hardwoods like maple to prevent burning. When using melamine you keep it as low as possible to have no chipout on the topside and as little chipout on the backside. As the blade gets duller you need to raise it up more to keep the top from chipping.

[Bob Wingard]

I believe that in order to come up with a "BEST BLADE HEIGHT" answer .. we first need to refine the question. "BEST" as in safest ?? ?? "BEST" as in cut quality ?? ?? "BEST" as in blade life ?? ??

Since the OP asked for "what do YOU do ??" .. .. we've all answered as to our preferences, and our logic. It's all a matter of preference .. and logic.

[John Thompson]

I run mine full height ripping with a 20 T blade on a 5 HP saw.. about 1/2 height cross-cutting with a 40 T high angle triple tooth grind blade. I run a plastic shield and splitter on almost all cuts with exception of non-throughs.. an over-head hold down on the fence and use push-sticks. I find the higher position results in less burn on high density stock and the down-ward angle of the teeth in the high position helps pin the stock down to the table.

I used to run it gullet showing but simply found the high position to be the best for me as I run the shield over it using feather-boards left of blade to pin to fence.. hold-down over stock on fence and push sticks.

[Leo Graywacz]

John, you have a picture of that TS setup?

[John Thompson]

Not that hasn't been posted so I would have to post a showthread but... I just finished a project and am working on my roof and siding on the house.. grass is too wet to cut from a T-storm last night so I'll run down and get you some fresh one's right off the vine. :)

Gemme about an hour as I don't get in a major hurry retired anymore! ;)

[Leo Graywacz]

Take your time. I'm at work doing some spraying of European cabinets. The drying room can only hold so much so I can pop on and off the net most of the day.

[Sean Troy]

I believe that in order to come up with a "BEST BLADE HEIGHT" answer .. we first need to refine the question. "BEST" as in safest ?? ?? "BEST" as in cut quality ?? ?? "BEST" as in blade life ?? ??

Since the OP asked for "what do YOU do ??" .. .. we've all answered as to our preferences, and our logic. It's all a matter of preference .. and logic.
For me, safety is first in the question, ease of cut next.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

For ripping, you should have not mare than XX and not less than XX teeth IN THE CUT at any given time. For crosscuts .. again .. not more than or less than a magic number.

Not a flame attempt, but this confuses me. Would not the amount of teeth in the cut depend MOSTLY on the tooth count of the blade? For an example, a 27 tooth ripping blade will have x teeth in the cut for a given height. A 50 tooth combo will have almost twice the teeth in the cut. Similarly a 80 tooth cross cut will have twice a 40 tooth combo. It would be hard to say you should have 5 teeth (just for a number) from a 27T in the wood for ripping MAX, since 5 teeth max on a 50T combo blade may be impossible....

[Marty Paulus]

I believe the max/min tooth count is based on using a 'single purpose' blade. Low tooth count for thick material and more tooth count for thin material. Since there are so many people that use combo blades I would think that the tooth count method is not practical. I am also leaning towards the fact that by saying that you should only have so many teeth in a board for this type of cut, Charles is looking to increase his sales. Not saying this is a bad thing especially if you have different blades for different cuts.

[John Thompson]

Here ya go Leo.. hope that gives you a clear picture. BTW.. I had a 40T blade on the saw and I didn't switch to my 20T Amana Euro ripper for the picture as I have to cut siding shortly. I decided to just leave in on for a couple of pics to show how I approach high blade psoitioning. I also have a 1/2" MDF "fence forward" sled I use for panels.. table tops.. anything wide up to about 30" which the fence forward gives me capability to do. Still use my dust shield down on those cuts.

My work-bench sits in front of my TS along with one of my assembly tables and aligns. I intentionally trafficed them that way to use them on long rips as I occasionally rip for hire with 1000 linear feet runs and up with friends air dried stock. Using Ridgid flip top stands for outbound support with the door behind the TS open I can rip up to 16' without assistance. My blade gaurd shield folds back out of the way so it can be raised to change blades which I do about 6 times a day average. All of that is home-made as my "spring-boards" which I prefer over feather boards.

So... I am a one-man-band so to speak but am very keen on safety and won't compromise on not using my home-made safety devices with very few excetions.

Regards... any further questions... ask!

[John Thompson]

I believe the max/min tooth count is based on using a 'single purpose' blade. Low tooth count for thick material and more tooth count for thin material. Since there are so many people that use combo blades I would think that the tooth count method is not practical. I am also leaning towards the fact that by saying that you should only have so many teeth in a board for this type of cut, Charles is looking to increase his sales. Not saying this is a bad thing especially if you have different blades for different cuts.

Don't know about an attempt to increase sales Marty but.. I do agree the formula was for a combo blade. The low blade position is also a likely scenario for a manufacturer with liability issues at stake. If someone doesn't use gaurds and ask my recommendation I would tell them to barely expose the blade for safety sake. If they use guards I would reccomend high as it is what I have found personally to attain the best cut with the least chance of the stock getting launched to the rear.

As for tooth count in the stock.. I personally believe it is pretty much mumbo jumbo and for me about as relevant as trying to zero a TS into .0000 tolerarnces when the freshly cut stock will likely move to some degree after being severed. From my own experience having the right tooth count on a sharp blade for the cut is much more important than how many teeth are in the stock. Low is good for those that don't use their shields (for safety) but high is what I have found over the years to yield the best cut with the least resistance.

I gotto go get work done in lieu of run my jaws all day. Y'all have fun! :)

[Leo Graywacz]

Thanks for the pics John. Intersting featherboard youhave for holding the stock against the fence.

I could never have that elaborate of a hold down setup for just ripping stock. If it was for something that had to be precise and repeatable for jig usage I could do it. But for everyday ripping I would never get anything done.

I guess that is the difference between retired and making this work as a living.

Thanks again for the shots.

[John Thompson]

Thanks for the pics John. Intersting featherboard youhave for holding the stock against the fence.

I could never have that elaborate of a hold down setup for just ripping stock. If it was for something that had to be precise and repeatable for jig usage I could do it. But for everyday ripping I would never get anything done.

I guess that is the difference between retired and making this work as a living.

Thanks again for the shots.

Even though the set-up is under 30 seconds once you have your jigs made... I totally agree that there is a major difference in how you have to approach work doing it for a living. We amateurs probably have the advantage on taking our sweet time with detail. If I were in your shoes I would most definitely go "power feeder" to meet your needs.

Regards...

[Bob Wingard]

Not a flame attempt, but this confuses me. Would not the amount of teeth in the cut depend MOSTLY on the tooth count of the blade? For an example, a 27 tooth ripping blade will have x teeth in the cut for a given height. A 50 tooth combo will have almost twice the teeth in the cut. Similarly a 80 tooth cross cut will have twice a 40 tooth combo. It would be hard to say you should have 5 teeth (just for a number) from a 27T in the wood for ripping MAX, since 5 teeth max on a 50T combo blade may be impossible....


No need for confusion .. .. see if this helps .. .. if you wanted, say 4 teeth IN the cut, and you had a 24 tooth ripping blade .. you'd set the blade fairly low .. .. if you were using a 60 tooth combo blade, it would have to be set much higher, in order to meet the 4 teeth in the cut criteria. Pretty simple .. the blade height (according to FREUD rep) is determined by the type of cut and the tooth count on the blade. FORREST recommends a high blade. Go figger'