Tablesaw ripping issue

[James Jayko]

Hi all...I'm having an issue that I assume is user error but I don't really know what I could be doing wrong.

I've got a 3HP SawStop. Love the saw from a power, fit/finish, quality of components perspective. I'm having some issues with things binding as I rip sheet goods or other long pieces. Pieces tend to bind half way through; to the point that I've had to turn off the saw and wrestle the piece loose. I've tried both the splitter and the riving knife/dust collection hood thing.

I took the fence and aligned it with the T grove and it runs out a few mm on the far end...IE when you align it on the track, you can see a bit of the table on the far end of the saw. Well under half a centimeter, but you can see it with your naked eye. So I guess my question is am I somehow feeding the material incorrectly into the saw, or is that little bit of misalignment most likely causing the issue? I just assumed it was right out of the box (however it was aligned was how it was supposed to be); is "perfectly square" the goal with the fence, or is it supposed to run out just a touch to give you some clearance as you come through the blade?

Apologies if this is a stupid question. But I'm sure ya'll know A LOT more about this than I do!

[Frank Pratt]

By most reports, they are perfectly set up right out of the box. Mine was. If your fence is perfectly aligned with the miter slot, then you need to check the blade alignment with the miter slots. Another possibility; are you using a thin kerf blade? That'll do it, unless you switch to a thin riving knife.

[J.R. Rutter]

Sounds like you may need to fine tune the adjustments on the table, fence, and the riving knife/splitter mount.

First make sure that the table grooves are parallel to the blade. You can use a piece of wood clamped to the miter gauge and crosscut the tip off using just the front edge of the blade. With the saw off, compare the gap between the end of the wood and the blade (blade at full height) using shims to gauge if needed. If you need to correct this, it involves loosening the table-to-base bolts slightly and tapping it to pivot into place. The key it to make very small adjustments and keep one bolt tighter to act as a pivot point.

For the fence, think in "under a mm out" rather than under a cm. It should be further from the blade at the back, just slightly - like under a mm.

The riving knife is adjustable side-to-side, so make sure it doesn't sit too close to the fence compared to the blade. The manual should have info on this.

And definitely, if the riving knife is thicker than the blade kerf, it will bind up.

[Prashun Patel]

What blade are you using?

The riving knife is the thickness of a normal kerf blade. If you are using a slightly undersized kerf blade, you will notice binding. I had to grind my riving knife down.

[John Lanciani]

If your fence is out by a few mm (3mm is 0.11 inch) it is way out of alignment. The tail end of the fence should only be a few thousandths of an inch or so toed out from the blade. This misalignment will definitely cause problems. Also, as the others above have mentioned, the splitter or riving knife must be thinner than the blade's kerf or the wood will bind on the splitter.

[Steve Cowart]

Also make sure that the riving knife is aligned with the blade perfectly. If it is not, it can definitely cause the binding you are experiencing. Basically you need to insure the riving knife you are using it slightly thinner than the blade, and that it is perfectly aligned behind the blade. If you take a board and clamp it to you miter gauge and crosscut it as mentioned above then not only check the distance to the back of the blade, but continue on and check the distance to the riving knife. You will want to do this from both sides of the knife to make sure its not sticking out on one side.

Best of luck!

[Hoang N Nguyen]

I ran into the same problem when I changed out my fence with an Incra LS positioner. Turns out my fence was warped which was what caused the binding. I got a replacement fence and all was well. You should really check the fence with a dial gauge. Lock the fence a few inches from the miter slot and run a dial gauge along the miter slot, this will tell you if the fence is straight or not and should. This is also a good way to adjust the fence to toe out a few thousands towards the back end. A few mm is WAY too much.

Also, I've ran a Forrest thin kerf blade with the stock riving knife and blade guard on my SS without issues for over a year.

Lastly, should you need to make adjustments to align miter slot to blade, you shouldn't have to tap the tables to make that adjustment. You just loosen the table bolts and there are 4 smaller screws within the table you can either tighten or loosen to make the adjustments. This is one of the best features of the SS in my opinion and makes this kind of adjustment very accurate.

[James Jayko]

Huh, hadn't thought of that. This is a new problem, and I purchased a new blade recently. It was a 60 tooth Diablo blade from the HD. I also used a plywood blade that I've never used before, and had the same problem (it was in a box from my dad's shop).

The blade should be the same width as the riving knife, right?


By most reports, they are perfectly set up right out of the box. Mine was. If your fence is perfectly aligned with the miter slot, then you need to check the blade alignment with the miter slots. Another possibility; are you using a thin kerf blade? That'll do it, unless you switch to a thin riving knife.

[James Jayko]

The mitre slot is what I'm talking about. Its slightly out of perfectly square, maybe a few mm out on the far end. I think the thin kerf blade is causing this problem, but that I also need to adjust the fence.

[James Jayko]

Thanks John. I think the cause of the problem is the splitter/blade kerf difference, but I also think I need to adjust the fence alignment.

[Eric Schmid]

Well, you can't adjust the miter slot so you'll have to align the blade to the slot, correct? Then align the fence.

Your RK is probably slightly thinner than a full kerf blade.

[Chris Padilla]

The mitre slot is what I'm talking about. Its slightly out of perfectly square, maybe a few mm out on the far end. I think the thin kerf blade is causing this problem, but that I also need to adjust the fence.Assuming your miter slots are cut perfectly parallel to each other (and odds are excellent they are), then you should check the following and in this order:
(1) Adjust the miter slot to be perfectly parallel to your blade. You do this by bumping the table top around. This should be in your manual.
(2) Now adjust your fence to be perfectly parallel to the miter slot. Some folks like to have the far end of the fence tipped away from the blade ~1/64" or ~0.5 mm or so. It is often best/easiest to insert a piece of wood (or something) firmly into the miter slot and then adjust from that.

As to the blade, MOST table saw blades are 1/8" thick. Make sure your riving knife/splitter is adjusted correctly. Again, this should be in your manual. As a test, remove the riving knife/splitter and try your cut again. I would only do this cut with plywood since that is likely to move less than solid hardwood. You're only troubleshooting at this point to find the culprit. Your problem may even be a combo of a few things.

[Frank Pratt]

The proper riving knife will be slightly thinner than the kerf of the blade. In your original post, I missed the part about the fence being out a few mm. That's way, way too much. The fence should be perfectly parallel with the miter slots, or some like to have the far end just a little farther out, but that shouldn't be more than about .1 mm


Huh, hadn't thought of that. This is a new problem, and I purchased a new blade recently. It was a 60 tooth Diablo blade from the HD. I also used a plywood blade that I've never used before, and had the same problem (it was in a box from my dad's shop).

The blade should be the same width as the riving knife, right?

[Art Mann]

You would be well served to stop doing anything and sit down and read and comprehend your owner's manual. The problem you are describing is extremely common, especially with new equipment, and the manual should explain exactly how to fix it. No manufacturer can deliver 100% properly tuned saws because they can't control what happens during shipping.

[James Jayko]

It doesn't look like there is any adjustment possible with the riving knife on this saw. You drop it into the mount, turn the lock handle, and that's that.


Also make sure that the riving knife is aligned with the blade perfectly. If it is not, it can definitely cause the binding you are experiencing. Basically you need to insure the riving knife you are using it slightly thinner than the blade, and that it is perfectly aligned behind the blade. If you take a board and clamp it to you miter gauge and crosscut it as mentioned above then not only check the distance to the back of the blade, but continue on and check the distance to the riving knife. You will want to do this from both sides of the knife to make sure its not sticking out on one side.

Best of luck!

[lowell holmes]

I have a wooden insert with a splitter on my 10" saw, and a Woodworker II blade. I don't have any issues.

The rip fence is adjusted to open up about 1/32" at the back of the table.

[John Lankers]

James, if it was my saw I would start with the blade riving knife alignment, make sure (as mentioned by others) that you have the proper knife installed or blade for that matter. Lay a straight edge (must be precise) against both sides of the blade and make sure it does not touch the riving knife, this should eliminate a bent knife. If this checks out proceed with the blade to miter slot alignment, instruction should be in the manual. Next, check the flatness of the fence on a known to be flat surface like your jointer, then line up your fence with the miter slot. Ideally you should have a thou or 2 more clearance on the back of the blade (toward the riving knife) to prevent binding. To do these tests fully raise the blade and set it 90* to the table and mark one tooth on the blade with a sharpie and rotate the blade from front to back to take a measurement from this very same spot to eliminate the blade as the culprit.

[john bateman]

Huh, hadn't thought of that. This is a new problem, and I purchased a new blade recently. It was a 60 tooth Diablo blade from the HD. I also used a plywood blade that I've never used before, and had the same problem (it was in a box from my dad's shop).

The blade should be the same width as the riving knife, right?

The Home Depot website shows two Diablo 60 tooth blades. They are both described as thin kerf. If that's correct, then it is why your plywood is binding on the riving knife.

[James Jayko]

It appears that the blade is out by .005 (5 thousandths), while the fence is out by .018 (18 thousandths) from the front to back. What is the target here? I know that 0.000 is probably not realistic, but what should my reasonable goal be? Are these WAY out of alignment, slightly out, or more or less within spec?

[Brad Barnhart]

were it me, I'd put a carpenters square to the fence for starters. Then, check the squareness of the fence to the saw deck. Squareness is of key importance with a table saw. If the fence isn't square, adjust it to square. Then run a test cut in your plywood. If you still get kick back, then check your riving knife. It might even be a wise move to take a small square, hold it close to your blade & slowly turn it to see if it's bent. jmo.

[John Lankers]

It appears that the blade is out by .005 (5 thousandths), while the fence is out by .018 (18 thousandths) from the front to back. What is the target here? I know that 0.000 is probably not realistic, but what should my reasonable goal be? Are these WAY out of alignment, slightly out, or more or less within spec?


If you're sure the blade is "true" and you've eliminated blade wobble (runout) then I would say you need to adjust the table to the blade and try to get it within 1 thou, this is critical. Concerning the fence, you should be able to adjust the "toe out" to 1 to no more then 2 thou, "toe out" meaning the fence opens up from the front of the blade toward the back (away from the operator). Also make sure the fence rail is 100% perpendicular to the the blade along its full length. Measure from the same tooth and rotate this tooth from front to back. A dial indicator and a quality straight edge are your friends.
This can be a tedious procedure, so try not to do this when you're in a time crunch. This might have happened during transport, who knows. The good news is you will likely never have to do this again.

[Art Mann]

I have never been able to achieve a 0.001 or 0.002 alignment error and I have been tuning table saws since 1977. You won't even find a fence that is that straight. Heck, you will have a hard time buying a precision straight edge that is that straight. Some professionals adjust toe out to 0.005 or 0.010 on purpose, though I have never seen the value in it.

[Adam Merritt]

It appears that the blade is out by .005 (5 thousandths), while the fence is out by .018 (18 thousandths) from the front to back. What is the target here? I know that 0.000 is probably not realistic, but what should my reasonable goal be? Are these WAY out of alignment, slightly out, or more or less within spec?
I bought a 3HP PCS SawStop just over a month ago. I was able to get the blade parallel to .0005'' (the accuracy of my dial indicator) at 90 degrees both at height and below. I'm around .001'' at 45 degrees. Adjusting the blade at full heigh is super easy, it has set screws to adjust that move it back and forth, no need to bump and pray to get it aligned properly. I did not use the SawStop fence, and instead, put on an Incra TS-LS Joinery package, and the fence from start of the table to table to the back of the table is about .002 out total. At the blade, it is between .0005 and .001 off parallel. I figured if I was going to spend the money on great tools, I should spend the time getting it setup right (and read the manual many times to be sure I knew exactly what I should and shouldn't be doing!).

[lowell holmes]

I had forgotten, but I did have an alignment problem. I solved it by purchasing a dial indicator and aligning the rip slot and the blade. I've had no issues since doing it.

I still have the dial indicator. I don't use it any more. They are not expensive.

[John Lankers]

I hate my cellphone, when I noticed a small but significant error in my post last night I accidentally hit delete while I was typing to fix it - GRRRR :eek:.
I'll try to retype it from memory.
I can't believe how these guys can successfully stay in business with their saw this much out of alignment, 0.01" equals 0.254 mm (not 0.0254 mm as I wrote in my original message) and makes it impossible to produce a clean cut in my world - almost dangerous.
I have a 50" Veritas aluminum straight edge from LeeValley which is guaranteed to be within 0.003" over the entire length and the Starrett straight edge is guaranteed to be within 0.0002" per foot.
No decimal error this time, I hope :D.

[Steve Cowart]

It doesn't look like there is any adjustment possible with the riving knife on this saw. You drop it into the mount, turn the lock handle, and that's that.

I don't mean to insult you, but it sounds like you don't want to read your owners manual. There clearly has to be a way to adjust ANY riving knife. I went to the Sawstop website and read the manual, and its right there on page 77. It took me 2 minutes to find and read. You absolutely need to understand your equipment. Please read the manual thoroughly and understand how to adjust all the critical parts of the saw.

Also on page 90 in the "Trouble Shooting Section" there is one about;

"If Material Binds when Ripping" 358554

[Ben Rivel]

Yep, page 77 and 78.