Ripping Blade

[Tim M Tuttle]

I am working on a potting bench that I am making out of solid white oak. Other than cutting boards or a few shop projects using construction lumber, this is my first real project with solid wood. Last night I was milling some parts out of 8/4 stock and my 1.75HP SawStop was on the struggle bus. I use a full kerf Forrest WWII 40T blade and it really struggled through that 8/4 stock. I actually overheated the motor once and tripped the switch breaker. That got me thinking about getting ripping blade.

I'd rather not get a thin kerf blade just so I dont have to fuss with multiple riving knives so do you all think a 24T full kerf blade would be good enough or do you think my saw will always struggle with a full kerf blade in thicker stock?

Thanks

[Erik Loza]

I would go for 24T, full kerf. If that doesn't do it, motor power is the issue. Or just live with a real slow feed rate. Good luck.

Erik

[glenn bradley]

Agree. I ran a full kerf 24 tooth FTG even on my 1HP contractor. Listen to your machine and adjust your feed rate so as not to overload it. Feather boards can help assure smooth cuts on longer rips.

[Mark Hockenberg]

Hi Tim,

You're on the right track. You'll be amazed at how a "real" rip blade will perform vs your 40 tooth blade.

I've been running Freud industrial 24 tooth rip blades lately, model #LM72M008. I keep two on hand so I always have a sharp one.

If you like Forrest blades, by all means get a Forrest rip blade. Forrest makes outstanding products. It looks like they have a 20 tooth model - #WW10206125 and the reviews are great.

Cheers,
Mark

[Lee Schierer]

As others have noted a 24 tooth ripping blade will perform much better than a combination blade when ripping hard wood. I recommend the Freud Glueline rip blade.

[Bob Hinden]

I have the 20 tooth Forrest 10" WW II Saw Blade that I use for ripping hardwood on my 3hp PCS. I recently finished ripping White Oak up to about 2" thick, it works great. It will cut as fast as I want to push the wood through the saw.

The finish is not a good as my 40 tooth WW II, but I think that's to be expected.

Bob

[Steve Wurster]

I also recommend the Freud Glue Line Rip blade or the Freud Heavy Duty Rip blade; I ran both on my old Ridgid TS 3650, which was not a very powerful saw. The HD blade is Flat Top Grind, which is good if you're making non-through grooves and you don't want the bat ears.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Gonna go with the Forrest. Woodcraft has them in stock and I need to make some sawdust tonight.

Thanks, everyone.

[Jim Becker]

I use the 20T WW-II blade for "heavy" ripping...and it's the same kerf width as the other Forrest blades I use so zero adjustments ever for kerf width. (One reason I stick with a standard blade since I cut on both sides of the blade on my slider, depending on what I'm doing, and need the scales on both sides to be accurate)

[Jamie Buxton]

I have a 1.5 hp Unisaw, and it does rip 8/4 stock with a combo blade. I'd check a couple of possibilities for your poor performance.
* Is the combo blade sharp?
* Is the lumber pinching the blade at the rear? This generally comes down to whether you're using a splitter or riving knife.

[Edward Dyas]

I am working on a potting bench that I am making out of solid white oak. Other than cutting boards or a few shop projects using construction lumber, this is my first real project with solid wood. Last night I was milling some parts out of 8/4 stock and my 1.75HP SawStop was on the struggle bus. I use a full kerf Forrest WWII 40T blade and it really struggled through that 8/4 stock. I actually overheated the motor once and tripped the switch breaker. That got me thinking about getting ripping blade.

I'd rather not get a thin kerf blade just so I dont have to fuss with multiple riving knives so do you all think a 24T full kerf blade would be good enough or do you think my saw will always struggle with a full kerf blade in thicker stock?

ThanksThe best rip blade I've used is actually a fiber cement blade where the 10" blade only had like 6 teeth.

[Tim M Tuttle]

I have a 1.5 hp Unisaw, and it does rip 8/4 stock with a combo blade. I'd check a couple of possibilities for your poor performance.
* Is the combo blade sharp?
* Is the lumber pinching the blade at the rear? This generally comes down to whether you're using a splitter or riving knife.

Mine will rip 8/4 stock but it's not easy. This white oak I am working with had a lot of tension and was pinching past the blade. The one time it was pinching really badly was the time I blew the fuse.

I picked up the WWII 20T last night and will be giving it go tonight.

[Jim Becker]

That blade "eats wood", Tim...it should do the job for you. Even though my saw uses 12" blades, it's the one 10" blade I've purposefully kept from the previous setup because it does good work on knarly material.

[Jamie Buxton]

Mine will rip 8/4 stock but it's not easy. This white oak I am working with had a lot of tension and was pinching past the blade. The one time it was pinching really badly was the time I blew the fuse.

I picked up the WWII 20T last night and will be giving it go tonight.

If your wood is pinching the blade bad enough to blow a fuse, that's a very bad situation. The rear of the blade is moving upwards. When the wood pinches the rear of the blade, there is the danger that the blade will throw it up into the air or into your face. The tablesaw's splitter or riving knife is supposed to prevent the pinching, so you should be using it. If even that doesn't prevent the pinching, I'd send that piece of lumber off to the burn pile.

[David Eisenhauer]

If you really want to use that piece of pinching wood, you can do a partial thickness rip from each side of the timber and then finish the final cut through with a hand saw. Like Jaime says, you are travelling in a dangerous territory if you are blowing fuses. I'm not so sure a new WW blade will solve the problem.

[Tim M Tuttle]

If you really want to use that piece of pinching wood, you can do a partial thickness rip from each side of the timber and then finish the final cut through with a hand saw. Like Jaime says, you are travelling in a dangerous territory if you are blowing fuses. I'm not so sure a new WW blade will solve the problem.

The breaker on the saw tripped because the motor was overheating. The wood had a lot of tension in it and was closing past the riving knife. It was never pinching on the blade.

[Tim M Tuttle]

I was able to use my new Forrest WWII 20 tooth this weekend. Wow. It's like I have a new saw. Love it.

[Jim Becker]

I was able to use my new Forrest WWII 20 tooth this weekend. Wow. It's like I have a new saw. Love it.
Yea....aggressive as heck. Leaves some marks, but it will power through when more teeth will not do the job!

[Jim Dwight]

Seems like the problem is solved but I will add one more thought. I use a SawStop PCS with the 1.75 hp motor and have also tripped the motor overload once with a piece of oak, 1 inch thick, that was pinching the back of the blade despite the splitter. IMHO, one of the issues is the splitter is about right for a thin kerf blade but thin for a full kerf blade. I would like to have a 0.1 inch thick splitter but I have only seen them from Shark Guard and I am not ready to get one of those. I currently have a cheap Wen thin kerf on the saw and it works fine with the stock splitter. But my main tip is when the wood is pinching, put a tapered edge scrap in the kerf to force it to stay open. I've done that a couple times successfully since to avoid issues.

I also agree with the comments about wood that reacts this way. But I often do not want to take the time to go get more wood and start over. So I use what I have if the issue is not too bad.