Sacrificial Backup Material

[Tom Bender]

When making crosscuts I sometimes use a sacrificial backup material, but I have no 'go to' material so it's always a little bit of a new process. Do you have a 'go to'?

[Sebastien La Madeleine]

I always plane off cuts to the closest 1/8 available and use these as backers. I also have used a hardboard insert in my crosscut fence and this worked well, is seems to work better than MDF for splinter reduction and longevity. The ZCI (also made of hardboard) covers underneath and I get no splintering there.

[Jim Becker]

Informally, I'll use whatever scrap is immediately available. For a sacrificial backer that I attach to something, I typically use MDF as it's inexpensive and the surface is generally uber-consistent.

[Matt Day]

Mdf since it’s flat and won’t mess up the 90* on the crosscut fence/sled. Or melamine or good plywood like Baltic birch, just not something like osb or big box ply.

[Robert Engel]

MDF b/c it doesn't chip.

[brent stanley]

If I'm on the ball and I think of it, I will make a little extra stave core material when I'm machining it up for a door anyway. It's always very stable of course, doesn't seem to move then left on the fence.

B