Rip cuts with table saw

[Joshua McCormack]

I’m new to table saws. I’m watching videos/reading safety instructions it says to always do rips with the off cut (smaller) piece outside the blade. However, in order to make repeated rips of the same width you would have to move the blade after every cut. That seems like it would introduce a big risk for inconsistency.
How thin of a piece can you safely rip on the fence side?

[Richard Coers]

You need to be reading from a better source. That information is hogwash. Taking a class at Woodcraft would be a good start.

[Bill Howatt]

I consider 1/2" my safest thickness for a thin rip because I can use my shoe pusher with that thickness but I probably could make a 1/4" one. If you aren't "holding" the thin ripped off piece it can kick back since it is trapped between the fence and the blade. Yes, having to do some math, allow for blade thickness does open the door to inconsistency.

Google something like "thin rip jig" and you will get a bunch of simple ways of safely solving your problem.

[Steve Jenkins]

I make my shoe pushers from scrap 3/4 mdf and for thin rips I just cut into the shoe. 1/8” rips and less aren’t a problem.

[Robert Hayward]

+1 for a thin rip jig. I have the Woodpecker thin rip guide but there are a bunch of cheaper ones on the market. Nothing wrong with homemade either.

If you are ripping really thin strips you should use a ZCI, zero clearance insert, throat plate. Otherwise you run the risk of the thin strip being pulled into the saw cabinet.

[Ron Citerone]

Lot of good advice given here! If you can find a course rather than utube I would advise it! Read every reply here, these guys are really giving good advice!

[Lee Schierer]

I’m new to table saws. I’m watching videos/reading safety instructions it says to always do rips with the off cut (smaller) piece outside the blade. However, in order to make repeated rips of the same width you would have to move the blade after every cut. That seems like it would introduce a big risk for inconsistency.
How thin of a piece can you safely rip on the fence side?

Before making any rip cuts of any size, it is a good idea to check the alignment of the blade to the miter slot and the fence to the miter slot. Brand new saws do not always come precisely aligned. A poorly aligned saw is a poor tool to use as it will leave tooth marks and possibly burn marks on your work pieces. You will get much better results from a well aligned saw.

Generally speaking you don't want to make a rip cut using a fence where the whole piece is wider than the length of the piece being cut off. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but a piece that is significantly wider than the length of the rip, it is fairly easy to twist the piece as you are pushing it through the cut, pinching the blade.

The thinner the piece being cut between the blade and the fence there is a greater chance of the piece shooting back toward the operator. Hence the need for using a properly sized push stick to prevent any backward motion by pushing the piece all the way past the blade.

Here is the typical push stick that I use.
504065
It measures 12" long and 8 inches tall.

[John TenEyck]

Or use something like this for repeat narrow rips w/o having the piece get trapped between the fence and blade.

https://www.amazon.com/Extended-Compatible-Accessories-Cutting-Repetitive/dp/B0BQZR8Z6Q/ref=sxin_17_sbv_search_btf?content-id=amzn1.sym.6cfa532e-9c8f-48d2-87a3-a61547a0d356%3Aamzn1.sym.6cfa532e-9c8f-48d2-87a3-a61547a0d356&crid=1UYC4WPKC42CF&cv_ct_cx=table+saw+ripping+jig&keywords=table+saw+ripping+jig&pd_rd_i=B0BQZR8Z6Q&pd_rd_r=13a786d8-b2e0-4194-b498-ed97c44dadc4&pd_rd_w=cUsvI&pd_rd_wg=xYBMn&pf_rd_p=6cfa532e-9c8f-48d2-87a3-a61547a0d356&pf_rd_r=RSNB45PRMRGTZY4DCMGZ&qid=1688950029&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=ripping+jig%2Caps%2C115&sr=1-1-5190daf0-67e3-427c-bea6-c72c1df98776

John

[glenn bradley]

With a zero clearance insert very thin rips are not a problem. You do have to have a good way to control the blank and the off cut. Lots of good info here. I'm not much on the style like so (https://www.amazon.com/Extended-Table-Repeat-Narrow-Router/dp/B0BWXKBVY8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?hvadid=580590951331&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9031231&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=9176270353241338413&hvtargid=kwd-40641379101&hydadcr=1608_13457716&keywords=thin+rip+jig&qid=1688953425&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1). Any fence 'jog' while locking down can yield inconsistent thicknesses. I'm a Grr-Ripper fan
504074
and I also do as Steve Jenkins mentions and just cut into a sacrificial push block. There is always more than one way to skin the cat.

[Derek Cohen]

I’m new to table saws. I’m watching videos/reading safety instructions it says to always do rips with the off cut (smaller) piece outside the blade. However, in order to make repeated rips of the same width you would have to move the blade after every cut. That seems like it would introduce a big risk for inconsistency.
How thin of a piece can you safely rip on the fence side?

Joshua, there are a few possible factors to keep in mind.

1. It appears at first more logical to make a repeated cut using the rip fence, however when the cut is very narrow it can be dangerous if you are not using a blade guard and a push stick. You are better off setting up a stop block on the other side of the fence to set the width of the rip, and using the fence to guide the board.

2. There is also an issue with the length vs width of the board. If you push a workpiece along the fence which is wider than it is long, then it is unstable and you run the risk of it turning away from the fence and into the back of the blade. Without a riving knife, that is a recipe for kickback.

In such situations, pushing the narrower side (within reason) along the fence makes sense as this will offer better directional stability.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Thomas McCurnin]

+1 for a thin rip jig, which despite its name, doesn't have to be thin--its just an indexing system to move the fence repeatedly, so the offcuts are consistent.

[Michael Rutman]

First, welcome to the wonderful world of woodworking.
Second, be prepared for a lot of practice and asking questions (I ask a lot of newbie questions here).

OK, encouragement done.

All the above advise is excellent, but I want to put it into context for you. You are trying to avoid "pinching" the wood. When the wood between the blade and the fence pinches it is dangerous. The advice above is about avoiding the pinching danger, which is less likely to happen if you cut it with the thicker part between the blade and fence.

However, best advice above is making sure your blade is aligned to the fence and miter slot avoids the pinching. You REALLY want to do this. It's a lot of practice and don't get frustrated if it takes you all weekend to get it right. If it's your first tablesaw I'm going to assume a cheap one, which is going to need a lot of fiddling to get it straight. Your fence is likely to be way way off. Once you get it straight, really straight, use it on some scrap wood and test again, it may shift.

Now, I'm going to talk about the best product I've ever seen for safety. Magswitches http://www.magswitch.com/. The worst featherboards are ones you stop using because they are a pain. Magswitches are so trivial to use that I use them for every cut, both for safety and because it gives me much better cuts. The vertical featherboard will hold your piece down while you set up and the horizontal boards hold it firmly against the fence. I bought a bunch of add ons with the starter kit and honestly should just have bought the universal featherboard and vertical featherboard. I never use the thin strip jig/rip guide and rarely use the resaw.

For a stop block, the magswitch keychain magnet should work well, but any of the jigs work as a stopblock. You can't use the feather board side as it bends, but just turn it so a flat side is your stop block. You are NOT going to budge a locked down magswitch. Stop blocks that shift when you bump them are worse than useless as it will actively ruin your project.

Good luck and always come back when frustrated, if nothing else, we will help you with stories of doing the exact same boneheaded thing.

[John Kananis]

IMHO, there is no safer way to do this. I cut up to 1/8 strips this way - any thinner I'm likely doing on the bandsaw. The carrier cradles the fence and rides the work the whole way through the cut. Once the outside piece of the carrier wares away too much, just replace that piece.
504101504102

[andrew whicker]

IMHO, there is no safer way to do this. I cut up to 1/8 strips this way - any thinner I'm likely doing on the bandsaw. The carrier cradles the fence and rides the work the whole way through the cut. Once the outside piece of the carrier wares away too much, just replace that piece.
504101504102

I like that jig.

I wouldn't buy anything personally. Make something in the shop that works if my preferred method unless I sincerely can't find a way

[andy bessette]

I make my shoe pushers from scrap 3/4 mdf and for thin rips I just cut into the shoe. 1/8” rips and less aren’t a problem.

This, though I use plywood for the pusher.

https://i.postimg.cc/s2tVRtzq/IMG-2120.jpg (https://postimg.cc/jW4VH3L4)

[Steve Jenkins]

Looks just like mine.

[andy bessette]

Looks just like mine.

:) Assume that was directed at me. Yeah, I just run thin rips right through the push stick. Blows me away when I see Youtubers pushing 12"-wide rips through using two push pads. Or a 2'-long push stick.

[Rod Sheridan]

One other important safety feature is to use a short rip fence when ripping solid wood.

Assuming you have a standard North American saw you can clamp a length of MDF to your rip fence, such that it ends just beyond the beginning of the blade.

Regards, Rod

[andrew whicker]

I have my fence angled (slightly unparallel) to the blade so that space opens up after the first tooth. This helps as well

However this should be kept in mind when cutting on the left side of the blade.

[Warren Lake]

Done enough narrow just ripped into the push stick. Usually left the long fence as thin rip has no tension release.

You dont say how long what material or how many and that is part of what you do. while not CSA approved done enough where i rip in some amount maybe 2 feet, lift off the saw, flip 180 degrees rip in to where ive ripped already and lift it all off. Its not for everyone but it works fast and easy

[Prashun Patel]

It's interesting that nobody has mentioned how thick the pieces being ripped are. In my experience, this makes a difference.

A tall piece requires more of the blade to be exposed and increases the chances of kickback. They can also release more tension and close the kerf.

But in my experience, very thin pieces (like 1/8" plywood) are even more dangerous. The reason is that they don't resist the blade and can 'flap' and kick back.

I think you are best to understand intimately the mechanics of thin rips. You want to keep that kerf open (with a splitter) and you want to prevent the piece from lifting. It's not always intuitive how tension releases in the wood, so unless you have a ton of experience in that regard, it is my advice that you use a bump jig and rip your pieces on the left (or non-fence) side of the blade. I've done it the other way, and besides a little speed, I can't say there's a huge benefit in terms of accuracy.

[Randy Heinemann]

When I rip strips less than 5" or 6" wide, I use the Grr-Ripper from Microjig. It protects you hands from the blade and holds the board securely with rubberized gripping pads on the base. It can be set up to handle many different widths. Ripping is still somewhat dangerous and always requires a lot of attention while doing it. The GRR-Ripper, though, helps the whole process. With its various attachments, it helps stabilize the tool so that it won't tip while ripping. I bought 2 when they first came out many years ago. I was never sorry. Of course, you can make your own push sticks and tools, but the GRR-Ripper is a complete tool that works for all situations I've encountered for tablesaw ripping.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Seems like I am in the minority in preferring to rip *barely* oversized on the bandsaw and then plane to final thickness with a DRO on the planer.

I will rip plywood or solid wood that is wider than my planer height capacity (9”) on the tablesaw but otherwise I’m choosing the bandsaw almost every time, even in a production / professional environment.

[andy bessette]

This is how I rip material that is too narrow to push by hand (only). Hand wrapped around the fence, pushing down on the front of the push stick, thumb keeping it pressed against the fence. Because I am holding the camera, the photo does not show that the left hand, with the little finger in the table's miter slot, also presses the workpiece against the fence.

https://i.postimg.cc/Bncbvdgt/IMG-2194.jpg (https://postimg.cc/v4Tbq2Cd)