New Saw & Blade Making Ridges On Wood??

[Adrian Anguiano]

Okay im setting up and tuning my new Grizz Cabinet saw.

Did my first cut last night of a scrap piece of maple. about 2" wide and 12" long. 3/4 thick.

Cut it down the middle. No problems.. no burning.

When i opened up where i had cut... each side of the cut had ridges. Both sides were pretty smooth not perfect but definitely straight. Whats the deal?

This is also the first cut with a new Forrest WWII that i bought.

Is it the Blade? Does it need to be worn in.
Is it the Fence?

[Mike Barney Sr]

I replied to a post earlier about a fellow woodworker having alignment problems on his table saw. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...this&highlight= is the posting with mine and others' suggestions.

If your saw is making ridges you may have alignment problems, blade wobble from a bent blade (I doubt it with a Forrest) or a bent arbor, reaction wood, etc. Something is not aligned or straight. Mind you saw ridges will be present on all cuts (even from the most precise saws and set ups) but the severity of the ridges will vary. If everything is aligned and straight, look closely at the wood. Rarely can you rip a piece, even a small one, down the middle and have absolutely no movement. This movement will produce ridges. I can't tell from the pics how bad the ridges are. I would need a real close up. Try running the boards through again taking off just a little from the edge. And if the boards are not flat they may rock as you pass them through the saw causing ridges.

[glenn bradley]

Just for the fun of it I will take the other tack; let's say the saw is aligned just fine. How were you controlling your stock? That is a small piece of stock and can give you control issues. Did you use a featherboard to maintain and even pressure against the fence? Push blocks (this is a perfect job for a Grr-Ripper) to keep good downward pressure while feeding? Did other cuts exhibit the same result? Just things to factor in.

[Chris Padilla]

I will reach further than Glenn and claim it could be figure in the wood. Maple is famous for this. (just making doubly sure these are waves ...because I never wanna make waves.... )

[Lee Schierer]

I will reach further than Glenn and claim it could be figure in the wood. Maple is famous for this. (just making doubly sure these are waves ...because I never wanna make waves.... )

Surf's up, oh sorry Chris. That was my tought as well when I looked at the photos it looks like curly grain to me and not saw ridges, which would be circular in nature.

[Van Huskey]

It does not LOOK like saw ridges to me either. If you have a long piece of chalk (you should have some in any shop!) lie it side down and run it across the board, it will show any ridges AND make them easy to photograph and for us to diagnose.

[Marty Paulus]

I am in agreement that those do not look like saw marks. If it were saw marks they would be curved. Those lines look about dead straight.

[Adrian Anguiano]

I used a stiff featherboard with a long pushblock.

I put some chalk on it. Next time ill get red chalk so it stands out more.

One side the marks are almost gone, the other side they are still there a little.

chalk.jpg

[Mike Barney Sr]

Since on one side there are nearly gone and on the other still there, I would have to conclude that it is the wood.

[Myk Rian]

Looks like you have the blade cranked all the way up.
Lower it so the gullets are just over the edge of the stock.

[Lee Schierer]

I used a stiff featherboard with a long pushblock.

I put some chalk on it. Next time ill get red chalk so it stands out more.

One side the marks are almost gone, the other side they are still there a little.

chalk.jpg

Okay the board on top the lines look like wood grain not kerf marks. However, on the bottom board I can definitely see saw tooth marks and it doesn't appear you blade was set overly high for the cut.. Where was you feather board located. A feather board should never be beyond the leading edge of the cut.

If the bottom board was between teh blade and the fence then you fence may be out of alignment to the miter slot. Both the blade and the fence must be aligned to the miter slot. A dial indicator, even a cheap one is the most accurate way to check and adjust these alignments. It may also be a case where there is some reaction wood and the kerf tended to close up as the cut was made more on the btoom oard side than the other. Are the cut lines straight? If not then stresses in the wood might have caused the problem.

[Glen Blanchard]

My initial impression is that it is an alignment issue. Have you tried ripping a wider piece of stock that has no figure to see if the problem repeats itself?

[Phil Phelps]

I bought a 12" Grizzly back in '09 and gave up my Biesmeyer for the factory fence. I had a hard time aligning the fence but, when I set the back of the fence a hair greater than the front, my problems cleared up. I do mean a "hair". Over time you will need to recheck the alignment. Use other species of wood for your experiment and testing.

[Chip Lindley]

From the photos, I cannot see anything other than curly/wavy maple grain. No saw marks to this naked eye. There is no burning to denote a misalignment issue. Even with perfect blade/fence alignment, reaction wood may cause the wood to pinch the blade, causing some scratching. But, it appears your new saw and your WWII are doing their job. Remember, the TS is not the final finish that board edges receive. There is always sanding involved.

[Van Huskey]

Looks like you have the blade cranked all the way up.
Lower it so the gullets are just over the edge of the stock.

That may cause more problems. The WWII is designed to be used with the blade well above what most other blades recommend. Gullet high will often cause burning with a WWII.