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Thread: Establishing first straight rip with bark

  1. #1
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    Establishing first straight rip with bark

    Hi all,

    I have about 10 boards of 4cm European beech (approx 200cm x 40cm), with the rough/bark side still on them. How do I establish the first straight rip on a table saw in this case?

    I want to rip most of them into 10cm wide strips that will become the top surface of my future workbench.

    Any hints very welcome!!

    Bram

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  3. #3
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    Use a circular saw guided by a straightedge. Or use the upscale cousin, a track saw.

  4. #4
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    I use a jig similar to what Doug posted. A piece of plywood with a couple of hold downs. If just one piece, a straight drawn line and a handsaw followed up with a jointer plane.
    Last edited by Phil Mueller; 06-18-2019 at 2:34 PM.

  5. #5
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    Doug's got the easy fix. You can make that out of almost anything on hand and a tablesaw to rip the jig body.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  6. #6
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    Now that I see the picture that seemed so obvious...! Thank you!

    As I have bark on both sides I might even go for the even easier solution of just ply & nails "on the other side"...

  7. #7
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    I have a large bandsaw, so I draw a straight line then rip it by eye.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bram de Jong View Post
    Hi all,
    I have about 10 boards of 4cm European beech (approx 200cm x 40cm), with the rough/bark side still on them. How do I establish the first straight rip on a table saw in this case?
    I want to rip most of them into 10cm wide strips that will become the top surface of my future workbench.
    Any hints very welcome!!
    Bram
    Do you know anyone with a bandsaw mill like a WoodMizer? Making a straight cut on one side of a a slab is a common operation. I typically stand and clamp a number of rough-edged boards/slabs on edge with the widest on the outside, make a pass with the blade set to make a straight edge down the outside board, then remove that board and repeat until all boards are edged.

    That first straight edge is not as smooth as a tablesaw cut but is straight and smooth enough to put against the fence on the table saw.

    JKJ

  9. #9
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    As a carpenter no one told me that my chalk line was not a commonly used tool in fine woodworking. As such it has been employed to snap lines on boards to take to one of my bandsaws and cut the first straight edge. For me this is followed by a jointer to clean up the edge.

  10. #10
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    Given the size of these boards, a TrackSaw or equivalent is probably going to be the safest and easiest way to straight line rip an edge on them unless you have a sliding table saw with a minimum of about 2100mm/80" of cut stroke.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #11
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    I too use a jig similar to the one posted by Doug.
    Scott Vroom

    I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.

  12. #12
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    I don't... I'm actually taking the boards to a co-working space somewhere that has a bunch of tools. I don't think they listed a bandsaw as one of their tools...

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Given the size of these boards, a TrackSaw or equivalent is probably going to be the safest and easiest way to straight line rip an edge on them unless you have a sliding table saw with a minimum of about 2100mm/80" of cut stroke.
    I'm really not up to speed on any of the lingo surrounding powertools, ... could you explain this?

    Bram

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bram de Jong View Post
    I'm really not up to speed on any of the lingo surrounding powertools, ... could you explain this?

    Bram
    A track saw is a hand-held circular saw that runs along a guide track for a perfectly straight cut. The track can theoretically be as long as needed. There are good examples from Festool and other makers. One can also make their own guide track and use a common circular saw.

    Sliding table saws, which are typical in your geography, have a "wagon" that the material that is being cut sits on (typically clamped) while being guided through the cut. Since there's no need to run the board along a fence, the existing edge doesn't need to be straight. As long as the wagon on the saw you use has a cutting capacity of at least the length of your board(s), you can rip a straight edge easily and safely. Felder and SCM/Minimax are good examples of companies that have sliding table saws.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #15
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    :-) you explained the bit I understood... The part I didn't get was "unless you have a sliding table saw with a minimum of about 2100mm/80" of cut stroke."

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