Reply by Nicky

Hickory is tough stuff.

I don’t know what type of blade you’re using on the TS or CS.

Your blade should be clean, with no pitch build-up. I would use a nice, sharp rip blade on the TS, not a combo or cut-off blade. For your chop saw, a clean, sharp blade is needed as well.

Routing hickory is tricky. Light passes, and use feather boards for the top to hold it down on the table and another on the side to keep it tight to the fence.

-- Nicky