burning smell and burn marks when cutting w/table saw

Sounds like the blade is getting dull. What type of wood are you cutting? If you are cutting a lot of pine or plywood it could be that the blade is in need of cleaning.

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

Also if you are still using the factory blade you might want to upgrade, that helped me alot.

-- Roper - Master of sawdust-

ya it looks like your blade might be dull or clogged up and in need of cleaning. if you’ve been cutting mahogany lately this is something that i heard about it. when it is sucking up water it can actually suck up some sand so when cutting mahogany your blades get dull fast. just something i heard from a sharpening guy!

if you are ripping, the board it may be “closing up” on the blade causing friction.

a lot depends on the blade. how many teeth etc. is it a cross-cut, rip or combination blade ?

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

I agree it sounds like a dull blade. If you are trying to cut with a dull blade you will see a cloud of smoke coming from the wood. You might want to try cleaning the blade to see if it helps. But I would opt for a new blade. The manufacturers do not, as a rule, put a quality blade in with their tools (to keep their costs down).

There are a number of good blades out there but you should be using a general purpose 40 tooth combination blade. With this you can rip and crosscut without changing blades. I use Forrest blades and, with a properly aligned fence, produce rip cuts capable of going directly to glue up and cut splinter free crosscuts. They aren’t cheap but I am sold on their performance.

Hope this helps.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

You might try cleaning the blade. If you are cutting pine you can get a lot of buildup.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Good suggestions above. You might want to try a thin kerf blade, too. I am sold on them.

could be blade, need for a riving knife, blade adjustment or fence needing ot be square. start with the easy ans work your way through it all until you find it.

-- making sawdust....

I agree with motthunter, the first thing that you should do is to get a dial indicator gauge and align your miter slots and fence. Try to get them parallel to the blade within .005 inches. The best method is to mark a tooth on the blade and then rotate the blade to check that same position both on the infeed and outfeed side (be sure to unplug the saw first). It is also important to check the vertical setting of the blade with engineer’s squares or a Wixey digital angle gauge. The factory may have done an adequate job of alignment, but every machine tool needs to be re-aligned once it is placed in it’s permanent position. I’ve always felt that the ability to be precisely alligned is a test of the quality of a machine.

Consider getting rip and crosscut blades. I have a 50T carbide combination blade that gets a lot of general use. However, I consider it an 85% blade. For optimum results, use a rip or a crosscut blade for their respective tasks. Finally, as was mentioned above, be sure to use the riving knife & guard when ripping. This will keep the kerf from closing and squeezing the blade, and also, most importantly, will protect you from kick back.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

Hey Guys:

thanx for the info—it just so happens that i have been cutting lots of pine lately. I will try cleaning it first then if that doesnt work, I may just upgrade to a better blade. Im using a dewalt “all purpose” type blade that was not real expensive. Maybe i should spring for a much better blade.

thanx again guys

If you’re cutting a lot of pine, you’ll definitely need to take care to clean your blade more often than normal to remove the pitch build-up. Try doing some google searches and use your favorite method.

-- Ethan, http://greystonegreen.blogspot.com/

Yeah, you got a pitch buildup. I only use carbide tooth blades and when I begin to see the “burn” marks, I clean the blade. We had a big discussion awhile back on preferred cleaning methods. I’ll see if I can find it.

Ahhh! Here we go!

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/941

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

thanx dadoo—i have some of that orange clean, im gonna give that a try.

thanx again

I’ve found that after you clean your blade, spray some WD40 on it.

It cuts better, & It tends to stay clean longer.

I’ve heard that oven cleaner works for cleaning blades, but use in good ventilation.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

All great suggestions as usual. Now check to see if the belts are tight. A new saw, you will have some stretch. I had to switch to link belts to eliminate the problem on my Jet cabinet saw. Now It is not a problem and I’m getting a lot more use of my blades between sharpenings.

-- Thos. Angle

In addition to cleaning the blade try waxing the table as well. Good paste wax rubbed onto the table and buffed up will help reduce friction.

-- Those that say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

hey guys

thanx for all of the tips. i cleaned the blade that i had in orange clean (straight up) and it cleaned it very well but still had the burn problem. Went out this am and bought me a new freud saw blade that was much better that the previous blade. Cuts like a charm and my problem has been resolved. I just didnt think that the old blade would dull that fast.

I also appreciate the tip about the dial gauge, i guess i will have to get one of those.

thanx for all of your help—its good to know you have someplace to go for this type of technical infor.

You didn’t specify if the Grizzly was a cabinet saw or contractor saw. If you have a saw that is potentially under powered you can still get excellent results with thin kerf blades and blades dedicated to their task (ie; ripping bade for ripping, crosscut blade for crosscutting. We sometimes forget that we overcome a lot when we’re using a 3+ hp saw. Keeping the blades clean is very important. I use several different blades and try to make a practice of cleaning the blade that I remove. That way I’m always starting with a clean blade.

-- Phil, Near San Diego, CA

Jeff—I know MOST of us know that paste wax is great, but some where (gasp) on this site I saw automotive paste wax recommended. I hope that those that use THAT never plan on finishing the wood that you cut ‘cause it doesn’t take much silicone for a finish just to ball up and run off like rain on your car . . . . Johnson, butchers, what is your favorite—some are starting to get harder to find, not so many people wax their floors anymore I guess

fred

-- Fred, Springfield, Ma