# How to rip rough lumber straight?



## lumbermaker (Feb 6, 2008)

Hello, forum. I have a couple of thousand board feet of native lumber. It has been stripped and stacked in a barn for about four years and I also have use of a dehumidifier kiln. I've taken my time when drying the lumber and for the most part haven't run into any major problems. My question is after the lumber is dry how do I put a straight edge on it? I want to know some of your thoughts on the most efficient way to accomplish this task. I've heard to chalk line it and run it through a table saw, but if I can make a simple profit I may do this for a supplemental income and don't want to even think of running several thousand boardfeet through a table saw every year. I could have the bandsaw come back and straight edge them, at an additional cost, or I could manufacture some sort of rip saw.

I read oscorner's blog on the "Woodmaster" 4-in-1 planer and wonder if he ever got around to trying the rip saw attachment. Does it work well? Does it pull the lumber through straight like a commercial rip saw or does the lumber curve? I guess I could try it out, but I don't want the headache if it's not going to meet my needs.

I have access to a jointer, but haven't bought a planer yet. My goal is to manufacture quality native lumber to sell to local craftsmen and hobbiest.

What are your thoughts?


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

That much lumber I would find a local mill to do it. I have one that will surface two sides and straight line
rip rough lumber for less than 10 cents a foot.

Something to think about.


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## lumbermaker (Feb 6, 2008)

Thanks for the speedy reply. That would probably make the most sense. I have a mill that would work and it's less than 20 miles away, I'll give them a call. I just started processing some of the wood I ran through the kiln and noticed that I lost an eight of an inch due to shrinkage. I was wondering what thickness would be acceptable to woodworkers after I've finished joining and planning? I started out at a true 1 inch thickness. No big deal on this first batch as I can use it myself and figured there would be a learning curve.

It also has occurred to me that next time I may want to shorten the length of the lumber prior to stacking so I could move it myself with a lot less effort. What would you say is the most desirable length you use?


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

With that much lumber I agree with Gary. If you had a smaller amount then here are a couple methods that you could use:

(1) snap a chalk line and use a circular saw to rough cut it
(2) make a sled from plywood and clamp the rough lumber to it leaving one edge of the plywood to register against the rip fence of your table saw.

Normally for rough lumber you would aim for a dry thickness of about 1 1/8" to allow for surface jointing and planing to finished size.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

Six foot would probably be the longest piece anyone would use for furniture, but there are exceptions.
Anything longer than 10 feet get hard for one person to handle, but not impossible.

3/4 inch is about the standard for thickness.

Hope this helps.


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

If you decide to put a straight-edge on it yourself, Festool is the original, but lots of other people now are manufacturing plunge saws with rails. As long as you can set up the rail without twist, it's a great way to put a straight edge on just about anything.


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## lumbermaker (Feb 6, 2008)

I've read a few articles/blogs by fellows that set up their own rail system and I've heard of the plywood sled for the table saw, so I guess it's just a matter of making up my mind of whether I want to do this job myself or get it done at the mill. (Buying my own edger is only going to happen when the Wife sells the house and moves into the barn-so never.) The only thing (besides cost) that might sway me is whether the mill is timely in doing my job or if I have to wait a considerable time. It looks like the only way to settle this is to run a batch through them and see what happens.

Thanks again for all of your input and if you run across any articles/blogs on the subject of processing trees to useable lumber I'd appreciate a line.

Mike Keller


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## TackDriver (Feb 8, 2008)

I do almost everything from rough lumber (usually "rough" as in tree form…...."). I thickness plane first to desired thickness and then the pieces with a fairly straightedge (eyeball method) go thru the jointer. Questionable ones go to the table saw with an extra long straight fence and are methodically "straightened" by cutting one side and then the other. With a bit of practice, it goes fairly well. If the piece is way out of "straight", most times I will cut it in half, or in the middle of the biggest bend, and reduce the amount of material I need to remove to get a straight edge on it.

A lot of people call me crazy, or that my methods don't work…... but I've salvaged a lot of material that mills and yards were gonna throw away because of warping and twisting issues.


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## Suz (Feb 12, 2008)

Okay, I've got a Woodmaster 712 that includes a gang saw. You will not be able to straight line rip with it if the lumber has quite a curve to it. In fact when I gang rip I have to hold the wood tight to the guide or it will wander. The gang saw is more to cut your stock to exactly the same width for when you want to run it through the molding knives.
What I made up is a 16 and an 8 foot straight edge made out of several of these aluminum straight edges that you can get from a BORG. I ripped some 1/4 inch plywood into 8 inch wide by 8 foot long pieces. I then laminated the plywood together to get a 8×1/2×16' strip of plywood. Then I put the aluminum straight edges down straight by using a string stretched the whole length as a guide to make sure everything was indeed straight for the whole length of the 16'. When this was completed I made a saddle for my circle saw so it would glide along the straight edge and not wander in or out. I then mounted an expensive rip blade on the saw and made a rip down the length of the plywood. By doing that I have a nice straight edge that I can lay on the lumber and just guide the saw along. 
What is nice about this setup is that it's light and easy to handle unlike trying to set up a 16 foot long jig plus a hunk of 12 inch wide by 16' long piece of red oak and try to run it through the table saw. (I also use the 8' edge to rip panel goods. I still want to make 5' one for panels.)
After I have this one straight edge then I can run the lumber through the Woodmaster's gang saw setup.
in my opinion there would be no way would I haul all the lumber down to a sawmill to have them hash it all up. I don't think they will take the time nor the care to get the maximum amount of lumber from your board.
If interested I can post some pictures of my guides.


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## Raudolph (Mar 9, 2008)

Jim…I'd be very interested in seeing the pictures of your guides. I have a Woodmaster 718, and the gang rip saw works great…once you have a straight egde. Your straight edge guide seems like the ticket for running 16' molding blanks.

Thanks!

Pat


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## Suz (Feb 12, 2008)

OK Pat, remember you asked for it. My jig isn't fancy, but it works great.

This first picture is an overall view of the laminated 1/4" plywood that I made into a 8' x 8" x 1/2 strip of plywood. I've got another that is 16' x 8" x 1/2" for ripping 16' stuff. When I mounted the 16' long strip I stretched a string along the edge of the aluminum straight edge to make sure the straightedge didn't have any curves in it. Also, those aluminum straight edges are about 8 foot 4 so you end up with a nice overhang on the straight edge. 

This picture shows the "saddle" that I made to hold my circle saw which slides along the straight edge that will prevent the saw from wandering away from the straight line.

This shows how I adjust the edge of the jig to be exactly where I want to make the cut. I can adjust the edge to cut exactly where I want to trim the lumber.

As you can see by this photo I can take off a pretty thin strip off the edge without having the saw wander in or out. All I have to do is walk along and make sure I don't cut my cord! I find that this method is so much faster and easier than trying to setup the table saw to make a straight line rip on a 16' long board! 
When I cut my 16' stock I just put my 2 8' long in-feed/out-feed tables end to end, lay a hunk of styrofoam on the tables. set the lumber on the styrofoam, the jig adjusted to the edge I want to cut and make some wood dust! The 16' jig is heavy enough that it doesn't slide on the planed lumber, but if it does I just slip some of this nonslip shelf liner under the jig.


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## brunob (Dec 26, 2006)

I too agree withGary. I'd have the mill do it. If I was doing it myself, I'd joint one edge first then the 90o surface. Then plane the paralell side and then use the table saw for the last edge.


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## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

I have 1500 board feet of white pine in the loft of my workshop. most boards are 4/4 and 8' long. they were cut on a Woodmaster and many do not have straight edges. I scribe a straight line along the edge and cut along it using my bandsaw. With a wide blade, it is remarkable just how straight a line I can cut. I then finish it up on the table saw or jointer. It's a simple solution - but it works for me.

Now if only the snow will melt U.P. there.


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## jeffthewoodwacker (Dec 26, 2007)

I would go with a 1 1/8 inch thickness and let a mill do the straight ripping. I buy most of my lumber completely rough and do the straight line ripping and planing myself. If you are reselling you might want to consider seeing if there is a market for the wood in rough form.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

Hi everyone;

I know this is an old thread, but felt the need to chime in, just in case it comes around again.

Ripping rough lumber is very fast and quite easy to do. In our shop we run it through the table saw, on a rip sled. You end up with a perfectly straight edge in about the same time as it take to run it through the saw. And it's safe.

We keep two in the shop. One that's 49" long, and one that's 96" long. Between those two sizes, we can handle ant length board we would normaly have to rip.

Here's a link to my woodworking tips website, which has a free plan on making them:
http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com/Table_Saw_Rip_Sled_Plan.html

You can really save yourself a lot of time and effort using this method.

Lee


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

With that much footage, you'll get real tired if you try to use a handheld
tool with a guide system. I'd set up a sled system like Lee refers to - 
even a dedicated table saw. You one need about a 12" rip capacity and
no tilt so you can put the saw against a wall, but you do need a lot of
support for the infeed and outfeed. If you're doing this a lot you'll look
at getting a power feeder. A 2hp or bigger motor on the saw - but a 
contractor's saw will do or even an old, heavy tilt-top saw (those old saws
were made for ripping solid wood).

Personally, I would probably built a saw with a 20' long angle iron fence and
set up the table saw itself so it slides in and out in relation to the fence.

Another good way to do it is with a big ol' radial arm saw set up for ripping
with a 20' long fence and a power feeder. Same idea, but the blade is on
top.


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

Here's my solution, which has worked for me since the early eighties:

I have three of these, 6', 8' and 10':

My device is a 7" wide piece of 1/4 plywood. On one long edge is glued a 1 3/4 wide piece of solid stock; likewise on one end. No clamps, nothing slides, no metal, no circular saw, no sawhorses.

The selected board goes onto the tablesaw, left of the (off) blade, concave side toward the fence. I lay the straightliner on top with the solid stock edge toward the fence. I measure for the shortest distance that will still cut wood-might be the near end, might be the far end. There is an intuitive skill to this that develops over time.

Set the fence, start the saw, grasp the two pieces (I rarely have stock over 10' so that is easy) and run them through and there you have one straight side, board narrowest in the center.

I measure that, put the straightliner to the right side of the fence, and flip the board over, set the fence, and run it through-S2S accomplished.

If you want pix, I'll be happy to post them to this thread.


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## azal (Mar 26, 2008)

Lee Would like to see as i have a pile of Alder to work. My met.is slow. Thanks

Al


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## woodjewelry (Jun 9, 2010)

I regularly have this problem. The best answer is to find a wood shop or mill with a rail saw. If you find a good miller the waste will be minimal.

If your looking to do this regularly yourself,you should look for second hand industrial machines. A friend of mine has a 30 foot laser guided rail saw for this task it work a dream. He can dimension a lorry load in a day.

Do not try to get buy with hobby machines they can not take hours of heavy duty work this task will involve.


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

Suz, you have given me the solution to what I wanted to do with my circular saw! Also, thanks to all for the info.


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## Napoleon (Sep 16, 2010)

How about sell as it is ? 

Less money but also less work


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## therookie (Aug 29, 2010)

ok this is just my two cents, I have been up against the same wall before when I am buying rough stock but lucky for me the guy I am buying from has been nice enough to straight line rip it and plae the wood too. Now I was doing to math and found out that for the extra money that I am getting charged, if I started putting away money and saved enough to buy the 718 from woodmaster I would save enough in the long run that the woodmaster would have payed its self off in two and a half months. So I am saving up the money for the 718 and the pro pack. But that is my thought just save the money up and then buy a woodmaster I think that it will be well worth the money.


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## miles125 (Jun 8, 2007)

Unless you're milling up running trim or similar, this issue is what makes cutting lumber to rough lenghts prior to ripping a superior plan of attack. You get a 10" wide board with a 2" bow in it and you end up with a 6" wide board by straightlining. A waste you won't have if you plan the badly bowed boards gets alloted to shorter length items.


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

Miles, some clarification of your point would be helpful maybe.

What I'm seeing is a 10" wide board with a 2" hook in it (I think you meant hook, not bow), meaning if you tipped it up on edge and the two ends touched a surface, the center part would show a 2" gap.

If you straightlined that and then ripped the other side to parallel, you'd have an 8" board, right? Maybe I'm missing something here.

I hear your point about short boards and long boards, but in general I would rather have long rips on my scrap rack which I can glue into wider boards if need be, than have various lengths of various widths that are harder to store and sort and which I can't make longer (since my board stretcher is out of fluid : )).


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

An LJ asked for pix of my straightlining procedure. Here it is. Three straightliners are shown, 6, 8 and 10'. They are painted so they are easy to find in the rack where they live.

One is upside down so you can see the butt piece on it.

Next image is the yellow one in place over the concave side of the subject board.

Ripping.

Measuring for the narrowest spot in the approximate center of the board

S2S accomplished. Ripping falldown on the left.

Safety note: when you flip the board over to rip the second edge, be vigilant. If you set your fence so that you're ripping of the lead wedge piece and it is not connected to the rest of the falldown as you get to the center of the board length, it can get involved with the blade and the rest of the rip. As OB1 Kenobi says, "We must be cautious." Making your net board 3/16 or more narrower than net is an astute call.


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## kpo101 (Mar 15, 2011)

Try these they work great, but i changed installed larger screws. :::: http://woodworker.com/joint-r-clamp-mssu-829-106.asp?search=table%20saw%20acc&searchmode=2

they may look a little cheesy but they work.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

Hi All;

I posted a short video on u-tube of me using the rip sled to rip a piece of rough lumber.






It is a fast easy and accurate way to get glue quality edge in one pass, on a table saw, instead of several passes on the jointer.

With two sets of clamps, facing opposing directions, we rip narrow boards on one side, and wider boards on the other. We also have a longer sled, 84" for boards up to 10' long.

Lee


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

I've worked in shops that relied heavily on their "straight-line ripper" which is a big, 5 HP table saw with a caterpillar-like steel tread above the table that feeds the rough stock through the blade. It took a bit of skill, to feed the rough boards into it, because it would cut in a very precise straight line exactly how you fed the board into it. It only took one or two passes through the jointer after for a perfect edge. I believe the saw was a 'Wysong & Miles' and it never missed a beat, even though it was easily 35 -40 years old when I used it.
Here's one: http://www.machinesales.com/machinery/Straight-Line-Rip-Saws/0000009697


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