# Rip cutting maple without the burn



## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

I have several 6-8 foot maple boards that need about 1/2 inch ripped off. I know (from experience) that cutting maple can cause burns. Since I am a novice at this, I was wondering what, if any, the trick is to doing it without burning. These were expensive pieces and I really really need them nice and clean. The boards are a hail over 3/4" thick and 6-8 feet in length.
I have a DeWalt heavy duty job site table saw and the following blades: a B & D Firestorm 200 T plywood blade, a DeWalt 60 T cross cut blade (came with the saw?), and an Irwin Marathon 80 T trim/finish blade. Of course, I could buy another blade but I am hoping that it is "technique" rather than equipment!
Any help/advice you can offer is much appreciated!


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

Ellen, here is a picture of some cherry I recently ripped on my table saw. Cherry is notorious for burning, even more so than maple.










Some burn marks are simply inevitable when milling wood but this can be mitigated by (1) making sure that you have a *SHARP* premium blade in your saw. I use only Forrest blades (2) make sure that your blade and fence are aligned. With my Craftsman saw I occasionally spend up to 10 minutes aligning the fence and blade for each cut. With my fence the front and rear of the fence can end up being angled if you simply set the blade to fence distance and lock it down. Here is a picture of my saw and the "fine adjusting tool" that I use to align the fence:










And (3) did I mention use a *SHARP* premium blade. 

Hope this helps.


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## matter (Jan 30, 2008)

Buy a good rip blade. A crosscut blade will definitely burn, and based on my experiences with the blades that you already own, the heat generated can cause the teeth to become suddenly independent of the blade.

I would suggest going to www.royceayr.com

I have some blades from them that are 25+ years old, and still great. They also service what they sell.

Make sure you are sitting down when you see the prices though.


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## renthal (May 11, 2007)

Raising the blade high above the wood reduces burning also, the Forrest rep gave me that tip at a recent woodworking show where he was cutting cherry without burning. He also used blade stabilizer.


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## jsheaney (Jun 25, 2007)

If you get significant burning then chances are your fence is a bit closer to the back of the blade than the front. This causes the wood to be pushed into the teeth at the back of the blade. Those teeth don't really cut the wood very well, though, because they are going in the wrong direction. You might actually be able to look at the burn marks and see the direction of the burn; meaning the shape of the burn will look more like the arc of the back of the blade than the front.

The solution then would be to adjust your fence so that the back of the fence is pushed a bit more to the right (assuming your fence is to the right of the blade). It's even OK if your fence is the slightest bit out of parallel to the blade, as long as the back of the fence is further from the blade. This might cause a bit of burning on the waste side of the cut, but it should be minimal, since there is no fence pushing the wood into the back of the blade. The only source of pressure would be from the wood itself and there isn't anything you can do about that.


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

Thanks everyone. I just found a Freud 24 T rip blade for $60 locally. I think I may try to pick this up…unless I hear it is a dog!


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

ellen…all of the above is super good info and correct..however if you will cut your wood close ,say to within 1/16, then skim the last 1/16 in as smooth and flowing a cut as possible, trying not to have "pauses" in your feed rate you will not get burns and you will also get a nice smooth cut…I often use the freud 24t glueline rip, its a super blade…personally i prefer the freud blades over most of the other expensive ones..which I have.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Charles has a good point… that's what I sometimes do - cut it a little
wider and then saw, (or joint) off the stock. This is actually pretty
smart for cabinetmaking in general… rip a little wider, let the board
move, then joint and rip again to final width. Reduces burning and 
gives a straigter board. I learned it from one of Jim Tolpin's books 
and when doing doors or face frames that's always my procedure.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

Also as well as making sure your blades are sharp ,don't feed too quickly, and add a little spray wax on the blade frequently and you'll notice a big difference Alistair


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## motthunter (Dec 31, 2007)

its all in the blade and the set up.


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

spray wax????
what do you mean?
I assume set up means getting the blade nearly/exactly parallel with the fence….


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## teenagewoodworker (Jan 31, 2008)

use a 24 tooth blade. i have a 40 tooth blade and i get burning with that. and what MR Neil said is always great info. just sneak up on it!


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

This forum has become a tutorial in ripping maple for me! WOW!!
Thanks!!


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## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

Yes, what bently and everyone else said. If you get a lot of burn, it's either a dull blade or a fence (and or blade) out of adjustment. Just take your time and tackle one at a time, you'll get it. Good luck.
-JJ


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## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

If possible I'd also cut down the 6-8 foot lengths to a little longer than what your project needs. I find it hard to control such a long board without a helper.


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

I agree with bentlyj also…I invested in a 40 tooth CMT for about $90 and it does everything. Not only rips great, without burns, but also crosscuts good and is great on plywood and melamine. If you're planning on investing $60, why not spend a little more and get a blade that can do it all. Just remember to keep it clean.


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## Dadoo (Jun 23, 2007)

I work with old maple flooring and know the burns…they're soooo hard to avoid. I did recently buy the Freud 24 tooth ripping blade (got it for $30.00 though) and it does help greatly, but there are still occasional burns. So I just touch them up with my hand plane! If you have a jointer, then all the better.


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

Thanks to you all for your ideas, encouragement, and general help. Today I bought a Freud 24 T rip blade (I could not get the 40 T locally) and some blade cleaner (for later). So…I will be changing out my old blade for the new one, raising the blade well above the wood, taking my time to work the fence alignment AND leaving about 1/16 of an inch over my measurement to shave off at the end. LJs is just the best web site I have ever found! I will post this simple contemporary bookcase when i finish it. Thanks again to you all!


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## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

You might want to throw in a featherboard into the mix to keep the boards tight to the fence. If possible setup another featherboard to keep the work press down on the table. If you can keep the board moving in only one direction you will likely reduce the potential amount of burn you will see.


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## johnintecumseh (Jan 16, 2009)

hey guys. I do segmented turnings so I need thin rips from hard woods. the best way I found is a good rip blade like Freud . Malcolm Tibbetts at www.tahoeturner.com has a carrier for such a job. the "pushstick" has to be straight and square. mine are 3" wide x 30" long x 1/2 and 3/4 thick. bring your fence to the blade and back it up to the thickness you want to rip. tape the piece to be ripped to the push "stick" and run it thru. masking tape will do just fine. leave the fence there , remove the wood , the tape and retape the remaining wood for another cut. your rips will be all the same. it works. take care John


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## dalec (Oct 3, 2007)

Ellen,

The advice to raise the blade higher above the thickness of the board than you would with a regular cross cut, makes sense. I would caution that the blade and fence need to be in alignment and that you have a splitter or antikkickback pawls in place and you keep the board tight against the fence. Raising the blade increases exposure to kick-back. You know all this, but it bears repeating.

Enjoy your new saw blade.

Dalec


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## willmego (Mar 27, 2008)

not to be old fashioned, but I rip on the table saw close but not on the line, then finish with a swipe of the #7 jointer handplane. Makes for a nice edge.


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

Thanks all…I ripped that maple without a trace of burn!
Posted the bookshelf on Saturday.


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## Spokaneman (Feb 5, 2009)

Wow, I just found this forum and have been learning some vital information immediately! I'm planning to build a workbench that will have a high maple content. This thread has saved me from several mistakes and has given me some great instruction. I'll be ripping some 8/4 and 4/4 maple on my little Makita 10" bench saw, so I need all the guidance I can find. This thread has been very informative.


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## MoPower (Feb 6, 2009)

Alignment,alignment, alignment, blade to to miter slot first then blade to fence, and a good riving knife helps too ! 
Also, make sure that you have zero "flex" in your fence. I've watched people perfectly align the saw and fence only to burn, and worse yet, suffer kick backs because of flex in the fence.


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## SawdustWrangler (Feb 4, 2009)

Very good info! I Was using an 80T Oldham… Time to go shopping!


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

You should only raise the blade enough so it can cut the wood without burning a 24 to 40 tooth blade will help but I pefer a 40 tooth blade.


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## LONGHAIR (Dec 16, 2007)

I am in the true 24T ripping blade camp too. The shavings that come from ripping are very different from the little chips that are created by cross-cutting. Ripping is much like planing…you get long curly shavings, and they need somewhere to go. That is the point of the blade's tooth shape…..and tear-out is virtually never an issue. Cross-cutting blades use ATB style teeth to sever the grain to minimize the possibility of tear-out. This is not only un-necessary for ripping, it actually fights with the process.


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

I first flatten the board and then use a 14 tooth 12" blade for ripping. Then edge the board on the jointer. Gives a perfect board every time.


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