ripping a 3/4" to 1/4"

[footprintsinconc]

I have 3/4" x 3.5" red oak and i want to rip the 3/4" into 1/4" x 3.5" strips. how can i do this?

I have tried a 3/4" x 2.5" and the blade is smoking and 75% of the cut is burned! I also have another problem, to get a zero gap, i installed the plastic throats that come with the saw and made a zero clearance throat plate. well on one piece i needed a 12 degree cut, forgetting that i had the zero throad on, i started to make the 12 degree cut and the plastic burned onto the blade. initially i thought that was causing the blade, and i tried cleaning it and i cant get the find stuff off of it, i can see it on the blade tips aswell.

what do i do? i need to split the 3/4" into 1/4" (just split in half) and for the amount of wood i need, home depot is very expensive, i might aswell go and buy 30 board foot 4/4 for that price!

thanks in advance for the help.

[crokett]

What you are trying to do is resaw. How many strips do you need? You can resaw using the tablesaw but on your saw figure losing ~ 1/8" wood to the saw blade. So you will get 2 1/4" thick boards from your stock and lose 1/4" to cutting. If you want to use the tablesaw, best technique is to start with a clean sharp blade. To clean my blades I soak them in simple green then scrub the tips with an old toothbrush. This might remove the lettering. After the blade is clean you will want to rip one edges of the board so you know they are perpendicular to the face. After that adjust hte height of the blade so it only cuts partway through the board. Feed it through on edge, rais the blade and feed it through again. Then flip the board end for end and finish the cut. Less work for the saw to do and should be a lot less burning.

What I really suggest is either going to a lumber yard or wood supplier to have your stock resawn or going to same and getting the 1/4" thick wood you need. It will be cheaper than getting it at the BORG. Another option is to find someone in your area with a bandsaw who can resaw it for you. You will loose less wood this way.

[SARGE..g-47]

As crockett stated Omar, you ain't gonna get 3 pieces of 1/4" out of a 3/4" thick piece of stock because the blade kerf is going to minus you it's width on each cut. So.. the most you can get is 2 from a 3/4". I run a .025 Woodslicer on my BS and even then , you will end up shy of 1/4 with possible clean-up of the cut which will reduce it further.

And I will add that attempting it on the TS with a 3/4" thick piece standing on end is getting awful close to that spinning blade, Omar.. Control with even a thin push stick is not maximal. The slightest error in pressure toward the blade instead of toward the fence can result in things getting out of control and you enter the un-predictable kick-back zone. This isn't healthy!

If you know any wood club members around Phoenix (there should be clubs there for sure.. visit and make friends), ask someone to cut it for you. Or... bite the bullet and get it pre-cut at HD or where-ever. You may pay more, but not more than they charge at the local Emergency Room!

Regards... and always pause to think about possible results before action.. lights.. camera. The movie will turn out more enjoyable.

[crokett]

One more thing.... If you still want to do this yourself, get or make a couple featherboards and clamp them to your table raised on blocks so they keep the wood tight against the fence when it is standing on edge. I've done what you are trying to do. It scared me enough that I just decided to have wood resawn and/or buy it already dimensioned.

[footprintsinconc]

actually, i just finished making oak cabinets. the only thing left to do is fill the gap between two doors. for that i was going to attach a piece behind one door, so then when both doors are open, the opening width is the width of the cabinet.

for trial sake, i attached a 3/4" thick wood, and that looks way too thick. so then i thought that i would just split the wood down the middle and then plane them to two equal thincknes and that wont look too thick when the doors are open. i do realize that i was only going to get two pieces out of it.

so it seems like the best way is to do it using a BS and not the TS. i have been thinking of just bitting the bullet and just buying the 1/4" pieces at HD. your're right, i was afraid of a kick back all time when i tried to cut the 3/4" x 2.5" piece on the TS. however, i will look into seeing if a wood supplier that has anything less than a 4/4. i didnt realize that there would have been a wood club, i will look into that one too- thanks for the suggestion. lastly i will try cleaning my blade using simple green, hopefully the plastic comes off of it, its on really hard.

off topic, what is BORG?

thanks

[crokett]

off topic, what is BORG?

thanks

Sorry. Big Orange Retail Giant. aka Home Depot. A reference to the Borg Aliens ('Resistance is Futile - You will be assimilated') from Star Trek. Lowes is also called the 'Blue BORG'.

[footprintsinconc]

actually, i just finished making oak cabinets. the only thing left to do is fill the gap between two doors. for that i was going to attach a piece behind one door, so then when both doors are open, the opening width is the width of the cabinet.

for trial sake, i attached a 3/4" thick wood, and that looks way too thick. so then i thought that i would just split the wood down the middle and then plane them to two equal thincknes and that wont look too thick when the doors are open. i do realize that i was only going to get two pieces out of it.

so it seems like the best way is to do it using a BS and not the TS. i have been thinking of just bitting the bullet and just buying the 1/4" pieces at HD. your're right, i was afraid of a kick back all time when i tried to cut the 3/4" x 2.5" piece on the TS. however, i will look into seeing if a wood supplier has anything less than a 4/4. i didnt realize that there would have been a wood club, i will look into that one - thanks for the suggestion. lastly i will try cleaning my blade using simple green, hopefully the plastic comes off of it, its on hard.

of topic, but what is BORG?

thanks

[footprintsinconc]

borg

this is an interesting abbreviation

[LCHIEN]

once you've melted the plastic ZCTP to your blade you'll find it's darn near impossible to clean off - A mild solvent cleaner like simple green won't even touch it.

DAMHIKT

It's mostly worn off but I can still see a trace of red plastic around the tips and in the grain of the metal if I look closely.

[crokett]

once you've melted the plastic ZCTP to your blade you'll find it's darn near impossible to clean off - A mild solvent cleaner like simple green won't even touch it.

I disagree. It was either the tootbrush, the simple green or both but I've gotten both the red plastic and the UHMW plastic off my blades with simple green. More than once.