Basic rip question

[wreckwriter]

I measured incorrectly for my accessory table and now I need to rip about 1/4" off the side of an oak plank about 24" long (whatever the width of BT3 tables is). I'm looking for the easiest and safest configuration to do this without having to build a jig or sled.

It seems that the easiest way is going to be as follows: fence to right of blade, waste side to left of blade, use horizontal featherboard. What bothers me though is that this is going to force me to stand to the right of blade in order to push through without reaching across the red line. Is there a better way to do this?

Also, it seems I'll have to remove guard no matter what but since I have a Shark I'll maintain my riving knife so this should be reasonably safe...

[LCHIEN]

I don't see why you need to remove the guard, you only need to do that for non-thru cuts or cuts where the guard is too close to the rip fence.
since you're cutting off it's a thru cut and it'll be 24" away from the rip fence so what's the problem? Not covering the 1/4" being cut off should not be a problem.

Use a push shoe and this big piece you are cutting should not be a kickback problem.

[wreckwriter]

I don't see why you need to remove the guard, you only need to do that for non-thru cuts or cuts where the guard is too close to the rip fence.
since you're cutting off it's a thru cut and it'll be 24" away from the rip fence so what's the problem? Not covering the 1/4" being cut off should not be a problem.

Use a push shoe and this big piece you are cutting should not be a kickback problem.

It seems that since the entire waste piece will be under the guard, only 1/4" of wood on one side of the blade, the guard will be lifted unevenly, not supported on waste side. That seems unsafe to me. No?

24" from the fence? No, the 1/4" has to come off the long side, not the end.

[Stytooner]

With the Shark Guard, it is kinda supported on the waste side with the pivots. I clean up edges all the time with the left side of the guard unsupported by the stock. The 7.0's and prior worked pretty good doing this. The 8.0's since I am able now to tweak the bushings, is even more stable in this event.
The key is to make sure that the Shark clamp is set just a shade over the height of the stock you are cutting.
One other thing is that the Shark is actually going to slip back down and rest on the table after this cut is made.
This helps to prevent the thin offcut from shooting forward by putting the bottom rod of the Shark between you and that little sliver.
I have had slivers catch like this and the Shark stopped the travel pretty well.
Scared me the first time, but it does work.

[wreckwriter]

Thanks Lee. I have the 8.0 version. I'll feel better with the guard on. Does the rest of the plan sound reasonable as to blade/fence/standing positions and such?

[LarryG]

One dimension that I don't see ...

... is the width of this plank you need to rip. It's 24" long, and you're taking off 1/4", but how wide is it (either before or after you take off that 1/4")?

And the "keeper" piece, whatever its width, will pass between the blade and the rip fence, correct?

[wreckwriter]

... is the width of this plank you need to rip. It's 24" long, and you're taking off 1/4", but how wide is it (either before or after you take off that 1/4")?

And the "keeper" piece, whatever its width, will pass between the blade and the rip fence, correct?

Oops, that should have been included, sorry. Its about 7 inches wide. I'm not home so can't be exact but its close to 7".

Yes, it would be between fence and blade with the configuration I was thinking of, and I would have to be standing to the right of the fence to push it through (using a Stots Saw-Aid push block).

[Stytooner]

If you have a 24" board that you are making about 23 1/4" long, this is a crosscut and should be done only using the SMT. No rip fence involved at all.

If you have a board that is 24" long and 7" wide and you want to make it 6 3/4" wide and still be 24" long, this is a rip cuit and will use only the rip fence, not the SMT.
Its not clear to me which you are trying.

[Russianwolf]

1) your cutoff will be 1/8th inch wide, the kerf will take care of the other 1/8th. It will not fall into the blade though as it's going to be 24 inches long.

2) don't stand in line with the blade if you are worried it will kickback. Stand slightly to the right of the blade.

You'll be fine.

[wreckwriter]

If you have a 24" board that you are making about 23 1/4" long, this is a crosscut and should be done only using the SMT. No rip fence involved at all.

If you have a board that is 24" long and 7" wide and you want to make it 6 3/4" wide and still be 24" long, this is a rip cuit and will use only the rip fence, not the SMT.
Its not clear to me which you are trying.

I guess I wasn't clear somewhere. Its a rip, not a cross cut. I have no intention of using the SMT.

[wreckwriter]

1) your cutoff will be 1/8th inch wide, the kerf will take care of the other 1/8th. It will not fall into the blade though as it's going to be 24 inches long.

2) don't stand in line with the blade if you are worried it will kickback. Stand slightly to the right of the blade.

You'll be fine.

Thanks. I know this is really basic but its a new one to me. I appreciate it

[mschrank]

I guess I'm not seeing the problem...this is a pretty common type of cut. I often rip small pieces like this when cutting to final width. Just last weekend I was ripping some 1 x 8's in half. In order to get them exactly the same width, this required running the offcut from the first rip through again to trim about 1/8" off.

I had the fence to the right of the blade (about 3-1/3") and I stood just to the left of the blade. No problem pushing the piece through using a feather board and a push stick.

You don't need to stand to the right of the blade...your right arm will be over there, but your body can be just to the left to avoid being behind the "save" piece. I don't think this is unsafe....

EDIT: I see I just contradicted Mike (RussianWolf) regarding which side off the blade to stand on. Maybe I'm just not visuallizing this correctly, but seems if you are standing slightly to the right, that would put you right behind the 7 x 24" piece you are ripping, and directly in the line of kickback....

[wreckwriter]

I figured it was common but its just a cut I've never done before. I've only made a handful of cuts, all crosscuts using the SMT up til now.

I spooked myself a bit by looking in a book that I have where the guy said it was dangerous ripping narrow pieces. He had a flat board jig with a handle on it designed to go between the fence and workpiece, said that was the safe way to do it. I didn't want to go to the trouble of making this thing but also didn't want to hurt myself either.

[Tom Miller]

....I spooked myself a bit by looking in a book that I have where the guy said it was dangerous ripping narrow pieces....

Ahhh, I think he's talking about ripping narrow pieces when the narrow piece is between the blade and the fence. This indeed can be dangerous, and there are jigs that can make it less so.

Regards,
Tom

[LarryG]

IMO, the old "don't stand behind the blade" mantra is trotted out way too often. Most kickback accidents are caused because control of the workpiece is lost. Standing off to one side and reaching further than necessary can put you into a semi-awkward position that decreases control. You need to stand where you have the most control. The more control you have, the less chance there is of kickback.

Further, there's no way to anticipate where a kicked-back piece is going to fly. Standing to one side or the other might move you out of the line of fire, or it might move you right into it. There's just no way to know.

Therefore, the principal goal should be to not think about where you'll be in the event kickback occurs should you lose control, but rather to not lose control and thus prevent kickback from happening in the first place.

With a 7" wide piece, I'd stand directly behind it and the blade and push it straight through the saw, away from my body. This position is where I have the most control for a 7" wide workpiece. That is, 7" is sufficiently wide that I can safely stand directly behind it, in the spot that gives me the best control. (A narrower workpiece would be a different situation, but that's immaterial for this particular cut. We're not talking about a narrower piece, but one that is a comfortable 7" wide.)