Ripping Hard Maple

[tbibler]

Has anyone ripped 4/4 or 8/4 hard maple on their BT3? If so, how did it go?

I have a recently sharpened Woodwoker II blade that styas in the saw unless I need to swap in a dado blade. I was wondering if I would get better results with a ripping blade. If so, will a new cheap (temporary) ripping blade from HD outperform the sharpened Woodwoker II combo blade with regards to ripping a ton of maple?

I am about to embark on building the hard maple top to my new workbench. Am I setting myself up for failure using my BT3?

My saw also runs on a dedicated circuit.

Can anyone tell me the HP rating of the BT3?

[ssmith1627]

This is my first time using hard maple so I can't really comment on one blade or another. But I have been ripping it with my WWII blade.

It has certainly been a challenge -- the kerf does not want to stay open and I've had a LOT of binding when ripping even with the splitter in place. More than once I've had to stop the saw, remove the workpiece and start the cut all over creating a wider kerf. And at times that hasn't even been enough -- I've resorted to flipping the stock end for end and starting the cut from that end to try to get back to the other cut I was making.

This wood is air dried and has a moisture content of about 12%. I just can't say if this is normal or if this is the saw blade. I'm too new to all this to be able to answer those questions.

Steve

[Knottscott]

Hard maple is tough stuff. The WWII should rip the 4/4 fine, but the 8/4 should really be ripped with a decent 24T thin kerf ripping blade, even if it'll go thru the 8/4. A TK ripper will help keep your WWII sharp and will spare your motor too.

The Freud LU87 is on sale for $28 shipped, and the DeWalt DW7124PT is ~ $20 shipped. The Bosch and Freud TK206 are even cheaper but don't qualify for free shipping by themselves, and probably aren't at quite the same level either.

[Russianwolf]

This is my first time using hard maple so I can't really comment on one blade or another. But I have been ripping it with my WWII blade.

It has certainly been a challenge -- the kerf does not want to stay open and I've had a LOT of binding when ripping even with the splitter in place. More than once I've had to stop the saw, remove the workpiece and start the cut all over creating a wider kerf. And at times that hasn't even been enough -- I've resorted to flipping the stock end for end and starting the cut from that end to try to get back to the other cut I was making.

This wood is air dried and has a moisture content of about 12%. I just can't say if this is normal or if this is the saw blade. I'm too new to all this to be able to answer those questions.

Steve

Steve,
You are experiencing a quality in the wood that would happen no matter which blade you used. When you cut wood, you release certain stresses in the wood. sometimes they are minor and you won't notice them, other times they are major and can cause the binding that you mentioned. There is no way of knowing beforehand if the particular board will cause binding or not.

It can definitely be frustrating at times.

Some woodworkers recommend cutting everything oversized on day one. Let them rest for a week andthen finish them close to final size. Let them rest another week and then finishing to final size. If you don't let the wood rest and let the stresses do what they are going to do, you may wind up with a greta piece made of warp/twisted wood.

You saw how quickly the board you were cutting was able to pinch the blade/splitter.

As far as blades go. Any blade can cut. Even a dull blade installed backward. But it may not be a pretty cut. The WWII and the original BT3 blade (non-chinese) can do the job, but a dedicated ripping blade will do it better. I've cut 16/4 Wenge with my orginal BT3 blade in 2 passes. You don't get much more stressful than that. It was slow going, but it did the job. Now, I know better.

[Kristofor]

If you're talking about a laminated top of 5-8 feet in length you're looking at a whole bunch of ripping.

I did this using the original blade with construction lumber to make my 1st bench, and while that's a lot softer than hard maple I would have loved to have had a ripping blade on at the time (I did 2 passes for each board to take off the rounded edges, though in retrospect I guess it wouldn't really matter if the bottom had ridges/furrows) You would presumably only need to do one side, and joint the other, so at least that's less effort.

Kristofor.

[crokett]

Steve,

A trick I learned using my father's tablesaw when I was a teen (it had no splitter) was to keep some of the shims handy that you use for doors and windows. As you cut, if the kerf starts closing stick the shims into it to keep it open.

[Lonnie in Orlando]

I ripped 8/4 hard maple with my dull WWII. It performed better than my sharp Freud rip blade. Both blades burned the wood and chattered at various places along the cut with harmonic vibration. It was a struggle. Make the cut in three or more passes.

True up all four edges with a jointer, planer, and a half-blade-width pass through the saw.

Good luck with your new workbench.

- Lonnie

[Tom Slick]

I just bought a new freud thin kerf 24t rip bade with 6/4 and 4/4 hard maple in mind. I was disappointed that it left more tooth marks in the cut then my diablo 40t combo blade. the rip blade cut slightly faster with less burning it wasn't as smooth.

[Knottscott]

I just bought a new freud thin kerf 24t rip bade with 6/4 and 4/4 hard maple in mind. I was disappointed that it left more tooth marks in the cut then my diablo 40t combo blade. the rip blade cut slightly faster with less burning it wasn't as smooth.

Faster and rougher is pretty much the nature of a rip blade. No reason to think it'll cut smoother than a decent 40T blade, but it will tax the motor less and is less prone to burning as you noted. If the cut quality is a concern, you can always rip it tad wide, then clean it up with a jointer or the better saw blade.

[JimD]

I have ripped 3 1/2 oak and at least 8/4 hard maple on my BT3100 (in one pass). I did the oak with the original blade that came with the saw and it went OK. Feed rate is higher with the dedicated Freud ripping blade - full 1/8 width - I use now. I also get circular marks sometimes but I think sawdust packing in the hooks of the blade contribute to or cause these. Going slower seems to minimize it. Still the cut is rougher. My last project, an end table that stores DVDs, was cut entirely by my ripping blade, however. I cross cut the solid wood on the RAS or CMS but I cut the plywood panels for the sides on the BT3100 with the Freud 24 tooth ripping blade. I knew the panels would go in 1/2 deep dados so chipout would not ruin them but it was much less than I expected. I think a ripping blade should be in everybodys collection. The BT3100 with it's 15 amp motor needs the dedicated ripping blade more than a 3hp or 5hp saw that can just muscle on through with the combination blade. You should be able to cut the full depth with a Freud 24 tooth ripping blade - full 1/8 width. You have to slow down on the feed rate but less than you would with a combination blade.

Jim