Ripping Narrow Battens

[David Farless]

I just bought a new BT3100 to replace my 40-yr old Craftsman radial arm saw (inherited from Dad). The radial arm saw was hard to set up for ripping and seemed dangerous in this mode.
I want to rip multiple battens (3/8" x 3/4") from 3/4" planks. However, on the BT3100 the rip fence can not be set close enough to the blade to cut 3/8" because of interference with the blade guard assembly. It seems that I have three choices: 1) remove the blade guard assembly and riving knife, 2) raise the blade high enough to allow the anti-kickback mechanism to clear the rip fence or, 3) cut the batten off of the "other" side of the board and re-set the fence to cut each batten. I don't really like any of these choices. Choice 3 is certainly the safest, but it is important that the battens all be the same thickness and accurately re-setting the fence for each cut looks difficult. Any good ideas?
Thanks,

[final_t]

Choice 4 and one that most will tell you to do: make an aux fence that fits over the stock one, but has a 1" wide short "lip" on the side towards the blade (this will look like the letter "b" laying down to the left). This way you can get the low-rider fence bit under the blade guard without removing it or interfering with the safety.
Of course, the other option is to buy the SharkGuard, but that means a wait (but it's worth it).

[jnesmith]

Or, remove the guard, cut down the splitter to blade height and use the Gripper.

[gmack5]

Rod Kirby has the answer to your problem.
Especially look at page 4 of the presentation.
You don't have to build the jig, just clamp a piece of 1" X 3" X 15" to your miter fence, adjust it to be 3/8" from the edge of your saw blade and you're good to go.
The file can be found here:
https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...nium-extension
This should take care of your problem. []

[jnesmith]

quote:Originally posted by gmack5

Rod Kirby has the answer to your problem.
Especially look at page 4 of the presentation.
You don't have to build the jig, just clamp a piece of 1" X 3" X 15" to your miter fence, adjust it to be 3/8" from the edge of your saw blade and you're good to go.
The file can be found here:
https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...nium-extension
This should take care of your problem. []

I forgot this method. I think we have a winner.

[David Farless]

Thank you one and all!!
This is amazing!!!!
All of this great advice for FREE and in less than 2 hours!!!!!!
My new tool suddenly seems much more useful than I had any right to hope.
I will use Rod Kirby's method. Don't know why I couldn't see it myself.
I'll also think serously about the SharkGuard. Seems like a good investment.
Thanks again,

[LCHIEN]

I just use a auxiliary fence I keep handy.
Its a 2' 1x2 connected to another 2' 1x2 so as to make an angle iron-like deal - an "L" when viewed from the end.

I clamp the short side against the fence and the long side of the L points toward the blade.

Now I have a 3/4" high fence that lets me rip using the blade guard if I want.

Use a feather board. Use a sacrificial push board to push the end of your wood through the blade from the rear.

If you have trouble keeping the wood down,
I cut a 2x4 block about 6" long to use as a sacrificial push block.
On the short end glue a strip that hangs about 1/4" past the edge of the 2x4 to act as a hook for the trailing edge of the wood.
With the blade guard removed and the blade set just a teeny bit higher than your wood being cut, rest the edge of the 2x4 on top of the wood as your push shoe, with the hook pushing the back end of the wood workpiece. The blade will cut a slot into the shoe, but, if you are cutting repeatedly the same width, the same slot will be used over and over.

[gmack5]

Hey David,

Congratulations on your descision to get a BT3100 and welcome
to the family!

Here's some additional information that you may find useful.

Regardless of what you've read or others have told you, NEVER use any
wax or lubricant on your saw that contains Silicone, this includes
all automobile waxes and polishes and most spray-on furniture
polishes.
The reason is simple, most of them contain Silicones and
they will make your projects difficult to finish.
Silicones repell liquid, making "fish eyes" in your finishes, this
will force you to start over and remove the Silicone from
your project.
That stuff (Silicone) migrates all over every where,
don't ask me how, it just does.
If you put it in one place, eventually it will be all over the
entire saw.
Your best bet is to use a "dry" lubricant, such as teflon (PTFE),
powdered graphite, or Candle Wax for the Raising/Lowering and
Tilt mechanisms below the table top.
Then use either Johnson's Paste Wax, Minwax's "Finishing Wax"
or Butcher's Wax on the working surfaces, table tops (All
three of them) and the Rip Fence.
Do NOT Wax the Front and Rear rails or the Miter Fence.
As a mater of fact, you may want to glue 220 grit sand-paper
to the front face of the Miter Fence, cause you don't WANT
things to slide on there.

You might also want to check out the "Articles" section of this site,
lots of good maintenance information on your saw and some of the
Jigs and Fixtures that BT3Central members and others have designed for it.
Located here: http://www.bt3central.com/articles/
The only thing you'll need to access the information is a
recent copy of the Adobe Reader (It can be downloaded from this site).
One of the Articles mentioned is a "Check List", written by Jim Frye.
You can find it here:
https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...nce-check-list
This list contains all the different areas on your saw that need
to be inspected or given some sort of special attention periodically,
in other words, a "Preventative Maintanence Check List" or PM.
Performing this PM on a monthly basis would be a good idea.
One of the other things you'll find there is an on line copy of
the User's Manual (a handy thing to have).

Another thing you might think about is the use of a set of
Draftsman's Triangles instead of the Carpenter's Square that
they show in the Owner's Manual for setting up your saw.
An accurate Carpenter's Square is almost a myth!
A good one will cost you quite a bit of money, $40 - $75, or more.
I would recommend that you consider using a pair of Draftsman's
30 -60 and 45 degree triangles instead.
You'll find they're not near as expensive and are far more accurate
than a run-of-the-mill Carpenter's Square.
The 30 -60 should have one 12" leg and the other leg would be 9" long.
The 45 degree triangle should have at least 8" legs on either
side of the 90 degree corner. That way either one can be put up
against the side of the Saw Blade without touching the teeth.

Last, but not least, don't forget to paint the RED line!
It's a line that extends the line-of-sight from the saw blade
to the front edge of the table to remind you NOT to let your
Miter Fence or your fingers get in the way of the saw blade.
Just put red paint, nail polish, what ever, in the grove that extends
towards the operator from the front edge of the saw blade.

[Pappy]

This is something like fianlt was talking about...

[LarryG]

One more option ... this is yet another place where you can use one of the handiest gadgets in the shop, an edge guide/clamp. Put the bar in position (use your rip fence to get it straight), run the foot up against the end of the fixed table on the BT and snug down the locking lever. Then move your rip fence completely out of the way and rip your battens without ever having to move anything.

[RodKirby]

Kirbyr version...

[Stytooner]

While Pappy's version and the Kirby version are similar in function,
there is something about the Kirby version that would give it my vote.

With these setups, you will still need a sacrificial shoe or follow
scrap to push the trailing end of the stock through to complete the cut.
If you are using longer stock and have a good helper, this may not be necessary.
The helper could pull it on through.
A ZCTP might be a good idea as well will stips that narrow.

[Ken Weaver]

Welcome aboard David!

[silverfox]

Well...I use my saw with a cut down riving knife and no guard...I don't recommend this to anyone...it's just the way it works best and fastest for me. As John points out above...with this set up...even on a temporary basis to cut strips...all you need is a GRR-Ripper and you don't have to build anything.
Mike

[crokett]

David, if you are ripping stock so that that wide part of the stock is your offcut be careful. I know most of us do it to avoid having to reset the rip fence after every cut. I certainly do. Use featherboards and push sticks and do not stand directly behind the blade when making the cut. That narrow piece of wood can get kicked back very quickly. I have a dent in my shop wall to remind me of this. One of the best things you can do is to align the rip fence so the rear is slightly father away from the blade than the front. This does not affect the accuracy of the cut but does help prevent binding the wood between the blade and the fence.