Contractor's saw rip 8/4 stock?

[Arguseyed]

A rookie needs some guidance here. I'm building an outfeed table for my contractor's saw and need to make some 1.5" square legs. Will my Delta contractor's saw rip 8/4 birch stock? Since I now have a jointer and a planer, I refuse to go to the BORG and buy poplar or red oak! I've got some extra birch I bought for some face frames so I thought I'd use it up for the table frame.


I'd imagine I would need a good ripping blade if the saw has enough power. All I've got now is a Delta 40 tooth combination blade.


Thanks for any feedback!


Jeremy

 

[skysharks]

Yep it will do it. If you are worried about the blade, raise it up half way run it through, then raise it the rest of the way and run it through again.

Should work no problem.

 

[DavidF]

I don't think there will be a problem with that, just don't push too hard or the blade may bog down, but 8/4 is nothing too serious.

 

[froglips]

If you find the saw is too bogged down, try a thin width, carbide toothed blade.

It will make a thinner kerf, thus removing less material, while also reducing the draw on the motor to drive the blade.

Jim

 

[Arguseyed]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Having never cut anything but plywood and 1x material from the borg, wasn't sure if I was biting off more than I could chew.

Jeremy

 

[mkepke]

Jeremy - I've cut 8/4 white oak, hard maple, cherry and purpleheart with my Delta Contractor's saw. It would be best to get a thin-kerf ripping blade as someone else suggested.

I used a Freud TK-series 24 tooth blade with my CS, although I was never entirely happy with the blade - it tended to leave burn marks (perhaps unavoidable in this circumstance) and had a slightly erratic feed rate.

-Mark

 

[BumoutBob]

I have cut 8/4 maple on my Contractors saw and I use a thin blade as every body has recomended. Be sure to have a 20A breaker on the AC supply line when you rip 8/4, the saw will blow a 15A breaker as it loads down. It will a;ways be better for the motor to run it on 12AWG copper wire of the 20A circuit. Even so you can stop the blade if you feed to fast. (that's why there is 3 and 5HP saws.)

 

[Gofor]

Have ripped 8/4 kiln-dried white oak on my 13 Amp saw (Ridgid, not Delta) with both a 60T Freud thin kerf and a 50t full kerf (that's what I had so that's what I used). Feed slow and do not get in a hurry (ie 1 - 2 inch per second). Give the blade time to clear the dust from the cut. Make sure your fence and splitter are aligned before you start, and keep the board tight to the fence. If necessary, make an initial edge cut or use your jointer to give a truly straight edge to ride the fence. Ended up with a glue-line cut on most pieces, but a couple I had to touch up with a plane.

Go

 

[DIYGUY]

Careful here - there is a reason why circuits have 15A and not 20A breakers! One cannot just swap out breakers without giving it some consideration. If the feed is 14GA wire and you exceed the rated capacity of the circuit the result can be disastrous. If you have 12GA wire and a 120VAC load then yes, a 20A breaker *might* be a good choice. Do the detective work and spare yourself the "aw shucks" pain.

If you plan on doing much with your saw the best choice of all is to make a dedicated 240VAC circuit for it, and then rewire the motor. The DCS I have took 5 minutes to change from 120VAC to 240VAC. What is the advantage? Double the voltage = half the amperage draw. I have never tripped the breaker on my saw since the conversion.

As for the blade - heck, you aren't trying to get glue joints out of your cuts, so buy a cheap, 24T rip blade. I bought one from HD for $10 made "somewhere in Taiwan" for DeWalt. Aside from being a tad loud it works very nicely and it cuts like a dream. Keep the broom handy - you are not going to believe the sawdust you will be making ...

 

[NCPete]

I do rips like that on my JET with a Freud Glue-Line-Rip blade, (full kerf) the machine doesn't seem to care what is fed into it - Purple Heart, Hard Maple, it just shrugs it off with a sharp blade and good feed rate.