Finally, A Small Project & Saw Question

[flatheadfisher]

My first four projects were pretty large and I am excited about starting a smaller project that I can finish in a couple of days. I saw the thread about cutting boards and link to a Woodwhisperer video and thought I'd give it a try. I want to make some butcher block counter tops for our kitchen and this should be good practice. I cut the hard maple and the purple heart after milling the rough stock with a hand plane to get the edge straight and I used the new planer from there. I can't believe how fast and easy that planer works! I cut the pieces on my table saw. I had some major problems with the wood burning and I had to run the pieces through the planer after I finished the cuts. I don't know what the problem is. I have a Rigid TS2400. But, it didn't seem to have enough power to cut the 8/4 purpleheart and hard maple. Could my blade be dull already or is that to be expected with this saw on this wood? I wish I had thought to make some pictures. The wood was burned pretty bad but the cut was smooth. Anyway, here are the pieces before the first glue up:

 

[Bas]

Michael, I just made two of these. Ripping the 8/4 maple wasn't a problem for my saw, which is 1 3/4HP. I used a sharp thin kerf Freud 24T ripping blade. No burning. The power of the Ridgid is on the low side, but it should be able to handle it if you feed it a little slower. The burning is probably misalignment of the fence or the blade - what blade are you using?

(BTW, be even more careful when crosscutting the pieces. I made the mistake of pushing the stock too hard against the blade and got tons of burning. Light pressure to hold it against the fence is all it needs)

 

[maomoonshiner]

Sorry, but I can't offer you anything more useful than a virtual hi-five. Though very simple, that's an excellent look your achieving with the counter top. Wood selection, alternating those colors and the widths...all top notch! :icon_thum

Morgan

 

[DaveO]

Both Maple and Purpleheart are quite prone to burning. You could have a dull blade or a fence alignment issue. What side was the burning occuring on? Fence side or off-cut side? Did it start at the begining of the cut or at the end?? What kind of blade are you using, tooth count, grind style??


Dave

 

[redhawknc1]

I made several of those last year for Christmas gifts, using a new Forrest WWII and I got quite a bit of burning also...Figured it was mostly my bad technique/saw alignment/just plain very hard maple and very hard purpleheart...But they came out looking very nice and seemed to be enjoyed as gifts.
This year I found a new plan, that I like a little more. Utilizing my shop scraps. Here is where I'm at with cherry, walnut, poplar. Started yesterday afternoon. Same blade, a little burning. Time to rout the hand hold, sand and put a finish on. I have plenty of scraps, so I'll probably make a couple more, if this one ends up looking ok!
And I'm sure yours will look great also!

 

[flatheadfisher]

Here is a picture of a cut I just made in the maple and the saw blade. I have only used the blade on the night stand and the double dresser project (both were oak). I didn't use the table saw on the workbench. You can see the burning is all along the off-cut side. The blade looks rough, is that normal? This is my first table saw so I may be doing something completely stupid - that is normal for me! The blade has 90 teeth.

 

[redhawknc1]

I'm a newbie also, but I used a 40 tooth blade. I was thinking 90 tooth would be way to fine for ripping such hard wood. Let's see what someone with experience has to say...I use a Forrest 30 or 40? tooth WWII on crosscutting and ripping. Using a 30 year old 1 1/2hp Delta Contractor saw. But have never had that kinda burning. What bothers me about cutting board is ripping and crosscutting the smaller strips. I'm just not sure what is the safest way to do that...

 

[bluewing92]

You are definitely using the wrong blade for ripping. You need a ripping blade with 24 or 30 teeth. There are several good ones available at a reasonable price. Freud makes a 24 tooth that would run you around $40.00 that has had some good reviews from several members. Also as Wayne stated a good 40 or 50 tooth general purpose or combo blade would be also make things easier for both ripping and cross cutting.
Good luck on your project and remember: pictures or it did not happen.

 

[flatheadfisher]

Ah, I do have the blade that came with it - I think it has 24 teeth. I will give it a try. I didn't think about the blade being too fine. I guess that makes sense because my little battery powered saw cut it ok. I bought a new Makita circular saw today and it ate through it like butter.

 

[flatheadfisher]

Wayne, I really like your pattern! Where did you find it? I gotta do some routing on this thing. I have a router but I haven't used it but a few times and I am not very good with it. But, it will give me a new challenge!

 

[flatheadfisher]

This was the first time I tried to glue up a panel like this. I used pocket screws on all of my other projects and I didn't have to worry about the glue drying or using clamps. I used the pocket screws because I didn't realize how strong the glue was :BangHead:. Boy, I learned this evening! I put the glue on the boards and got it in the clamps. When I tried to adjust the pieces so they were flat, it was too late! I couldn't even persuade them with a dead blow hammer.

I couldn't believe how strong the glue joined the pieces and how fast they dried! I will have to run it through the planer to get it flat again. It isn't off by much - it could have been much worse. I gotta use a glue that doesn't dry so fast and I need to get some clamps that work better for this application. So much to learn!

 

[Bas]

I couldn't believe how strong the glue joined the pieces and how fast they dried! I will have to run it through the planer to get it flat again. It isn't off by much - it could have been much worse. I gotta use a glue that doesn't dry so fast and I need to get some clamps that work better for this application. So much to learn!

Definitely run it through the planer. You want the top to be COMPLETELY flat before making the second round of cuts. Otherwise, you'll have major gappage.

As far as glue goes, yellow glue should be OK if you work fast. Titebond III has a slightly longer open time than Titebond II. You can also get Titebond Extend. I've on occasion added a sprinkle of water to the glue, which helps a little but you're still hustling.

I really like plastic resin glue (Weldwood) made by DAP. You can get it at Ace. It's a powder you mix with water. Long open time, even longer pot time. Great for projects where you need to fiddle with the alignment and clamps. No stress. Relax. It's water resistant, so it should be fine for cutting boards. I use a small digital scale to measure the powder and water, it pays to be accurate when making small amounts.

As far as clamps go, parallel clamps are the best for this kind of glue-up. They're expensive though.

 

[Bas]

Ah, I do have the blade that came with it - I think it has 24 teeth. I will give it a try. I didn't think about the blade being too fine. I guess that makes sense because my little battery powered saw cut it ok. I bought a new Makita circular saw today and it ate through it like butter.

Like Norm said, use a 24T or 30T blade for ripping. A 90T blade is generally used for plywood, melamine etc. Getting a good combination/ general purpose blade is a good idea (so you don't have to change blades all the time), but for ripping thick stock, a dedicated rip blade is worth it with an underpowered saw.

 

[JimD]

I can't see the teeth clearly enough but any deposits on the teeth of the blade also will make it burn much more readily as well as making the necessary rate of feed lower. I have a little squirt bottle of CMT blade cleaner and a brass brush from Walmart that get used a lot because my saw is a Ryobi BT3100 so it is marginal for power. The burning being concentrated on the offcut also suggests your rip fence might be angled out a little bit more than necessary - gap is wider at the back edge of the blade. It is far better to be a little wide at the back than the other way around but too much helps to create burning. Warping of the offcut back into the blade will also do it.

I agree completely with the blade suggestions except I will add that my little universal motor belt driven saw will cut 3+ inches in hardwood with a full kerf Freud 24T blade. I do not see much difference for thin kerf blades in my saw. Others like them, however, and I would not argue they are a bad choice. I think a clean sharp blade makes a bunch more difference than the thickness.

Jim