Saw question

Don Case

Don Case

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Jul 10, 2021
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Location
Vancouver Island
I have a home built saw I use for cutting planks and such. It's an old 3450 rpm grinder with a 4" Thurston I-293 blade on it. I usually works very well and cuts consistent planking down to .020" no problem. Today I was cutting some 4"(.083 in 1:48) square stantions. I started with 1/4"x1" material and cut it into 1/4"x .083" strips. When I try to cut these strips into .083" x .083" strips the wood tries to ride up over the blade. I thought the blade was dull but it feels good. Kind of catches on your skin when you feel it. Has anyone got any idea what I'm doing wrong? The blade is set so it just sticks through the wood.
Thanks


Edit- I've been trying things. I changed blades and it worked fine so I thought it must be the blade. But the I realized that the blade was stick up higher. I can't change the blade without messing with the height. So I put the original blade back in at the new blade height. It works fine. I lowered the blade back to the "just sticking through" and the wood is now trying to climb over the blade again. So it's the blade height that's wrong. Brings up a new question, what is the proper way to set the blade height? Is it different when you're cutting skinny little sticks?
Thanks again :)

Edit edit-
explains it all very nicely.
 
Last edited:
My experience is that the blade height must be enough higher than the piece you're cutting so that the blade is slightly cutting down on fresh wood. At just above he piece the blade is cutting almost horizontally and likely to cause kickback.
 
WDO said:
My experience is that the blade height must be enough higher than the piece you're cutting so that the blade is slightly cutting down on fresh wood. At just above he piece the blade is cutting almost horizontally and likely to cause kickback.
Click to expand...


WDO has a point

i knew a guy who ran an old circular blade saw mill and he use to say be sure you have enough blade above center so the teeth push down and pull the wood in rather than hitting the teeth straight on because that will buck the wood up. You can see lower to the table the teeth are pulling down and inward.

blade.jpg
 
while we are on the topic of blades i am asked what kind of blade do i use at the Lumberyard?

i use what is called a 10 degree claw tooth which i do not recommend for hobby use. To the left is a standard blade and to the right is a hook blade or claw tooth which are intended for pro use. The reason i suggest using a standard blade is because you can quickly pull away should your fingers get to close and you may end up with a nastly cut or if you have fast reflex just a nick. With a claw tooth they cut very fast and aggressively and the teeth are like the claws on a cat they grab fast and sink in and pull you into and downwards once you ever so slightly touch the blade it all over you can not pull away. I cut thousands of linear feet of wood speed is important but not so important in a hobby setting where there is no need for speed.

blades.JPG
 
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