"MikeWhy" wrote in message
...
The concept seemed simple enough, and it didn't occur to me that I had
never tried cutting anything this long before. I have to cut some 8'
sheets of plywood the long way on the TS. A few dry runs with a helper had
it weaving and bobbing off the fence and table. We tried it with the
helper making like a featherboard. We tried it with the helper making like
an infeed support roller, which worked a little better. The lumberyard
would have ripped it for me at $1 per cut, if I had been thinking. But now
that it's here...

Is there a secret to a long rip on tablesaws? 8' of leverage easily
overcomes whatever force I can apply holding it to the fence. I've seen
conical feed rollers that hold the work to the fence, but never paid much
attention, since I didn't have problems with the size of work I was doing.
I can't find them now on online stores. What are those roller-things
called?

There's no problem on the outfeed end. I just need to get the first 3' or
so to feed straight enough to not kick back. From there, it's a very
comfortable rip, just like the ones I'm used to. What's the secret?


Long straight rip on a TS? The secret is a sharp blade on a well tuned TS,
and practice. I generally stand on the left back side of the piece with
my left on the side opposite and parallel to the fence and my right hand
on the trailing end.
Of course it is much easier with a helping hand.