On Dec 15, 6:30*pm, "MikeWhy" wrote:
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?

34" high plane chest sits between my saw and my bench,
where it also functions as an infeed table.