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JIMMIE JIMMIE is offline
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Default Table saw - ripping thin material?

On Apr 25, 11:39*pm, Peabody wrote:
I just got a used Craftsman table saw on Craigslist, and would like
to rip some long, narrow, thin cedar strips from fence pickets. So
for example, I would first rip a 5/8" x 3.5" x 6' picket into three
strips of 5/8" x about 1" x 6' by making two cuts. *The first cut
seems pretty straightforward. *The second one - cutting a 2+" strip
in half - I also think I can do if I'm careful and have an
appropriate push stick. *The saw does have the usual blade guard,
splitter, and anti-kickback pawls, and a 96-tooth, narrow steel
(not carbide) blade that says it's for finishing.

But then I'd like to cut each of the three strips in half again,
but this time edge-wise, so that I end up with 1/4" x about 1" x 6'
strips. *So that's cutting the 5/8" dimension in half.

It's that last cut that bothers me. *I've watched some videos on
Youtube on cutting thin material, and it looks like it would be
possible to do it with Grip-Tite or GRR-ripper gizmos, but they're
just beyond my budget.

But it seems it should also be possible to do this cut with clamped
featherboards to lock the feed stock against the table and fence,
and end by following with a scrap piece of the same dimensions, or
perhaps pulling through from the other end.

Anyway, I would appreciate any suggestions on how to do this if
there is a safe way to do so.


I was doing something similar to this making pieces for a doll house.
I made a push stick that was as wide and long as the piece I wanted to
rip then pushed the stick through the saw to cut a grove in it. The
back of the push stick had a heel the same thickness of the material I
was cutting about 1/8 inch. It took longer to make the push stick than
rip all the little slats.

Jimmie