not so confused anymore
 

I am the original poster.

As suggested, I went back to my table saw which is an old 10 inch
Craftsman, on the order of about 30 years old. The rip fence is a
sheet-metal affair with a "T"casting bolted on one end. I have always
had trouble with this rip fence. This fence has an offset rod down
through the center of it with a plastic roller on the far end for
tightening it to the saw. The very end of this rod has a sqare forged
in its end. I saw that this rod was 90 degrees our of position, which
caused the roller to bind. Easy to fix. Then I trued up the fence with
one of the crosscut slots in the table. The fence still bound a little,
so I sprayed the tracks on the fence and the bars that they ride on
with a flourocarbon based dry film lubricant. Worked great!

I am using a carbide tipped blade from China from Harbor Freight. But,
I now get a rip cut that is almost smooth as glass. Just a touch with a
hand sanding block with 220 garnet finishes off the cut edge just great.

I have a nice Stanley block hand plane that I never use. Had it for 30+
years, too. I do keep it sprayed with rust preventative and keep it
stored wrapped up in a cloth in my tool box.

My hearty thanks to all who helped me. It's nice to get info from
people who know more that I do about what they are doing.

But, I do turn out the nice piece now and then. Am now about halfway
into making a six drawer jewlery box for my wife for Christmas. Much
easier project with a better rip.

A Merry Christmas to all.