Cutting Backing

[DC]

I decided to try to cut some 2" thick Hard Maple backings on my less than good table saw. The fence on the saw is suspect and I lined it up as best as I could but it still kind of burned the surface as it cut. What I'm concerned about is this more or less heat treating what's going to be the back of a bow?

[Pat B]

DC, a table saw isn't the best way to cut backing strips, it's actually dangerous. I have done it and was very concerned the whole time I was doing it. Probably if you change the fence for each cut and cut the backing strip off the outside of the stock would be safer with less scorching.
If your saw is scorching the wood the blade is getting too hot and will warp and bind even more. As far as tempering I don't know how that would affect the backing strip.

[High-Desert]

The heat from the tablesaw scorching the wood is just a quick surface heati and is not penetrating the wood. But I would suggest scraping away the burns, then do as Pat said and cut the strips off from the non fence side.

[DC]

Both my brothers-in-law have good saws. I'll wait until one of them is available.

[willie]

DC, a table saw isn't the best way to cut backing strips, it's actually dangerous.

Certainly a cut that is binding the blade can get dangerous, but I can not think of another tool to cut a backer that would be safer (with a well adjusted saw).

what do you recommend for cutting backing strips , Pat?

[High-Desert]

A well tuned bandsaw and a good blade  would be far more safe.

[barebo]

I've used a bandsaw as well and smoothed the strip on a belt sander. It can be a "finger biter" so caution is warranted.

[DC]

A well tuned bandsaw and a good blade  would be far more safe.

My bandsaw is iffy too. I doesn't even have a fence and I ain't that accurate I sanded the two strips I cut and they'll be OK. The belt sander had a job with it. Good Maple is hard stuff.

[willie]

safer I suppose. I guess I was thinking how much easier it is to set up a guide fence on a table saw and get a flat glue ready strip.

[Hamish]

If the wood is getting scorch marks, you are probably using a crosscut saw blade, with too many teeth for ripping. You can try a dedicated ripping blade, it should improve the quality of the cut immensely.

To cut backing strips on a tablesaw safely you need to use the riving knife, behind the blade, to stop the cut from binding, being thrown back into your face.
 
A zero clearance plate is good to stop a thin backing falling down the gap between the blade and the plate.

Using a stop on the outside of the blade(fixed in a mitre guide slot) 3/16" gap, is safer than cutting strips on the fence side. The fence is moved every cut as the width of the backing stock is reduced. The stop keeps the backing thickness consistent.

Always use a push block. The best ones for ripping are a large block of wood, that you run right through the blade and it cuts a groove in the block, supports the backing strip the whole way. Micro jig Ripper is a commercial jig that allows you to do this. Not cheap, but how much are your hands worth to you?

[DC]

Thanks Hamish. That stop on the outside of the blade answers a few questions I had going. Good idea.

[Springbuck]

  Yeah, I do mine on a tablesaw, too.  A ripping blade, or at least multi-purpose construction blade makes a world of difference.

If you cut backings on a tablesaw, you just HAVE to get used to the idea that you are wasting some wood.  You can't cut em 1/8" thick, you have to leave enough to plane, or sand off the tooth marks, etc.  It's a shame.......

[Pat B]

Willie, a wide resaw blade on a bandsaw with a good fence would be the ideal set up, I think.

[Hamish]

At the moment I do my backings on the bandsaw. I like a properly tuned bandsaw/fence, it will saw many good backings. I have however come out and started cutting strips only to find run out, as something went out of alignment since the last time I used it. Grrrr!

I will probably switch over to a table saw too. Why? Don't they chew up a lot of wood, wasted in the wide kerf?  Yes they can, but there is a micro-kerf sawblade, from Total Saw Solutions, that cuts down on waste. This is a very narrow blade, perhaps only slightly wider than a bandsaw blade at 0.070" or around 1.8mm. That is about 1/16".  The average circular sawblade is 3.2 mm, a regular thin kerf blade 2.8mm.The added advantage is that the thin blade needs less power to rip through the wood than a thicker blade. The only downsides are the cost, around $250, and that you definitely need a zero clearance insert, and a dedicated splitter fin than you can buy from TSS.

A table saw is really good at doing straight cuts, and in my mind easier to set up and keep tuned than a bandsaw.

[chamookman]

A good Friend of Mine makes and sells FG Longbows. He ripps and sands all of His own veneers for bow laminating. His Bandsaw is a 24" made expressly for resawing. You don't even want to know what that Saw cost ! Bob