25
25
Fig. 55
Fig. 55A
A
Fig. 56
Ripping is cutting lengthwise through a board, (Fig. 55).
NOTE
: Be sure the material to be cut is seasoned, dry
and flat. The rip fence (A) is used to position and guide
the work. One edge of the work rides against the rip
fence while the flat side of the board rests on the table.
Since the work is pushed along the fence, it must have
a straight edge and make solid contact with the table.
THE SAW BLADE GUARD MUST BE
USED. ON DELTA SAWS, THE GUARD HAS ANTI-
KICKBACK FINGERS TO PREVENT KICKBACK AND
A SPLITTER TO PREVENT THE WOOD KERF FROM
CLOSING AND BINDING THE BLADE. BE SURE TO
REPLACE OR SHARPEN THE ANTI-KICKBACK
DEVICES WHEN THE POINTS BECOME DULL.
A RIP FENCE SHOULD ALWAYS BE
USED FOR RIPPING OPERATIONS.
NEVER
PERFORM A RIPPING OPERATION FREE-HAND.
1. Start the motor and advance the work holding it down
and against the fence.
Never
stand in the line of the
saw cut when ripping. When the rip width is 6 inches
or wider, hold the work with both hands and push it
along the fence and into the saw blade (Fig. 55). The
work should then be fed through the saw blade with
the right hand. Only use the left hand to guide the
workpiece. Do not feed the workpiece with the left
hand. After the work is beyond the saw blade and
anti-kickback fingers, remove hands from the work.
2.
When this is done the work will either stay on the
table, tilt up slightly and be caught by the end of the
rear guard, or slide off the table to the floor.
Alternately, the feed can continue to the end of the
table, after which the work is lifted and brought
along the outside edge of the fence. The cut-off
stock remains on the table and is not touched until
the saw blade has stopped, unless it is a large piece
allowing safe removal. When ripping boards longer
than three feet, use a work support at the rear of the
saw to keep the workpiece from falling off the saw
table.
3. If the ripped work is less than 6 inches wide, a push
stick should always be used to complete the feed, as
shown in Fig. 55A. The push stick can easily be
made from scrap material as explained in the section
“CONSTRUCTING A PUSH STICK.”
4. Ripping narrow pieces can be dangerous if not done
carefully. Narrow pieces usually cannot be cut with
the guard in position. If the workpiece is short
enough, use a pushboard. When ripping material
under 2 inches in width, a flat pushboard is a
valuable accessory since ordinary type sticks may
interfere with the blade guard. When using a
pushboard, the width of the pushboard must be
added to the width of the rip fence position setting. A
flat pushboard can be constructed as shown in Fig.
56 and should be used as shown in Fig. 57.
NOTE:
Some special operations (when using the
moulding cutterhead) require the addition of an
auxiliary wood facing to the fence, as explained in
the section
“USING AUXILIARY WOOD FACING”
and use of a push stick.
RIPPING
Fig. 57