Thread: Scales

I've cut at least 100 scale blanks using a table saw. A previous member who left us long ago (no name) sent me a huge box of exotic woodblocks. He said I could keep a third of what I cut so I went out and bought a new blade for my table saw.

The biggest issue with cutting thin strips is to keep them from being pulled down into the saw as there is too much space beside the blade (at least on my low-cost saw there is). So I took a piece of 1/4" plywood, ran the blade through as if I was going to rip it in half but stopped about the halfway point. I cut this plywood so that I could clamp it down to the tabletop. I left about 1 inch on the side of the blade that the fence would be on. This filled the gap on the sides of the blade. Next, I had to make a jig to clamp onto my fence. This would sit higher so that I could still reach the blade before my fence touched the wood base. Meaning the jig would slide on top of the wood base.

I always ended up with a thicker piece when cutting up the last bit of the block as I never felt safe trying to push wood with a pusher thinner than a 1/8".

Hope this makes sense to you. Sometimes you just have to do what you can do. I think they actually make plates for fancier saws that pop right into your table. But my cheep saw I had to make something work.

BTW, Kerf is the amount of wood wasted. What you turn into sawdust. If you are paying top price for exotic woodblocks it makes your blanks cost a lot so you just have to do the math and see if it's worth it. It's almost 50/50. Means you will lose almost half of your block to kerf.

Good luck and always be safe with power tools as you have found out the hard way. When I turn any of my saws on my wife is trained to go in the house as she will ask questions about anything. Distracting me. So I've taught her to just go inside and leave me alone unless she hears me scream!

BTW, When working with exotic woods be sure you read about the woods. Some are more harmful than others. Some are very oily and that can cause issues when sealing or finishing. Just learn about the woods you want to buy. I've used...
Brazilian Cherry, Tigerwood, Santos, Padauk, Olive, Bubinga, Zebra, Lacewood, Rosewood, Marado, Purple Heart, Marblewood, Bocate, Bloodwood, and a few others. It can be fun so don't fall into the hole too deep!