Blade stops moving in cut?

[mrFinpgh]

Hi All,

Curious about whether this is a problem or to be expected.

I was straightlining some 1.875" thick hard maple this evening.  Using my ts55 with a freud 14 tooth blade.  Speed set around 2.5

At first, I was trying to plunge cut (I had the stop on the rail). When I did this, I noticed that the blade had trouble going in and would actually stop about half way through the cut.  A little disturbing.

After about the third time, I backed off the track far enough that I could plunge the saw all the way down before hitting any material.  Doing this, I could then cut through the wood without a lot of struggle.  The saw doesn't seem to love it, but it can do it

Is this normal?  Should I be concerned or considering bringing the saw in?  This only happened once before while installing a Bamboo floor and ripping planks using a melamine blade.  Most of the cuts were no problem, but one got bogged down and stopped repeatedly.

Thanks,
Adam

 

[Holmz]

My MT55 doesn't stall often... [popcorn]

 

[Cheese]

My MT55 doesn't stall often... [popcorn]

Ya, but you also probably don't have your Mafel dialed down to 2.5 while also using a Freud blade.

 

[Holmz]

Also not much maple here either...

In seriousness though, the TS55 is not the most powerful 55-mm saw.
Hard wood in this thickness is often used to justify the more powerful TS75.

So what the OP describes sounds somewhat normal and therefore I have nothing factual to add.
But perhaps an initial shallow cut, and then deeper cut would work??

 

[RKA]

The Freud blade is a good LU blade not the cheaper Diablo blades.  It's also a rip blade, so provided its sharp, that's fine.  The saw should be capable, but you need to turn up the speed all the way.  Why did you turn it down that low?

 

[semenza]

Yes, try it on full speed.

  I did have some hard maple the same thickness that I was ripping with the TS55 and ripping blade once that bogged the saw to a stand still after a couple inches. TS75 hadn't been handy at the moment, but I had no choice but to get it. The TS75 with rip blade barely got through it! Sharp blades in both cases. Some times hard maple is reeeaally hard. This piece I was cutting must have been petrified.  [eek]

    But never had anything else be a problem to rip with one or the other of the saws.

Seth

 

[AlexThePalex]

This is normal behaviour for the TS55 with such hard and thick wood. Especially if you lower the speed on top of that. It's just not a strong saw and best used with sheet material.

 

[Poindexter]

Yes, try it on full speed.

  I did have some hard maple the same thickness that I was ripping with the TS55 and ripping blade once that bogged the saw to a stand still after a couple inches. TS75 hadn't been handy at the moment, but I had no choice but to get it. The TS75 with rip blade barely got through it! Sharp blades in both cases. Some times hard maple is reeeaally hard. This piece I was cutting must have been petrified.  [eek]

Echoing Seth here.  I primarily work with rock maple and some of it can stop any blade in it's tracks.  Sometimes my 23hp bandsaw gets tied-up in a tough spot.  It is a matter of playing with the saw speed and moving the saw super slow through the cut. 

Maple hardens as it dries.  The drier it is the harder it is.  This is why they're called Sugar Maples when they're living, and Rock Maples when they're dead.

 

[Coliban]

I had the same the other day with my Mafell. I cut in a 45 degree angle in about 1.2 inch hard oak an it stopped two times. Don't know if it stopped maybe because I handled it not correct, but after trying again, the saw cut immediately threw the wood. I think it was not the thickness but the pressure from me, maybe in the wrong direction (not straight forward) which caused the saw to stop.

 

[RKA]

Another possibility since you mention it happens some times and not others is the thicker kerf on that blade.  Stock blade is 2.2mm, that Freud is advertised around 2.5mm.  That's more wood to plow through, but it also means the wood can close up a little on the back of the blade adding friction since the riving knife isn't matched to the blade thickness.

The bamboo flooring is very hard.  Not only the wood, but the finish will wear blades fast.  Any chance the piece you had trouble with was at the end of the job?

 

[mrFinpgh]

Thank you, everyone.  This has been informative. 

The TS55 definitely seems to do better in plywood or mdf than in 8/4 white oak and hard maple.  That said, it's probably what I have to work with for the time being. 

I will be doing some more rips today, so I will try turning the speed up and see whether I am happier with the results.  I was turning it down based on the supplemental manual recommendation for hardwood products. 

Thanks,
Adam

 

[Holmz]

[member=59039]mrFinpgh[/member] well let us know what works and what doesn't.
I did some 50-mm merenti with the std blade and it was less than happy, but I went slow. (Almost resorted to doing a double depth pass)

So I am sure what you find can be applied to others. (Me first)

 

[mrFinpgh]

I think speeding up the blade helped me make the cut a little quicker.  I never felt like the saw was struggling at speed 6, and the 'feed rate' (the rate at which it seemed like I could move the saw through the cut) was pretty consistent.

I was using this blade, so the cuts were never going to have a finished quality to them off the saw.

One thing I have noticed is that it seems like when I'm cutting solid stock or thicker materials, there is more dust being thrown ahead of the saw.  It tends to be bigger chunks of dust, as opposed to really fine stuff.  Maybe that's a function of the blade? 

I still ran into a couple issues (inconsistent width, non-square faces) but I think those are probably more due to operator error and setup. 

I was ripping this maple to make an edge grain cutting board.  In a couple months, I plan to do an edge grain countertop in walnut, so I thought I'd work out the process in small scale first.  Since I don't own an MFT, I have a jig that is 2100mm x 500 piece of plywood with a fence of three laminated strips of MDF.  I'm attempting to do something similar to what [member=4105]tjbnwi[/member] has described.  I still haven't quite worked out how to keep the material from moving on me.

Thanks,
Adam

 

[mrFinpgh]

[member=59039]mrFinpgh[/member] well let us know what works and what doesn't.
I did some 50-mm merenti with the std blade and it was less than happy, but I went slow. (Almost resorted to doing a double depth pass)

So I am sure what you find can be applied to others. (Me first)

Can the TS55 hit 50mm?  I can't imagine doing that w/ the standard blade.

 

[tjbnwi]

[member=59039]mrFinpgh[/member],

Which process?

If the wood and your jig is clean, try some window insulator tape or ATG.

Tom

 

[semenza]

Blades designed for ripping will produce larger chips/ dust. Tend to make long thin bits rather than dust.

Some of the inconsistency can be do to a face that is not completely flat or consistent. Since that is the reference for the rail and saw.

Seth

 

[mrFinpgh]

[member=59039]mrFinpgh[/member],

Which process?

If the wood and your jig is clean, try some window insulator tape or ATG.

Tom

Hi Tom,

This one:
How I Rip FF and Door Pieces

I think that tape might be a good idea.  I have a few rolls of turners tape. Do you think that would work?

In a couple months, I'll be trying to make a 84" x 42" edge grain countertop.  So, something like 28 rips of 1.5" thick walnut.  Hopefully I can get the technique down before then.

I checked my fence this morning, and it looks like I do have a bit of a dip along the first 6" or so.  That might account for some degree of taper along the cut.  Presumably I need that fence to be straight if I want the track to be straight. 

Thanks,
Adam

 

[mrFinpgh]

I suspect this was part of it.  My initial straightline was with the rail clamped to the stock.  The rips were done with the rail butted up against a fence and the stock butted up against a spacer.

When I checked my fence this morning, I noticed that there is a dip at the end of it.  It's just three strips of MDF laminated together and glued/screwed to some maple ply.  I suppose I'll have to shim that out to get it all straight. 

Thanks,
Adam

Blades designed for ripping will produce larger chips/ dust. Tend to make long thin bits rather than dust.

Some of the inconsistency can be do to a face that is not completely flat or consistent. Since that is the reference for the rail and saw.

Seth

 

[tjbnwi]

[member=59039]mrFinpgh[/member],

Which process?

If the wood and your jig is clean, try some window insulator tape or ATG.

Tom

Hi Tom,

This one:
How I Rip FF and Door Pieces

I think that tape might be a good idea.  I have a few rolls of turners tape. Do you think that would work?

In a couple months, I'll be trying to make a 84" x 42" edge grain countertop.  So, something like 28 rips of 1.5" thick walnut.  Hopefully I can get the technique down before then.

I checked my fence this morning, and it looks like I do have a bit of a dip along the first 6" or so.  That might account for some degree of taper along the cut.  Presumably I need that fence to be straight if I want the track to be straight. 

Thanks,
Adam

[member=59039]mrFinpgh[/member],

The turners tape should work well.

Tom