ts55 depth of cut with veneered sheets

[matthew75]

i am new to the ts55 and will be cutting some cherry veneered 3/4" ply and wondering what is the best depth of cut to keep from splintering out the back side. should the blade just slightly come through the back of the sheet or should the blade come out all the way to the bottom of the gullet where the entire tooth comes out? im used to cutting sheet stock on the table saw where i would use painters tape along the cut line and always did a scoring pass first as well. im also worried if i make the cut on some of the foam insulation sheets like i have seen in videos it will not be firm enough to back up and support the back side of the sheet and the cut will splinter out. anyone have any tips on how they cut veneered sheet goods? thanks

 

[tbellemare]

My immediate thought is that if you are dipping the blade about half way into the gullet, you are cutting on the up stroke and it should cut clean.

Of course, that assumes you have a reasonable feed through the material for the blade speed. It's all about "feed & speed".

Tom

 

[jvsteenb]

In my experience, it depends on wether or not you're cutting the veneer layer cross-grain or ripping it. For crossgrain cuts follow Tom's advice, but for ripping cuts in delicate veneers, I get better results with a slicing cut , meaning that the cutting of the veneer happens during the forward motion, this way the fibers have more support lengthwise and will be less prone to come loose. Lower the saw so that about half the length of the TC cutting tooth protrudes from the underside.  Definitely clean your blade before cutting any delicate veneered plywood panels, for any resin residue will act as a "sticky spot" that prevents the tooth to release the fibers properly immediately after the cut, and will tend to pull fibers into the kerf. In massive wood, this will eventually cause binding and burning - in veneered plywood it will severely diminish your cut quality.

As usual, just my 2c worth.

Regards,

Job

 

[jmcon]

i use a cut table of mdf that works great as a backer, its inexpensive, lasts awhile. i cut a lot of of cabinet grade plywood and dont have a splintering problem. you will love the saw for sheet goods it is so much faster and easier than the table saw. good luck

 

[ccarrolladams]

My experience cutting fine-quality cabinet plywood has been the best results are when there is uniform contact between the sheet being cut, best surface up, and the sacrificial sheet below. Therefore I nearly always clamp the guide rail. When cutting 19mm material using a rail, cross grain I set my TS55 for 25mm giving about a 1mm nick in the sacrificial sheet. Ripping I set the TS55 for 26mm for a slightly deeper nick.

One reason I generally work with two TS55 is that the one with the most recently sharpened blade is used for the rips. If I notice any resin build-up on a blade I clean that blade immediately. Often I make the rips with the speed reduced a half-number. My idea is to avoid any burning. Hardly ever on plywood do I run my TS55 at full speed with the fine 48 tooth blade. Normally I use my TS75 for solid wood with the universal 36 tooth blade.

Using this approach I get no more splintering of the back than with my slider or beam saw, both of which have a scoring blade.