There has been much debate and even indications of controversy over wether to rip strips on a table saw or with a handheld saw. I have been pretty confident that we wanted to use a handheld, while all professional woodworkers and people at the lumberyards have insisted on table saws. Now we finally know..
Last night we ripped three 8 inch planks into strips. We did not count them, but in the end we had rather many strips. Using the handheld saw, we had some ruined strips last time we tried, but this time we found the trick. Using the right techniques ripping strips was straight forward and an easy feat. The key was to focus on the guide and watch it so it did not work out from the plank.
Then it was just a question of pushing the saw forward. In the end, we controlled the saw 80% with the hand on the guide and 20% actually on the saw. If we pushed too hard, we got too much friction and made it harder for ourself. Bjørn Thomasson in Sweden was right all the time. A table saw is not neccesary.
Another key element for us was having a helper to catch the strip when cut off the plank.
These planks were quite wide and thing, for the bottom with lots of curve. One problem with wide planks is the natural sideways curve they will have. You will have to decide how to use the handheld saw when cutting the strips, to make the cut straight.
Next time we will rip some 2inch planks for the sides.
Using the NBC mask for protection was great. No dust in the nose, throat, lungs or eyes. Definately reccomended but perhaps not worth being drafted for
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