: Thanks to everyone for their great advice (sorry for getting back to you so
: late). I reckon that I'm going to re-zero the table saw over the weekend.
: In the meantime I have put spacers around all my boards to let the air
: circulate - I don't know if it will have an impact, but those first couple
: of strips off each cedar plank ripped cleanly. The rear of the blade is
: +1/100 closer the fence than the front, and the burn marks are punctuated
: with nice 10" arcs from the rear of the blade, so I definitely think
: that it is a potential problem to be addressed - trunion here I come. The
: funny thing is that when I set it up, the blade (a carbide-tipped blade)
: seemed parallel, so maybe the trunion was loose - I know I did not tighten
: it.

: To answer some specific questions: To Spidey: That is an interesting offer .
: . . how about your beaut kayak for some Bob's Special plans, some nicely
: ripped pine, and some cedar - burnt one side?

: To Rehd: My saw is a 10" Ridgid fresh from the Home Depot. She's got a
: 15A motor and runs off 110V. My blade is a 10" steel hollow ground
: planer. The fence . . . good question but I reckon it has a long screw
: through the centre; it locks quite securely, but when I push on it to lock
: it tends to lock in slightly skewed at the rear - skewed closer to the
: blade! When I ripped the stock I was sure that I had the space and didn't
: get "burnt" by the skewing of the rear of the fence. As for the
: blade to mitre slot measurements, my dial caliper says the rear of the
: blade is approximately 1/100 closer the fence than the front, both
: measured off the same tooth. And you were bang-on about the strips bowing
: when cut; the bow away from the "scrap".

: To Tom: Yep, I've got the blade pointing in the right direction.

: To Coop: Nope, the blade does not have expansion slots.

: Thanks again to one and all. You'll probably be hearing from me again
: shortly.

: Greg.

Hi Greg

If possible, let us know what the problem was when you get it all corrected. There are always others out here who may have had the same situation. If they are not too familiar with the tool, they may think this is normal. ??? Also, if you can at all afford the upgrade, a 10" carbide tipped blade will make all the difference in the world in your saws performance. You will do well with a 40 to 48 tooth combination blade as they cut smooth enough for any glue joint. They rum around $45 to $75 and some even cheaper. On the cheaper ones, be sure of the quality of teeth and how they are soldered on. I pay around $45 to $48 for the Sears brand and have found them to be of good quality. But, there are many good quality blades out there, some more and some less.

If you are not going to use the saw for anything other than cutting the strips for all your boats, then you could get away with a 7" blade. If you plan to use it for anything else, then the 10" is a must.

Good luck and I hope some of this helped.

Rehd