: I have several 12 foot long by 6 inch wide planks of WRC that need to have
: one true edge cut before I cut my strips. I only have a table saw
: available. I've searched the web and found 3 different methods.

: Rehd's Board Straightener: http://www.dbeweb.com/kayak/pages/rehd.html
: Cummins Board Straightener: http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot12.shtml
: Table Saw Jig: http://www.glen-l.com/wood-plywood/plate10h.html

: Rehd's Board Straightener looks like it requires a fine touch on the table
: saw. The other 2 require long, straight edged and flat stock (near
: impossible to find) to make a jig.

: All of these methods look like they would work, but in my hands I'm afraid
: they would give marginal results.

: How do I true one edge ... and do it well ... without wasting a lot of stock
: in the process? Is there a better way than any of the methods above?

: Ken

Hi Rehd, Ken, et all.

Having read all the comments on this process in this discussion, as an experienced woodworker, I like Rehd's concept for working with loooong planks. I have some 20 footers I will be ripping shortly, and the long guide fence makes it much easier to control the skew on the ripped piece, particularly at start and finish. However, the other comments are also pertinent. My approach is to use the auxiliary table, a la Rehd, but a long straight fence attached to it without the kerf cut, st 1/4 inch away from the blade. As someone else mentioned, the first strip through will be somewhat uneven, depending in the cup, but usable short pieces none the less. On really bad long boards, even the first two may be partially lost. After the first cut however, the long fence stays in place and gives good lateral support.

It is important to make sure that the auxiliary table is solidly fastened to the table saw, and if neccessary, added infeed and outfeed tables to carry at least more than half the length of the ripped board, preferably more, are used, to eliminate the possibility of the board lifting out of the blade near the start and finish. In my case, I use a 16 foot 2x6 on each side. The outfeed side has a length of 1x2 screwed on, on the strip side, to prevent the long strips from falling away. The infeed side has a short strip set to aid in initial feed only, about half way down the length of the 2x6.

Another trick which works well for feeding narrow stock through when you get close to the blade, is using an ice pick to push the material. Of course you are using all the other safety gear like glasses and masks as well.

Jim