Tear out ripping plywood

[Brad Hatchett]

I am experiencing a great deal of tearout when ripping plywood with my TS2424. It appears to happen only when cutting accross the grain of the topmost veneir. I get relatively clean cuts when cutting with the grain. I checked the blade alignment to the table and adjusted the trunion and I think all is well. How much tolerance do you have here? Or is that even the problem? I have bought a new blade, but would like to take it back if I don't need it.

[Dave Arbuckle]

What kind of blade are you using? For the best cuts in plywood, there are blades specifically made for this. Usually, they are labelled for melamine/plywood use.

There tends to always be a small amount of tearout, even with the best setup and blades. The good side of the sheet should run "up", as this is the cleaner side. A zero-clearance insert will reduce tearout on the bottom to nearly nothing.

Dave

[Brad Hatchett]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dave Arbuckle:
What kind of blade are you using? For the best cuts in plywood, there are blades specifically made for this. Usually, they are labelled for melamine/plywood use.

There tends to always be a small amount of tearout, even with the best setup and blades. The good side of the sheet should run "up", as this is the cleaner side. A zero-clearance insert will reduce tearout on the bottom to nearly nothing.

Dave<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I am using the blade that came with the saw. I guess I need a blade with more and smaller teeth to give me a finer cut with less tearout.

Thanks for the info. I will give it a shot.

Brad

[Tim Pavuk]

Brad,
What you are looking for is a blade with a tooth pattern called TCG which stands for Triple Chip Grind. The blade has ATB teeth (alternating bevel) like the blade that came with your saw but every third tooth has 3 ground edges which scores the laminate top before the ATB teeth do the serious cutting. Freud makes a blade specifically for this purpose called a "Laminate and Wood" blade. I'm pretty sure their designation is LU98R10 for a 10" blade. Beware though, its a little pricy at about $80 bucks mail order but its WELL worth it. Edges in plywood are mirror smooth with this blade in my TS2424. And don't forget to put the "good" side up. I also use a zero clearance insert on all my blades. Good Luck!