Observed Power of Ridgid Saws

[woodslayer]

I have been working with 8/4 Hard Maple for the last couple of days. The boards were in the 10 to 12 foot range so I pulled out my R8450 18V cordless Saw to break them down to more manageable lengths. I fully thought that this thing would choke and I would have to get the corded Milwaukee out but I was shocked as it plowed right through it every time. It had been about a month since the battery was charged and it had only been used to crosscut about a dozen hickory planks since that time.

I’ve read many times that a underpowered 13 amp contractor style table saw would require a thin kerf blade to rip 8/4 stock. Perhaps this is true at an accelerated feed rate but I experienced no problems with my vintage TS2424. On a side note the Forest WWII left this Maple with glass smooth crosscuts; I’m not sure why but smoother than when I cut 4/4 lumber.

Woodslayer

[hewood]

I'm impressed that your cordless handled it...I don't think my circ saw even has that much depth of cut! Crosscutting I assume?

I'm not surprised that your contractor saw could rip it with a sharp clean good quality blade and good alignment. When I first started out I had a humble Delta 36-600. Once I the fence aligned and put on a Frued LU84, I could rip to full blade height without too much struggle. The WWII is pretty impressive, even when doing brute work like this. (you might find it pays to use a 24T ripper in the long run to save the edge on your WWII) Maple tends to rip pretty smoothly in general as long as it's not burning due to alignment, blade, or motor issues. Was it smoother on 8/4 maple than on 4/4 maple, or was the 4/4 something else? I suspect a slower feed rate may be a factor too...or maybe blade height could come into play. What are you making?