Ripping mahogany vaneers

Hi all!

I'm in the process of ordering the mahogany for the "bonnet" decking of my 3.6m runabout. I would need to rip 0.4x5cm vaneers.

Having never really used a table saw for such fine ripping, I was wondering until what thickness I can safely continue ripping.

For example, I start with a 3.8x22cm board (starndard size in spain apparently), rip them down into four 3.8x5cm boards, then start ripping 5x0.4cm strips. So from 3.8mm, after the first strip I'd be down to 3.1cm (4mm+3mm blade), then down to 2.4cm, the down to 1.7cm, then 1cm etc.

What would be the limit?

Thanks in advance!

Ash.

 

Hi and welcome, it depends on how many teeth and quality your blade has ,the more the merrier, speed , and how accurate your table is . you lose whatever the thickness of the blade is . It's really a question for a wood working forum probably Ash, sounds like a nice project. You're after a specific high quality blade with minimum flex, you will need to do practice runs . good luck, it's veneer I'm pretty sure, just saying.

 

I would rip them fat, then send them thru a planner twice.
Set your fence to one thickness (5-6 mm)

 

I can and do rip strips to as thin as one millimeter. I often make models that need thin panels. My Table saw is a medium quality Craftsman that I have carefully adjusted to be pretty precise. It has a ten inch blade and stabilizer discs for the blade. The blade plate needs to be of minimum blade width, just enough width to clear the sides of the blade. That means that you will need to make or buy a custom blade plate.

Ripping thin strips is possible in two ways on the table saw. The thin strip can be nearest the rip fence or it can be the fall off at a point on the opposite side of the blade from the fence. In the near the fence mode the strip is in some danger and so is the operator. The saw will tend to throw the thin strip back toward the operator when the cut is finished. If the saw is perfectly aligned and the blade has near zero wobble then the near fence method is acceptable. There are numerous videos on You Tube that show how to cut thin strips from the side of the bade opposite of the fence. I suspect that those videos are worth perusing. In any case the accuracy and parallelism of the fence is a critical matter.

Confession: I set my fence so that the outbound end has a wee bit of clearance from the part being ripped. That is to say that the fence is not exactly parallel to the plane of the blade. At the down stream end there is a clearance of only a few tenths of a mm, but it is there and it seems to work rather well like that. That brings us to the quality and accuracy of the rip fence. The rip fence dependability is a big deal, so be sure to have an accurate and reliable one.

If you find the right blade for the wood that you are butchering, you can cut admirably smooth surface qualities. I never need to plane or sand the strips. A 40 tooth, very sharp, carbide blade can make the smoothest of cuts if the feed rate is consistent. bit of experimentation is in order here.

In any case, I have almost no confidence in the cheap table saws that do not have a belt drive and do mot have a reliable trunnion assembly. Bottom line: A cheap table saw ain't gonna do what you want.