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The doug fir - if it's construction lumber - is a dead giveaway that this board is WAY too wet to rip. Let it dry to a reasonable moisture content before ripping. If it's typical construction lumber, what you're experiencing is the blade heating up the moisture in the wood, which make it expand, thus closing up the joint. This is common with hand tools as well. The hand tool solution is a saw with a very wide kerf compared to the saw plate thickness. Same principal is used with pruning saws, which tend to have long, deep gullets and a wide kerf.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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Use an out feed table to support the board
Watch the fence not the board- keep the board against the fence at all times
Consider making a homemade jug for a skill saw- you tube has good videos
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Try this experiment:
Rip the board until it starts to bind. Turn off the machine. Remove the board. Examine the cut end and see if the two sides of the board are closer together than the blade width. My guess it is.
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09-26-2021, 07:23 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-26-2021, 07:23 AM by Hank Knight.)
One addiotion to the excellent advice above: If you use a roller for outfeed support, make sure it is perpendicular to the plane of the saw blade. If it is not, it will deflect the board as you cut and make it difficult or impossible to keep the board against the fence. The easy way to set up the roller is to lower the blade below the saw table and run the board against the fence onto the roller. You will see the deflection if the roller is not adsjusted properly. Adjust the roller until it feeds the board straight without deflecting it.
