Ahem, I rip on the right side of the blade all the time on my Kappa 400.

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Yes, we consistently get a better finish (cleaner cut, more consistent, straight) when using the sliding table and a mixture of clamps and jigs. However, that mixture of clamps and jigs takes time to get exactly right. Not a lot of time, but enough time for resentment to build.

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So here are rules of thumb I use:

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• If I need to rip 1-5 items that are not any longer than say 1200mm, I don’t even think about it. I go straight to the right side of the blade for a conventional rip.

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• If the outcome is critical, and I’m relying on as perfect-as-possible-result, I usually take the time to work on the left side of the blade, using the slider.

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• I say ‘usually’ because short stock, say 600mm or shorter, can be ripped on the right side of the blade with perfection. I have done so literally thousands of times so my sample size is adequate.

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Keys to ripping ‘perfectly’ on the right side of the blade.

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• Rip fence toe out must be dialled in. I defer to da Best (a.k.a. David Best) for details if you need help on this.

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• The material to be ripped must have one straight edge, and must be flat. Cup, bow and twist will have a very negative impact on ripping (on either side of the blade), especially when the material is hand-fed through the blade.

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• The riving knife and blade selection is important. These must be correctly calibrated and chosen.

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• Feed-rate is important. There is definitely ‘too slow’ but most videos online show a feed-rate that is too fast to way-to-fast. Experimenting with your saw and blade combination is key. Make four sample rip cuts at different feed rates and inspect the results. As the feed-rate is reduced, the surface quality of the rip will increase, but only to a point. Going any slower just dulls the blade.

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• Consistency is important. Many operators do not concentrate on the feed-rate for the entirely of the cut. The introduction to the blade, passing through the cut, and exiting the material from the back of the blade, are all of equal importance. I see operators ‘finish a cut’ and then quickly exit the back of the blade. This results in a slight roughness to the edge. Exactly the same feed-rate – like a power feeder – is required throughout.

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• Focus on hand positioning so that there are absolutely no transitional issues from using a hand
• or push stick. In fact, if you feel you need a push stick due to the width of the material being ripped, you must (in my opinion) move to the left side of the blade, because the transition from fingers to a push stick nearly always results in a less-than-perfect ripping result. I can rip 1200mm length stock with no transition whatsoever, and use my thumb for the entire cut. You can work out your own maximum length for perfection.

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• I don’t buy the argument about how much harder it is to rip (on the right side) using a slider. It is not a jot harder; it is just different. Unless you have unusually short arms, it is entirely possible to keep your head to the left side of the blade, while using your right arm and hand to push material on the right side of the blade. I’m willing to post a video on request but this stuff is pretty self-explanatory.

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• For all of this, I’m assuming you have a ‘good’ blade guard fitted to your slider. No ‘good’ blade guard and all of my words are essentially worthless. In my opinion, you should never present any part of your body, hand, arm, head, whatever, in front of the blade without a ‘good’ guard.

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• And finally, and probably most controversially, I’m happy to rip material much narrower than recommended because of the stout nature of the Felder overhead guard. The Kappa 400 guard is stout enough that I can push sideways with very considerable strength, and the guard will not move enough to touch a running blade. Consequently, with the rip fence in the low position, if I can get a good grip on the material, I have no problem allowing my hand, thumb and fingers to ride against the right side of the blade guard as it passes by. If adjusted low (i.e. a few mm above the stock) the risk is exceptionally low, in my opinion. But that is just me. You find your own width and own your own decisions. I explicitly take no responsibility here in expressing my methods of work.

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I hope this is helpful.

J’espère que cela est utile!

(Mais, Dumas est trop difficile pour moi!)

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