# So a question about ripping blanks on a compound miter saw



## Geophyrd (Dec 31, 2010)

Has anyone tried ripping a pen blank lengthwise on a compound miter saw?  I am having trouble getting accurate splits in the blank and want to make a jig to hold the blank in place.

Has anyone had any experience with this?


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## mrcook4570 (Dec 31, 2010)

sounds dangerous to me


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## jttheclockman (Dec 31, 2010)

Geophyrd said:


> Has anyone tried ripping a pen blank lengthwise on a compound miter saw? I am having trouble getting accurate splits in the blank and want to make a jig to hold the blank in place.
> 
> Has anyone had any experience with this?


 

If I am reading this right you want to rip a pen blank that is 3/4" wide on a miter saw???


If this is the case I suggest don't do it. Do you have access to a tablesaw. You are much safer with a table saw because that is what they are designed for and much easier to adapt hold down systems. I miter saw is not a rip saw it is a crosscut saw. 

A bandsaw would be a second choice. Work safe.


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## Displaced Canadian (Dec 31, 2010)

DON"T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. The blade will catch on the end of the blank and will pull it up into the blade.


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## seamus7227 (Dec 31, 2010)

I too would agree with John, use a scroll saw or bandsaw, that compound has too much torque for such a small surface area to be cut. Its not worth the risk of losing a finger. Stay alert, stay alive! and "Work smarter not harder"


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## Robert Taylor (Dec 31, 2010)

too dangerous for me. as stated above a miter saw is for cross cutting, not ripping.


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## wood-of-1kind (Dec 31, 2010)

I will post a pic of a jig that I use to cut blanks on a mitre saw. I have cut 'thousands' of blanks without any issues. Only do this with the aid of this jig that safely 'holds' the 3/4" wide blanks as they are 'ripped' to 5.5" length.


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## JimB (Dec 31, 2010)

wood-of-1kind said:


> I will post a pic of a jig that I use to cut blanks on a mitre saw. I have cut 'thousands' of blanks without any issues. Only do this with the aid of this jig that safely 'holds' the 3/4" wide blanks as they are 'ripped' to 5.5" length.


 
I don't think he is asking about cutting them to length. He is talking about cutting them to 3/4 inch.


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## jttheclockman (Dec 31, 2010)

JimB said:


> wood-of-1kind said:
> 
> 
> > I will post a pic of a jig that I use to cut blanks on a mitre saw. I have cut 'thousands' of blanks without any issues. Only do this with the aid of this jig that safely 'holds' the 3/4" wide blanks as they are 'ripped' to 5.5" length.
> ...


 

"Has anyone tried ripping a pen blank lengthwise on a compound miter saw? I am having trouble getting accurate splits in the blank and want to make a jig to hold the blank in place."

To me that spounds like he wants to rip for segmenting or something. Sometimes people ask questions and we as responders do alot of guessing. Sure wish the person asking would return to the question and help us help them better. I still would not do this with any kind of jig imaginable. A miter saw pulls the material into the blade. A different configured blade is used on a mitersaw as opposed to a tablesaw. I would advice against it but who am I???


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## jttheclockman (Dec 31, 2010)

wood-of-1kind said:


> I will post a pic of a jig that I use to cut blanks on a mitre saw. I have cut 'thousands' of blanks without any issues. Only do this with the aid of this jig that safely 'holds' the 3/4" wide blanks as they are 'ripped' to 5.5" length.


 

That is not called ripping. That is called a cutoff, or cross cutting. Ripping is when you are cuttting with the grain and not cross grain.


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## KenV (Dec 31, 2010)

Nope -- not from Texas -- maybe not the classic "hold my beer and watch this".

Malcolm Tibbits shows jigs for segmentation in his book and DVDs -- He uses jigs on the compound miter saw to cut pieces for his creations.   He is not splitting a 3/4 inch by 6 inch pen bank down the 6 inch length with his compound miter saw.

He starts with building an additional closed mouth liner for the miter saw  -- a zero clearance bed for the cuts, carefully restrained and then adds guides and holddowns.

Not a casual task -- and takes a lot of thought.  

Well --- maybe it is a "hold my beer and watch this......."


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## phillywood (Dec 31, 2010)

well, his Qsn. is pretty vague and we are doing lots of assuming. like it was stated before you don't mess with the compound miter saw for ripping. he can use a radial arm saw and even for that kind of width is still dangerous. His best bet would be suing a band saw or table saw along with a jig to keep the blank going up in the sky. 
I get the feeling that he did not express himself well enough.


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## navycop (Jan 1, 2011)

Maybe he has a blank that is 3/4" and wants to "rip it" to 1/2"?


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## ctubbs (Jan 1, 2011)

I'm a firm believer in Bro. Dave Gardner's philosophy of "Try everything twice. The third time is addiction". However in this case, I believe that I will just skip even trying this once. I've seen my miter saw used as a rocket launcher.  I am getting too slow to duck fast any more.  Besides all that, I still have all my fingers and intend to keep them attached.
Charles


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## workinforwood (Jan 1, 2011)

YIKES !  Soon as I read the title my stomach started turning. I hate blood, pain, the combination of the two and death..they all make me queasy.  This would be extremely dangerous, even if you manage to build a hold down jig of some kind.  Don't even think about this idea anymore..throw it right out of your head, never happened.


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## wood-of-1kind (Jan 1, 2011)

Allow me to show my jig and then comment for or against


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## navycop (Jan 1, 2011)

wood-of-1kind said:


> Allow me to show my jig and then comment for or against


I'd like to see that please.


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## wood-of-1kind (Jan 1, 2011)

navycop said:


> wood-of-1kind said:
> 
> 
> > Allow me to show my jig and then comment for or against
> ...



Here it is, it's simple to make and 'safe' to operate. I usually set a 3/4" distance from the jig's fence and the blade of the mitre saw. The hold down clamp will hold the pen blank securely and prevents any 'kickback' from the rotating blade.


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## leestoresund (Jan 1, 2011)

Peter
That is an interesting jig for cutting 3/4" blanks cross-grain.
What most of us think the original post was about was cutting a blank that is already 3/4" x 5" lengthwise down the middle.

Lee


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## wood-of-1kind (Jan 1, 2011)

leestoresund said:


> Peter
> That is an interesting jig for cutting 3/4" blanks cross-grain.
> What most of us think the original post was about was cutting a blank that is already 3/4" x 5" lengthwise down the middle.
> 
> Lee



If that is the case, then I misunderstood the original request. I thought he was asking if one could cut pen blanks to size using a mitre saw.


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## hunter-27 (Jan 1, 2011)

leestoresund said:


> Peter
> That is an interesting jig for cutting 3/4" blanks cross-grain.
> What most of us think the original post was about was cutting a blank that is already 3/4" x 5" lengthwise down the middle.
> 
> Lee


 

Agree


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## Geophyrd (Jan 3, 2011)

*Ok, so, ask a question and then its two days later...*

Sorry for the confusion.

I was referring to the notion of using a jig on a chop saw to cut a pen blank down the middle so you have two 6" long pieces of wood cut through the middle.

I've tried my table saw and since I can't make a zero tolerance throat, I can't cut pieces that narrow.  Going to try to make a sled, we'll see how that goes.


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## jaywood1207 (Jan 3, 2011)

Geophyrd said:


> Sorry for the confusion.
> 
> I was referring to the notion of using a jig on a chop saw to cut a pen blank down the middle so you have two 6" long pieces of wood cut through the middle.
> 
> I've tried my table saw and since I can't make a zero tolerance throat, I can't cut pieces that narrow.  Going to try to make a sled, we'll see how that goes.



Just be very careful either on the tablesaw or the miter saw.  I'm sure it can be done on either if the right precautions are taken and hold downs are used so no fingers are even near the blades.


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## KenV (Jan 3, 2011)

Howard -- with a "zero throat bed" and siide restraints plus holddown you could pull this off safely.  Think about an MDF bed liner with block on both side and a MDF or plywood top -- essentially leaving a 3/4 inch square hole centered on the saw blade.  

But for that much work, the sled will be a better investment of time.   

Key is no loose pieces with a chop box!!!!


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## Mack C. (Jan 3, 2011)

Geophyrd said:


> Sorry for the confusion.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## jttheclockman (Jan 3, 2011)

Geophyrd said:


> Sorry for the confusion.
> 
> I was referring to the notion of using a jig on a chop saw to cut a pen blank down the middle so you have two 6" long pieces of wood cut through the middle.
> 
> I've tried my table saw and since I can't make a zero tolerance throat, I can't cut pieces that narrow. Going to try to make a sled, we'll see how that goes.


 

Again you open up alot of questions with your statements and we want to help you. What kind of tablesaw do you own that you can not make a zero clearance throated plate??  Does the plate com out of the table top. I am sure it does. Take it trace it on something the same thickness as the one used. Cut it out using a bandsaw, scrollsaw, jigsaw, coping saw or whatever. You will have to tweek it for level and fit but easy to do. I use poplar and slice to what I need and go from there. 

Also do you have a bandsaw??  You can use that to slice the blanks and get less waste. What are you trying to do. Help us help you.


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## Geophyrd (Jan 4, 2011)

jttheclockman said:


> Geophyrd said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry for the confusion.
> ...


 
On my table saw, there's no left lip to hold the throat plate up.  Instead Ryobi built a metal plate that really only support right of the blade with no real support for a zero tolerance plate.  I know, I tried to make one, didn't work and when I called Ryobi (and HD where I bought it) they seemed to be alarmed at the idea of a zero tolerance plate on that saw. 

I've also tried using my bandsaw, but a limit on the saw is that there is no fence that works well with the table.  I haven't been able to make an accurate long cut in a pen blank.

I'm going to make a sled for my table saw and see how that goes.


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## jttheclockman (Jan 4, 2011)

Geophyrd said:


> jttheclockman said:
> 
> 
> > Geophyrd said:
> ...


 


Now there are many things you can do to overcome things as they come up. But without being in your shop it is hard to explain things using a keyboard. 

A sled will definetly help and if you make it with adjustable rails and things you can use it for other cuts as well. But just for the record. My fence for my bandsaw consists of stacked poplar boards to a height of about 4 " and it is held in place with strong earth magnets. Cost about $2. Works well. 

As far as the tablesaw goes. There is a way around that also. But I hate putting them out here on a forum because I have no idea what your skill level is and what your confort level is. Good luck with the sled. I am sure that will be the safest way to go.


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## phillywood (Jan 4, 2011)

Mack C. in Brooklin (Whitby) ON said:


> Geophyrd said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry for the confusion.
> ...


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## jaywood1207 (Jan 4, 2011)

phillywood said:


> Mack C. in Brooklin (Whitby) ON said:
> 
> 
> > Geophyrd said:
> ...


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## phillywood (Jan 4, 2011)

Jaime, can you take a pic. from all your saws and this table saw throat plate and let us see and also the balnk that you are trying to cut in half lenghwise. We are trying our best to give you a hand. Good luck with it. Whatever you do if it doesn't sound right or look right then refrain form doing it so you won't get hurt.


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## Padre (Jan 4, 2011)

If you want to do it on a table saw, the safest, easiest way to do it is with a 'grr-ripper.'


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## Curly (Jan 4, 2011)

Padre said:


> If you want to do it on a table saw, the safest, easiest way to do it is with a 'grr-ripper.'



In this case I disagree. 

Geophyrd has said the throat plate around the saw blade has gaps and the configuration of his saw doesn't easily let him to fix it. If he rips a short thin piece, like a pen blank, in two, even with a gripper, one or both pieces will drop beside the blade. The Grr-ripper may keep his hand from peril bit his saw may be damaged and the cut blanks will be.

Geophyrd I sent you a PM to some pictures of a sled on another site.

Pete


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## ed4copies (Jan 4, 2011)

RonMc did a LOT of segmenting.  Cut most everything on a "chop saw".  When I met him in Urbana, IL, we discussed how he did this---at some length.

When we finished, he said, "It is safe for me, because I designed and know how to use all the jigs, but I would NEVER show pictures of them, cause then I might be liable when someone THOUGHT they were doing the same thing and got injured by doing it wrong!!"

The same is true here, I believe.  It probably CAN be done safely, but if you can't figure out how, it would be better NOT to try!!!


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## jttheclockman (Jan 4, 2011)

ed4copies said:


> RonMc did a LOT of segmenting. Cut most everything on a "chop saw". When I met him in Urbana, IL, we discussed how he did this---at some length.
> 
> When we finished, he said, "It is safe for me, because I designed and know how to use all the jigs, but I would NEVER show pictures of them, cause then I might be liable when someone THOUGHT they were doing the same thing and got injured by doing it wrong!!"
> 
> The same is true here, I believe. It probably CAN be done safely, but if you can't figure out how, it would be better NOT to try!!!


 

My point exactly. I can tell him how to do this but I don't want the resposibility if he gets a kickback or loses a finger. I can say this a chop saw is not the way to do this. A bandsaw is the tool I would choose. Even with a tablesaw sled cutting a 3/4" blank in half will take some setup to use hold downs. Can it be done, oh sure. Done all the time. If he had a zero clearance insert then a simple push stick is all that would be needed. Job done. But you have to remember that is a large kerf you are loosing alot of material. 

Sounds to me he is trying some sort of segmenting. I was on another woodworking forum and a person there made a beautiful sled that would do alot of different segmenting but it requires accuracy and a little bit of money for tracks and knobs.


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## Padre (Jan 4, 2011)

Curly said:


> Padre said:
> 
> 
> > If you want to do it on a table saw, the safest, easiest way to do it is with a 'grr-ripper.'
> ...



Pete, yes, I missed that part.  I agree with you.


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## Rfturner (Jan 6, 2011)

Don't do it on a chop saw or a mitre saw. With the tools you already have I would go for the band saw and utilise a fence


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