206. SAFELY ripping thin pieces of stock

Working with thin pieces of stock, especially exotic woods like ebony, can be dangerous. If you’re like me and hate to throw even a sliver of these expensive pieces of wood away, here’s a tip that comes straight from the mastermind of Northern Indiana Mark. Instead of relying on the fence to rip smaller pieces of stock to size, we will instead turn to the table saw sled and a straight edge.
Mark uses positioning squares with clamps to create a small, sliding rip fence. Because my sled is slightly taller, I’ll cut a piece of plywood so that each corner is 90˚, and then cut a 45˚ corner off by using a square. Now I have an edge to hold onto as well as an angle to cut 45˚ miters.
Of course, you’ll want to hold whatever stock you plan on cutting, which is why Mark uses a piece of rough stock to hold things in place.
To make the cut, you only need to keep a few things in mind. First the stock must be pushed against the crosscut fence, as well as tightly squeezed against your ripping fence. It’s also a really good idea if you’re cutting thin stock to switch to a blade with a 1/16th inch blade kerf. Finally, you might choose to turn off the saw before bringing the sled backward…which will help prevent any chance of the blade catching the stock.
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