Delta 36-540 Instruction Manual page 18

RIPPING
Ripping is the operation of making a length-wise cut
through a board, as shown in Fig. 37, and the rip fence
(A) is used to position and guide the work. One edge of
the work rides against the rip fence while the flat side of
the board rests on the table. Since the work is pushed
along the fence, it must have a straight edge and make
solid contact with the table. The saw guard must always
be used. The guard has anti-kickback fingers to prevent
kickback and a splitter to prevent the saw kerf from clos-
ing and binding the blade.
Start the motor and advance the work, holding it down
against the fence. Never stand in the line of the saw cut
when ripping. Hold the work with both hands and push it
along the fence and into the saw blade as shown in Fig.
37. After the workpiece is on the table the work can then
be fed through the saw blade with one hand, as shown
in Fig. 38. After the work is beyond the saw blade and
anti-kickback fingers the feed can continue to the end of
the table, after which the work is lifted and brought back
along the outside edge of the fence. The cut-off stock
remains on the table or tilts up slightly and is caught by
the rear end of the guard or slides off the table to the
floor. If the cut-off stock remains on the table it is not
touched with the hands until the saw blade is stopped,
unless it is a large piece allowing safe removal. When rip-
ping boards longer than three feet, it is recommended
that a work support be used at the rear of the saw to
keep the workpiece from falling off the saw table.
If the ripped work is less than 4 inches wide, a push stick
should always be used to complete the feed, a shown in
Fig. 39. The push stick can easily be made from scrap
material as explained in the section "CONSTRUCTING
PUSH STICK." When ripping stock 2 inches or narrow-
er, assemble an auxiliary wood facing to the fence, as
explained in the section "USING AUXILIARY WOOD
FACING ON RIP FENCE" and use a push stick.
A
18
Fig. 37
Fig. 38
Fig. 39