Rip Sawing - Powermatic 72A Instruction Manual & Parts List

- Where possible, keep your face and body out of line
with potential kickbacks including when starting or
stopping the machine.
4. Dull, badly set, improper, or improperly filed cut-
ting tools and cutting tools with gum or resin adher-
ing to them can cause accidents. Never use a cracked
saw blade. The use of a sharp, well maintained, and
correct cutting tool for the operation will help to avoid
injuries.
5. Support the work properly and hold it firmly
against the gauge or fence. Use a push stick or push
block when ripping short, narrow (6" width or less), or
thin work. Use a push block or miter gauge hold-
down when dadoing or molding.
6. For increased safety in crosscutting, use an
auxiliary wood facing attached to the mitre gauge us-
ing the holes provided in the gauge, Figure 23.
7. Never use the fence as a length stop when cross-
cutting. Do not hold or touch the free end or cutoff
section of a workpiece. On through-sawing operations,
the cutoff section must NOT be confined.
8. Always keep your hands out of the line of the
saw blade and never reach back of the cutting blade
with either hand to hold the workpiece.
9. Bevel ripping cuts should always be made with
the fence on the right side of the saw blade so that
the blade tilts away from the fence and minimizes the
possibility of the work binding and the resulting kick-
back.

RIP SAWING

1. Ripping is where the work piece is fed with the
grain into the saw blade using the fence as a guide
and a positioning device to ensure the desired width
of cut. See Figure 24.
CAUTION: Before starting a ripping cut,
!
be sure the fence is clamped securely
and aligned properly.
Never rip freehand or use the miter gauge in com-
bination with the fence.
Never rip workpieces shorter than the saw blade
diameter.
Never reach behind the blade with either hand to
hold down or remove the cutoff piece with the saw
blade rotating.
16
FIGURE 23
FIGURE 24