4 Ways to Avoid Tearout at the Table Saw

Tear out sucks, but fortunately is preventable. At best it just means some extra sanding, at worst it means ruining a veneer on a piece. These four tips will make sure you never worry about tear out again!

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It’s pretty straight forward to prevent tear out at the table saw. Of course it helps to have a well maintained saw. Check out my post on how I keep my saw humming if you don’t have a maintenance routine.

Use the appropriate blade.

Lots of people prefer using a combination blade. If that’s working for you, great. If it’s not, clean and sharpen it. If it still isn’t cutting it, then get a purpose built blade. It’s not just marketing hype, the different tooth counts and grinds really make a difference. If you don’t believe me, just watch the video where I compare the different blades.

2. Support the fibers so the blade cannot tear them.

Tear out happens because the wood fibers on the edge of the board are ripped by the blade instead of being cut. That ripping happens because the wood fiber tears under the force from the blade before it can be cut because the fibers on unsupported. On one side, a blade, on the other side, air, in the middle, weak wood fibers getting pushed by the blade.

Sharper blades with the right tooth count and grind help. But another sure fire technique is to keep the fibers supported. If there’s no where to get pushed and tore, they’ll politely lay in place and be neatly cut. An easy technique using blue tape to add some support, and it won’t leave behind residue. But when it really counts, you can support your piece with another board.

3. Pre-cut the fibers.

If the fibers are already severed, the blade can’t rip them instead of cutting them. This can be finicky and you really have to line up your cut right on the score line to make sure you’re not wasting your time. But if you’ve dropped some serious cash on a fancy figured veneer, this will always work 100.

4. Use a Zero Clearance Insert.

This goes back to point 2, support the fibers. That’s what a zero clearance insert does. But it’s so much better because you don’t have to do any material prep before a cut. So long as that insert is in place, you’re good to go.

Odds are you can buy a zero clearance insert for your saw. It’ll be a blank plate that’s ready to have a saw blade raised through it. The slot will be the exact size of the blade, so the material right next to the blade will be supported.

#woodworking #tablesaw #tearout

[richardflorence]

It's nice to see some fresh tips that you don't see anywhere else. I've never seen that method of making a zero clearance insert and it was really hard for me to make my first one

[michaelgraff]

Also, shop made inserts are trickier if you want to keep using the knife to help avoid kick-back. I do, but what I do is make the insert, remove the knife, use the blade to cut the insert slot, and then use a jigsaw to extend the line backwards to about 0.5 inches from the edge. This allows full blade extension. I also noticed you don't secure your inserts. On my Rigid, the insert is a paltry 5 mm thick, so I feel it needs to be secured. I counter-sink from the top, but it does quickly become a PITA. I think I'll start going with 0.5 inch thick inserts for stability, and drill out the bottom area for where the supports go, and attach magnets to hold it in place. The thicker wood should prevent it from moving much to start with, but the thin stuff really needs to be secured.

[TyrelWitcher]

great tips! I still haven't gotten around to making a zero clearance insert for my table saw but this is giving me some more motivation to do it.

[calleeharris]

I like seeing you explain why you do things a certain way...makes sense!

[jennieanddavis]

Great tips, Caleb! Thanks for sharing - Davis

[neishat]

This video was very satisfying to watch!

[BruceAUlrich]

That phenolic stuff is cool. Good tips! I just made a zero clearance insert for mine and I'm wondering why it took me so long to do it. It produces really great cuts!

[RobinDobbie]

How easy it is to get bondo or epoxy or whatever to stick to the phenolic material when the slot starts getting sloppy and you need to tighten it up again to maintain the zero-clearance properties?

[Boom-oqyj]

What about ripping with a dado stack? Limited in how small the teeth can be

[mattlopez]

buena explicacion, gracias por su tiempo

[rebeccas.]

What is holding the insert fro popping out. My saw has a clip that snaps the insert in place. That is why I haven’t been able to make another.

[yazr]

Do the same blade rules apply to blades on a mitre saw? Just curious... I would often try other solutions for the tearout I was getting but it's only now that the blade has popped into question - all because I'm having issues with plywood on my table saw. lol. Great video!

[michaelgraff]

When you did the zero clearance rip cut, you followed the veneer grain. When you did your original test cut without a zero clearance insert, you went cross grain.

[michaelgraff]

From observations, if you have wood cut at the big box store, it is almost always going to be a ripping blade, or if combination closer to the ripping side than not. I find I need to leave at least 1" extra to be able to then cut off the shredded parts. Using tape or scoring is also helpful at the store, but often they don't want to waste the time for you to score or tape. Tape is clearly faster. Just make sure they measure still, not use the edge of the take as a cut off mark.

[christofix]

What a differnce with the zero clearnce insert... I need this too for my makita. I have already looked for it but there is not much space to make one. But i will find something... if necessary, I dismantle half the machine LOL

[jamaxit]

Check out InfinityTools zero clearance table saw inserts. They save a ton of time and are worth every penny. I have a SawStop Jobsite Saw and I’ve been very pleased with the throat plate I purchased from them. I’ve been using the same three Z.C.I inserts (45degree, 90, and 30 degree) for 2 years now and never have to make a ‘custom plate’.

[michaelgraff]

Lastly, if you make your own inserts and apply a paste wax (which I think you should), apply it to both sides to help keep things flat as much as possible.