What is ripping timber?
Ripping (Dutch: schulpen) is sawing timber lengthways: along the length of the board, so with the wood fibres. You can rip a board in width (making it narrower) or in thickness (making it thinner, also called resawing). The opposite is crosscutting: sawing across the grain to cut a board to length.
A second, less common meaning of the Dutch word schulpen is cutting an edge into a scalloped shape, for example the wavy bottom edge of an awning or a decorative edge in woodwork. Such an edge is called a scalloped edge (Dutch: schulprand).
Application
Ripping is done to bring boards to width, to cut battens from wider boards, to halve boards in thickness or to straighten a crooked edge.
Tools:
- Table saw with rip fence: the most commonly used machine for ripping.
- Circular saw with guide rail or parallel fence, for sheet material and long boards.
- Bandsaw: suitable for resawing in thickness, because the kerf is narrow and it can handle tall boards.
- Ripsaw (handsaw): a saw with chisel-shaped teeth made specifically for sawing along the grain.
Tips for ripping safely and straight:
- Choose the right blade: for ripping, use a blade with fewer, larger teeth and generous gullets. A fine crosscut blade runs hot and burns the timber.
- Use a riving knife: the riving knife behind the blade stops the kerf from closing up and the timber from kicking back. Kickback is the biggest danger when ripping.
- Use a push stick as soon as your hand comes closer than a hand’s width to the blade.
- Make sure you have a straight edge: always place a straight, flat edge against the rip fence. A crooked board can bind.
- Watch for tension in the timber: timber can open up or close up as it is sawn. Feed the workpiece calmly and evenly.
- Keep the blade height limited: do not let the blade protrude further above the timber than necessary.
Related Terms
- Circular saw
- Crosscut saw
- Quarter-sawn
- Flat-sawn
- Jigsaw
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