Slanting...

[Tim_Munsey]

When I cut thicker wood (3/4?) I find that end up with a slant to the piece.  Any suggestions on how to stop this from happening?

Thank you!

[Russ C]

Sorry but with Steve's busy schedule he very seldom  has time to answer questions here, so here are my suggestions.

Three possibilities I can think of that might cause "a slant to the piece" ;

1. Blade not square to table, check with square. (front to back, side to side).  
2. Not enough tension on blade.
3. Pushing the wood to fast when cutting.
4. Blade/saw speed to slow. Increase speed to maximum.

Russ  

[EIEIO]

Russ has a good list.

One other thought - these blades tend to cut at an angle - if you put a straight line on a board, you can't just push straight into the blade like a table saw - you need to crab the board into the blade to get a straight cut. That comes from the way the blade is stamped - one side is sharper than the other and it wanders toward that side. Angling the board into the blade will let you follow the line.

On thin wood you might get away with not crabbing the wood but instead putting side pressure on the blade to keep the cut on the line. But with thick wood that side pressure will bend the blade and make a non-perpendicular cut through the wood. Try practicing by pushing the wood ahead with one finger and observe the wander in the blade, then angle the wood so you stay on the line without any side pressure.

[Toneman]

When I first started Tim, I noticed the same thing with thicker wood. I finally discovered I was pushing the blade too much and not letting the blade do the cutting; especially on curves. So, I increased my speed and used a larger blade and slowed down my feed rate and on my turns, made sure I was not pulling or pushing the wood. And as Russ has already stated, I made sure the blade was square to the table. The simplest way to check is take a piece of a 2" x 4" and saw about a 1/4" deep cut on one side and then turn the wood around to the back of the blade and see if the blade aligns with the cut. If not, then you will need to adjust your table or your blade holders accordingly, depending on your brand of saw. I have an Excalibur and usually I just need to adjust my set screws in my blade holders.

Tony,aka,Toneman

[Tim_Munsey]

I am sorry I am so slow on responding to all of the replies.

Thank you all!  Using a combination of the suggestions has made a world of difference.

Again, Thank You!

Tim

[jscott2]

The other thing that can cause problems is trying to get the cut back on the line by pushing the board to the left or right.  To get back on the line, don't push sideways, turn the board.  You should be able to cut a circle and have the cut-out come out of the hole in either direction.

Jim

[Bill Ellis]

My problem is that I cannot cut a straight line but I am o/k on a circular cut "why" i.e. Letter i L n not to good but the bent pieces of P & D i find that I can keep to the line.

Bill Ellis

[Rapid Roger]

My problem is that I cannot cut a straight line but I am o/k on a circular cut "why" i.e. Letter i L n not to good but the bent pieces of P & D i find that I can keep to the line.

Bill Ellis

I've mentioned this before. It is far easier to cut (or draw) a curve than it is to cut (or draw) a straight line. Why you ask? Because your eye and mind knows what a straight line SHOULD look like but, your eye or mind is not quite sure what a curve should look like. 
One of the things that I have learned about scrolling a straight line is to begin the line as close as you can to parallel with the blade. This may not be at a true 90 degrees as you look at the front of the saw. A practice cut will tell you if the blade is pulling more to the left or right and tell you how to plan your cut accordingly. 
Also (and this just takes practice) slowly feed the wood into the front of the blade and using both hands guide it into the blade and CONCENTRATE your eyes on the line. If the blade starts to wander one way or the other, just easily and gradually steer it back to the line.
DON'T STOP CUTTING! Just go slow and continue to the end of the line. 
The line might not look straight to you (you know where the goofs are) but, when the project is completed  it will seem to have straightened up and darn few people will ever know that it isn't as straight as a string!   

Rog