Crown tooth blades

[woodcutter]

Im using the No. 2 crown tooth blade 20TPI on 1/4" walnut with two layers each way of packing tape= 4 layers.
Is this too much tape and
I cant see my cutting line because the sawdust covers my line even with the blower that works.
Should I use a different type of blade?
Jim

[dgman]

Hey Jim, Is the saw dust under the tape or over the tape? I don't see any reason to use multiple layers of tape. If you don't apply the tape correctly saw dust will accumulate under the tape and obscure the line. I use a plastic putty knife to burnish the tape, that is I rub the tape with the putty knife to make sure it is tight to the pattern. If the dust is on top of the tape, then try to adjust the air blower hose closer to the line.
If that does not help, then switch to a skip tooth or a reverse tooth blade.

[julief]

Hey Jim, Overkill on the tape.

[dunk]

I agree, overkill on the tape.  Dg had a good tip for you IE the burnishing, I use a credit card to do it but whatever works to get out nay bubble/wrinkles.

[GrayBeard]

Definitely 'overkill'!

I use a 'brayer' that is normally used for applying ink to woodcuts to make prints...about 8 bucks at Michaels...great because it is rubber and gets down into any voids where a flat hard burnisher might not reach.

~~~GB~~~

[woodcutter]

The sawdust is on the top. I used a brush yesterday to remove the dust as I was cutting. (Not fun)
I will try other blades as dgman said and cut down on the tape for next time.
I did smooth out the tape but only with my thumb and not with a plastic putty knife etc.
Thanks Jim

[CNLNC]

Hey Jim,
I only use 1 layer of packing tape, and I only use my fingers to smooth it out and eliminate the few bubbles that are there. Seems to work fine for me.
Can't help you with the sawdust thing. Good luck.

[mrsn]

the crown tooth blade cuts on both the up and down stroke. When the blade cuts on the down stroke the sawdust goes under the table, the up stoke ends up on the piece being cut. To eliminate the dust on your cutting line you will have to either improve the blower or get used to brushing the dust.

[newtoscroll]

An good strong aquarium blower for a 60 to 80 gallon tank may due the trick.

[mrsn]

I was thinking about this a bit last night. Sometimes packing tape has static electricity that causes sawdust to stick to it. Perhaps that is why your blower doesn't remove it. It might be worth a try to put the packing tape down, then the pattern on top.

[GrayBeard]

Good thought Katie...
but I would think if the blower is working properly and the 'nozzle' is close enough to the cut line it would remove most of that dust even with the static.
I frankly am suspicious of the blower bellows being cracked and not putting out enough of an airstream to blow the dust out of the cut line.
I have to put the nozzle on my 788 almost next to the blade to really get an effective flow of air to clear the path.
As I get into more cutting now I am going to really look into the situation and may 're-engineer' the blower system and add a large capacity aquarium pump for the summer cutting season when darn humidity goes up to the 90% range and things get really sticky.

~~~GB~~~