Slow and Steady Cuts the Board

Slow and Steady Cuts the Board

I have several hundred board feet of Oregon Ash that was cut into 2″ planks by a chainsaw mill about 35 years ago. While attempting to resaw 10″ wide sections of this wood with a 1″, 6TPI blade on my 17″, I discovered that I had to push pretty hard to get it to cut. Every now and then it would surge ahead like I was cutting through a soft spot. I soon discovered that this cutting surge was not caused by soft wood, but happened whenever the blade was slowed down by the force used to cut it. Changing the blade speed to its lowest setting solved the issue and I was able to cut the rest of the wood with ease. Who would have thought that slower was better in order to go faster!

– Wayne Whitcomb
Renton, WA

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