Saw Burn Marks? See How to Get Clean Saw Cuts in Wood

Why does wood burn when cutting it with saw blades? The simple answer is that there’s too much friction. The friction builds up heat in the blade and causes the burn marks and even smoke. Discover more projects and tips on our website https://WoodenItBeNice.ca

The first thing I look for when I notice my blades aren’t cutting right is to see how sharp they are. Carefully feel a tooth on the blade to feel how sharp the leading edge is. When you’re experienced, this is intuitive to know what sharp feels like. If this is new to you, compare a sharp blade with he one you’re testing so you can feel if there’s a difference. The more you do this, the easier it is to understand.

When inspecting my blade, I also look at how dirty it is. When blades heat up from cutting, they melt the pitch or sap in the wood. This will then get stuck on the blade. When the pitch builds up on the blade, it is harder for the sawdust to clear the cut and then creates more friction. This in turn can leave burn marks and create smoke. Pine and spruce have a lot of sap, so if you work a lot with these woods, make blade cleaning a part of your maintenance routine.

Another potential problem when you're getting burn marks on your wood cuts is cutting too slowly. There’s a balancing act you need to learn, especially when cutting hardwood such as maple or cherry. You want to move through the wood quickly enough that you don’t leave burn marks, but slowly enough you’re not overtaxing your saw’s power. This is a skill learned only from experience. Listen to the sound of your saw to understand how hard it is working.

When ripping boards on a table saw, there also might be a problem with the alignment of the saw blade and the fence. If the fence isn’t parallel with the saw blade, you could be pushing the wood through on a slight angle, which would cause friction on the blade, and therefore burn marks. Take time to align the fence properly by measuring from the front of the blade body, not the tooth, and the back of the blade body.

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