I am making new Drawer and Door fronts for my kitchen cabinets at my cabin. I'm using Birch Plywood with a clean natural finish is planned.
I started this project last June but due to problems with "Tear Out" on the plywood I stopped. I wanted to check what I needed to get a better edge cut.
Well after reading the post here that Bompa and Craig made I now have a better idea how to handle my project problem using the proper blade in my saws.
My thanks goes out to the members for helping me with answers I needed again. Especially to Bompa and Craig.
The Forums Family of Friends come through again.

I agree, oldman. The members here are SUPER!

As for saw blades - I have a professional woodworker friend that uses Forrest exclusively and always send then back to the manufacturer for resharpening. I was amazed at just how many different types of blades are available from all of the manufacturers.

I switched to Freud, and made near glue-joint cuts with a fresh blade. Typically use a 40 tooth on the table saw and a 60 or 80 on the miter saw. HD carries most of the Freud blades and the store is less than a mile from the house.

Taping the cutline with painters tape and marking the line with a knife allowed perfect cuts for me.

That Rockler table is printed and stapled to the bulkhead of my workshop...right next to the 3 inch long 3/8" pegs I hang my blades on.  Got it saved to my computer also.

This way, it's several things less that I need to remember. Afterall, those brain cells storing that data might be the next to succomb to the Buffalo Theory or CRS.

Don't forget to keep yer blades clean.
And old pizza pan bought at a yard/garage sale and ammonia is what I use.  The only problem is that the ammonia clears away the black ink on the blades but it does a bang up job of cleaning the business ends of the blades.  Yeah, I could use the stuff in a can to clean my blades, but when ammonia can be gotten for a buck or two per gallon...why waste the beer money?
For blades I've cleaned, I can still read the TPI and other stuff...just need to look at them from a slight angle.

Barry do you have a zero clearance throat plate on your saw? Are you masking the cut lines? Tear out will occur as the blade exits the cut, therefor if you plan on running a rabbet cut to half lap the door, you'll want that face down on your saw table, as any tear out will be routed away.

One thing I have almost always done (now this is more for doors and such, but..) I cut the piece and leave a little, even if i scribe/tape/use a good blade, etc. Then I just carefully use my belt sander to smooth up to the line. Just a thought, it is a little more work, but, what the heck.

What type of blade were you using Oldman? My suggestion is to use a 80 tooth thin kerf carbide blade or the less expensive 200 tooth steel blade. in either case apply tape to the underside of the cut to help eliminate tear out.

Barry, I do a couple of things as a novice.  I just cut some birch plywood with a plywood blade that is also a thin kerf and had no tear out.  Another thing I do is ensure that my finish side is one that the rotation of the blade cuts into.  (If using a table saw, then turn the finish side up.)  The masking tape works well as does a box cutter making a score line.  When I finished I had some small stringy fibers dangling and just bumped some 300 grit sandpaper over the edges. 

If trying to make both sides finish, then the tape works well on the exit side, also.  And, you certainly wish to use a zero clearance throat plate.  Even making the cut line on the exit side of the plywood keeps the tearout to a minimum. 

The blade needs to be clean and well sharpened.  A slow feed helps.  Just my 2 cents worth.

Oh, those blades cleaned in ammonia, one of two tricks will work.  You can mark a piece of tape with your blade information before the bath or good piece of tape over the data before the bath to protect the stamp.  I have also used a sharpie pen to put back my information.  It also wears off from use, but a Sharpie is ever present in my apron.  Hope to see pics of your project.

Some of these suggestions I was using. Some not. What I have done so far is purchase a 80T thin kerf blade for the table saw. What I knew better and had forgot was Dewey's suggestion for the zero clearance throat plate. Seems like our Magazine had an article on making your own throat plates from thin stock and gradually raising your blade as it cut threw the stock thus giving you a zero clearance. Also the positioning of the ply. up or down for a tear out free cut. Thanks for the reminders my family of friends.

Posted By Oldman on 09-09-2010 08:00 AM
Some of these suggestions I was using. Some not. What I have done so far is purchase a 80T thin kerf blade for the table saw. What I knew better and had forgot was Dewey's suggestion for the zero clearance throat plate. Seems like our Magazine had an article on making your own throat plates from thin stock and gradually raising your blade as it cut threw the stock thus giving you a zero clearance. Also the positioning of the ply. up or down for a tear out free cut. Thanks for the reminders my family of friends.

Barry, you have often snapped us all back to reality when CRS kicks in for us, we're just returning the favour!  (I put that "u" in there for Craig's entertainment) 

Barry, I have also seen and read of making a Zero Clearance throat the exact same description as you posted.  One other trick that I have used in the past is to have a piece of scrap plywood between your desired stock and the table.   Many years ago, I read that if you put a piece of scrap plywood underneath your stock and the table saw, the splinters were greatly reduced.  I prefer the throat change and the tape along with an excellent blade with as many teeth as you can get.  Slower, but works very well.  Glad you are on your way. 

How many times have we said(after the cut) Oh Damn how could I have forgotten that ?

Posted By Horace Puckey on 09-09-2010 11:43 PM
How many times have we said(after the cut) Oh Damn how could I have forgotten that ?

Before I answer that, I want to know if I'll be protected under the statute of limitations.

Barry,

One more technique not yet mentioned:

I recently saw this on some web site, but I am not sure which one.  (maybe Fine Woodworking or a similar one)  It is something that I've heard of years ago but never have done enough fancy woodworking to actually remember to try.

When making a cut, set it up very carefully with only about 1/16" of blade showing.  In effect you are using the tablesaw to make the scoring cut on the underside like the knife-blade type cut that some people have advocated to cut the surface fibers.  Then you raise the blade to 'normal' height and make the full cut along the same path.

If you try this, please post back and tell us what you think.  Thanks, in advance.

Bob, I do something similar any time I am routing a dado. I set the bit to just scratch the surface, make one pass, then reset to a 1/8" depth per pass, I have practically no feathering at all along the dado cut.

Bob H. I vaguely remember that trick also. Did someone maybe post that suggestion here on the OLD forums. I'll try it on some scrap first. Sounds like a good idea to me. Like making repetitive cuts at progressively deeper settings with a router. Makes me wonder do you run it down the table top cutting a small depth about 1/16" or maybe 1/8" then flip it over and do another one so both sides are cut below the Birch laminate on the plywood.
I'll post my test results for those interested.

Posted By Oldman on 09-10-2010 09:39 AM
Bob H. I vaguely remember that trick also. Did someone maybe post that suggestion here on the OLD forums. I'll try it on some scrap first. Sounds like a good idea to me. Like making repetitive cuts at progressively deeper settings with a router. Makes me wonder do you run it down the table top cutting a small depth about 1/16" or maybe 1/8" then flip it over and do another one so both sides are cut below the Birch laminate on the plywood.
I'll post my test results for those interested.

There shouldn't be reason to flip since tear out happens as the blade exits, unless you are using a dull blade, then you may get some feathering on the top side.  Just score all the lines first to save having to raise and lower the blade for each pc. individually.