Ripping Guide Steadies Rough-Edged Stock

To start, cut the 1¹⁄₂ x3¹⁄₂ x10" ripping guide from a piece of smooth hardwood, such as maple. Then, put a dado blade in your tablesaw, tilt it to 20°, and rip the angled rabbet as shown in the drawing at top. Finish the guide by chiseling or sanding a slight bevel on the infeed end of the rabbet. This prevents the guide from snagging on splinters or rough edges of the stock.

To use the ripping guide, hold the rabbet against the rough edge of the board on the left side of the blade and about 4" behind the leading edge of the blade, as shown in the drawing at top. Push the workpiece snugly against the fence and feed the wood into the blade. Keep the ripping guide and your hand stationary as you feed the workpiece into the saw blade.
—Allen Ulrich, McClure, Ohio