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The more time I spend at my saw, the more things pop up that make the task easier or quicker. Most of you veterans probably take these for granted but some of the newbies or people who just haven't been scrolling that long, may find these useful. So, please don't say DUH!
I've only had my Dewalt for a couple weeks or so. One thing that was annoying me was the more times that I unclamp and reclamp the blade, the more of a bend I get in it at the clamp area. This is real aggravating when trying to thread the blade thru a starter hole barely larger than than the blade. That kink really gets tough to push thru. I finally realized that I was clamping it too tight. I recall someone mentioning at one time that the blade does not need to be clamped all that tight. How right they were. Just snug it up and the blade will stay straighter much longer.
Another thing I've been doing since I started this silly habit, is kicking out the small pieces of wood with the blade. There is nothing wrong with that, if you do it right. I've been doing it with the front of the blade. The only problem with this is if it pops out quicker than expected, the blade may hit a spot you don't want it to. I finally realized that using the back of the blade is not only safer, it actually works just as good if not better.
One last thing. When the blade finishes the cut, it rarely if ever meets the start of the cut perfectly. I used to always use a needle file to smooth out the minor ridges, afterwards. Awhile ago, I figured out you can smooth out the hump much quicker by running the blade along the ridges before disconnecting the blade.
Like I said, some of you are going to think DUH but I hope others will find this info helpful.
I've only had my Dewalt for a couple weeks or so. One thing that was annoying me was the more times that I unclamp and reclamp the blade, the more of a bend I get in it at the clamp area. This is real aggravating when trying to thread the blade thru a starter hole barely larger than than the blade. That kink really gets tough to push thru. I finally realized that I was clamping it too tight. I recall someone mentioning at one time that the blade does not need to be clamped all that tight. How right they were. Just snug it up and the blade will stay straighter much longer.
Another thing I've been doing since I started this silly habit, is kicking out the small pieces of wood with the blade. There is nothing wrong with that, if you do it right. I've been doing it with the front of the blade. The only problem with this is if it pops out quicker than expected, the blade may hit a spot you don't want it to. I finally realized that using the back of the blade is not only safer, it actually works just as good if not better.
One last thing. When the blade finishes the cut, it rarely if ever meets the start of the cut perfectly. I used to always use a needle file to smooth out the minor ridges, afterwards. Awhile ago, I figured out you can smooth out the hump much quicker by running the blade along the ridges before disconnecting the blade.
Like I said, some of you are going to think DUH but I hope others will find this info helpful.
However, you are right regarding kicking out the cut piece. You do have to use discretion. I should have explained a bit better. In most cases I "kick", but in the case of a highly sensitive area, use extreme caution. Thickness of the wood can also be a factor. The thinner the wood, the more caution must be used. Thanks for pointing this out Dale. Now go bandage your tongue. 
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