You can get very different end results when cutting a large hard wood application with and without shims. In a first attempt, we tried cutting a nearly 4’ cross section long without shims behind the cut. The blade ended up getting pinched by the wood and it cut out of square.
In our second attempt, we drove shims in behind the cut to ensure the material couldn’t pinch down on the blade. The result was a successful cut with a nice, smooth finish.
The use of shims is not needed in all cutting applications, but is something to keep in mind, especially in larger pieces of wood. Watch here!