SCMS Technique?

Hello,

I have a Makita 10" SCMS that I've used a bit for both rough cutting 2 X 4s,
as well as for finer cuts on better grade wood. It's chronologically old,
but hasn't had much use and has the original blade that came with it.

Recently, I had the need to cut a 36" long piece of 1 X 8 poplar down to
30". My first cut was to clean up one end, so it was only about 1/4" or so.
BTW, I've been amazed by how easy it is to practically slice off pieces of
wood with this saw. In any case, the cut was nice and clean.

For my next cut, I cut off about 5 or so inches, again with a nice clean
edge. The reason for doing so was to gradually trim the board to the
required 30" length. I figured that it would be better to trim a small piece
from the end of the board rather than one that was around 6".

The last cut is what is puzzling me. When I cut off the last small piece to
bring the board to final dimension, I noticed that the cut didn't come out
clean. There was a distinct burn mark left by the blade. I should mention
that my technique has been to pull the saw all the way back, start it with
the blade raised, drop it down and push it through the cut. I also let the
saw stop in the cut before raising the saw again. I've done this for all the
cuts that I've done with the saw. Am I using the wrong technique here? My
understanding is that this is the safest way to make a cut with the saw. Am
I wrong about this?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance to those who
post a reply to the group.

Peter.