Why resaw?

[drumpriest]

I admit that I am lucky, I have a semi-local friend of the family lumber yard with a cabinet shop attached. They do quite a few things for me on the cheap and/or free. But the question here relates to the uses of resawing with a band saw. Also, why get a band saw with a resaw that is wider than your jointer? Don't you have to joint a face, then plane the opposing face after resawing? Unless you are doing veneers, then use a drum sander, which is pretty crazy expensive a tool.

I can see "resaw" for cutting out integral tenons, and for milling rough lumber, but again, most people (I'd assume) only have a 6" jointer, so why have more than a 6" resaw?

Thanks in advance to all of those who respond to my stupid questions.

[LCHIEN]

I think many people have a 12+" thickness planer. That'll take care of the resaw from one of those riser-enabled 14" bandsaws or a 20" bandsaw.
If you resawed it right, both sides should be more or less flat and just in need of cleanup rather than the kind of planing you do on a jointer.

[Ken Massingale]

I resaw often to get bookmatched panels. Then, as Loring said, run the sawed surface through the planer. The board was already milled on both sides and surfaces, so no jointing is needed.
ken

[jnesmith]

It also allows you to make better use of thicker stock. I had some 2" quited maple, and resawed it to make a couple of 3/4" drawer fronts.

[jnesmith]

P.S.

I forgot to show you my high tech resaw fence. Patent pending:

[Brian G]

John,

Where can I find plans for that?

[jnesmith]

quote:Originally posted by Knuckles

John,

Where can I find plans for that?

I have a CAD file if you want it.

[crokett]

John,

I assume the dowel is what the stock rides against, but doesn't that create a pivot point such that it is difficult to cut in a straight line and hence get a flat resaw? I must be missing something.

[jnesmith]

quote:Originally posted by crokett

John,

I assume the dowel is what the stock rides against, but doesn't that create a pivot point such that it is difficult to cut in a straight line and hence get a flat resaw? I must be missing something.

David: I'm new to resawing, and bandsaws in general. I'll try to explain my understanding of it.

You can use traditional rip fence for resawing, but you need to be able to adjust it to accomodate blade drift. Mine isn't adjustable. The other option is a single point fence. The dowel is set to the width I want. The pivot point allows you to make minor adjustments to the feed angle, to keep the blade tracking down a scribed line. In my limited experience, it works very well.

Some Aftermarket fences have a similar attachment.



I think there are situations where one type of fence is better than the other, but I don't know what they are.

Hope that helps.

[crokett]

Hmmm... ok. I just figured if you have a fence and you are feeding stock through the saw against the fence your cut should be nice and straight. My tablesaw doesn't drift. I think I am missing something here again.

[jnesmith]

David: TS blades don't cause drift, but BS blades often do. The drift varies from blade to blade. I once read an explanation of why, but I don't remember the reason.

Maybe someone more experienced with bandsaws and resawing can explain.

[germdoc]

Makes me think of a joke--I used to be a good bandsaw blade 'til I drifted...

Re' Ken's comments--if you mill your own wood, then you would still have to joint one face, and very few people can joint greater than 8". I am thinking about a bandsaw at some point and wondering if I can get by with a 12" Jet, which will resaw 6" but won't accept a riser block.

[Ken Massingale]

Jeff,
yeah, I posted before I thought enough on your question. Owe you a brew/coffee.
ken