Resawing

**Turaj** · 06-29-2006, 02:41 PM

Cane, I have done that a few times and I know of others who do it all the times. However, I much prefer to do it on the band saw.

If you go with the TS, resaw in several steps (perhaps 1" at a time) and don't cut all the way through. Leave about 1/8" in the centre and cut that with a hand saw (a lot safer!!). Also don't forget to use feather boards to support your work piece.

I am sure others can give you better directions.

**LCHIEN** · 06-29-2006, 02:46 PM

Originally posted by Cain

I'm wanting to save money by purchasing rough cut lumber and hone it to a workable size. Some of the wood I've been looking at is 8/4. Most of the projects I want to do call for 1/2" and 3/4" boards. Therefore, I'll need to do some resawing.

I've been looking for a used 14" bandsaw to be used for resawing. (I currently have a TP, DP, BT3100, and a CMS.) Aside from paying the sawyer to resaw the wood, is this my only option for resawing?

Let me know what you think about this: Assuming a 8/4 board is only 6" wide, I could theoretically cut it in half (thickness-wise) on the BT3100 by cutting one side, flipping it, and cutting the other. Then I could run it through the TP to get the correct thickness. Of course this will only work for wood that is 6-7" wide or less since the maximum cut on the BT3100 is around 3.5". I guess my concern is smoking the BT3100 motor by cutting hardwoods in this fashion.

Note that I understand that the kerf on the table saw blade is 1/8" so I'll be losing that when resawing on the table saw.

Thanks.

the BT3100 stock blade is a thin-kerf blade so the kerf is 3/32" or roughly .1" so it'll be less than the standad 1/8" but quite a bit more loss than with the BS which I think runs around .025" kerf??? (Someone correct me if I'm wrong, maybe it is .050?)

Making a lot of 3.5" deep rips is not the forte of the BT3100. I personally
would do your two passes, wait a few minutes, then do another, then wait again. It's not a heavy duty saw that can do one after another all day. This will limit the total number of boards you can do unless you can space them out over a period.

I'd also strongly consider getting a good quality ripping blade (generally 24-tooth), thin kerf, which will help some in ripping faster.

I'd have to say I would recommend a quality bandsaw as the preferred method of resawing.

**Cain** · 06-29-2006, 02:50 PM

Thanks for the comments. I still plan to get a bandsaw as my WWing experience grows, but I was trying to buy some time until I do so.

**Ken Massingale** · 06-29-2006, 03:08 PM

I resaw on my HF BS, but have used the tablesaw. For me, resawing on the TS has a huge pucker factor.
Keep your eyes open for the HF to go on sale and use a 10 or 20% coupon.
ken

**Cain** · 06-29-2006, 03:34 PM

http://www.rossauction.com/topics/06...ood_cutter.jpg

For a really cheap bandsaw, I've seen one of these in the local paper for cheap - like $100. I called the guy selling it and he said it's a "Tri-Star 14" wood cutting bandsaw." I did some internet searches and this picture is all that I found.

It'll probably be a little while - like X-mas - before I can justify dropping $500 or so on a good quality bandsaw.

Should I go ahead and pick the cheap one up if all I'm going to be doing on it is resawing?

**gary** · 06-29-2006, 04:01 PM

May I suggest you thinking is flawed? You'll pay more for 8/4 stock per board foot than you'll pay for 4/4 stock. Now it'd be different if you were going to bookmatch the pieces.

Anyway, there is no way I'd attempt this cut on any tablesaw. I don't consider it safe enough for ME. Some people may be able to do this but it's outside my own safety limits.

**LCHIEN** · 06-29-2006, 04:20 PM

Originally posted by Cain

http://www.rossauction.com/topics/06...ood_cutter.jpg

For a really cheap bandsaw, I've seen one of these in the local paper for cheap - like $100. I called the guy selling it and he said it's a "Tri-Star 14" wood cutting bandsaw." I did some internet searches and this picture is all that I found.

It'll probably be a little while - like X-mas - before I can justify dropping $500 or so on a good quality bandsaw.

Should I go ahead and pick the cheap one up if all I'm going to be doing on it is resawing?

There have been several posts in the last 6 months here about the new Craftsman band saws. They are Euro style (have the squareish/angled wheel housings instead of the rounded over ones like the Delta/HF/Ridgid) with welded framse instead of cast iron and seem to be available at sales prices and have larger resaw capacity. You might read up on them.

$299 3/4 HP 12" bandsaw saw with 7" resaw capacity 1/8 to 1/2" blades
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

Like I said, on sale it would be a better buy and have more resaw capcity than a 14" cast iron saw. These are pretty good quality saws.

**Jeffrey Schronce** · 06-29-2006, 05:08 PM

gary raises an excellent point. 8/4 is more per bf than 4/4. Do you have a special source than has 8/4 only or something?
If I had any real amount to do I would either do it on BS or visit sawyer. I doubt they would charge very much at all and it would be way safer than on TS.
Regardless of which BS you get make sure to get a good quality resaw blade.

**davidtu** · 06-29-2006, 06:25 PM

Originally posted by gary

May I suggest you thinking is flawed? You'll pay more for 8/4 stock per board foot than you'll pay for 4/4 stock. Now it'd be different if you were going to bookmatch the pieces.

Anyway, there is no way I'd attempt this cut on any tablesaw. I don't consider it safe enough for ME. Some people may be able to do this but it's outside my own safety limits.

Since this is the getting started forum, I guess I'll ask a couple of newbie questions...
1) exactly why is it a dangerous cut to do one side and then the other? what could happen? is it a kickback issue?

2) what does bookmatch mean? Is that to do with matching grains for a given piece?

thanks!

**dlminehart** · 06-29-2006, 06:41 PM

Bookmatch refers to the fact that when you cut a piece of wood down the middle, the two pieces share the same grain pattern where the cut was made. You can then lay them side by side, as if the cut had been the gap between two pages in a book. Each piece ("page") will be symmetrical to the other, which gives a pleasing effect known as "bookmatch".

**gary** · 06-29-2006, 07:17 PM

Originally posted by davidtu

Since this is the getting started forum, I guess I'll ask a couple of newbie questions...
1) exactly why is it a dangerous cut to do one side and then the other? what could happen? is it a kickback issue?

I see someone answered your other question so I'll address this one with my hard learned lessons. I'm sure some people can manage this cuts fine but I've already lost a fingertip doing this exact thing and it kicked back on me; don't know how my finger got into the blade. So I am not adventuresome anymore; I learned the hard way to use the BEST (ie safest) tool for the job or I don't do it. I use a bandsaw for this operation now.

1) The cut can't be made without the guard in place. There will be alot of blade exposed and it's asking for big trouble. Large amount of exposed blades contacting flesh results in amputations.
2) Without the stock guard; you don't have a splitter either. Any stress in the board could cause it to bind on the blade and kickback. A Sharkguard reduces this risk somewhat but you'll not be able to use the top piece that keeps the board down.
3) You'd need a tall fence to hold the board at 90° Stresses in the board can occur between the fence and the board resulting in kickback. I think this is what happened to me.

It's up to you; I'd like to keep my remaining 9.9 fingers intact. I'd like you to not have to learn this lesson the hard way like I did. It's no fun walking around with your hand on top of your head for 3 weeks because the increase in blood pressure holding it below that hurts bad!

**drumpriest** · 06-29-2006, 07:57 PM

I have the 14" craftsman, and love it thus far. It's done a fine job for me, including resawing some rock maple at about 7". These saws are quality tools.

I personally agree with Gary, this isn't a cut that I'd do on a table saw. Not that others wouldn't, and with success. I just wouldn't take the risk, it's not the kind of cut that I'd be comfortable doing on a TS.

**dwolsten** · 06-29-2006, 08:36 PM

I'm going to echo this post. Why are you wanting to buy 8/4 lumber? 4/4 is always cheaper per board-foot, so you'd just have to run it through the planer a little to get it to the correct thickness. Do you have some horrendous lack of decent hardwood suppliers in your area? I've never heard of a hardwood supplier that only carried 8/4; most of the stock I've seen was 4/4 or even 6/4. The only reason you should ever spend the extra money on 8/4 is because your project demands that thickness. Even then, you can frequently get away with laminating two thinner pieces, and this will resist warping more than a single, solid piece.

**LCHIEN** · 06-29-2006, 09:09 PM

Why this particular rip is bad

Well just picture it.

First you rip halfway through or 3+ inches. Have to have the guard off since its a non thru cut. Not too bad.
Now you make the other rip - it's taller than the blade still so still have to have the guard off.
You're pushing this tall piece through, maybe 6 feet of it.
Now you get to the end...
You have a lot of blade that will be exposed. How do you push the end of this thru the saw...
What happens when the last bit gets cut...

It all gets kind of haphazard. The big, wide piece will fall off and may hit the exposed blade as it does. You'll try to catch it so it won't get screwed up... You push the corner thru as it finishes up the blade ther'll be three inches of blade sticking out front as the last piece gets cut because the
blade is so far up. If you use a push stick the push stick is going to hit the blade.

Resawing

Resawing

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