Re-sawing a board into thin, pliable pieces allows you to create curved shapes by bending and gluing the pieces around a form-a process called “Bent lamination.” Marking the board with the cabinetmaker’s triangle allows you to reassemble the thin pieces as they came from the board, so the lamination closely resembles a single piece of bent wood. Partially re-sawing a board on your table saw makes re-sawing with your band saw easier, because the blade has less to cut and the saw kerfs keep it from wandering. It’s a great method to use if your band saw bogs down during full-width re-sawing, and in many cases, it can save time by allowing you to re-saw without installing a re-saw blade.
Its “One size fits all” blade provided usable radiused cuts, but was far from ready for the resawing work that I now had planned for it. The first step is giving your bandsaw a good tune-up to set the table perpendicular to the blade, get peak performance from the guides, and ensure the blade tracks true. “With your saw well-tuned, turn to the blade. Resawing wide boards requires a blade that cuts evenly throughout the stock’s thickness while evacuating large amounts of sawdust. The wider the blade, the straighter the cut, so use the widest blade your bandsaw can handle. Most saws accept at least a 1⁄2”-wide blade, and many even wider. Typically, a wide 3-tooth-per-inch blade provides the perfect blend of aggressive yet smooth cut and sawdust evacuation that resawing requires. “If there is a bow or belly in the cut, the problem could be insufficient blade tension. Many bandsaws’ built-in tension gauges are less than accurate. A properly tensioned blade should deflect no more than 1⁄4” when pressed in the middle, below. A too-rapid feed speed, using a narrow blade with too many teeth, or a dull blade can also cause this bow in the cut. If a sharp blade, well-set guides, and proper feed speed don’t fix the problem, adjusting the tilt of the upper wheel so the blade runs on the center of the wheels may bring relief.
I’ve had perfectly acceptable results resawing with bimetal blades and great results resawing with silicone-carbide, low-tension blades. Drift varies from blade to blade, so follow this simple setup procedure every time you change blades. Because bearings can be used in contact with the blade, they can help the blade run straighter, resulting in less drift.
The required number of TPI fluctuates with the thickness of material in use and can vary from 1 to 32 TPI. You must choose your blade for resawing basing on TPI. For cutting large wood planks or resawing, the TPI must consist of 2 to 3 with a coarse tooth blade. The blade must be of very high quality, and able to move at a very fast pace to cut through the thick wood plank efficiently for resawing. To obtain such a straight cut for your resawing, you need the widest blade compatible with your bandsaw.
Bandsaw Resawing from the beginning: resawing is cutting a sawn plank of wood into thinner planks on a bandsaw. Thus the cut runs through the plank’s width, which distinguishes bandsaw resawing from ordinary bandsaw rip cuts where the blade runs through the stock’s thickness. Resawing on a bandsaw is easy; all you have to do is cut straight lines.
bandsaw to resaw wood Related Question:
What size bandsaw do I need for resawing?
To get started with resawing, I recommend a band saw of sufficient power and with a large depth of cut. Any motor smaller than 1hp and depth of cut less than 10″ will limit your effectiveness. (Some 14″ band saws have about a 6″ maximum cutso you’d be limited to a 12″ wide book-matched panel or less.)
How much horsepower do you need to resaw?
A 3/4 or 1 HP bandsaw is pefectly adequate for re-sawing stock at home….
What is resaw capacity on a bandsaw?
The resaw capacity is the maximum height (thickness) that can be cut. For the small shop furniture maker, go with 14″ as the minimum for a bandsaw, though 16″ is better. Those doing larger work might even want 18″ or 20″ machines. Just make sure you have a minimum resaw height of 12″ for versatility.
Can any bandsaw resaw?
Just about any bandsaw will do acceptable resawing. For example, all the cuts made in this story were done on an inexpensive, 14-in. bandsaw with a 3/4-hp motor. All we did to the saw was add a riser block to increase its capacity.
How thick of wood can a bandsaw cut?
Band saws are the undisputed champ when it comes to cutting curves and slicing through thick material. Many small band saws can slice though lumber a full four inches thick, and bigger saws handle six-inch cuts.
Why does my bandsaw burn the wood?
A majority of issues with wood burning is because of a dull saw blade. These blades may not be sharp enough to efficiently cut the wood, and thus create enough friction to heat and burn the wood. What is this? Dull blades make it more challenging to cut, which causes friction as you pass the wood through.
What size bandsaw is best?
For a hobbyist, a 12″-14″ bandsaw is the ideal size. This size saw will provide plenty of power and a good deal of resawing capability. A professional will be better served with an 18″ bandsaw for a larger resawing capability. Choosing a 14″ band saw would provide plenty of power in a smaller footprint.
How much power does a bandsaw need?
Most home-level models incorporate a 3/4 to 1 horsepower motor, whereas professional models will have larger motors with variable speeds. For woodworkers, the variable speed won’t really matter, as slower than max speeds should be incorporated when cutting metals and some hard plastics.
What does 14 mean on a bandsaw?
Rob Johnstone: Band saw sizes are derived from the diameter of the wheels in the saw. So a 14-inch band saw will have wheels that are 14-inches in diameter. There is another measure that indicates how wide a board you can resaw.
Can you resaw with a table saw?
When it’s time to resaw lumber for thin stock, a bandsaw usually comes to mind. But in many situations, such as preparing 1⁄ 4 “-thick stock for a project, you can do it on your tablesaw. Most 10″ tablesaws easily resaw boards up to 5 1⁄ 2 ” wide.
Why is it called resawing?
The reason for the different terms is that ripping cuts are all cuts along the grain but not all rip cuts are resawing. Resawing, as the term is used today, refers only to cutting a board across its thickness, i.e. sawing a thick board into two (or more) thinner boards.
What is the purpose of a resaw?
A resaw is a large band saw optimized for cutting timber along the grain to reduce larger sections into smaller sections or veneers. Resawing veneers requires a wide blade – commonly 2 to 3 inches (52–78 mm) – with a small kerf to minimize waste.
What is resaw wood?
Re-sawing, the process of cutting a board into thinner pieces of the same length and width, opens up a world of woodworking opportunities. Re-sawing allows you to create wide panels from narrow boards, thin pliable pieces for bent laminations, thin sheets of veneer, and even turn logs into lumber.
How big of a piece of wood can a 9 inch band saw cut?
There are several $99, 9 inch band saws on the market in my area (Ryobi, Skill). The are able to cut a thickness of 2 ½ inches.
What is resawing on a bandsaw?
Bandsaw Resawing from the beginning: resawing is cutting a sawn plank of wood into thinner planks on a bandsaw. Thus the cut runs through the plank’s width, which distinguishes bandsaw resawing from ordinary bandsaw rip cuts where the blade runs through the stock’s thickness.