First go at resawing - a couple of questions.

[chaoticbob]

I have some bits of 230mm wide by 27mm thick sapele which I'm hoping to reduce to 6mm boards to make a box. I have a Record 350S bandsaw, so not big enough to make a 230mm cut. So first question is: what depth of cut is realistic for a machine of this size in hardwood? I assume Record's claim (230mm actually) is exaggerated as these things usually are.
Second Q is about a suitable blade. I had the machine tuned up to cut really nicely with a 3/8"(Tuffsaws) blade but when I fitted a 3/4" 3TPI (possibly the Record one supplied with the machine, not sure) and had a test go cutting a slice off 6" pine it wandered horribly. I'm pretty sure that the problem is with the blade. I see that Tuffsaws have a new line (SuperTuff Fastcut), maybe that's what I want, but I'm a bit at sea with this so any advice would be welcome.
Robin

 

[Trevanion]

I had the machine tuned up to cut really nicely with a 3/8"(Tuffsaws) blade but when I fitted a 3/4" 3TPI (possibly the Record one supplied with the machine, not sure) and had a test go cutting a slice off 6" pine it wandered horribly.

A quality blade makes a hell of a difference! When I converted to Tuff saws from Hamilton Beverstock I noticed a massive difference in cut speed and overall performance of the machine. Went from being barely able to cut 3" softwoods without bogging the saw down, to cutting 6" Ash and Oak no problem. Old blades used to wander like crazy and I was never trusting of the fence because of it, With the Tuff saw blades they've never wandered unless they are incredibly dull. I wish I converted sooner as the Hamilton Beverstock blades were costing me a lot more than the Tuff saw ones are now, and I just assumed my machine was the problem and that it was underpowered but it was the blades. I wouldn't be surprised if your Record could do the 230mm with a proper Tuff Saws blade and not a junky one.

I suspect you'd get more cutting power and speed out of a Tuff Saws Sabrecut blade but it would be quite a wide and rough cut and you'd perhaps only get 2 pieces out of the 1 board, You might be able to scrape three pieces with a Fastcut as the set on the blade is slightly narrower and would give you a little more wriggle room to make the most out of your board.

 

[memzey]

I’ve only resawn boards a couple of times but the thing I mind out for most isn’t the material lost by the kerf of the blade, it’s the reaction of the wood once it’s been cut. If your board isn’t dry, straight grained and stable then you might well end up with stock too warped to be useful. I’m not suggesting that this will definitely happen in your case but I would be mindful if I were you.

 

[Robbo3]

Don't bind the blade. It certainly works for him but not sure it works with a conventional fence.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k-r5utmU2Q

 

[sunnybob]

I have an axminster 350 bandsaw. I have cut the full height (table top to lower guide bearing) several times.
I use tuffsaws blades (why wouldnt I?).
But I have never had a 3/4" blade, it would a hell of a job getting enough tension on that. I use 3/8" and at the most 1/2" blades.
But the overwhelming secret to cutting tall boards is speed of feed. Go VERY slowly. No, youre still going too fast. I said go S.L.O.W.L.Y.
Let the teeth cut, let the sawdust clear. Steady and slow as a snail on holiday.
You will easily get two boards from that thickness, which you can then plane to finished size but not sure if three would be possible.

 

[Jacob]

Startrite 352
230mm not something I'd attempt other than with a brand new blade but then expect it to go off quite quickly. So deep 'resawing' with a small bandsaw is only for emergencies.
I'd start the cut over the top of a table saw, both sides as deep as you can go. Then just take out the middle with a bandsaw - or a hand saw even. The slots act as guides.

 

[Racers]

Are you making a 230mm wide box?

If you aren’t rip the stock to the right width and then resaw it.

Pete

+99 for Tuffsaws blades.

 

[Glynne]

I have an axminster 350 bandsaw. I have cut the full height (table top to lower guide bearing) several times.
I use tuffsaws blades (why wouldnt I?).
But I have never had a 3/4" blade, it would a hell of a job getting enough tension on that. I use 3/8" and at the most 1/2" blades.
But the overwhelming secret to cutting tall boards is speed of feed. Go VERY slowly. No, youre still going too fast. I said go S.L.O.W.L.Y.
Let the teeth cut, let the sawdust clear. Steady and slow as a snail on holiday.
You will easily get two boards from that thickness, which you can then plane to finished size but not sure if three would be possible.

I have a Record 350S bandsaw and would echo Sunnybob’s comments. I have a 3/4” blade but can’t get sufficient tension on it so use a 1/2” 3-4tpi variblade from Tuffsaws. I also use a resaw post or freehand rather than use the fence as I find some of the more figured timbers wander. I can’t emphasis about going slowly enough, as in really really slowly. It makes a huge difference.

 

[custard]

Bob, leaving aside the re-sawing, making a 230mm tall box from 6mm thick timber is a bit questionable. That's quite a large box so personally I'd be thinking about 12 or even 15mm thick sides.

If everything goes to plan (and it's a big "if") you might just get two 9 or 10mm thick boards from a 27mm thick donor board. But it's rare for things to go that well, especially if the donor board is flat sawn rather than quarter sawn. To be honest the amount of cupping you usually get with deep ripping means the odds are against your plan coming off.

The better bet in my opinion would be to plane your boards down to final thickness.

It's critical that you take equal cuts from both faces and spread the job over two or three stages, with at least 24 hours between each stage, when the board is left in stick to breathe and stabilise. Basically that's how I produce solid timber stock for 9-12mm drawer sides, which have to remain flat or else the drawer will bind.

At the end of the day a lot of home woodworkers might be better off just sourcing thinner stock in the first place. Timberline offer a good range and they also provide a postal service,

http://www.exotichardwoods.co.uk/Woods_ ... xmaker.asp

 

[chaoticbob]

Thanks for replies - much to think about. This project arose when my daughter asked me if I could make a box to house three trays of pastel crayons she's bought, the cardboard box they were supplied in having given up the ghost. She would probably have been happy with something knocked up in ply, but then I remembered that I had some sapele and thought I might make something more aesthetically pleasing and learn some stuff about wood along the way. The thing I want to make isn't a hollow box - from the front it would look like this (rough sketch, but approximately to scale):

The shelves would be about 190mm deep. If I'm on a hiding to nothing trying to make this structurally sound at 6mm, I'll think again. But if it can be done I'll reconcile myself to getting two pieces from my boards, follow Jacob's advice and partially split the boards with a tablesaw then band or hand saw.

Thanks for you warnings about about wood moving after resizing Custard. I'm going to try to get two pieces from the bits I have - I expect it'll go wrong, but I'll experience it for myself and that will give me a 'feeling' which is what I have to do I think. Thanks also for the link to Timberline. Might well be useful!
Robin.

 

[deema]

Bandsaws don’t need to have big beefy motors, and apart from industrial Resaws they are all fairly modest. Looking at the spec of the 350, the motor should have enough guts for the task.

The ability of the Bandsaw to tension the blade is the next major consideration. Typically a modern Bandsaw can’t fully tension the largest blade it claims to take. Often it’s capacity runs out at c1/4” less than is claimed, so potentially you can fully tension a 1/2” blade.

A 1/2” 3tpi blade should be capable of making the cut if the Bandsaw is setup properly. Alex Snograss has a really good uTube video on how to do it properly.

The blade won’t blunt quickly when used in any particular Bandsaw unless you overheat it. If it’s setup properly and the stuff isn’t forced into the blade it will cut numerous meters of stuff before starting to go off. Tuff saws produce good blades as do others.

One thing I’ve found that I need to do with all my blades when I first buy them is check the set of the teeth. I often find that a handful of teeth on each blade has too much set and needs adjusting. This changes two things, firstly the finished cut is significantly less ‘raggy’ and secondly it reduces blade wander massively. The teeth with the large set twist the blade when they hit the wood, and push the blade to the opposite side. They also I believe push the blade backwards and suddenly increase the pressure on the blade allowing it to flex further over and drift more.

To check the set is really easy. A nice thin piece of wood has a cut made in it to the depth of the blade and then pulled out of the blade. With the machine stopped and power removed I put the wood back into the blade and push it so it touches one side of the blade and clamp it in place. Now I turn the top wheel by hand watching and feeling as each tooth passes through the wood. (I use a sharpie to mark the first tooth) it’s fairly easy to turn the wheel, and you will see and feel any teeth with a large set. I use a set of plyers to crimp back any offending teeth. It only takes a few minutes to do, but it never ceases to amaze me how far out the odd tooth is. I have not yet had a blade from any manufacturer that didn’t benefit from the set being checked and adjusted.

If it were me I’d give it a go!

 

[will1983]

Cheers for that nugget of knowledge Deema, having never owned a bandsaw, the set of individual teeth is not something I had considered.

Will

 

[chaoticbob]

Thanks for advice. I had some trial goes slicing 10mm pieces off 2x6 CLS , not good at first but after following the Snodgrass bandsaw tuning method I could get 600mm lengths with around 0.3mm deviation in thickness in 10mm slices . Not veneer territory I guess, but good enough for what I want to do. Weirdly when the blade hit a knot it wandered towards the centre of the knot - I'd have thought it would try to avoid it? Much to learn!
Robin.

 

[sunnybob]

Think of the blade as being very wide. Now think of the very wide blade going through the wood, steady and smooth. Suddenly the blade comes across a thick knot on one side of it. The extra resistance on that side makes that side slow down. The blade now has no resistance on the other side, so the blade turns towards the resistance. Same as a car that only has brakes on one side.

 

[chaoticbob]

Thanks, that makes sense, and also answers another question - I had read that wander can be caused by uneven blade set, but couldn't visualise which way it would go. By this reasoning the blade will 'steer' towards the side with the greater set.
Robin.

 

[sunnybob]

the blade will turn to the side with the most resistance, be that a knot or badly set teeth, or one side of the blades teeth worn through being squeezed through a wrongly set bearing guide.

It will also wander if being pushed through the wood too fast, not allowing the teeth to cut or the gullets to clear the sawdust.

And we havent even started on if the fence is not parallel to the blade! :shock: :shock: