how to surface wood

I would like to know the best way to surface wood. Such as when you goto a lumber yard and by 4/4 mahogany. I want to make pieces that are 1/4 in thick. I thought that a band saw would do the job except the saws I have seen only have about 5-6 in. space between table and the blade housing. Makes it hard to cut a 8 in wide piece so that it is 1/4 in thick and 8 in. wide. Thanks for any help.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

You need to either buy a VERY expensive saw, or buy one of the regular 14' saws and get a 'riser' for it....it doubles the depth of the cut.

[3_M]

Like Hi_Ho_Sliver is saying, get a band saw with a riser block. Your band saw is most likely set up for a riser block already. You need a planer to make the right tkickness and to get a smooth surface.

Mike M

shaun

to get the right thickness you do need a planer. there is an alternative if you have a router with a straight bit. build a jig a little larger than the width of the board and afix the router to a base you can slide up and down the length of the jig. to get the thickness you want just adjust the router bit to the height you need and make as many passes as you need to get the thickness you want. for safety reasons clamp the board so it doesn't move on you and secondly make small passes until you get the thickness you need. SAFETY, SAFETY

[jttheclockman]

Like it has been mentioned a bandsaw is the ideal tool to thin the 4/4 lumber down to close to 1/4'. This needs to be a bandsaw that is able to accept a riser block kit which will allow you to cut 12' boards. Then you can surface plane them to exact thickness needed with a planer but what I like to use because it does two steps in one is to use a drum sander. I have a 16-32 performax drum sander and can sand to fial thickness. This is the problem when buying rough sawn lumber you need various tools and machinery to achieve the dimentions you are looking for and you need the space to store these tools. But there is no more enjoyable hobby then woodworking. You get to see the results right away. Good Luck!!

Just one other note if you own a tablesaw you can resaw up to 6' on it to the desired thickness. The disadvantage here is the kerf wastes alot of wood even if you use a thin 1/8' blade.

You'd save alot of money buying the lumber in the thickness you need unless you plan on doing this alot.

[jttheclockman]

You may be able to save money initally without buying the tools but where is the fun in that. You get a chance to play with the big boys toys. You can also build other things not just resaw wood. Like said depends on how much you want to get involved in this for this gets addictive so you have been warned. I know because I am now looking into the turning end of woodworking and the expense of new tools.