Re-sawing tutorial

[Cutting Cathy]

I really appreciated Trout's post on adjusting his band saw!!! If anyone could make a tutorial on re-sawing wood (with pictures for dummies like me!!) I would be forever grateful!!! I have that new band saw sitting out in the shop and have not used it yet!!! I even bought a new rip fence to go with it!! It's the fear of the unknown!! So if anyone can help..... Thanks so much!!

Cathy in NE

[GrayBeard Phil]

Cathy:

I find that a re-sawing tutorial hard to compose since there are several things that could go wrong. I am going to try to list some things and maybe someone else can write up a tutorial.

1- Re-sawing on a band saw will not leave the walls of the kerf in a 'ready to finish' state. Almost everyone who re-saws on their own uses either a jointer or surface planner to get rid of the "ripples" left on the kerf walls. In a pinch a belt sander could be used, but the surface will not be smooth.

2- While there are many causes of the rough ripple effect on the wood from resawing on a band saw. One of the reasons is blade drift and fence setting. Just as with scroll saw blades, each blade has it's own drift setting. You need to adjust the fence to feed the wood at this drift angle that the blade wants to use. This fence angle setting will never, ever, be parallel to the miter gage slot. My favorite re-saw blade's fence setting is almost 15 degrees away from parallel to the miter gage slot.

3- YOU MUST USE A BLADE DESIGNED FOR RE-SAWING (emphasis intended) if you are re-sawing thru more than 3 or 4 inches of wood. There are many very good re-saw blades out there, but they all use the deep gullets, wide teeth spacing and specific tooth hook angle for re-sawing.

4- You will be amazed by the quantity of saw dust you will have to deal with. Re-sawing creates a lot of saw dust that must be removed from the kerf area. Make a plan for dealing with this.

5- Safety note: I re-emphasize, never back up the wood stock while the motor is running. Once a cut has started, don't back the wood out. We do this all the time with our scroll saws, but never, never do it on a band saw with the motor running.

You will love the freedom to select your own thickness of wood from the re-sawing. No more begging suppliers for that 'just-what-I-need' 5/8 inch thick piece of dark walnut.

Phil

[Trout]

everything Phil said about the blade drift is true.....

here is a picture of the blade drift I get when using a miter gauge...



you have to set the miter gauge up to compensate for the drift.
it's much easier to eye ball the line to get a straight cut....

as for your fence guide for your band saw...
did you get a little 1/2 round metal dowel looking thing to mount on your fence?
the guy at WoodCrafters showed us this tip that you can make to put on a fence that would help compensate for blade drift when re-sawing thicker wood..



you use it to run the wood on...



these are just pictures to help demonstrate my point....

Trout

[MikeDingas]

Guys, thanks for the tips. I've always had poor results in trying to resaw on my 9" saw and thought it was just because the saw was inexpensive. I didn't realize special blades were used but I do remember seeing a jig that served the same purpose as that block Trout made. I just may have to try resawing once again!

[Pop]

Yes to all the tips posted when it comes to resawing! It has many benefits most of which is less wasted lumber. I hated to loose so much stock when I was making projects using 3/8" thick stock and planing down 1" or 3/4" piece of wood to do so. I made this re-saw guide for my bandsaw to make it a bit easier. I think I had sent this to Trout when he first got his bandsaw. It's suggested when you use the resaw guides that you have the point of the guide no more than 1/8" in front of the blade teeth. I find this works when adjusting for blade drift.

[Cutting Cathy]

Oh my goodness!!! So much information to absorb on re-sawing!!! Trout, I worked late tonight and didn't have time to get out to my shop. I will check tomorrow and see what I got with the fence. I am truly amazed at the amount of knowledge there is on this forum and the willingness to share that with all of us. You guys are the best. I'll get back to you on the fence.

Cathy in NE

[Old Forester]

Thanks, Cathy for this great question and to all of you for the discussion and pictures. I have had a bandsaw for many years but never tried resawing because of all the problems I've heard about. I think I will go ahead and try it now. I just happen to have some boards that need to be resawn so I don't lose so much would from planing them.

[Trout]

3 day's ago I didn't know any of this eather.....

Trout

[Trout]

the picture I posted of my miter cut with the blade drift, I was using a 1/4 inch fine blade on the band saw...

I changed the blade to 3/8 course and it took the blade drift away and now I'm getting miter cuts right on the line and that goes for using the fence gauge too.

right now the adjustment on my saw are perfect!
how's this for an 1/8 inch piece of poplar....



I need to get off this computer and start working on my wine rack...
I'm at a point where I need some nice clean and straight cuts....

it's as easy as that Cathy...

Trout

[Cutting Cathy]

Man Trout you make that look so easy!!! Unbelievable how straight that cut is!! I'm sorry I didn't get out to the shop again tonight!!! Having some challenging days with my job lately!! Will try again tomorrow night!!!!

Cathy in NE