Thinking of a bandsaw

[jadings]

Hello everyone,
My father-in-law and I have been cutting up blown down and dead trees for about a year and a half now. The guy that cuts it into lumber tells me that if we cut it into less than 1 inch boards it will warp out of control. With that said, I would like to get a bandsaw that has a resaw capacity of around 12 inches. I do alot of portraits and larger projects. I have gotten some good advice here in the pasand hope to gather some good information about bandsaws.

If anyone is interested my web site is:

www.woodenportraits.com

Thanks

John

[CanadianScroller]

Laguna makes an awesome saw for resawing logs. They even have a special hooked tooth blade for doing it
I have a dear friend of mine who has one. He resaws all my wood for me.

[jttheclockman]

John

Yes Laguna is like the cadillac of bandsaws but you can geta good bandsaw for half the price. Look at any of the 14" models and add a 6" riser and get yourself some good blades. Delta, Jet and Grizzly make a very good saw. You want a saw with at least a 1HP motor For blades I use a 3/4" carbide tooth Lennox. Little expensive but for me well worth it because I resaw alot of exotics and they are tough on blades. But for a good low tension resaw blade or any bandsaw blade go to www.suffolkmachinery.com and get Timberwolf blades. You contact them and they will set you up with the right blade.

Now a word about this tree. Do not expect to be using this wood any time soon. You must dry the wood which will take awhile up to a year unless you have access to a kiln. Then you have to worry about cracking and splitting. So sometimes these things do not work out the way you invision them. Good Luck!!

[GrayBeard Phil]

Just a suggestion,

You might want to also cross post your question to a broader subject forum. I am thinking that the forum hosted by WoodSmith magazine might have deeper and broader expertise in bandsaw machines for your intended use.
http://www.woodnet.net/forums/

{A word in your ear: WoodSmith and their forum are all about jigs, fixtures, tools and making complex furniture. If you do post there, then just tell them you want the wood for some "future project" and let it go at that.}

I believe, but I am not positive, that Taunton Press (Fine WoodWorking) may have a book of reprinted articles on harvesting lumber with tool recommendations. But they are more of the tools like
http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/7745.htmn (bring your own chain saw! and it is a cheap device.)
or http://www.timberking.com/ (bring a lot of money)
or just Google portable lumber mill for more.

A band saw is great for re-sawing after the lumber has been dried, and ready for dimensioning and surfacing.

Phil

[3_M]

I have to agree with John T. I have the Delta 14" with a riser block. Bought the 3/4" blade from Suffolk. Nice thin blade. I had this band saw at least 7 or 8 years and did a lot of resawing and never had any problem. They tell me that the Jet band saw also is very good. I believe that the Laguna saw is used a lot by commercial wood workers, like funiture shops.
Mike M