cutting wood

[silverstar]

What is the best way to cut wood down to scrolling size? Say take a 8/4 lumber and cut to 1/4 " thick. Do you do this on a band saw or a table saw? I have attempted to cut some 3/4" down to 1/4" on the band saw but didn't do very good. Do I need a special blade for this type cutting?

[Forester21]

I hand it to my husband and say "please" LOL
He uses the table saw.

I do have some pieces that I thinned down using the band saw. When the 1/8" blade was changed to something significantly larger it worked a whole lot better. I found if I drew a line on the wood when cutting I managed to keep the thickness more consistant. Then a lot of sanding...
Theresa

[NMScroller]

Resawing wood can be tricky without the proper equipment. As far as band saws, there are better blades for resawing. However, it takes more horsepower to resaw. A typical benchtop bandsaw will slow down when resawing.

I do not own a bandaw, so I cut most of my wood by hand or table saw. The table saw method can be dangerous, use lots of caution. Line your cut up, align your face, and stand the wood on edge. I start the blade at about 1/4" heighth and work my way towards the middle of the wood. Flip it over and repeat until the two halves are held together by about 3/4" piece of material. This is where you can use a good handsaw to do the rest. You will also need a planer to take care of the final smoothing.

As stated, use caution, this can be dangerous. Best method is to contact Sloan's or your favorite supplier and buy it pre-dimensioned. Without a 14" band saw with a resaw post, it's just way easier and time efficient to buy it thin.

P.S. as far as staying in line, their are two easy tricks I have seen that help guide your cut. 1. A laser level magnetically attached to your saw...line the laser with your cut line. 2. a thickness marker with the cutting wheel ($15 from leevalley.com) The wheel works better because it will not follow the grain as easily as the kinds with the scratch nail.

[eendreno]

hello- as stated earlier, resawing can be extremely difficult. 14" saw with something around 1 hp minimum. 3/8" blade 3=4 teeth per inch. if you have a router use a 1/16" slot cutter, cut top and bottom.(the blade tends to ride in the groove) you will still have to plane it, or sand to desired smoothness. with a bench top,your not going to have good results. lowes has poplar, cherry, oak, in 1/4 3/8 and 1/2. i beleive it's widest is 5 1/2. i have all the neccesary tools, and for wood for one or two projects i can't justify the time. doug

[lucky788scroller]

Im with Doug on the justification of time,the time it takes me to resaw and get it to the thickness I need is time I'd rather be scrollsawing, so most of my wood is purchased thin and scrollsaw ready (ordering it on the web from reputable dealers,as well as a local lumber seller), even though I have the necessary tools to resaw.I resaw on a Jet 14" closed stand bandsaw w/ a riser block, using (i think) a half inch blade with 3 tpi. I like the suggestion of using a 1/16th" slot cutter to help keep the blade where I want it.Thats something I never thought of, and I can see where that simple step could save me a lot of frustration, thanks Doug. Dale

[GrayBeard Phil]

SilverStar:

There are special resaw blades for Bandsaws. As stated before, 3 Teeth per Inch, or maybe a 4 TPI blade, with a 'hook' tooth design, deep gullets between the teeth, and a wide tooth set left to right.

Many claim width of blade makes a difference and go with as wide a blade as they can afford to buy. IMHO, the tension on the blade is more important than just width. Some Bandsaws can only correctly tension a 1/2 inch resaw blade at most. Depends on upper wheel tension spring, and motor power.

The wood inside the resaw kerf will be rough. It will not be ready for finishing. It may need to be surfaced planned to get it smooth. Belt sanding at least.

Don't plan on 3/4 inch wood = 3 each 1/4 inch. You must figure kerf of bandsaw blade, and loss to surface planner, and sanding.

Phil

[Huntter2022]

Here is some info; that might help you out some ,
http://www.americanwoodworker.com/us...ain/index.html

David

[Trout]

on my dump truck project, the band saw became my best tool in the shop because every piece of wood was cut down from 3/4 inch stock..
a belt sander cleans up the cuts nicely...

the first thing you need to do is to make sure your band saw is fine tuned..
you can find some helpfull tips in this thread...

Band Saw for Dummies

another tip is to re-saw smaller pieces rather than tring to cut down a whole board at once...

Trout

[GrayBeard Phil]

Trout:

Did you find that one bandsaw blade was used most of the time, or were you stuck changing blades all the time.

That is the part that gets under my skin with the bandsaw...changing that dang blade, and resetting the guide blocks and trust bearings. I don't even like to change the hight of the upper guide post because it takes so long to re-adjust the thrust bearing. (It is an older 14" Delta, with the resaw riser block.)

It just seems like I get a few cuts on the bandsaw with one blade, and then I have to install another blade just for another few cuts, and then change the blade again.

Phil

[Trout]

your putting way too much work into this....

I'm using a 3/8 width multi-purpose Craftsman blade that I bought with the saw new..once I got my saw tuned up I've only had to re-adjusted the guides once and that only because I wanted the best cut possible on my dump truck..

my last two projects..cut's that take minutes on a scroll saw only takes seconds on a band saw..I have to admit not every cut is the same so you will have to compensate for it...

I've been looking at the planers....re-saw and run it throught the planer is the way to go...

Trout