Resawing with a bandsaw

[rjwolfe3]

My dad and I have been using his full size Jet bandsaw to resaw different types of firewood into pen blanks. He just bought a 3/4" blade (3tpi) and spent about an hour tweaking it to make sure it would cut as perfect as a bandsaw can. Twice while we were cutting near round pieces across the grain, the blade caught the wood just right and stopped and bent slightly. No teeth were broken and it bent right back but is there a better way to cut this wood up? I know awhile ago everyone said not to use my table saw anymore and that a band saw was much safer. So what are we doing wrong? The wood is less then 6 inches thick with no metal in the wood at all. He was going to get a riser kit but I told him not too if it would cause it catch more. Do you all uses sleds to cut non flat pieces? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jeff]

A low TPI blade especially will catch round pieces if you are just sliding them across the table into the blade. I'd recommend a sled running in the miter gage slot, possibly with a small clamp to hold the workpiece against the back of the sled. That's what I use.

Also, that's a pretty coarse blade for cutting across the grain. It's a resaw blade, which is not what you're doing cutting across the grain.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Ah, good point. We thought it would be easier to cut the slabs from round stock if it was pen blank length. Maybe we should have just ripped the whole length and then cut across.

 

[marcruby]

Trying to cut round wood across the grain is dangerous. The wood will try to turn into the blade, and you're actually lucky all the blade did was bend a bit. If you're not gripping the wood carefully a 'catch' can pull your hand right into the blade. But together a jig that will keep the wood from trying to turn -- all you need is a 'v' cut in two boards and a base board.

 

[shull]

To saw any kind of round stock, a sled or jig should always be used. Without some way to hod the wood and support the wood during cutting the blade will bind with uncanny regularity and could cause worse damage than a bent blade to you or the saw.

As far as the riser block...if the thickness of the wood you are cutting is only 6" the riser block is not necessary. The riser block is primarily used to increase the cutting height for resawing (ripping) slabs. It is nice to have but not necessary in pen making.

Attached is a picture of a sled from the Yahoo Penturners Forum library. Hope it helps

 

[boxxmaker]

The sled is a big plus,but I know you said the saw was checked out as much as you could,BUT do you think it is possable that the blade does not have enough tension? I have never had that happen on a blade that big and I have been using them for more yrs than I can remember.Try that also and it may solve the problem.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Thank you all for the comments. We are going to look into making a sled. But I am assuming this is for cross cutting. Is there a sled for ripsawing or is this not necessary?

Ken,
My dad is so picky that he probably checked that tension about 20 times before the first cut. He really goes over adjustments over and over. I don't have his patience but since this is his equipment, I let him do his thing.

My personal opinion on the blade bending is possibly the blade manufacter. The blade was literally made this morning at a local saw shop. They weld them to specs. The metal was a lot thicker then the OE but I think I'm going to get him a blade from Timberwolf.

 

[fiferb]

Something else you may want to try is to rip a flat sawn area on one side of the log. This will help with stability whether you cross cut or continue to rip it.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Bruce said it first. That's how I do it. Putting a log through is asking to have it grabbed and squirrel up your blade. But, even without a sled, it can be done with care. Take a small slice off giving you a flat side. Then turn and do the same three more times. And, as said, a 3 tpi is also asking for grabs. I don't know what you mean by "full sized" bandsaw. But, I use a 14", which many consider too small for resawing. I limit my sizes to avoid problems. I now use a 4 tpi and find it much smoother with less tendency to grab. If you are going to get serious about resawing, a 17" or 19" bandsaw should be in your future.

 

[marcruby]

If you're cutting right down the midline you might get away with it. The physics of bandsawing is that the there should be no unsupported wood under the cut. 'Support' can be a number of things -- a sled for cross-cutting, a fence or clamped up runway for ripping, even a tacked on wedge or two to add stability. I've even driven a nail or two into the wood in a pinch. Just make sure everything is supported.

As far as TPI go, I generally use 1/2 inch blades with both 3 & 4 TPI with both skip and hook teeth. All seem to work equally well for thick resawing. 4 TPI seems to leave a slightly finer surface. I switch to a 3/4 or 1" blade if I'm slicing veneer.

Occasionally I contemplate buying a carbide tipped blade, but at $150 I think I'll pass for now.

Marc

Thank you all for the comments. We are going to look into making a sled. But I am assuming this is for cross cutting. Is there a sled for ripsawing or is this not necessary?

 

[Wildman]

I use a simple sled and various size furniture clamps for both ripping and cross cutting logs, on my G0555. There are any number of bandsaw sled plans on the internet these days. Mine is a less sophisticated copy of one illustrated in American Wood Worker.

Trying to cross cut a piece of log without a sled is hard to control the cut, and kinking the blade is pretty common. Also have to watch you rate of feed even with a sled.

JMHO, others may disagree think .025 gauge blades better than .035 gauge blades for most consumer grade bandsaws.

 

[Gary Max]

Marc ----I already tried the Carbide tipped blades-----they work great----now for the bad stuff----they get dull and you are done.
I watched a company at a show doing Demos of how great their saw was----of course they had a case full of $150.00 blades the changed every 30 minutes---that would be hard on the wallet.
They where not happy when I started asking question about it ----wonder why????????

 

[marcruby]

Thanks for the info - I thought that somebody - maybe Laguna - offered sharpening services. Of course, it probably cost as much as a new steel blade to sharpen the carbide one.

Yeah - the Laguna resaw King blade costs 188.00. I'm not sure if they're carbide or not. They offer resharpening for $45.00. Definitely NOT a bargain.

Marc

Marc ----I already tried the Carbide tipped blades-----they work great----now for the bad stuff----they get dull and you are done.

 

[Gary Max]

That's the folks I was talking about----------they don't like seeing me at a show
They replaced my motor 4 times in a year----but that's only the tip of the iceberg.
I am working on getting dinner made or I could write a book about there stuff.

 

[kirkfranks]

Here is a video from Woodmagazine about resawing logs with a sled.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid979295690/bclid1339217207/bctid979366590

 

[marcruby]

I had my heart set on a Laguna 18" resaw, but now I think I'm going to get the Mini Max 20" instead.

Marc

That's the folks I was talking about----------they don't like seeing me at a show
They replaced my motor 4 times in a year----but that's only the tip of the iceberg.
I am working on getting dinner made or I could write a book about there stuff.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I had my heart set on a Laguna 18" resaw, but now I think I'm going to get the Mini Max 20" instead.

Marc

You are fortunate to be able to select among the best. I have a friend who is a professional woodworker. He has a MM bandsaw, probably 20", and demonstrated how it can cut veneers. The slices came off quickly and smoothly and were so thin that light came through. It is an incredible machine.
However, whatever you choose, other suppliers of blades can fix you up. The well known one is Suffolk Machinery, the Timberwolf people. They make to custom size for every order.

 

[marcruby]

I can chose from the best, but affording it is another matter. I know where I'm headed in woodturning and am planning on a splurge right after retiring to get what I need. I don't have a wife to explain things to -- which is not necessarily a good thing. But it's the hand I dealt myself.

Marc

You are fortunate to be able to select among the best. I have a friend who is a professional woodworker. He has a MM bandsaw, probably 20", and demonstrated how it can cut veneers. The slices came off quickly and smoothly and were so thin that light came through. It is an incredible machine.
However, whatever you choose, other suppliers of blades can fix you up. The well known one is Suffolk Machinery, the Timberwolf people. They make to custom size for every order.

 

[Snorton20]

Here is a nice video on youtube I found and it might help some guys around here for a new jig for cutting that found wood... Hope it assist some of you guys.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUL6FN4bQNs&feature=related

 

[Traman]

I apologize for bumping...just want to share

Resaw? Almost every day. You want a wide blade with a low tpi count. This old WO Navy Yard 4X7 bearer is about to produce some replacement frames:

Basically, I find any fence is a waste of time if the saw and blade are tuned. Any long fence must be adjusted to match the blade track and readjusted with every blade change. Blades track in one direction or the other away from your layout line because their tooth set isn't perfectly matched on both sides of the blade.

I generally fix the blade track and use a chalk or pencil line followed by the thickness planer and have little trouble, tho I don't go thinner than my small planer will handle. I might make myself a point fence if I had a large run of thin stock to get out, however.

One reason I don't like gluing anything but a perfectly-planed surface, besides not liking to be so fussy (and slow) resawing exactly to a mark, is that it takes a whole lot more glue to fill those saw marks. And with a glue that doesn't fill gaps well (which is just about all of them short of thickened epoxy), there may be trouble ahead for that lam.

A hand saw that wanders off track is tuned by lightly removing a tad of set on the side it wants to wander using a carborundum stone.

A bandsaw blade https://mechanicfaq.com/bandsaws-for-resawing/ is tuned basically the same way. Reset all your guides first by the book to make sure they are set to that particular blade. Instead of stoning the teeth, try stoning the rear corners of the blade first...taking a little sharpness off the rear corner on the side the blade wants to wander may straighten the cut out without touching the teeth.

Set the height adjustment to match the stone and lightly touch it to the blade with the machine running.

Some folks round their new blades off at the back corners as a matter of routine....spose to make them less prone to breakage during a turning movement...on blades set up that way you touch the stone gently to the side of the teeth just like with a hand saw.

 

[jttheclockman]

I apologize for bumping...just want to share

Resaw? Almost every day. You want a wide blade with a low tpi count. This old WO Navy Yard 4X7 bearer is about to produce some replacement frames:

Basically, I find any fence is a waste of time if the saw and blade are tuned. Any long fence must be adjusted to match the blade track and readjusted with every blade change. Blades track in one direction or the other away from your layout line because their tooth set isn't perfectly matched on both sides of the blade.

I generally fix the blade track and use a chalk or pencil line followed by the thickness planer and have little trouble, tho I don't go thinner than my small planer will handle. I might make myself a point fence if I had a large run of thin stock to get out, however.

One reason I don't like gluing anything but a perfectly-planed surface, besides not liking to be so fussy (and slow) resawing exactly to a mark, is that it takes a whole lot more glue to fill those saw marks. And with a glue that doesn't fill gaps well (which is just about all of them short of thickened epoxy), there may be trouble ahead for that lam.

A hand saw that wanders off track is tuned by lightly removing a tad of set on the side it wants to wander using a carborundum stone.

A bandsaw blade https://mechanicfaq.com/bandsaws-for-resawing/ is tuned basically the same way. Reset all your guides first by the book to make sure they are set to that particular blade. Instead of stoning the teeth, try stoning the rear corners of the blade first...taking a little sharpness off the rear corner on the side the blade wants to wander may straighten the cut out without touching the teeth.

Set the height adjustment to match the stone and lightly touch it to the blade with the machine running.

Some folks round their new blades off at the back corners as a matter of routine....spose to make them less prone to breakage during a turning movement...on blades set up that way you touch the stone gently to the side of the teeth just like with a hand saw.

Wow this is really digging into the archives but it is good to see you taking some time to read some of the past threads here. Much can be learned from others that passed through here over the years. Welcome to the sight and hope you too stick around and add to this base of knowledge and information over the next coming years.

You touch on some good points and one thing I like to add to the last part of your thread, another main reason people round the backs of a bandsaw blade is the same reason they do it on a scrollsaw blade and that is it helps prevent burning with a cut when making tight turns. It also helps spin the wood easier and cleaner. Weather to use a fence and what type of fence weather a point fence or flat fence is debated till the cows come home. Do what works for you.