Safe way to make blanks from firewood?

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rjwolfe3

rjwolfe3

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A coworker has been giving me some various woods for free to make pen blanks out of. In my basement I have access to a table saw and radial arm saw. Are these the best and/or safest way to cut this? I can also go over to my dad's place and use his small bandsaw but it's not as easy to get to. Would this be better?

Here is a sample picture of one of the pieces of wood (sideview):


Thanks for the help. I started experimenting with the table saw but it kept binding on me and also burning the wood plus it scared the crap out of me, lol.[B)]
 
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Rob,
Without square edges, cutting it on the table saw is a kickback waiting to happen.
Now, there are exceptions but I won't go into them here -- safety first.
What size is it?
 
Originally posted by rjwolfe3

Gary,
It's about 5 inches on the one side and 4 inches on the other and about 18 inches long. Is there any safe way to cut this?
Click to expand...

Rob; I would definitely make the road trip to the band saw. I am in Harrisburg, PA

There is a reason why saw mills use band saws!

You can find jigs used with small saw mills to hold a log for slabbing. If the wood is wet, you will need to seal the end grain to prevent cracks from appearing. It looks like the pith isn't in this piece, so this may not be a problem.
 
Rob,
I'd cut it on the bandsaw -- given the shape, the only other thing that makes sense to me is a bow saw -- a hand tool. ;)
IF you have a 6" jointer, you could joint the two faces square then cut it safely with the table saw BUT it'd still not be the ideal way.
 
Rob, if it was me, I'd use the table saw, but I've had many years of experience working in weird situations on a potentially dangerous saw. A band saw is much safer, but my little 9" one doesn't give me much option.

Send me a PM if you want me to explain the way that I do it to stay safe. Don't just wing it if you're not sure, because it'll knock you on your pahookie. [B)][:0]
 
Karl,
PM sent.

Thank you all for the advice. My only concern with the bandsaw is that it is not very big (small Jet) and neither my dad nor me have much experience with bandsaws. (He's been buying a lot in preparation for his retirement soon, but he's not using them at all, lol[}:)]:D) Most of my experience is with a table saw. Most of the wood my coworker has given me is seasoned firewood that is really dry. He did give me a piece of apple that he just cut, so I have to do a search on how to seal the end grain.
Thanks for all your help
 
I would start with a hatchet or hand axe. The first thing to do is to get the bark off. The lighter colored inner sap wood next to the bark is worthless, it needs to be chipped away as well. On cherry it is hard to separate this inner sap wood from the good heart wood, especially if the wood is dry. You could also face up the split sides a bit with the hand axe. When you get it down to mostly heart wood then you will more easily be able to cut it on the band saw or table saw.

A convient and quick way to seal up that fresh cut apple is to use standard white Elmers school glue. De-bark the log first with the hatchet, then squirt a hefty glob of glue on the cut ends and smear it around good. Spread the glue about an inch or so down the sides as well.
 
It is possible to cut this kind of wood on a table saw safely using a fairly simple homemade jig, but does require a little experience or good advise. Drop me a pm if you want. A radial arm saw is a good way to crosscut this kind of wood, not so great for ripping it lengthwise. Once the wood is crosscut into blank size chunks, it's easier to rip on the bandsaw than trying to rip it lengthwise in one piece then crosscut, IMHO.

For most woodworking the white sapwood is considered waste, but for pens it can be crosscut to make for some interesting color contrast in nice but usually plain cherry. I usually try to angle the cut so that the transition from white to red is at least an inch long and somewhere in the middle of the finished blank. That way when you cut the blank to separate the top and bottom, you get some of both colors on both parts. This will give you the effect of a darker barrel with a lighter cap, but still be obvious that it was originally one piece. A couple of good coats of thin CA to seal as you get close to final shape will help smooth out the differences in texture between the heartwood and sapwood.
 
If the wood is not too thick, and you made a sled for the tablesaw, you might be able to cut it semi-safely .. The bandsaw would be safer (little chance of kickbacks) and believe me when I saw, kickbacks on the tablesaw are ""exciting, often painful and costly"" (my wife still calls me FrankenThumb from time-to-time) ...

be safe!
 
You can do what you want on a tablesaw, you will need to be careful and you will not extract as much usable wood as you might with a bandsaw but it can be done without losing fingers.....jigs, push blocks and whatever it takes to make it work, the sled idea is a good one, good luck.
 
Thank you all for your wonderful advice.;) With Karl's excellent advice I was able to safely cut the cherry piece with my table saw with all fingers intact and no holes in the wall behind the saw.:D Next I'm going to take a piece of ash to my dad's bandsaw and try that. I have a feeling my coworker might bring some more free wood to me soon.[:p]
Thanks again,
 
I think Chasper has the right idea for you. We always seem to think power tools, but a froe and a wood mallet will split out blanks a lot quicker than any saw. You need to keep them oversize while they dry anyway, and nice straight square blanks don't turn round any easier than a split out blank. Besides, have him give you an nice piece of round stock for the mallet and you can practice spindle turning while making the mallet.
 
Jeez, you would think that someone wants me to get a bandsaw. Maybe I should make a poll... :D Thanks for reviving this post. At the moment I use my dad's when I'm on that side of town. I'm waiting for one to show up on Craigslist in this area. If not, it may be next spring before I can afford it.:cool:
 
If the man doesn't get a bandsaw soon, he's liable to give me heart failure soon. I've started cringing when I hear the tablesaw come on now days. One of these days I'm gonna hear "Incoming" and turn around in time to get whacked in the head, hehe.
 
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