Resaw/Stock Preparation questions

[Jamie Smith]

Hi all-

While I have done quite a few projects, they have all been with either sheet goods, or already-prepped wood.

I have a few pieces of 5/4 s4s maple and ash that I would like to use to make some trays and boxes. Mostly stuff to work on my skills, but hope to get a couple of keepsakes for my daughters out of it.

I have a suitable bandsaw, and a planer-- no jointer at this time (another story).

This wood has been stickered in my shop for a number of years, so I don't think that it will get any more "ready".

If I wanted to resaw this wood in to around half its thickness- is there anything that I need to do FIRST? As I said, it has been there a while. Should I get a moisture meter first?

If I re-saw it, and it ends up around say 1/2", can that go through the planer, or is that too thin? AND-- will it warp?

Thanks,

-jamie

[Todd Burch]

Just resaw it. You can practice your "how wet is the inside of this wood compared to the outside" skills while you are doing it.

I've planed material down to 1/16". but, it has to be pretty defect free. When you start getting thin, knots and grain twists tend to explode.

The thinner you get with wood, the less concern warp is. Modern glue will win that battle on thin wood.

[James Hart]

Jamie,

5/4 stock airdried properly for years shouldn't have any problem being plenty dry.

The lack of a jointer, to me, is a killer for this project. The inability to start with a flat face against the bsaw fence and a perpendicular face on the table just doesn't work. I don't see how you could get the stock to a uniform thickness starting out any other way.

Jim

[Chris Padilla]

The ash sounds like it is ready to go, Jamie.

Moisture readers are handy to have but good ones are kinda spendy. Since the ash has been stickered in your shop "for a number of years", I'm fairly certain it is ready.

Assuming your bandsaw is tuned up and all ready, resaw away!

1/2" is fine to put through your planer...most can go down to 1/8".


Now as to movement (warping). This one can be difficult to know ahead of time. Any time you cut wood, there could be "built in" stress(es) that get relieved when you cut. That can cause the wood to move on you. If you're worried about this, resaw it in half...then resticker it and check it a couple days later and see what has happend. If it still looks fine, odds are good it'll stay that way. Heck, it could move almost immediately after cutting, too!

My bet is that since it is good and dry and acclimated to your shop, you won't have any wild wood movement to deal with or worry about.

[Jamie Smith]

Just resaw it. You can practice your "how wet is the inside of this wood compared to the outside" skills while you are doing it.

I've planed material down to 1/32". but, it has to be pretty defect free. When you start getting thin, knots and grain twists tend to explode.

The thinner you get with wood, the less concern warp is. Modern glue will win that battle on thin wood.

Thanks for the fast response.

Part of this effort is to decide if this is the right hobby for me. I don't want to (re)start off on the wrong foot!

Time to go raid my minuscule lumber pile!

[Chris Padilla]

Jamie,

5/4 stock airdried properly for years shouldn't have any problem being plenty dry.

The lack of a jointer, to me, is a killer for this project. The inability to start with a flat face against the bsaw fence and a perpendicular face on the table just doesn't work. I don't see how you could get the stock to a uniform thickness starting out any other way.

Jim

Jim, he said it is s4s...he doesn't need a jointer at this preparation stage.

[John Coloccia]

Hi all-

While I have done quite a few projects, they have all been with either sheet goods, or already-prepped wood.

I have a few pieces of 5/4 s4s maple and ash that I would like to use to make some trays and boxes. Mostly stuff to work on my skills, but hope to get a couple of keepsakes for my daughters out of it.

I have a suitable bandsaw, and a planer-- no jointer at this time (another story).

This wood has been stickered in my shop for a number of years, so I don't think that it will get any more "ready".

If I wanted to resaw this wood in to around half its thickness- is there anything that I need to do FIRST? As I said, it has been there a while. Should I get a moisture meter first?

If I re-saw it, and it ends up around say 1/2", can that go through the planer, or is that too thin? AND-- will it warp?

Thanks,

-jamie

Personally, I would take it somewhere to have one face jointed first. Then you can take it home and plane the other side. Now you have 2 flat and parallel sides. When you resaw it, you can send the cut line through the planer, and now you have 2 boards with nice, parallel sides.

If you don't joint it first, you'll have a heck of a time getting nice, straight boards unless you start fiddling with planer sleds...blech.

I'll bet you that any mill in your area will happily joint one side for a couple of bucks. I know the ones in my area will, and it came in handy before I bought my jointer.

re: warping. Who knows? Wood does funny things when you start to cut into it. I usually resaw it, and then let it sit around for a couple of days. Often, it just stays straight...straight enough, anyhow. Sometimes, it cups, and then I joint and plane it again.

Check your planer manual for the minimum thickness. I put 1/2" through my planer no problem. I believe mine goes down to 1/8" (maybe 1/16"), or something like that, but I only tried to get down to the minimum size ONCE. I put the board in, and not a whole lot came out the other side....most of the board ended up in the dust collector. LOL. I have a thickness sander now

re: s4s
good point. I'm just assuming that since it's been sitting around for years, it's probably pretty but may not quite be all that straight anymore. YMMV

[Lee Schierer]

Get or make a resaw fence for your BS and tehn mark your desired cut line on teh piece of wood. Using a curved resaw fence will let you compensate for an drift while you make the rip cuts. Use teh widest blade you have that fits your saw. The wider the blade, teh less it will drift as it cuts. With the resaw fence in place cut along the line. When the cuts are complete run the pieces through your planer. As soon as the come off the planer, stacke and sticker them with weight on top for a couple of days before trying to use them. This will let the newly exposed wood accilimate to your shop.

[Jamie Smith]

Personally, I would take it somewhere to have one face jointed first. Then you can take it home and plane the other side. Now you have 2 flat and parallel sides. When you resaw it, you can send the cut line through the planer, and now you have 2 boards with nice, parallel sides.

If you don't joint it first, you'll have a heck of a time getting nice, straight boards unless you start fiddling with planer sleds...blech.

I'll bet you that any mill in your area will happily joint one side for a couple of bucks. I know the ones in my area will, and it came in handy before I bought my jointer.

re: warping. Who knows? Wood does funny things when you start to cut into it. I usually resaw it, and then let it sit around for a couple of days. Often, it just stays straight...straight enough, anyhow. Sometimes, it cups, and then I joint and plane it again.

Check your planer manual for the minimum thickness. I put 1/2" through my planer no problem. I believe mine goes down to 1/8" (maybe 1/16"), or something like that, but I only tried to get down to the minimum size ONCE. I put the board in, and not a whole lot came out the other side....most of the board ended up in the dust collector. LOL. I have a thickness sander now

re: s4s
good point. I'm just assuming that since it's been sitting around for years, it's probably pretty but may not quite be all that straight anymore. YMMV

I will make the call when I get it off the rack. If it isn't straight, I will weigh my options.

I am trying to decide if I CAN do this, before I spend A LOT of money on a jointer/planer combo...

[Jamie Smith]

Get or make a resaw fence for your BS and tehn mark your desired cut line on teh piece of wood. Using a curved resaw fence will let you compensate for an drift while you make the rip cuts. Use teh widest blade you have that fits your saw. The wider the blade, teh less it will drift as it cuts. With the resaw fence in place cut along the line. When the cuts are complete run the pieces through your planer. As soon as the come off the planer, stacke and sticker them with weight on top for a couple of days before trying to use them. This will let the newly exposed wood accilimate to your shop.

This is good advice-- I have to go out of town next week, so if I prep the wood this w/e (assuming it is starting out straight), it gives it a good two weeks.

As far as the blade-- I have a 3/4" blade that has never been installed. Got it when I got the bandsaw ~5 years ago!

[Myk Rian]

You don't need a jointer, although they are nice to have. A planer sled with shims and carpet tape would do the same job.
I plane wood down to 1/4" all the time. 1/2" is no problem at all.

A 1/2" blade resaws fine, but try the 3/4".

I usually take a piece of scrap similar to the working stock and resaw it freehand. When you are able to follow a line on the edge accurately, stop the saw without moving the wood, and adjust the fence for that angle.

[glenn bradley]

James and Myk hit the points that I would consider contributors to failure. Get one side of that board flat before you start and you'll be a lot happier and enjoy the following steps more. A planer sled can be as simple as a slab of particle board with some wedges hot glued to the underside of the board to hold it still long enough to plane the surface. Flip the board and plane the faces parallel. Now resaw and then plane the sawn faces with the previously created flat surfaces down on the planer bed.

[Jamie Smith]

You don't need a jointer, although they are nice to have. A planer sled with shims and carpet tape would do the same job.
I plane wood down to 1/4" all the time. 1/2" is no problem at all.

A 1/2" blade resaws fine, but try the 3/4".

I usually take a piece of scrap similar to the working stock and resaw it freehand. When you are able to follow a line on the edge accurately, stop the saw without moving the wood, and adjust the fence for that angle.

ok, a follow up question to this...

Which blade should I use?

I have an 18" jet bandsaw, which can handle a 3/4" blade. I have three blades:

• 3/8" blade (looks like ~8tpi)
• 3/4" "Timber wolf" blade, 2 tpi-- (it was $27, still had the price card on it)
• 3/4" blade that came with the saw (4 tpi)

I just installed the 3/4" timber wolf, and it seemed to leave the wood "wavy"-- not like drift, more like I could see lots of saw/teeth marks.

Would I be better off switching to the other 3/4" blade, or is this one a better choice?

Thanks,

-jamie

[Chris Padilla]

Jamie,

We could foray into bandsaw tuning but that isn't so easy on a message board.

Bandsaws, due to their nature, leave rough surfaces. You will rarely get a smooth surface like you can from a table saw. Table saws have a stiff cutter...bandsaws do not...even under enormous tension...they still flex.

Timberwolf blades can be fussy to set up and while many love them, I personally do not like them. I've found solace using Lenox blades and I really like my carbide 1" wide Trimaster...it is about as close to a smooth cut as one is likely to find on a bandsaw.

Yes, by all means, try the other blade and make a comparison...play with the tension...cut until you get something you like. Don't discount the 3/8" wide blade either. I've gotten VERY satisfactory results using a 1/2" wide bimetal blade on my 20" bandsaw. I'm of the opinion that width isn't everything when it comes to resawing.

You never mentioned, other than 5/4, the other 2 dimensions of your ash.

Check out my Tansu project where I resawed 3/32" veneers of walnut.

[David DeCristoforo]

In addition to the great suggestions already made, you might want to consider sacrificing a live chicken before you begin resawing....