Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Ripping on bandsaw

  1. #1

    Ripping on bandsaw

    Wondering if anybody have ever ripped western red cedar for a kayak/canoe on there band saw. Every time I finish ripping on ts and look at the pile of saw dust I payed for and maybe a little safer with the 16' lenght. I keep thinking about tring out my bandsaw. I have a 18" steel city but have never tried ripping long lengths with it. My concern is blade drift and keeping a uniform thickness over the width of the board. Any thoughts.

  2. #2
    .
    Glen,

    I have an Inca #710 bandsaw ( a 3 wheel bandsaw with 8 inch resaw capacity).
    Within the last year I re-sawed spanish cedar, koa & mahogany, they were all were approx. 12' long & both re-sawed to about 1/4". I had no problems whatsoever.

    The things to look out for is ......
    >tuning up your bandsaw
    >using a sharp resaw blade ( I used a 1/2" Wood-slicer blade from Highland) http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/w...s705to137.aspx
    >making sure you have a jig set up keeping constant pressure against the work.
    >having your feed and out-take tables set up nicely where you don't have to think about that while cutting.
    >have a dust collection system set up
    >go SLOW!

    cheers,
    roger
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Roger Savatteri; 10-07-2009 at 5:56 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    The Hartland of Michigan
    Posts
    7,628
    Put a 1/2" 3tpi timberwolf on the saw and use the flutter method to set the tension. It will saw all day just fine.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    McKean, PA
    Posts
    15,591
    Blog Entries
    1
    In my experience there is no comparison between the quality of cut between a bandsaw and a table saw. The bandsawn surface is going to be noticeably rougher than the table sawn surface; therefore you would have consederably more sanding to do or you would have to run the strips through a planer to get a smooth surface, which would negate the savings of the thinner kerf made by the bandsaw.

    A bandsaw kerf will be about 0.062" wide not counting blade wander. Try ripping with a thin kerf blade (Freud LU87 make an 0.092" kerf) and save the sanding time.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  5. #5
    I agree with Lee, a thin kerf blade will do great on the table saw. Get some feather boards and you can rip like mad, and it would be faster then the band saw.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    2,796
    I have done both ripping and short height (6" and less) resawing on Grizzly G0513X2 bandsaw recently. I have noticed the quality of the cut depends on the quality of the blade (I only have the stock Grizzly and a few Timberwolves for comparison), the TPI, and the feed rate. If you use a low TPI blade while ripping, you can vary your feed rate. The faster you feed the more course the cut looks. I used a 1/2" 6TPI and a 10TPI blades as a test. If I cut at the same speed with both blades, you can barely notice the difference. The 6TPI allows me to cut faster, and if I do the cut looks like I just got the board from the mill. If I was attempting your project with the bandsaw, I think I would try for a 1/2" 10-14TPI blade for the cleanest cut.

    As for blade drift, the blade will not drift any more or any less on a short board vs. a long board. To check the drift, use a 2-3' long piece of scrap. Scribe a line down the piece, setup the fence and send the piece through. Hopefully the cut follows the line. Whatever angle the board is cut at is the drift angle. I found with my bandsaw, that if I push too hard (try to feed faster than the blade and saw can accept) the blade will twist and give me some "drift", usually towards the fence. When I back off, the cut gets back on the line.

    When resawing and going quickly, I loose only slightly less material that if I use a table saw (1/32 to 1/16" saved on the bandsaw with finish work by a drum sander). Going slowly and taking my time I can get up towards the 1/16" saved. The difference for me between the two is resawing thickness. My table saw maxes out at 3 1/2" in two passes (just enough to split a 2x4), the G0513X2 is around 12". Big difference between my saws.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Western Nebraska
    Posts
    4,680
    You can get good smooth tablesaw like cuts with a bandsaw, but you have to use a good carbide blade to do it. Those are not a whole lot narrower than the tablesaw blade. If your cuts are in the tablesaws capacity range, I'd use it. Bandsaws shine on resaw work that is out of tablesaw capacity.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Crystal Lake, IL
    Posts
    87
    I haven't built my canoe yet, but I have about 60 board feet of cedar that I ripped on my bandsaw for that purpose. The cut is rougher than a tablesaw, but I don't think that will matter considering how much of the strip is removed when fairing the hull. I guess I'll find out.

    I didn't feel very safe cutting 1/4" by 16' long strips on the tablesaw when I tried doing that, so I actually decided to buy a bandsaw for this purpose. I too worried about blade drift based on past experiences with saws that were apparently not set up properly. The 14" JET bandsaw I bought, along with a 1/2" 3 TPI timberwolf blade and a Kreg fence made it an easy task.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •