Resaw capacity on Delta BS 28-276?

[Ken Kimbrell]

I’ve always been an advocate of getting the most capacity and highest quality that you can possibly afford when buying a power tool, especially if you can or will have only one each of that particular tool, but it would seem that I have missed the mark rather badly on this Delta 28-276 BS.

There is nothing wrong with the saw, after installing the new replacement tires that Delta sent to me and getting it tuned up it works great, of course it has only been used for about ten minutes total cutting time, but it’s OK so far.
But here is the problem, the saw mill where my white pine siding for the house is coming from will not be cutting it as thin as needed, so it will have to be resawn and the Delta 28-276 will not do the job as it sits now.
And, not only the pine, but later this year when we start on the inside of the house there will be oak, maple and maybe cherry and walnut that will need resawing (boards that are as much as 8” wide).

So, here is my question…
What will be the best solution for this saw… install riser blocks to increase the resaw capacity, or sell it (and take the $ loss for doing so) and get a saw big enough to do the job without having to rebuild it first???
If I keep the #276 what parts will it need, just the riser block kit and new blade, or is there other stuff it will take to fix it???

The thing is, my budget is already going be hurt by my mistake on this saw, so I need to save whatever money possible, but at the same time be sure to get it right this time and end up with the right saw for the job.
Thanks for your help… Ken

[Maurice Ungaro]

The riser block ($89 from Amazon) and a great resaw blade (105") is all you need. How much hp does that model have? As for resaw blades, check out Timberwolf; the Wood Slicer from Highland Hardware; and/or some of the blades that Iturra sells.

As for selling at a loss an buying a bigger machine, that's up to you, and you kind of know that you're asking the wrong crowd here!

[Bill Lewis]

Ken,

Some clarification please. Do you wish to resaw all of the white pine siding for your house? If so, that sounds like an awful lot of re-sawing, on very long stock. I'm not so sure that even a larger saw would necessarily be the way to go.

It could probably be done, but you'd have to construct some special jigs to handle the long stock, plus it could be very time consuming.

[Ken Kimbrell]

Ken,

Some clarification please. Do you wish to resaw all of the white pine siding for your house? If so, that sounds like an awful lot of re-sawing, on very long stock. I'm not so sure that even a larger saw would necessarily be the way to go.

It could probably be done, but you'd have to construct some special jigs to handle the long stock, plus it could be very time consuming.

Bill, at this point there will be about 200 white pine boards to resaw, 1 1/8” X 6” X 10’ with the width going to as much as 6 ¼”. The boards can be installed onto the house at the full 1 1/8" thickness if the cost of resawing turns out to be a really costly thing to do, (buying a new saw that is beyon my budget) or some other reason... but to keep the new boards at the same dimensions as the existing siding is what I am shooting for.
Later there will be boards up to 8” wide, but only a few of those.

Maurice, the motor is only 3/4 HP.

[Jerry Clark]

Wow, that is a lot of re-sawing and the poor 3/4 hp will probably die from stress. Also if the wood is green you may have a problem with paint pealing and warping. Planing may be a better option. Better re-think the program!

[Tim Morton]

I would gues that the value of the wood, or better stated the value "LOST" by not cutting resawing these boards would more than make up for the cost of

a) a new bandsaw
b) a delta riser block
c) the riser block PLUS a new motor.

But assuming you incurred no cost for the lumber, is 200 boards what you need to side the house, or do you need 400 boards? Having just put together my first bandsaw I can say that the riser plus motor will set you back about $250 bucks, which I think is less than sellign your bandsaw and buying a bigger one by quite a bit. I would make sure your bandsaw can handle a 1.5 or 2HP motor upgrade before going that route. But for all I know the bandsaw COULD cut 200 boards with the motor it has...might just take a little(lot) longer. Good luck with it and i wuld love to hear how it turns out.

[Bill Lewis]

Tim, I can tell you that the BS that Ken has is basically the same unit you have, only the motor and base are different. So it can stand a larger motor. At least up to 1.5 hp, which is the largest motor that Delta offers for that frame. It could probably handle at least a 2 hp, or larger. I think I saw a recent post where someone actually put a 3 hp on a Jet BS.

That being said, Ken, if you're determined to do the siding re-sawing yourself. Go ahead and give it a try with what you have. What have you got to lose? Like I said, you will probably need to build some custom jigs, support and/or fence to process these 10' long boards.

Definately invest in a quality re-sawing blade. You may also want to go ahead an put the riser block in the saw. It's a pretty standard upgrade. You might also need to upgrade the tension spring, and install a wheel brush. Lastly, you'll need to add dust collection. Pine is pretty gummy stuff, and you'll need to get the sawdust out of the machine.

[Ken Kimbrell]

Thanks Bill and all...

Most likely I will go with your suggestions Bill, riser block & blade with a few simple/cheap additions like the spring and brush kits. A new motor starts to get me up close to the larger saws in cost, so I'm not so sure about that part, but may do that as well.
As Tim pointed out, all the details count, including the cost of the lumber, but at 37cents my main concern with the lumber is the 'look', not the cost. As to the board 'count', next summer (or maybe late in this one) my plan is to do the barn as well, so the count will end up being 500-600 boards, depending on how we do the barn.

In any case, if a few low-buck upgrades on this saw don't do the job, then I'll just have to install the wood at the full 1 1/8" thickness instead of the 1/2" that is on the rest of the house.

[Ralph Barhorst]

Ken - My thoughts on this.

Try resawing some of the pine with the saw as it is now. This may mean that you will have to rip some of the pine to whatever width will fit without a riser. You can use the fence that comes with the saw or make one of your own. You may even want to make a pivot fence to help guide the wood.

The only reason for doing this is to give yourself a better idea of what you are getting into without spending a lot of money for a riser, larger motor, etc. You are talking about resawing quite a lot of lumber and you may decide that the time and effort is not worth the trouble.

I have been resawing a lot of birch with a 14" saw with a riser, and it is not fun. I think I would have been better off buying the lumber the correct size and not messing with resawing. And the cut is not smooth enough to use as it comes off the saw. You still have to run it through a planer.

Just my $0.02 worth. By the way, I am also kind of cheap. I don't spend money unless I absolutely have to. I even made by own riser for the saw.

[Scott Loven]

Could you find someone in your area with a bandsaw lumber mill? I had a guy saw some trees for me, and he charged $.15 a linear foot to saw it. 200 feet*$.15 would be around $30.00
Scott

[Ken Kimbrell]

Could you find someone in your area with a bandsaw lumber mill? I had a guy saw some trees for me, and he charged $.15 a linear foot to saw it. 200 feet*$.15 would be around $30.00
Scott

Sounds like a good option Scott, I will have to try to find someone...
The sawmill could cut it at 1/2 inch for me, but it would mean that they were only sawing one board at at time and so they declined to even give me quote on cost.