Re-sawing on the band saw

[Mario Turcot]

I am planning to do some re-sawing this weekend on the new Rikon 10-326. I watched about 10 videos and I am confused about what side to put the thin stock. Some use the fence side others used the outside to release stress on the blade.

The wood i will re-saw is Roasted Maple and Tiger wood at 9mm thickness by 60mm tall.

One more question, blade storage. I know it's easy to fold a blade but it it ok to not fold it if you have rooms to store it?

Any suggestion is welcome  [cool]

Mario

 

[escan]

I leave the fence and blade fixed and cut away for speed and then sand later.

If I was concerned about stock thickness, I would glue the stock to a piece of 3/4 birch and use the ply as the reference side against the fence to get more consistent sizes on my flitches.

I do not have a concern for tension as the saw I use can resist those forces adequately, so I would temper my recommendation on the equipment's performance.

 

[Dick Mahany]

There are several ways to resaw and different schools of thought are often debated as to which is preferable.  Just about any work as one develops technique. Depending on whether one uses a flat straight fence of the single point pivot type of fence, different techniques are used.  For instance when slicing veneers, if you place the thin slice between the blade and fence, you will get consistent thickness without needing to move the fence.  This is also sometimes safer because the blade can sometimes bow inside the cut, which can't be seen from the outside, and cut through the side of the blank.  If your hand is near the exposed side of the blank, it can cause injury. 

Another technique is to place the thicker side of the blank on the fence and saw thin slices off the outside, then re position the fence incrementally and repeat on subsequent cuts.  The Laguna Driftmaster which I have uses this principle and I have found that I don't really care for this method. 

If blade drift is set properly, any of these methods work.  If one needs to compensate for blade drift, or if the wood grain needs to be adjusted for during the cut, then using a single point pivot type guide with the thin slice between the blade and the pivot works well.

If you can find some disposable material, try the different setups and experiment keeping in mind that results will often be affected by the type of wood, hardness and grain orientation.

Also, no problem storing blades unfolded.

 

[grbmds]

I use a Carter Magfence instead of the fence included with my Rikon 10-325.  The included fence never worked well for me. With the Magfence I can set it easily and wherever I want on the table.

I resaw with the piece I'm saving between the fence and the blade. I'm sure you probably already know this but the best results come from starting with a board that is flat on both sides, resawing a slice from each of the flat sides, then jointing/planing 2 new flat sides. I guess you wouldn't have to get 2 new flat sides but I think I get the best results that way.

I also found that bandsaw setup and a sharp blade are the most important factors in getting good resaw results.

 

[lwoirhaye]

The disadvantage of sawing the each piece off the side opposite the fence is you have to move the fence for each cut.  The advantage of it is the same jointed face is running against the fence, not a rough sawn face. 

If you do it the other way you don't have to adjust the fence more than once, but you'll be sawing with a rough face against the fence some of the time unless you resurface the face.    The sawn surfaces may not come off the saw as flat as you'd like. 

Try it out with some scrap and see if you can get a thickness consistency that pleases you.

You'll get the best results applying even pressure through the entire cut.  Some sort of push stick will be helpful.  I made one with a thin replaceable shoe on the back edge and an angled handle so my hand would clear the table.  It's still a dance to go from hand pressure to picking up the push stick and finishing the cut but with a little practice results are acceptable

 

[Alanbach]

The problem with storing a blade without coiling it has to do with how you store it. If you hang it on a nail, for example, it will rather quickly develope a slight bend in the blade that will cause the blade to be permanently out of round. When you put it back on the saw every time this spot goes around it will cause a bump causing vibration and an inconsistent cut. Basically it ruins the blade. When you coil the blade you eliminate gravity as a potential force to cause the blade to distort.

 

[upscale]

The problem with storing a blade without coiling it has to do with how you store it. If you hang it on a nail, for example, it will rather quickly develop a slight bend in the blade that will cause the blade to be permanently out of round.

I agree it does matter how the blades are stored. The person who started this topic said that he had enough room to store the blades without folding them. He may well have been thinking of hanging them on a nail, but he could just as well have been thinking of storing them on a flat surface such as some 4x8 sheets of plywood. If it's the second option he had in mind, then I can't see any negative blade effects happening.

 

[Mario Turcot]

Thank you all for the great advises.

[member=8711]Upscale[/member] & [member=66185]Alanbach[/member]

The problem with storing a blade without coiling it has to do with how you store it. If you hang it on a nail, for example, it will rather quickly develop a slight bend in the blade that will cause the blade to be permanently out of round.

I agree it does matter how the blades are stored. The person who started this topic said that he had enough room to store the blades without folding them. He may well have been thinking of hanging them on a nail, but he could just as well have been thinking of storing them on a flat surface such as some 4x8 sheets of plywood. If it's the second option he had in mind, then I can't see any negative blade effects happening.

Great information,well noted, thank you. My plan to store it was to make a shape the same size of the band saw wheels and suspend the blades on it. Would that create a memory bending?

Mario

 

[upscale]

author=Mario Turcot
Great information,well noted, thank you. My plan to store it was to make a shake the same size of the band saw wheels and suspend the blades on it. Would that create a memory bending?

I can't answer that because space is a premium for me so I'd be folding any blades that came my way.