Resawing question

Arboristic

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This is my first posting although I've been reading and learning for about a year. I just picked up a board, 6 inches wide and 5/8" thick, that's just more than 16mm. I have an old Sears bandsaw that doesn't have the capacity. I'm wondering what I could expect if I found someone to resaw it for me. Could I get three cuts, four slices or is that too ambitious?
 
You are going to loose between 1 and 2 mm per cut, depending on the blade and the accuracy of said saw. So with 3 cuts to get 4 slices, you at the very least are going to loose 3mm but more likely much closer to 6mm. That is going to leave you 10mm of material, so 2.5mm thick or just a tiny bit more. And then they have to be cleaned up. You are going to loose some more here, and it can be significant if the cuts are ragged, or worse yet wander.

When I re-saw, I use a Hitachi CB75. The blade is made specifically for this, and it's deadly accurate with a fantastic finish. It's quite doable on a saw like this. On something else I'd say that it's possible, but rather hopeful as well.
 
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The grain of the board can work for or against you. I have best results sawing quarter-sawn material. I use a 1/2" wide 3 tooth blade on my bandsaw.
 
I'm wondering what I could expect if I found someone to resaw it for me. Could I get three cuts, four slices or is that too ambitious?
The someone you find should have a resaw, or a saw setup to resaw. Allen's CB75 is a resaw; I have one as well, however, I've converted mine to a 1" blade with Carter guides, and I'm much happier with the blades available to resaw. FWIW, Notable Woods has a highly modified version of this saw http://www.notablewoods.com/pages/shoptour.html

But I digress, this is not about saws in particular, but your less than 4/4 blank. As Allen stated, it could be done, but you'd end up with a plates with a very small gluing surface. I usually cut between .100 and .110, join the plates and thin down from there (with a Spanish style gluing jig). I used to cut and glue at .125, but since I started using a Lenox Woodmaster CT, I can bring it in tighter and cleaner.

If you use a thin kerf blade, WELL setup, eg: brand new Woodslicer, you'll get minimal waste. The kerf on that blade is only .025. What are you cutting, how long is it, and what are you using it for (tops, sides, veneers, . . . )?
 
Thanks for the replies. I didn't think it was likely. The board is a pretty piece labeled Australian lacewood that I came across at a Rockler store.
 
I wouldn't count on four slices, it would be theoretically possible but more likely highly improbable. The 16mm thickness will make a nice and easy to produce book-matched set, and that's what you want. Do you have a fair table saw? You can easily partially split the blank in one or two passes on each side and finish off the remainder with a handsaw. If you want to live dangerously you could go for 3 and get a few head plates out of the extra piece.
 
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Here's a link to one of my blog posts, where I got three slices from a board of 14 mm. Doesn't sound much? Well the bandsaw was up the creek so I did it with a handsaw.

http://argapa.blogspot.se/2013/09/ripping-wood-for-mr-monteleone.html

Damn. I quit.

Do you have a fair table saw? You can easily partially split the blank in one or two passes on each side and finish off the remainder with a handsaw. If you want to live dangerously you could go for 3 and get a few head plates out of the extra piece.

There are a few people that will agree with you on this. I'm not one of them. This is one of those situations where the right tool for the job should be used. My opinion of course.

But, just for conversation, the bandsaw will have more thinner kerfed blades than a tablesaw, which would need to be setup better than "fair" to do it accurately. Not sure if I can use the word "safely" in that process.
 
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Damn. I quit.



There are a few people that will agree with you on this. I'm not one of them. This is one of those situations where the right tool for the job should be used. My opinion of course.

But, just for conversation, the bandsaw will have more thinner kerfed blades than a tablesaw, which would need to be setup better than "fair" to do it accurately. Not sure if I can use the word "safely" in that process.

I agree with your evaluation, but I'm basing my answer on reading between the lines of the OP's question. Using a bandsaw to get four bookmatched flitches from 16mm is going to require better equipment than enumerated by the OP. We'd all love to have a re-saw capacity bandsaw with a thin kerf re-saw blade but the reality is often slightly different than that in the average home shop. My answer is based on practicality, and trying to get 4 flitches from 16mm without much better tooling is going to yield expensive kindling.
 
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