Bandsaw Resawing and Length of Material

I just joined Lumberjocks and already searched for and read several threads about resawing on the bandsaw. I own a nearly new Jet 14” bandsaw (bought it last spring) and I am using a 3 TPI Timberwolf resawing blade. In fact, my main reason for purchasing a bandsaw was for resawing thicker stock, typically 4/4 or 6/4, to create finished stock of 3/8” (after planing and sanding).

There was all sorts of good information in the forums about resaw fences, tuning, etc., but the one thing I couldn’t find was recommended maximum length of material to be resawn. This is important to me because I feel it may be a contributing factor to my minimal, but less than happy experience so far.

I am using thinner finished stock because my specialty (although I am an amateur) is jewelry boxes, and I felt it was more cost effective for me to resaw my own material. My recent projects have used Khaya, Bloodwood, Lenga and Zebrawood.

With the former three I had purchased 3-foot lengths of 4/4 or 6/4 stock with width ranges of 5-6”. My experience with each of these pieces was identical. While I seemed to get a smooth, true cut with very little wandering (even in my inexperienced hands!), the end result was boards that warped horribly after being cut. In fact, it seemed as if the boards buckled almost immediately after the separating cut at the end of the board.

I am aware that any green or poorly dried wood can cause this, and that there is some amount of tension that is released from wood that is so cut. However, the raw material was purchased from a very reputable dealer, was further dried in my garage shop for six months, and the cut pieces were “stickered” for four to five days with ample weight atop the “sticker stack.”

Am I expecting too much by trying to resaw longer pieces of material? Or, as I suspect, is there something (or some things!) that I am doing incorrectly? Or is it, perhaps, a combination of all these factors?

-- Kevin, Vancouver, WA