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Need easy hack to resaw 6+ inch tall for wrapping beams

6K views 71 replies 29 participants last post by  ChefHDAN 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello, I'm brand new, so give me a tiny break. I want to wrap my shaggy wooden ceiling beams with a nicer wood, and I will need a width which seems to be slightly above what my Central Machinery bandsaw is designed to cut. The saw description claims it will saw 6 inch vertically, but I went to Harbor Freight and it's more like 5 3/4 on the floor demo machine. I see that there are 95 inch bandsaw blades available, and it occurred to me that If I could just put a steel shim between the upper part and the lower part, something like the factory made kits will do, only I would use a less than one inch shim, I could get my six inch height. I don't think buying a riser kit for $100 or so is really necessary(?). I thought about making some shorter trunnions for the table for this project, but that is much harder than the shim idea. I could also grind some off of the upper blade guide assembly, but I would need to replace it later,and I'm not completely sure that I can't get a full 6 inches without modifications. Please feel free to make suggestions, especially if you have experience that can save me wasting time and or money. Oh, and my wife wouldn't let me buy a $800 dollar bandsaw which is why I'm wasting time trying to do it with a $300 dollar bandsaw.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
I really don't think a HF BS is up to the task for resawing. It might require a larger motor, good blade guides. You might end up spending $800 to make a HF BS workable. Look for a used BS like a Delta, Jet, PM, etc. I think the HF would be a waste of money. Just my opinion. You might also consider a furniture grade plywood in whatever thickness you want. Just rip the plywood to the desired width, miter the edge and apply to your beams.Depending on the size of the beams, 1/4" plywood could be used, saving you much money.
 
#5 ·
If you've got a TS you can rip a kerf on each edge at the highest height of your TS blade and then use a Japanese back saw to split the two pieces into two boards. A few passes with a #4 or #5 will flatten out the cut faces and you're ready to go. If you're not moderately experienced with setting up the BS well for resaw, this may be your quickest and best result as opposed to battling any drift or bowing of your stock in the BS. FWIW, I didn't even hesitate to put a riser kit in my 14" BS, and run 105" blade. I have had to do a lot of practice to learn how to get the results I want, without getting tapered boards that need several passes through the planer to get back to square and parallel. When I need a quick resaw and am not too concerned with the amount of wood lost from the blade kerf of the TS blade vs. the BS blade this is how I do it.
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
In reply, I have definitely eliminated any idea of plywood mosaic since my beams are 20+ feet, and plywood finish attempts always have such an ugly seam. My idea was to resaw Douglas Fir dimensional to ~.5 inch thick. I know the older HF bandsaws will resaw Doug Fir, I watched it done. I'm not totally sure resawing a 16 foot board will be easy, but, hey, It was going to cost me at least $800 to have someone do it, and I buy the wood. I can rip a 2X6 with a 10" table saw, but that isn't what I want either. My impression is that this is a forum for people who spend the big money and don't struggle with details of jerking around with a machine that needs to be adapted in some way. I could have taken my orbital sander to the beams to get rid of the coarse "hair" on them, but i hate overhead work and filling my house with sanding dust such that I thought I could do it easier by just recovering them with a layer of wood. I planned to experiment with prefinishing the wood that I would use. I have a handy dandy airless that helps me with finishing jobs.
 
#8 ·
As others have suggested, why don't you use 3/4 dimensional lumber and either plane it down to 1/2" or just leave as is? Seems like a huge make-work project to resaw. Trying to resaw a 16' board is a nightmare, even on a great bandsaw.
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
Why resaw the stock in the first place? Just make a faux beam to wrap the current one with mitered 3/4" thick stock.

If you have a planer, you could even plane it down to 1/2".

- jonah
This would not be economical at all, an acceptable grade of inch nominal white pine or yellow pine is as much as oak around here. Part of the reason I would resaw, if possible, is to save money on wood. I would also need to rabbet joints to make the box beam, and it would be very heavy once assembled. If I were going to do this, I should take down the beams I am considering trying to cover. And get a rolling scaffold.
 
#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
If you ve got a TS you can rip a kerf on each edge at the highest height of your TS blade and then use a Japanese back saw to split the two pieces into two boards. A few passes with a #4 or #5 will flatten out the cut faces and you re ready to go. If you re not moderately experienced with setting up the BS well for resaw, this may be your quickest and best result as opposed to battling any drift or bowing of your stock in the BS. FWIW, I didn t even hesitate to put a riser kit in my 14" BS, and run 105" blade. I have had to do a lot of practice to learn how to get the results I want, without getting tapered boards that need several passes through the planer to get back to square and parallel. When I need a quick resaw and am not too concerned with the amount of wood lost from the blade kerf of the TS blade vs. the BS blade this is how I do it.

- ChefHDAN
I have done this on smaller projects, this time around I want to try a different approach. Sort of like a thick veneer. I have only bandsawed short boards, so I thought if I could conquer the height problem I would address the problem of how to cut it straight next. Since I didn't get a rip fence, I would need to devise something like an oversize fence, perhaps a homemade custom guide ( I cut and weld steel, too ) that would keep the material from getting way off the intended cut line, like fences on both sides of the material(?) I have worked in shops where there are large tables made to slide material on that are the exact height of the saw table. I might try something like that. Hey I just thought, Why not use laminate? No!!
 
#13 ·
If you are planning on resawing step away from the HF saw.

It has it s uses but also has it s limits. I don t spend big money on anything but I did have to dump my HF bandsaw when I started resawing.

16 ? Probably wouldn t even attempt it.

- Andybb
Supposedly the electric motor is not the limitation of this saw. If I proceed, I will probably find the limitation, which is more likely to do with the wheels that the blade is driven by, and their support structure, and the blade guides. I am already trying to overcome the limitation of the maximum rip height. What limitation(s)
did you find when you were resawing with the HF bandsaw? I guess we are talking about the same saw?
 
#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
As others have suggested, why don t you use 3/4 dimensional lumber and either plane it down to 1/2" or just leave as is? Seems like a huge make-work project to resaw. Trying to resaw a 16 board is a nightmare, even on a great bandsaw.

- Manitario
Make work? Yeah. I'm busier right now deciding if it can even be done. It's dicey to try it at all, but I'm a brave SOB. I should have died a few times. If the equipment will do the work, Ill keep pushing the material through. I have ripped ( split ) 2X6s the long way with a 10" table saw and or dadoed 2X6s to spline some heavy ass doors together a few times, so fighting with large boards is not new to me. What I wonder, other than the longevity of my HF saw, is the major design limitation that I might be up against? Oh, and I don't love Chinese tools that much except that I have worked probably three years of my life to pay for tools that I have owned. Now that I am at the end of my tool collecting career, I think I have room to economize when I can.
 
#15 ·
Like others have asked, why do you need to resaw? Make it easy on yourself and use 3/4, 4/4, whatever you can get from the mill /yard
Trust me we don t all spend big money. We also don t like unnecessary work

- GrantA
I have 10 full beams 16-20 feet and 2 half beams to wrap. Inch nominal wood to do the work at $3 board/ft and up would be about, oh, what, $1200 or more? Versus a couple hundred or so if I can rip down 2X8s.
 
#16 ·
......different approach. Sort of like a thick veneer. I have only bandsawed short boards, so I thought if I could conquer the height problem I would address the problem of how to cut it straight next. Since I didn t get a rip fence, I would need to devise something like an oversize fence, perhaps a homemade custom guide ( I cut and weld steel, too ) that would keep the material from getting way off the intended cut line, like fences on both sides of the material(?)...
- Marc Bachman
Marc, there is alot of outside influences when using a BS, even if you devise a method to hold the board "dead-nuts" square on the table the blades can still deflect twist bow etc. the longer the taller the board, the challenges increase, but you're a man on a mission, and I can respect that, please post photos of your project and share your challenges and triumphs with us here so we can learn along with you.
 
#18 ·
Marc,
See you are a man on a mission.
If you cannot replace the BS, then at a minimum get the riser kit.
Invest in several 1/2" resaw blades such as the Highland Resaw King.
If you don't have a planer, your job becomes much more difficult.
The saw will need a tall fence and a tall support/feather board on the other side. You can build these. Clamp them to the work table, then add more clamps. A 16 foot board is a very long pry bar.
Resawing long boards is a time to gather some friends, roller stands, or other infeed/outfeed supports. I have resawn 15 foot boards 1" wide, 8" tall by myself on a decent 14" 1-3/4hp bandsaw, so it can be done, much easier with help. You will have to go slow and don't expect to have a perfect product after resawing. Just plain them down to a uniform thickness. Good luck.
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
Marc, by all of your responses, I see you have your mind made up.
You are fighting an uphill battle.

Once you start resawing your wood you will see what is a lot of work.
Your pieces won't be straight, they will need to be run through a planner,
If you get that far your 2×8 lumber will more than likely twist, crack or cup.

You asked:
"Please feel free to make suggestions,
especially if you have experience that can save me wasting time and or money. "

You have plenty of comments to help you.
Good Luck

EDIT:
"Inch nominal wood to do the work at $3 board/ft and up would be about, oh, what, $1200 or more?"

1 x 8 x 16 @ 13.52 a board approx. 500.00
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
A riser kit is drilled and dowelled to keep both halves of the band saw in alignment. How are you going to do this with your homemade shim. If you want to open that can of worms go for. it.

- johnstoneb
Ani avashel. A riser kit is another $100 dollars I would spend on a marginal piece of equipment by all assessments. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. BTW, what does "quality" equate to in the scale between #3 and clear? I called, menards doesn't really know. The picture looks like "D" pine, somehow I doubt that.
 
#24 ·
Apart from all the setup issues that have to be addressed, boards often have a mind of their own when you start slicing them apart.
If you decide to resaw these long boards please take the time to document it with pictures (video even better, doesn't need to be professional quality) and share the experience whether it is successful or not.
 
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