Re-Sawing, How Do I Do It?

First, Will your bandsaw have enough vertical clearance to handle a 12” piece of stock- on edge?

Secondly, you should use the widest blade the saw can handle and the blade should have a very low tpi count and a carbide tooth is recommended.

Some folks find they can use a tall fence- like a rip fence for the table saw- the fence doesn’t have to be as tall as the piece your cutting but My opinion is that it should be at least half as tall or taller. I never had to much luck using this type of fence.

My cuts seem to drift to the side (Inexpensive bandsaw). I use a single, half round, vertical guide. It is nothing more than a 1” dowel cut length wise and mounted on a right angle holder. The holder is clamped to the table with the vertical edge of the dowel even with the blade. The distance between the dowel and the blade determines the thickness of the resawed piece. I have seen this idea for sale at Rockler. All they use is a round metal rod that bolts to the bandsaw rip fence.

The FineWoodworking site has several review articles on resawing, so I’d start there for good advice and descriptions. The only thing I can say from personal experience is that its easier to resaw narrow boards than wide boards. My bandsaw only has a 7” depth of cut, and I needed to resaw a 12” mahogany board recently. I ripped it into two 6” planks, made marks so I could remember how they went back together, then did my resawing on the 6” pieces. Once completed, I jointed the center edges and glued them back together. The seam is invisible because the grain is essentially a perfect match. Except for the missing 1/8” of wood that was in the kerf, it worked very nicely.

I’ve been resawing for about 6 years and I’ve never resawed a 12” board. The most is about 6 to 8”, but I like doing 3-4” best.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I agree with Karson. You will need a big band saw to do this. Why not buy 1x stock from a hardwood supplier which is cheaper per board foot from the home center. Why not use BC plywood instead?

One thing I did to get some 2” Ash resawn quicker was first ripped it to all 5 1/2 because the max on my bandsaw was 6”. Then I set the table saw blade up to about 2” or a little higher. Then I ran the 2” thick stock vertical on both sides cutting most of it. Then I ran them through the band saw not needing a fence because I could keep the blade within the 1/8” kerf and the saw was only cutting about an inch of material, not overworking the saw.

Only problem is I lost about 1/8” to a 1/4” of thickness to get the boards even. You would end up with 5/8” or even 1/2” if you did it this way about bought 2×6’s but quicker.

One other consideration. construction grade lumber has a higher moisture content than furniture grade lumber. keep that in mine when selecting material.

I resaw up to 16” boards on my 24” bandsaw with a 5 HP motor. I suggest you use a large bandsaw with a carbide toothed blade. It will pay for itself if you intend to do a LOT of resawing. Otherwise, it makes more sense to buy 4/4 stock and mill it.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

What do you think of this bandsaw
http://www.grizzly.com/products/17-Bandsaw-2-HP/G0513

I’ll be ripping 2×12 x 12 boards in half mostly

cut it on the table saw ripping up as far as the blade can go, flip it over and rip it again, cut the middle part out using the bandsaw

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

I certainly agree with cpollock and Karson. Resawing a 12” wide board will be difficult for an “old hand”, much less for some one trying it for the first time. I have a bandsaw with a 6” capacity so I rip my boards to a manageable width for resawing. I use the “Woodslicer” blade that I purchased from Highland Woodworking in Atlanta. Every blade has a certain amount of “drift” or “leade”. The fence must be carefully set to compensate for this, otherwise your cut will wander off the set line, perhaps considerably. I also use a featherboard to hold the stock against the fence. I have successfully resawn poplar to 1/4” thickness, and glued up the sections to make a 41”x40” back for a display cabinet.

That said, Kreg has a fence and resaw system that will fit on most bandsaws, allowing you to hand feed the stock through the blade. I have this package, but have not yet installed it on my bandsaw.

I would not purchase a huge, heavy, and power hungry bandsaw unless resawing 12” boards is going to be an everyday occurance.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

With all being said about the bandsaw, let’s address the 2×12. The 2×12 is most likely not a stable cut from the mill, as 2x material twists anyway. They also usually have a fairly high moisture content and twist or cup upon resawing. Try it and you will see, at least that is my experience. When buying hardwood, you pay more for 8/4 per bd/ft. than you do for 4/4 because of the time and expense to kiln dry or store that wood. 2” construction lumber costs less per bd/ft. than 1” lumber because it’s stored the same amount of time to dry and it takes less passes on the sawmill. Think about it.

If you try resawing 2x material good luck.

Jimmy

-- -JimmyC...Clayton,NC- "Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave"

I’ve ripped 2Xs on the flat side and they’ve corkscrewed, I can’t imagine what they would do resawing them. I’d purchase your pine closer to the dimension you need or, as suggested, use hardwood or plywoods to make the panel.

-- ...it's rennovation time!!!

I’ve resawed 12” white oak on my 14” Steel City bandsaw with the 6 inch riser. It supposedly has less power than the Grizzly 17” that you are considering and I had no problems getting a fairly smooth, straight cut using the Woodslicer blade so having enough power to actually cut it should be no problem for you. Having said that though, that was wood that had been drying for years and had only been 3/4 to begin with so I don’t know how it would work with 2” lumber that you just bought.

-- Dale Manning, Carthage, NY