Resaw Test

[Bruce Page]

I was able to try a little resawing test last weekend with the new bandsaw. I had a 4/4 X 13-3/4 X 36" long piece of Brazilian cherry that looked perfect. I figured that I could make boxes or something with the thinner boards. After flattening the board using my drum sander and squaring it up on the TS, I ended up with a board that was 3/4" X 13-1/4" X 36". I made a 12" tall plywood fence that bolted onto the Mini Max fence, mounted my plastic feather board to the table, and mounted the 1" X 3 tpi freebee blade that came with the saw. I was ready for the test.

Whoever dubbed this wood "Brazilian Cherry" must have been smoking funny cigarettes - the only thing in common with cherry is the color. I have never worked it before and found it to be much denser, harder, heavier, and on the abrasive side. :(

The actual cutting took more effort than I thought it would, the MM motor had plenty of wheeties and never came close to straining, but it was difficult to push the board through the blade. I might have had the plastic feather board too tight against the board or maybe it was the density of the Brazilian cherry, but I suspect that the freebee blade wasn't up to the challenge. (I have a carbide tipped Lenox blade on order) :D

The cut was straight down the middle for the entire length of the board but on the rough side. I will probably have to remove 1/16" to get a full clean-up.

I plan on repeating the test when I get the Lenox blade in, but I will use something other than the Brazilian Cherry. :eek:

[Alan Turner]

I think you will like the results of the Lennox much better. With mine, just a scant 1/32" is all that is needed, and the feed pressure required is not extreme at all. Also, I wonder if you got friction from the tall fence. I just use the 4" or so high fence from the Aggi, and it works fine, even on 12" high resaw cuts. I use a UHMW homemade featherboard, so perhaps that is less friction prone.

[Bruce Page]

I think you will like the results of the Lennox much better. With mine, just a scant 1/32" is all that is needed, and the feed pressure required is not extreme at all. Also, I wonder if you got friction from the tall fence. I just use the 4" or so high fence from the Aggi, and it works fine, even on 12" high resaw cuts. I use a UHMW homemade featherboard, so perhaps that is less friction prone.Thanks Alan. I'm looking forward to using the Lenox. I like the tall fence, it forces me into keeping the board square to the blade & table. I will try a shorter one next time. I also could have put a coat of wax on the plywood, it might have made a difference - it never even occured to me.. :o

[Alan Turner]

Bruce,
With the tall fence, I think I might be tempted to push agaisnt the top of the board in an effort to keep it at true vertical, but might in fact tip the fence in the process. There would be a lot of leverage there. I have not had trouble with tipping using only the short fence. But I do know that if I set the featherboard too tight, it does increase the friction.
Alan

[Bruce Page]

Alan, I did have the feather board pretty tight. It was the first time that I have used a blade that big and a board that tall and didn't really know what to expect. :eek: I probably overdid the setup a bit.
I will use a 6" fence next time.

Thanks for the advice!

[Jim Becker]

Bruce, for the limited amount of resawing I've done so far on my MM16, the stock fence was just fine. I will likely try that again when I resaw some QS sycamore that I got from Donnie for the panels in the buffet I'm working on. Those boards are about 10" wide or so and I don't expect any problems. I'll put the Lennox back on for that. Even though the kerf is wider, it cuts so cleanly that it's probably a wash relative to face jointing between passes while cutting the veneers.