A neandrethal solution to resawing.

[Jose Kilpatrick]

This weekend, I was working with a limited amount of wood on hand and I knew exactly how thin to resaw in order to get the amount of wood I needed for a project. I knew it would be a close call, and briefly thought about the idea of resawing by hand, but alas, I wanted to get a good start on this project while I had a day off, so I used my TS and flipped the piece end for end to get my cuts. After I turned one piece of wood into 4, none of them were uniform in thickness from one side to the other and I hand to hand plane them down thinner than what I wanted.

The more I 'practice', the more I'm drawn to hand tools. When I screw up on the table saw or the router, I always blame the tool. i.e., If I had a better fence, if my router wasn't so cheap, If my bandsaw was bigger, etc.
But, when I'm armed with a pull saw and a chisel, I can only blame myself for rushing through, or not marking accuratley.

I don't know if this a path in the road of specializing in my hobby, but I do find more satisfaction in building things all by hand tools.

I guess my question is, what methods can be used to resaw something the 'old' way? Also, what is the neandrethal equivelant to a power planer?
I would assumed a jack plane and smoothing plane, but is there any other method aside from marking the area that needs to be planed and plane until your pencil lines are gone?

[David Keller NC]

"I guess my question is, what methods can be used to resaw something the 'old' way? Also, what is the neandrethal equivelant to a power planer?
I would assumed a jack plane and smoothing plane, but is there any other method aside from marking the area that needs to be planed and plane until your pencil lines are gone?"

The answer to your first question is a tough one. There are two commonly illustrated ways that cabinetmakers re-sawed wood in the days before power tools or the access to a local water-powered saw mill. The first is with a pit saw - usually a 6-foot long thin blade with very aggressive teeth, with a permanent handle on one end and a removable "pit saw box" on the other - basically a runed handle with a slot and wedge cut perpendicular to the grain.

The other way for smaller pieces is with a frame saw - think bow-saw, except the frame members are arranged on either side of the blade, and the blade is mounted perpendicular to the frame members.

Problem is, both require 2 people to function efficiently and accurately, and that's not something most of us can talk a spouse or friend into doing.

So, you can effectively cut 2-3' long boards in twain with a coarse, 5 tpi 26" long handsaw. Disston made a lot of them, and they're frequently found at auctions, tool meets, and fleabay. They're also a good deal cheaper than the same saw filed cross-cut, as there's just not as much demand for them. Doing this is not a cakewalk - it takes some adjustment to the saw's set (it must be perfect on either side - a very small amount of bias either way results in a very big error after sawing through 2 feet of wood), and it does take practice, but it can be done. What's often recommended is to saw out the 4 corners of a board, then saw through the middle. Personally, I've had better success by carefully sawing straight down the middle of the board.

This is one case where a bandsaw is a much preferable tool - it's a lot easier to do accurately, and doesn't require two people.

[Robert Rozaieski]

You can use a purpose built frame saw to resaw but I've never liked them.
http://www.hyperkitten.com/pics/woodworking/resaw2.jpg
I think it is because I've always made the blades from bandsaw blade stock which is terrible for making hand saws. There's too much set, usually a negative rake and they can't be resharpened typically as the teeth are usually hardened or worse, carbide.

I usually just use a low PPI rip saw for resawing and it works just fine. FWIW, I've seen the guys at Williamsburg using a hand saw to resaw as well. You can resaw as long and wide a board as you like as long as you have the patience. There's no maximum resaw capacity when you do it by hand but it can take awhile depending on the size and hardness of the board. I've done boards as long as 4' long and 8" or so wide just like this. I don't do it often enough to warrant a purpose built frame saw and this method works just fine for me.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2250/2400943668_c8fc919395.jpg?v=0

For cleaning up the sawn boards, a jack and try or jointer plane do the job. You can finish with the smooth plane if it's a show surface but usually the parts I'm resawing don't warrant a flawless finish because they typically are secondary wood like drawer sides or bottoms. Just use a marking gauge to gauge a line around the edges from the flat face and plane to it. Nothing to it.;) This one took only about 5 minutes to finish plane after resawing (still some saw marks left yet in the pic). Don't be obsessed with producing lighter than air shavings and it goes pretty quick.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2131/2400943676_07de17f467.jpg?v=0

[Jose Kilpatrick]

Thanks for the info. I will have to give this a try.

[Dave Matson]

One tip I saw on an episode of the woodwright's shop which may prove helpful, is to flip the wood around as you rip. The saw will tend to wander a bit so if you attack from both sides of the board ever few inches it can help keep the cutting line centered which means less clean up work later on.

[Rob Luter]

I've used the same method Robert does, with a thumbhole style Disston D8. I resawed a 4" wide 8/4 board to get a bookmatched 8" wide, 4/4 board. It was a lot like work, but the results were pretty good. I flipped the board back and forth as Dave mentioned he saw done on The Woodwright's Shop. The line stayed pretty true.

[Jose Kilpatrick]

Should I be on the lookout for a WWII era saw by Disston? Apparently this guy knew his metallurgy as his company not only made saws, but also provided armor plating for the military. A few searches turned up some goods for sale at our favorite virtual fleamarket, but it seems this would be an item to be bought upon inspection.
My arsenal of handsaws is comprised primarily of dovetail and coping saws with one retired irwin backsaw that a so called friend used to cut Hardi plank. I suppose another 'investment' in my hobby is in order providing I can slip it by SWMBO without being noticed.

[Luke Townsley]

This does work pretty well. A mirror on the backside can help you see to keep the cut truer.

Also, if the saw has a tendency to cut to one side, you will soon find out in a cut this long. A quick pass with a fine diamond stone across the side of the saw teeth can remedy that pretty quickly.

Also, having a sharp saw is essential. Fortunately, touching up a rip saw is easy, if a bit tedious.

[David Christopher]

http://www.americanartifacts.com/smma/advert/aw36m.jpg
How about a foot powered bandsaw

[David Christopher]

http://www.smokstak.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=10510&d=1154722589



This ones even better

[James G. Jones]

Dave,
That looks uncommonly like one of those stair masters. I should show my wife. "See honey, we can cancel the gym membership, buy more tools and wood, you can work out, and I'll guide the wood through."

... looking nervously over shoulder to make sure she's out of the room...

James

[David Keller NC]

"Should I be on the lookout for a WWII era saw by Disston?"

Jose - An antique Disston, Spear and Jackson, or Simmonds saw would be a good addition to your hand tool set, but it does matter which model and wen it was manufactured. Disstons that were made before 1917 are the most prized, and not just by collectors. This era saw a convergence of very sophisticated steel making and hand work on the saw handle - you can recognize these saws by the nicely rounded edges on the handle. Saws made a few years after this had handles that were largely made by machine, and have sharp edges to them.

From the standpoint of cabinet making, the pre-1917 Disston #12s are top of the line - they were thinner than the #8s, and taper-ground so that the saw was thnner near the back edge than the toothed edge, which helps prevent the saw from binding in a kerf.

It would be well worth reading the information on Pete Tarran's website (http://www.vintagesaws.com/index.htm) and the Disstonian Institute pages (http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/) before you buy one.

One solution to the fairly high expense of a pre 1917 Disston #12 in good condition is to either choose one with a chipped horn on the handle (collectors cringe at this, but it won't matter in use unless it's badly broken), or a pre 1930's #12 - you can take a rasp to the handle of one of the later saws to improve their comfort in your hand, and the steel will still be good.

[Richard Francis]

http://www.bob-easton.com/blog/

He is a boatbuilder using only hand tools who is well into resawing with a frame saw.
Worth following the whole thing back to get an idea of how it develops.

[Ben Davis]

Where's George!!!?!?!? I can't wait to see what he brings to the table on this discussion.

FWIW, there was a great Woodwright's Shop episode that demonstrated resawing by hand. The fellow used a simple hand saw.

[Jose Kilpatrick]

I was visting my parents this weekend and noticed an old handsaw in my dad's shop that had a handled that resembled the Disston design. I took it down and looked it over discovering that it was a disston d-23. When I asked my dad where he got it, he told me that he bought it at a flea market not too long ago. I offered to buy it from him and he said, "Just take it, I only paid $3 for it :eek:
Upon finer inspection, the blade looked relativley straight, except for a slight bend about 4 inches from the end. It's hardly noticeable, but I'm sure it will affect the performance. all the teeth were there, but there was one fastener missing in the handle, and the handle had a crack in it. the notch in the top was relativley smooth and I could not tell if the wood was apple or not.
It does need a good sharpening job, but overall, I think the saw is in pretty good shape. This week, I'm going to look it over again and see what it's going to take to get it into working shape.

[Bob Easton]

http://www.bob-easton.com/blog/

He is a boatbuilder using only hand tools who is well into resawing with a frame saw.
Worth following the whole thing back to get an idea of how it develops.

Yep, that's me. My shop built frame saw was inspired by Bob Rozaieski's (post #3 above). The first blade I used in it was a "peg tooth" blade that wasn't up to the task. I took a hacksaw to an old Disston D-8 blade, cut it down, and then tuned it up. Refiled teeth to 90 degrees, sharpened, set etc.

That saw is wicked sharp. I'm now on my 4th piece of 4/4 cedar lumber. Those boards have ranged from 14 to 16 feet long and 8 to 10 1/2 inches wide. The results are plenty accurate enough, that after planing both sides (started with rough cut flitches), I'll easily get the 3/8 and 5/16 boards I need for the boat.

Yes, it's a good bit of work. Currently I'm making about three feet per hour. It's a good way to stay warm in a cold shop, and I'll have all the resawing done before the weather warms much.

[Bob Easton]

Continuing to answer Jose's original questions...

After resawing, the planing will be done with a jack plane set for fairly aggressive thickness (esp for the rough side of the board). That's followed by #7 jointer set moderate to fine. That will get the surface as flat as I need. The #4 smoother will complete the job.

All of the planes are rehabbed Baileys.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Yep, that's me. My shop built frame saw was inspired by Bob Rozaieski's (post #3 above).

Actually, the frame saw isn't mine, I believe it's Josh Clarke's. The pic is linked from his Hyperkitten web site.

[Bob Easton]

Actually, the frame saw isn't mine, I believe it's Josh Clarke's. The pic is linked from his Hyperkitten web site.

Ooops. Thanks Bob. Yes, the frame saw design takes after Josh Clarke's. He has an article about it at:
http://hyperkitten.com/woodworking/frame_saw.php3