how to split a 1" board...

[Greg Cuetara]

I have a dilemma on my hands. I need a panel about 16" wide by 20" tall. The panel really can be any thickness as I can cut a rabbit in the back to fit into the dado on the rails and stiles. As of right now the dado is about 1/4" thick. The rails and stiles are white oak.

I have a 1" thick board of white oak which is about 8.5" wide and 30" long.

It would be nice to have a large bandsaw so that I can resaw and get two pieces to bookmatch the panel. The problem is that I do not have a large bandsaw.

I was thinking of cutting a groove about 2" high into the middle of each edge, on my TS, and then using a handsaw to finish the cut. Probably not the best solution as I don't have a great handsaw but I do have something that could work. I could then run the pieces through the planer to clean up the faces.

Is there a flaw in my plan? Is there any concern of the boards warping afterwards or splitting? This board has been in my basement for a few years now so it should be dry but who really knows.

My original thought was to use a piece of oak plywood but I can only find full sheets and I only need a very small piece and don't really want to use 3/4 material if I don't have to. I also have a piece of birch plywood that I could use but not sure that it will really look good in the end. I am planning on using golden oak stain so that should blend the different tones a little bit.

Thanks for any advice.
Greg

[jim carter]

go to a local cabinet shop and ask if you can buy some scrap pieces. you could probably get what you need cheap.

[Myk Rian]

There are some that will tell you it's OK to resaw that with a TS, but not I.
Find someone with a BS that will handle it.
You could rip it to 4 3/16" then resaw it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Greg,

Surely there is a Creeker nearby who can remedy this situation. I would if you were closer.

[Ellen Benkin]

Your table saw/hand saw idea is perfectly good. Where I go to school, they have us use the table saw to establish the kerf before going to the band saw. Make sure you use a THIN KERF blade on the table saw to minimize the waste and identify the side that goes next to the fence so you can flip it and keep the kerfs in line. Raise the blade slowly and make numerous passes until the blade is at full height and then use the handsaw to finish the cut. Your middle will be rough, but it's easily taken care of with a planer. You can do a final touch up and get to the thickness you want with a wide belt sander, if you have access to one of those.

Let us know how it goes.

[Prashun Patel]

I was in the same boat as you with some walnut. A Creeker resawed it for me.

Don't forget to plane both sides to minimize the cupping.

[Paul Steiner]

+1 on finding a cabinet shop, they may have a resaw machine you could use.

[Jules Dominguez]

If this isn't an heirloom you're building, and the stiffness of the panel isn't an issue, I'd use quarter inch oak plywood. You'll eventually use most of the rest of the sheet, for backs of curio shelves, bookcases, whatever.

If you need the thickness, the above recommendations are all good.

[John Thompson]

Agree on the BS but I see you in Maine and I know there may not be many neighbors with them or cabinet shops for that matter so....

Your idea of making a relief cut with the stock standing on edge on each side (use a feather board to secure it to the fence) and then finishing with a hand-saw is not only valid.. it is very valid. I did that for years back in the 70's when I had no band-saw.

Ripping with a hand saw is standard fare in a Neanderthal shop and you can take it to the bank it was done in that manner more of less long before BS's showed on the scene. You don't need to make the relief cut but about an 1" to 1 1/2" on each side. It is just a aid to guide the cut.

Good luck...

Sarge..

[Greg Cuetara]

Ripping with a hand saw is standard fare in a Neanderthal shop and you can take it to the bank it was done in that manner more of less long before BS's showed on the scene. You don't need to make the relief cut but about an 1" to 1 1/2" on each side. It is just a aid to guide the cut.

Good luck...

Sarge..

Thanks for all the words so far. I was moreso thinking what John says above. Making a relief cut to aid guide my hand saw.

I think the advice to make multiple passes with the TS is also a good idea.

Just wanted to make sure I wasn't way out in left field.

Not sure if there are any cabinet shops around where I live although if there are any creekers around here that I don't know about and can help please let me know.

Greg

[Larry Rasmussen]

I had problems with warping worse than I have ever experienced. Starting with a actual one inch thickness on quarter sawn boards 1x8 and 1X4 about 10 feet long I did my usual routine to get a couple straight edges. Cut one edge of each board with guided circular saw (Festool set up) then the other with table saw then usually do one more on the table saw as it provides a smoother surface than the festool rip. The wood was well dried indoors at hardwood retailer.

The reason I'm writing is because by the next day I went to glue my two boards and they didn't meet in the middle. Cleaned every thing up and tried a fresh cut. Didn't meet correctly so I clamped the hell out of em, all the muscle I could put in to it. Well of course not my best wide board ever so I put the board aside for for some smaller trim in 10' lengths. I figured it was just the one board the 1X4. Darn if I did not decide to go with a new thicker board about 1 1/8 inch actual. New boards from different place well dried quarter sawn white oak, ended up with one 6 inch wide and one 4 inch. Still had the same tendancy to continue to bend a bit after one cut or even two to straighten. Luckily both stayed fairly flat, just wanted to continue to bow after cut but glued up ok. It'a just about impossible not to get a nice straight edge with the festool guide. I double checked every thing, it really was the wood.

Just throwing in an experience with white oak. I'm kind of curious if the more experience members of the posse can opine whether this is the variety of wood or just coincidence. I've never had any wood be so precisely stubbord right away. You might just make sure you double check alignment between cut and glue. My experience by the way is table saw fine for occasional rip to split board, small increments as suggested and easier to use full capacity of power saw on each side than hand sawing a bigger width.

Good luck,
Larry R
Seattle

[Greg Cuetara]

Well that was a royal pain. But I finally got my piece cut in two. I will take the pieces to the planer tomorrow and see if I can get it all smooth. I figure only the front really shows so the backs arn't that big of a deal if I can get out all of the saw marks. As someone mentioned earlier this is not really and heirloom piece. It is to house electronics and dvd's. Sometime in the future when the current tv dies and we get a plasma I will make a really nice cabinet like others have made here.

Greg

[Doug Shepard]

I did the TS and handsaw method a few times on board widths that exceeded my previous BS capability. It works but takes a lot longer than you might think to saw out that central portion. I got the best results using a bow saw. maybe due to the thinner blade but it went faster and smoother than the other hand saws I tried.

[Ed Sallee]

A couple of options......

Number one... as you described...

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/evsallee/39.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/evsallee/40.jpg

Option #2 - Visit a fellow Creeker, like John "Sarge" Thompson.... below

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/evsallee/DSC07315.jpg

*Couldn't resist....Sarge!

[Glen Blanchard]

I have used the table saw a few times to make the initial cuts as others here have, and then took the piece to the bandsaw (don't ask why I didn't just use the bandsaw for the entire cut :eek:). What I did not know however was how deep of a cut I should be making into the piece, and perhaps this information might help Greg (and others) in the future (I see that he is now done). I figured it would be safe to cut (on the table saw) a third of the width of the piece on each side and then follow with whatever method is chosen (e.g. handsaw) for the remaining middle third. Is there a rule of thumb for maximum depth of cut on the table saw for this technique?

[Greg Crawford]

Don't mean to hijack the post, but for safety's sake...

I see 2 things that concern me with the bandsaw pic. Number one, I was taught to NEVER wear gloves to operate any power tool. Number two, the top guide is way too high, leaving an awful lot of flesh-chewing teeth exposed.

My boss just lost a fingertip to a bandsaw. Never take them for granted!