Sweet Spot on Band Saw for Resawing

[Chris Hachet]

Where is the sweet spot in terms of $ spent vs. performance if one wants to re saw lumber and make veneer for drawer fronts and table legs with a good re saw blade? The new Laguna 14-12 looks like it would work well. Any one have any experience with that model saw here? I have used friends saws that are much larger and more powerful, and they work great. Wondering how the Laguna 14-12 would perform....or about what anyone else ahs had luck with.

[Robert Carruthers]

A lot depends on how thick you want to resaw. IMHO you need a 1/2" or wider blade on a band saw to reduce drift when resawing. It would help if you clarified the board thickness you intend to process.

[Erik Loza]

A lot depends on how thick you want to resaw. IMHO you need a 1/2" or wider blade on a band saw to reduce drift when resawing. It would help if you clarified the board thickness you intend to process.

This ^^^^

It will be different for each machine and then each size board for the project and it typically takes some experimentation to find the best machine/blade combo for that specific task.

If I could give a person one piece of advice when it comes to shopping for bandsaws that they plan to re-saw with, it would be, "Buy as much machine as you can afford/have room for". And if it means saving up for a while, that would be preferable to just settling for something now. Have yet to have an owner complain about having "too much" bandsaw. On the other hand, lost track of how many folks have told me they regretted buying this or that machine because they "thought it might get the job done".

Best of luck in your search.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Peter Quinn]

Another issue is speed. Are you in a rush? I'm now using a 20" meber BS, it takes a 1 1/4" blade and resaws reasonably fast up to its limit. I used to use a 14" powermatic w/riser, 1/2" 3th blade, it resawed reasonably well up to its limit, but a lot slower. If I resawed two 8" drawer fronts, one on a 24" Italian saw, one on an old delta, you wouldn't be able to tell me which was which given similar geometry. But if you told me to resaw 500LF of door skins on the 14" saw....I'd cry for at least 2 minutes, longer slower painful process.

Another often overlooked factor is table height and size. I'm short, the bigger saws seem to have lower tables, I prefer the lower table height, and I prefer a larger table, comes in handy for all sorts of things. So consider that while comparing saws. A big saw can do a lot more than just slice wood.

[Richard Coers]

Lots of variables have been mentioned, here's a couple more. Wood species makes a difference. If you work with a lot of hard exotics you need more saw. Also remember that the small saws have smaller wheels. You have to use thinner blades to be able to tension them enough, and they still have less life on the small wheels from bending compared to the large wheel machines. You mention drawer fronts as a factor, I've made 10" drawers before. Follow Erik's advice!

[Michael Mahan]

A big saw can do a lot more than just slice wood.
Can you expand on this ?
& No I'm Not being sarcastic :)
I've heard many guys say that their Big Bad Band Saw is the center pivotal tool in their shop . I just watched Nick Offerman say about the same thing when he 1st started his shop .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIA2Xl8P7Es

[Tai Fu]

What about a Woodmizer? That ought to solve everything!

[Bryan Rocker]

What about a Woodmizer? That ought to solve everything!

You know I was thinking the same thing, a Woodmizer LT40 with all hydraulics would take the biggest tree and give you all the veneer you would ever want. You can go smaller but I wouldn't buy one unless it was fully hydraulic.....been dreaming of one of these for sometime, just not sure my back is up to that much fun. Watch your craigslist and some of the other forums...

On to the main topic I have an old 14" Delta with the riser block and it cuts decent. I am already looking at upgrading the motor to 220 or just buying a 3HP motor. The frame will handle it. I agree with the other posters, get the biggest baddest saw you can afford....If its to big you can always use a smaller one.......

[Erik Loza]

....I've heard many guys say that their Big Bad Band Saw is the center pivotal tool in their shop...

Mike, random pics from past projects in the Austin shop. My colleague Sam uses BS' for all sorts of things. Dove-tailing, ripping, large forms, etc.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Bandsaw%20Works/Dovetailingonbandsaw.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Bandsaw%20Works/Samfeedingbandsaw2.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Bandsaw%20Works/Samwithnewlaminatestrips.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Bandsaw%20Works/SamplestripsofLyptus.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Bandsaw%20Works/BSStraightline003.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Bandsaw%20Works/BSStraightline014.jpg

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Michael Mahan]

love that curved ply cutting jig !
Just exactly what I plan on getting into soon , I am tossing around a curved sided speaker cabinet laminated like that in the pix .
the curve would be much shorter , I think what I plan on is called a boat tail shape in a speaker cabinet

[Michael Mahan]

Mike, random pics from past projects in the Austin shop. My colleague Sam uses BS' for all sorts of things. Dove-tailing, ripping, large forms, etc.


http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Bandsaw%20Works/Samfeedingbandsaw2.jpg


Erik Loza
Minimax USA Erik , what power feed is that ?

AND what is that bolted to the BS table that has the Logo "Aligner "
what BS is that ? a MM24 ?

[Chris Hachet]

I am wanting to cut quarter sawn oak, hard maple, and hickory in 10 inch widths for veneer and making small boxes. methinks at least a 220 volt motor of at least 2-21/2 HP is a bare minimum, correct?

[Chris Hachet]

Another issue is speed. Are you in a rush? I'm now using a 20" meber BS, it takes a 1 1/4" blade and resaws reasonably fast up to its limit. I used to use a 14" powermatic w/riser, 1/2" 3th blade, it resawed reasonably well up to its limit, but a lot slower. If I resawed two 8" drawer fronts, one on a 24" Italian saw, one on an old delta, you wouldn't be able to tell me which was which given similar geometry. But if you told me to resaw 500LF of door skins on the 14" saw....I'd cry for at least 2 minutes, longer slower painful process.

Another often overlooked factor is table height and size. I'm short, the bigger saws seem to have lower tables, I prefer the lower table height, and I prefer a larger table, comes in handy for all sorts of things. So consider that while comparing saws. A big saw can do a lot more than just slice wood.
...and this is why I am thinking band saw. I do about 60-80 percent of my work by hand, but some stuff is so much better by machine. Was thinking of upgrading to a saw stop, but methinks dollar for dollar I would become a much better wood worker with more band saw vs. more table saw.

[Jim Matthews]

Mike, random pics from past projects in the Austin shop. My colleague Sam uses BS' for all sorts of things. Dove-tailing, ripping, large forms, etc.
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Bandsaw%20Works/BSStraightline003.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Bandsaw%20Works/BSStraightline014.jpg

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

That's the first time I've seen resaw height come into play cutting a curved lamination.
Why put the stack on a form, rather than just feed it through along the curve?

That stack appears to be about 3 inches thick (give or take).

[Jim Matthews]

I just had my first successful resaw (by my meager standards) in quartersawn white oak.

Cutting 10 inches of Hickory, Hard Maple or QS Oak is tough going.
The blade will need a slow enough feed rate to clear the gullets.

It's been stressed elsewhere, but the biggest determinant for my success in resawing is to make sure the face registering to the fence
is actually flat. Not close to flat, or mostly flat - flat along it's length against the table and fence.

It's easy to overlook this, I know I do - all too often. Note the scorching where the blade was being pushed away from the fence, as the top of the
board was thicker than the bottom (where it was held against the fence). Don't get me wrong - I'm happy to get this far, and might even use
the stack that came off this practice run. This stack just reinforced the basic things that I can't disregard, if I want more presentable results.

Getting 3 plus feet of 10" thick resaw straight will be complicated by deviations, particularly if the exit wedges tighter due to increased thickness.

279200 279201

This was taken from a local front yard, where I quartered the log (nearly four feet in diameter) with wedges, and had quartersawn into planks.

It's the main reason I went with such a big bandsaw, and I'm still dialing in the method.

[John TenEyck]

Hey, if you need to buy a new, or your first, BS, go big as others have said. But as a hobbiest I can't justify a 24" MM, or even an 18" or 20" unless I can find a used one some day. Now, to the point. You can resaw 10" native American hardwoods and cut very nice veneer, too, from a common little 14" Delta BS with a riser block. This was a 10" birdseye maple board that I cut into veneer.

279206

I cut it into 0.090" thick slices, and they did not vary by more than 0.005" top to bottom, end to end. 1/2", 3 tpi blade, cool blocks, 1-1/2 HP motor, shop made tall fence with stacked feather board to keep the stock against the fence. The key is to get the saw set up to cut straight, no drift compensation nonsense. After that, the rest is easy.

John

[michael flay]

I myself have a MM20 for resawing, but if you are looking at the Laguna's I would go with the LT14SUV for $600 more it has more power and is beefier than the 14/12.

[Michael Mahan]

That's the first time I've seen resaw height come into play cutting a curved lamination.
Why put the stack on a form, rather than just feed it through along the curve?

That stack appears to be about 3 inches thick (give or take).looks to me as if he's using it as sled than a form
looks to me as if it's for getting a parallel rip to trim off the uneven lamination edge
much like a log slider/sled is used on a BS to slice boards
I might be wrong on that

[Jim Finn]

I re-saw a lot of eight inch Cedar on my G0555 from grizzly, with a riser, works well for me. Not quick but nice cuts with their carbide 5/8" blade.