Redimensioning Lumber

[Eric Gracka]

To redimension lumber, store-bought or otherwise, would you recommend re-sawing, or the use of a scrub plane?

Thanks

[bridger berdel]

how much do you need to take off, and do you hsve a use for the piece remaining?

[Jim Matthews]

Resawing a board longer than 2 feet, or wider than 10 inches is a challenge that I've yet to
master after three years of trying. I would only resaw when I want to bookmatch the grain
of a particular board on the face of something.

Otherwise, it's more difficult than I care to casually tackle.

If you're flattening rough stock from 6/4 down to 4/4 (or less) a scrub plane works fast.
It's not easy, either - but it's not intended to be precise.

What kind of lumber is involved? I mainly resaw the expensive stuff...

I do it the way Bob demonstrates in the video below; things are explained around 2:00.


http://blip.tv/hand-tools-techniques/episode-27-flat-square-4252453

[Winton Applegate]

Bandsaw if at or over 1/4" (6mm) thickness of waste needs to be removed even if it is just at shorter areas of the plank to take the high spots off to make it straighter. unless the plank with over 6mm is difficult to maneuver onto the bandsaw for some reason then scrub it as well. You can even kerf the area to be taken down with a circular saw or hand saw and then scrub.

If under 6mm waste thickness then scrub plane .

Keep in mind that when handling heavy planks, say 80 lb and more, that the drill press table makes an excellent out feed support for resaw like work. Turn the table to the side to clear the head of the machine. That was one reason I bought a floor standing drill press rather than a metal working "mill drill" which sits on a stand or a large bench top drill press.

[Jim Koepke]

To redimension lumber, store-bought or otherwise, would you recommend re-sawing, or the use of a scrub plane?

Thanks

Eric,

Welcome to the Creek. Your location isn't listed in your profile. If you live in the Portland, Oregon area I would be happy to get together with you about re-sawing lumber or other woodworking endeavors.

My preference is to re-saw if it is much more than a 1/16" in the waste. Most of the time I use a bandsaw to re-saw smaller pieces into two or three pieces.

Going the wide dimension by hand is possible. It is best to have a saw that is sharp and tracks well.

For making small 1X or 2X (?/4) out of bigger stock it is easier for me to do by hand if the piece is longer than a few feet.

jtk

[Eric Gracka]

Hi
Up to 1/2" of of 2x6 or 2x8 pine.

Thanks

[Eric Gracka]

Hi
On one project I want to remove 1/8" of off both sides of 2x6's and 2x8's. The material is 8' pine. If I use a scrub plane, I intend to smooth with a #5 and true with a #6.

Thanks

[Eric Gracka]

I'll change the profile. I live in Carp, Ontario Canada.

[Willem Martins]

I resaw all the time, from 1/16" to any larger dimension. Having a quality blade is key.

[Eric Gracka]

What type of rip saw & how many RPI?

[Christian Thompson]

1/8 inch is only a few passes of a scrub. I think that would be less effort than trying to re-saw by hand. If you have a lot of these boards, though, it'd probably be worth finding someone with a power planer...

[Jim Matthews]

Note that some species of Pine have very hard annular rings adjacent to very soft early growth.
This can be very hard on planes that are less than sharp and/or set to take a deep cut.

Scrubbing across Pine like this may be tough sledding.

[Jim Koepke]

What type of rip saw & how many RPI?

This will be something that will vary with each user. My preference for long rips is a 6ppi D8 with 9º of rake. One of my saws was filed to 4ppi. It really didn't save that much time and was a bit harder to use. On one aggressive cut the blade caught on a small knot or something, buckled and snapped.


1/8 inch is only a few passes of a scrub. I think that would be less effort than trying to re-saw by hand.

If it was a small piece, tackling it by hand wouldn't be a problem. Though most of the time my bandsaw is used.

Most of the time my decision isn't made by the need for efficiency as much as it is by the cost of wood. It is likely a problem I share with others having boxes of little pieces of wood all around the shop. Then the grandkids come visit and have enough fun playing with some of the scraps and that makes it all worth while.

jtk

[Pedro Reyes]

Hi
Up to 1/2" of of 2x6 or 2x8 pine.

Thanks

Eric, What is the end product? A table top? Aprons? From what I understand, you don't care about the wood you remove (can all be planed away as opposed to resaw). 1/2" on a 2"x8"- 8 foot board is a lot of wood. Do you need the piece to be 1" specifically? (that's what a 2x8 will end up after you take 1/2" - Texas math, don't ask). Why not just S4S it by hand (scrub, jack, jointer if all needed), figure out what the dimension ends up being and work around that.

/p

[Roger Rettenmeier]

[QUOTE=Jim Koepke;2251632]This will be something that will vary with each user. My preference for long rips is a 6ppi D8 with 9º of rake.
Jim,

I have a D-8 that I am going to turn in to something. It is a 6ppi rip that is missing a handle. I work mostly with walnut and cherry for hardwoods with occasional oak and maple. I also use douglas fir and ponderosa (yellow) pine. Just curious what type of wood the 9 deg rake is used for, or if it would be fairly generic. I recently tried ripping some osage with a 5ppi rip. Not a good idea. I also have a 7ppi Simonds that has yet to be sharpened.

[Jim Koepke]

Just curious what type of wood the 9 deg rake is used for, or if it would be fairly generic.

Roger,

That is pretty much a generic use saw. It is used in just about any wood from pine to purple heart. 9º is about as relaxed as one wants on a rip saw. Lately my saws are getting a bit more aggressive by being filed at 5º rake for rip saws.

jtk

[Roger Rettenmeier]

Thanks, Jim. I have a a couple of rip saws filed at 5 that I use for dimensioning wood. A plane will cure any rough finish. I have some 4/4 and 5/4 stock (random width 4 to 7 inches) that I may try resawing by hand. I will set up one of the saws between 7 and 9 degrees.

[Eric Gracka]

how much do you need to take off, and do you hsve a use for the piece remaining?

1/4" off of each face of 2x6 pine, to be used for a benchtop. I have no use for the removed wood.

[Eric Gracka]

Eric, What is the end product? A table top? Aprons? From what I understand, you don't care about the wood you remove (can all be planed away as opposed to resaw). 1/2" on a 2"x8"- 8 foot board is a lot of wood. Do you need the piece to be 1" specifically? (that's what a 2x8 will end up after you take 1/2" - Texas math, don't ask). Why not just S4S it by hand (scrub, jack, jointer if all needed), figure out what the dimension ends up being and work around that.

/p
Hi Pedro:

It should have read:

"On one project I want to remove 1/4" off of both faces of 2x6's. The material is 8 foot 2x6 pine. If I use a scrub plane, I intend to smooth with a #5 and true with a #6."

The wood will be used for a 8' x 3' x 5" benchtop (wood is laid on edge, and I am removing 1/4" off of each face so they can be glued and screwed properly).

[Jim Koepke]

I have no use for the removed wood.

Is it legal to have wood stoves in your area?

Know anyone that has one?

jtk

[Pedro Reyes]

Hi Pedro:

It should have read:

"On one project I want to remove 1/4" off of both faces of 2x6's. The material is 8 foot 2x6 pine. If I use a scrub plane, I intend to smooth with a #5 and true with a #6."

The wood will be used for a 8' x 3' x 5" benchtop (wood is laid on edge, and I am removing 1/4" off of each face so they can be glued and screwed properly).

Eric, 2x6and2x8 from the BORGs have heavily radiused corners, I would start at the edges (not faces) with your #5 then a jointer (your #6 if that's what you have) and then see how far from getting a glue face you are, I think at this point all you'll need is to joint the faces, I would not call that redimensioning.

If I may suggest, if you can get 2x12s, these boards IMO, can be ripped in 3, removing the area around the pith in the middle and ending up with 2 quartersawn boards about 2x 4-1/2, which is plenty thick for a bench top. Then you would simply joint edges and faces. You do have to pick thru the boards to find some like that, but very doable. Just me.

/p

[Curt Putnam]

Eric,

Please do not use screws in your benchtop glueup. Glue alone is more than strong enough. There is a law that says there will always be a crew wherever you need to drill a hole.

[Eric Gracka]

Eric, 2x6and2x8 from the BORGs have heavily radiused corners, I would start at the edges (not faces) with your #5 then a jointer (your #6 if that's what you have) and then see how far from getting a glue face you are, I think at this point all you'll need is to joint the faces, I would not call that redimensioning.

If I may suggest, if you can get 2x12s, these boards IMO, can be ripped in 3, removing the area around the pith in the middle and ending up with 2 quartersawn boards about 2x 4-1/2, which is plenty thick for a bench top. Then you would simply joint edges and faces. You do have to pick thru the boards to find some like that, but very doable. Just me.

/p
Thank you for the suggestion - I think you just saved me a lot of grief.

[Eric Gracka]

Eric,

Please do not use screws in your benchtop glueup. Glue alone is more than strong enough. There is a law that says there will always be a crew wherever you need to drill a hole.
Thank you for the advise - the screws are now gone. Is Titebond III the way to go, or is there another effective/cheaper glue.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I used a few screws in glue-up on my benchtop, but only to help compensate for a lack of clamps. The screws were removed after each successive glue-up (I did the top in stages, initially by face-gluing two benchtop slabs I got off craigslist to reach a thickness I thought I wanted, and then adding some more strips.

Curt is right though - there will always be at least one place you want a hole where there is a screw - even if you though you removed all the screws! Guess how I know this . . .