Resawing the neander way

[Matthew Springer]

What is the right tool for resawing quartersawn exotic stuff?

I've been trying to wrangle some bandsaw time from a friend of mine with a neato min-max, but this weekend I got fed up with waiting and decided to ive it a go the neander way. Christmas is coming, ya know.

Memo to self: resawing quater sawn, old growth rosewood is hard.

Hilariously, the best absolute best tool I found was my Record, Japense el cheapo HD shark saw. The bow saw with the Putsch rip blade just would not cut straight no matter what I did. Too much set I think.

I looked in all my neander books and have yet to find a descussion on resawing. I've seen folks making fenced bowsaws, is this the way to go?

-Matthew

[Matt Woodworth]

Good question. I've seen Roy Underhill do it with a carpenter's handsaw but I doubt I could pull that off myself without more practice. I just read the Seven Essentials of Woodworking and Anthony Guidance seems to think the bow saw is the right saw for everything.

We'll see what the rest of the forum has to say.

[Jason Roehl]

Well, I'm not much of a neander--I like killing those poor, helpless electrons, but I thought I would at least share these pics I took at the recent WoodWorks 2003 show in Indianapolis. They are of Toshio Odate resawing (for no particular reason, other than to show off). I didn't get any pics of the final result, but it is my understanding that what he resawed into 2 in the pic, later was 4 slices.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Most often Neanders who eschew the use of electron killing devices use a frame saw. This is a large bow saw with a very rigid frame and the blade oriented 90 degrees to the x-y plane of the blade. Most often the blade is fairly coarse with large teeth to allow the sawdust to exit easily and the blades are at least 3/4" and more often 1" or better in height. A high blade tracks better and allows a straighter cut. Additionally it is far easier to resaw with one person on each end of the saw which helps it to track straighter. Unfortuneately I don't have a picture or link I can remember at this time, but do a search on Google under Frame Saw and you should be able to find something. Maybe Bob Smalser can post a picture of one of his.

[Michael Campbell]

Most often Neanders who eschew the use of electron killing devices use a frame saw. ...

Making a Frame Saw (http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/frame_saw.php3)

Using a Frame Saw (http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/resaw.php3)

[Mark Stutz]

Making a Frame Saw (http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/frame_saw.php3)

Using a Frame Saw (http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/resaw.php3)

Thanks for this wonderful description, and especially the pictures.
I, for one, learn much easier if I can see something being done. As a beginning Neander, I had no idea the frame saw was oriented in this way. I thought it was just a "big bowsaw"! Would a wider blade track more easily?

[Michael Campbell]

Thanks for this wonderful description, and especially the pictures.
I, for one, learn much easier if I can see something being done. As a beginning Neander, I had no idea the frame saw was oriented in this way. I thought it was just a "big bowsaw"! Would a wider blade track more easily?

Sorry, I should have mentioned; that's not my site, it's just a link I happened to save since I will probably make one of those things eventually.

I _suspect_ a wider blade may track better, but I think ultimately it's in the sharpening and tooth set that has the biggest effect.

[Scott Quesnelle]

One of the other bonuses that a framesaw has over other methods is that the frame can be used to steer the saw a bit. The wide frame also makes it easier to keep it perpendicular to the wood (or parrallel to the floor depending on your point of view), just like winding sticks.

You also don't use a framesaw like a normal saw, you don't start on one end and saw to the other. There is a different technique about it.


This topic has been discussed on the oldtools list a fair bit, Check the archives of it out for more info.

[Mark Stutz]

One of the other bonuses that a framesaw has over other methods is that the frame can be used to steer the saw a bit. The wide frame also makes it easier to keep it perpendicular to the wood (or parrallel to the floor depending on your point of view), just like winding sticks.

You also don't use a framesaw like a normal saw, you don't start on one end and saw to the other. There is a different technique about it.


This topic has been discussed on the oldtools list a fair bit, Check the archives of it out for more info.

Scott,
What or where is the "oldtools list"?

[Michael Campbell]

Scott,
What or where is the "oldtools list"?

http://www.brendlers.net/oldtools/oldtools.html