bandsaw resawing: minimum HP

[nick kaplan]

I have been reading as much as i can about resawing with a bandsaw. i've never done it as i mill my own lumber with a chainsaw mill to the size i want after felling. my question is about size. people are milling with 1hp or smaller 14" bandsaws. is this brutal on the saw (and extremely slow)? should resawing be done on 16" or 18"+ with the bigger motors? thanks -nick

[Peter Quinn]

I do limited resaw on my PM 14" 1 3/4HP bandsaw, can't say it will fit your needs, but with a good 3tooth 1/2" blade, seems to work for me. For fun check out the Laguna sight, look at the LOG MASTER video...now that gets the job done. Oh, I have been using Timberwolf blades for resaw, nice blades, real nice people too.

[Sam Yerardi]

If I were planning on doing a lot of resawing on a continual basis I would give strong consideration to a bandsaw larger than a 14". I have a 12" and other than being limited by its throat height it works great for periodic resawing with a 1/2" blade, and I know a 14" works great also. I wouldn't want to have to use either on a regular basis though. It is hard on a saw as this type of sawing from an electrical standpoint creates a higher average current draw than typical periodic use of a bandsaw. When I cut scrolls, etc., the motor is on for seconds as opposed to minutes at high loading. The loading wouldn't be a lot, granted, but depending on the wood, and the sharpness of the blade, eventually the blade dulls and the loading will go up. I would consider at least a 1 hp and 14" minimum but if you're like me you make do with what you have :).

[Peter Quinn]

Just a thought, Laguna makes a resaw blade in 3/4"-2" with braised steel teeth closer to a circular saw blade. Apparently its resharpenable numerous times. Pricey at $1.60/inch, supposed to make a good band saw perform like a log mill. Anyone used those?

[Rod Sheridan]

Bandsaws have narrow kerf blades, so they require less power than a tablesaw with a wider blade.

1 Horespower is a lot of power, it is aproximately 50% more work than a horse can do on a long term basis, and aproximately 6 times what a person can do.

A 3/4 or 1 HP bandsaw is pefectly adequate for re-sawing stock at home.......Regards, Rod.

[Sam Yerardi]

I would love to be able to use something larger than 1/2" but I can't. It would help tremendously.

[jason lambert]

It is not so much the HP but more the blade and how tuned the saw is. 3/4 is enought I aggree. More HP though means you can feed faster.

[Wilbur Pan]

I have an old 1940's-era bandsaw, with the original 1/2 HP motor, and can resaw 8" of white oak.

Again, just to point out that it's more than just the motor.

[Art Mann]

Your question is a little like asking how much horsepower does a truck need to haul lumber. The answer depends a lot on how much lumber you are talking about and how often you plan to do it. As a benchmark on the lower end of the HP scale, I will tell you my experience.

I recently acquired a couple hundred board feet of rough sawn heart white oak 2X6's from an old barn. I have been resawing it into 1X material and thinner using a 1 HP steel frame bandsaw made by Craftsman. I am using a 3/4", 3 tpi resaw blade that is 0.025" thick. The results are good. The cutting speed is acceptable, but I could easly stall the motor if I wanted to. I find this setup acceptable if not optimal. If I were going to do this on a regular basis, I would want a 2 hp saw, but it isn't worth the upgrade for just occasional use.

[Eddie Darby]

Speed n' Feed.

If you are going to do a lot of resawing, then you need to buy speed. For the occasional resaw on a lower powered machine, you just need to be patient.

The right blade is a must ....for any operation.

[Wayne Cannon]

For most bandsaws, the speed at which you can resaw is usually limited by your blade's gullet size. Once you exceed the capacity of the gullets to remove the swarf, the blade will try to wander and bow and create a rough kerf. The thicker the wood, the slower you have to go to remain withing the capacity of the gullets to remove swarf. I don't have lots of resaw experience on a wide variety of equipment, but a 3/4 to 1 HP saw should be able to handle anything the gullets of a 1/2" blade can remove. I've never had a problem resawing hard maple, but never tried anything like purpleheart or ipe.

If you want to saw faster, you need a wider blade (deeper gullets). Most 14" saws cannot handle a very wide blade. The 1 1/4" variable-pitch carbide blade on my 18" saw has gullets 5/16" to 3/8" deep and cuts a smooth kerf much faster (it really has very little more vertical capacity than a 14" saw with a riser kit). That is what will require more HP.

[Brian Kent]

In the next class of saw - 17", 18", 19", assuming at least 2 hp is there a great deal of advantage with the slightly bigger size (18" over 17")?

[Pete Bradley]

I've got a 1HP motor on my 20" band saw. The only time I find I'd like a bit more is on full-height (13") cuts in green oak and even then it's not a problem with a sharp band. HP is nowhere near as important as blade selection and good support for the work.

Pete

[Ron Williams]

Just a thought, Laguna makes a resaw blade in 3/4"-2" with braised steel teeth closer to a circular saw blade. Apparently its resharpenable numerous times. Pricey at $1.60/inch, supposed to make a good band saw perform like a log mill. Anyone used those?

I just cleaned mine up last week. It is the very best blade I have ever owned. I am always amazed at how easy you can resaw or rip with this blade and how smooth the cut is