Crosscutting Oversized Stock(novice seeks help)

[Anne Schmidt]

I'm new to my wood shop--just acquired over the last year--and hoping there is someone out there willing to help with a very basic problem: wood's too big for my saw.

Here's the sit: making a solid maple base for a piece of sculpture. I have a good shop-made sled for my table saw and a 14" band saw with a decent miter gauge. Finished size is 5-1/4 x 5-1/4 out of 4" thick laminated material 24" long already milled square at a width of 5-1/4. Managed with help to squarely band saw off a 5" hunk with which to test ideas. Thought I might try cleaning it up with a 12" disc sander . . . or use the sled to crosscut, flip, and align with care. BUT, thing is, I'm a bit of a scaredy cat :o and don't have a lot of material to play with(took me for ever to mill and laminate the planks and I'm hoping to use the remainder to make a couple more smaller bases). Any advice? I could use it. Thanks in advance.

[Mark Singer]

Here is a table I made for my bandsaw which uses the bigger miter gauge

http://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=83284&d=1204654210

[john bateman]

If I were trying to crosscut something 4" thick x 24" long, I would be using the crosscut sled. I would set the blade height to just over 2".

And I would use a clamp to hold a stop block to the sled. The stop block would insure that your workpiece is in the same position when you flip it over to make the second 2" deep cut. You shouldn't need but minimal sanding, if any, afterwards.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I'm new to my wood shop--just acquired over the last year--and hoping there is someone out there willing to help with a very basic problem: wood's too big for my saw.

Here's the sit: making a solid maple base for a piece of sculpture. I have a good shop-made sled for my table saw and a 14" band saw with a decent miter gauge. Finished size is 5-1/4 x 5-1/4 out of 4" thick laminated material 24" long already milled square at a width of 5-1/4. Managed with help to squarely band saw off a 5" hunk with which to test ideas. Thought I might try cleaning it up with a 12" disc sander . . . or use the sled to crosscut, flip, and align with care. BUT, thing is, I'm a bit of a scaredy cat :o and don't have a lot of material to play with(took me for ever to mill and laminate the planks and I'm hoping to use the remainder to make a couple more smaller bases). Any advice? I could use it. Thanks in advance.

Your bandsaw will be the best tool for the job, but you also need to take care to use the correct blade. For a thick workpiece, particularly one as you describe without curves, a thick 1/2" wide blade would give you a clean cut, and would keep it square. I would then clean up the saw marks with your disc sander to level out the saw marks, and then a random orbit sander to clean up those marks.

Doc

[Anne Schmidt]

Thanks for the reply. On that stop block. . . if the stop block end isn't sq, kerf won't align, right? any remedy?

[Anne Schmidt]

Thanks. Will give it a try.

[Greg Hines, MD]

Thanks for the reply. On that stop block. . . if the stop block end isn't sq, kerf won't align, right? any remedy?


It is a good idea to make a complementary angled block for stops. For example, you are making a mitered frame, make your stop a 45 degree angle block. The other thing with that is that you need to make sure you have a place for sawdust to go. A kerf along the bottom of the stop, or extra length, so that you don't have inaccuracy from built up sawdust.

Doc

[Anne Schmidt]

Thanks for responding. I looked at the pic quickly and wanted to examine it further, but can no longer access it; site says I'm not logged in, am trying to edit someone else's post . . . Would like to see the picture again, though, if you have time to cope w/ it. If not don't worry. Have gotten past the issue I think. THANKS

[Anne Schmidt]

THIS FORUM IS GREAT! Thanks to all who stopped here and esp. thanks to those who responded. :) :) :) I tried various methods and here's what worked with the constraints I have.

Using stop on table saw, make 2" cut, flip, cut again. Since two cuts didn't match because rough cut was, well, rough. . . , I went back to the cut which was proud, shimmed with slips of birthday card paper between stop block and piece and then cut again. The meeting was still a little imperfect, so then I sanded on standing belt sander with miter and prop table recently sq'd. It's not perfect according to machinists sq. but it's real close.

Shopping list: half inch band saw blade , fine tooth & more sanding belts
Next shop jig: sled with wider bed

Thanks again.