I'm making a tabletop for a lowboy 20 inches wide by 32 inches wide by 3/4 thick. It can't be any more than two boards. So, with the intent of resawing a wide board, I bought a 9 foot piece of walnut, 12 in wide and 1 7/8 inchs thick (actual), with a long check in each end (it was the only board wide enough I could find on that lumber run). Here I am sawing off the ends just above the end of the checking on each side.
6-16-09 001.jpg6-16-09 002.jpg
In doing the above crosscuts, the stress was so great on one end that it jammed the saw and I had to drive a wedge in to free the blade. So here is my seven ft long board that I need to get 3 feet for the top.
6-16-09 004.jpg
In considering the stress I encountered, should I crosscut the 3 ft long piece for the top from the middle (which will produce wastefull off-cuts), or am I overthinking this--in wihch case I'll crosscut from one end (which will give me a useable 4 ft long piece for use elsewhere).