Sawing Veneer With Band Mill???

[Cody Colston]

I happened to be watching a video of a Norwood sawmill where the operator cut a very thin...about 1/8"...slice off a cant. When he held it up to the sun, light was visible through it so it could have been even thinner than 1/8".

I got to thinking. Instead of limiting my shop-sawn veneer to the 12" height of my bandsaw, perhaps wider stuff could actually be sawn on the band mill. I realize the bunks would need to be perfectly level and the saw tuned well but has anyone here ever done this? If so, what blade would give the smoothest cut in a hard, hardwood, say 16" wide?

[Scott T Smith]

I happened to be watching a video of a Norwood sawmill where the operator cut a very thin...about 1/8"...slice off a cant. When he held it up to the sun, light was visible through it so it could have been even thinner than 1/8".

I got to thinking. Instead of limiting my shop-sawn veneer to the 12" height of my bandsaw, perhaps wider stuff could actually be sawn on the band mill. I realize the bunks would need to be perfectly level and the saw tuned well but has anyone here ever done this? If so, what blade would give the smoothest cut in a hard, hardwood, say 16" wide?

The problem with sawing veneer on a traditional band mill is that you can't saw close to the bed, so you always end up with a very thick piece left over. Resaws, on the other hand, typically have a moving conveyor that allows you to saw most of the way down.

The Laguna Resaw Kings are the best bands that I have found for cutting veneer, but they are very expensive.

[Charles Randal Smith]

Scott, above, has touched on one of the problems. For fun, I have milled several hardwoods (ash, maple, walnut) at 1/8" thickness on my Woodmizer LT40. The wood had to be of uniform character (i.e., no knots) or the difference in density or grain would affect the uniformity of the cut. I used the WM 9 degree blade for hardwood, and set the blade tension at the upper limit of the gauge. If the teeth are properly set and the blade sharp, you can get a remarkably smooth veneer. I have tried cutting at 3/32" but couldn't achieve any consistency, though I heard of one WM rep who managed to create 1/16" veneers.
I hope others will chime in and share their experience.
Charles

[Danny Hamsley]

I can cut really thin, consistent slices too on my Wood-mizer LT40. However, I do not use veneer and do not cut it.

[Cody Colston]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I don't use a lot of veneer but occassionally (like now) I'll have a project that requires it. The issue of not being able to saw close to the bed is moot because I would only take a couple or three slices. I don't need a whole log of veneer!

Anything under 1/4" would be fine because I want it thick enough to take detail and an oil finish...what Krenov called "real" veneer. I think I'll give it a try when I have a suitable log in the species I need (Cherry).

[dan petroski]

Cody ..I make shaker boxes and have cut thin stock on my little Hudson 18 in. I go down to less than a sixteenth finished It cuts thin stuff just fine except it is so rough it takes too much time to run it through the sander to get it smooth. I have been trying to use less set in a blade to smooth out the cut bu then the blade starts to dive. I haven't come up with a good remedy yet.
1/4 in stock is no problem because I can run them through the planer and then one pass through the sanded. I use .200 for the top and bottom of the boxes. Wife bought me the mill as a retirement gift and I have little experience with it. Perhaps we'll get some ideas. Dan

[Cody Colston]

Thanks, Dan.