Saw Recommendations - Ripping 8/4 Red Oak

[Tony Wilkins]

How are you planning on cutting the plywood?

[Randy Chesnut]

I have a nice Disston 5 1/2 point rip saw that will make that cut easily.

+1 on the Disston D-8 5 ½ rip. Will be a lot of work but, if you set up to sharpen and set the saw, you will have a really good opportunity to fool around with rake, ± slight flame, and degree of set. It will be a lot of work and won't be too quick but you will finish with more than just resawed wood.

[Eric Schubert]

How are you planning on cutting the plywood?

Tony, the plywood is already cut and assembled to the frame. I used my Ryobi job site table saw to cut the plywood to size, drawer openings were cut via jigsaw, and all frame components were cut by hand with a Disston 8TPI crosscut saw.

[Graham Haydon]

I echo Brian. Search David Weaver on YouTube and watch his video. Also, Warren makes a very good point. The project sounds extensive for a first run at resawing. Practicing on a smaller project would give the chance to learn with very low risk.

[Eric Schubert]

I echo Brian. Search David Weaver on YouTube and watch his video. Also, Warren makes a very good point. The project sounds extensive for a first run at resawing. Practicing on a smaller project would give the chance to learn with very low risk.

Thanks, Graham! I'll take a look into David Weaver to get some more insights.

I do plan to practice a bit before tackling the oak. I have some miscellaneous pine laying around that I'm sure ripping into strips won't be a bad thing to have laying around. And practicing on something softer is probably a better starting point than the oak. But I have to start somewhere, right? My drawers don't have to be perfect, just functional. I figure it's better to practice on something like this, drawer sides that won't really be seen much, rather than a nicer piece of furniture I want in our living space.

[Tony Wilkins]

Thanks, Graham! I'll take a look into David Weaver to get some more insights.

I do plan to practice a bit before tackling the oak. I have some miscellaneous pine laying around that I'm sure ripping into strips won't be a bad thing to have laying around. And practicing on something softer is probably a better starting point than the oak. But I have to start somewhere, right? My drawers don't have to be perfect, just functional. I figure it's better to practice on something like this, drawer sides that won't really be seen much, rather than a nicer piece of furniture I want in our living space.

The thing about drawers is there doesn’t seem to be much forgiveness to be functional. They have to fit.

[Eric Schubert]

The thing about drawers is there doesn’t seem to be much forgiveness to be functional. They have to fit.

True! But the thickness of the sides/front/back of the drawers isn't overly critical, as long as they hold and support the drawer bottoms. They just need to be sturdy, straight, and square. So, if my sawing results in uneven thickness (which I'm sure is inevitable), I'll have to correct that with planing. I expect that would be necessary regardless of my sawing method.

[Eric Schubert]

Just as a quick follow-up to this thread, I decided to stick with a familiar format and purchase a Lynx 26" 4.5TPI rip saw. (It helped that I had Amazon credit sitting around, and I found it available there with Prime shipping...) In the future, I'd still love to take a look at a Roubo frame saw. I feel like they might be easier on the back, since you saw upright instead of bent over a saw bench. But for now, the familiarity will likely be a big boon to making straight cuts. I'll follow up again once I have the saw and have had a chance to test it out.

I had considered a Pax saw, or even something from Wenzloff or Bad Axe, but those are just too pricey for me to justify right now. Someday, maybe....... I'd rather save the money for some wood and files to keep my blades sharp, for the time being.

[lowell holmes]

+1 on the Disston D-8 5 ½ rip. Will be a lot of work but, if you set up to sharpen and set the saw, you will have a really good opportunity to fool around with rake, ± slight flame, and degree of set. It will be a lot of work and won't be too quick but you will finish with more than just resawn wood.

And if you find an old saw, sharpen and set the teeth, it will be a fun trip. I got started and have 10 or 12 saws.

https://www.google.com/search?q=shar...hrome&ie=UTF-8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA5DixEaaUo

It is fun to make a new saw handle as well.