I am making a case for my bench chisels out of black walnut. I have a MiniMax 16″ Bandsaw. This will be my first serious resawing project. I am wondering what are the experienced lessons learned in resawing hardwoods.
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Replies
LJM,
You are off to a good start with the MM16. You need a good resaw blade, the MM 16 can easily tension any 1 inch resaw blade I have used Timberwolfs (Lennox Tri-Master 2/3 tpi are awesome). Properly adjusted, my MM16 does not really have any drift.
You will quickly learn that when resawing you will be releasing tension in the lumber, plan for it some pieces cooperate others don't or never will, resaw thicker than necessary and let the resawn lumber reacclimate after resawing for a couple weeks (if possible). Flatten and thickness the stock after the reacclimation.
Hope this helps and good luck
Edited 4/8/2006 7:56 pm ET by BOBABEUI
Bobabeui,I also have the MM16 and the 1 in lenox 2/3 carbide bandsaw blade is in the mail. I purchased the lenox blade to do some heavy resawing. What technique have you found works well for tensioning the blade. I have had some success with seeing the amount of deflection on the carbon steel blades, but with the large amount of tension required for the Lenox, I was unsure if this method would work well. Is the tensioning meter on the MM16 maxed out? If not where do you usually have it at? The 1.5 in setting?? I have problems spending $200 on the lenox tension meter. But at $160 a blade, I may change my mind pretty quickly.Thanks,Dave
I can't imagine dropping 200 bucks on a tension meter. You'll rapidly learn to know "when it's right". Some of the classic guidelines are when the band makes a clear ring sound rather than a thunk when plucked, and to tension just slightly more than the minimum tension required to avoid flutter anywhere in the band. For the non-production user, carbide may not be worth the huge bump in price compared to steel.Pete
Check with the blade manufacturer before putting a heavy 1" carbide on a 16" saw. Some manufacturers do NOT recommend this, because the blade undergoes too much flex/straighten too fast on such a machine. They'll know your machine and can give you a good recommendation.My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
Thanks for your inputs.
I am wondering how the blades you recommended compare to the resaw blade ( Highland Harrdware, Woodslicer) recommended in FWW #169? Any experience or views with that blade?
Also, do you find that stickering and weighting helps with the distortion as you allow the resawn pieces to reacclimate?
Thanks,
LJM
Dave,
The Tri-Master 2/3 is truly an awesome resaw blade. I tension the blade to slightly above 1" on the MM16 tension gauge (for what’s that worth) as a starting point then, go slightly more or less depending on the feel and ring of the blade as another poster suggested.
The amount of tension cranked in the Tri-Master is way, way above the tension I use for a compairable 1 inch Timberwolf. A tension gauge like the Starrett or Lenox is definitely the more scientific way to tension the blade, abeit more expensive.
In a recent issue of FWW (Index did not list it), a method for tensioning a bandsaw blade using a dial caliper was shown. They can be had for $20-$30.Cadiddlehopper
I am wondering what are the experienced lessons learned in resawing hardwoods.
I'd get some cheep Pine and practice a bit!
EDIT: I use a 1 wide" 3 tooth Lenox blade for resaw.. Only problem I have is "MY' feed speed! NOT GOOD FER' CURVES THOUGH!
Edited 4/9/2006 11:44 am by WillGeorge
I generally agree with the advice you've been given so far. I too purchased the MM16 -- a fantastic machine. I also slurged on the Lenox tri-master 1" blade. (By the way, I called Sam at Mini Max to ask whether the 1" Lenox is appropriate to use on the MM16. He said yes. Just remember to detension the saw at the end of the day -- a good habit for any blade).
But give some serious consideration to purchasing a tension gauge as well. I know many people say you can get by simply by listening to the sound of the blade or checking deflection. That may work for someone who has used bandsaws for many years. But for someone with less experience, a tension gauge is probably the only precise way to tension a blade. This is important because you can only get the most from your blade (and machine) if your blade is properly tensioned. Also, not every blade should be tensioned the same. Lenox blades are high tension, and Highland hardware's blades are low tension. How do you properly tension each blade without a gauge and with very little prior experience with bandsaws?
People also tell you that tension gauges are very expensive. That's just wrong. You can buy a very good tension gauge from Iturra designs for about $130. That really isn't all that much. You just spent about $2,400 (with shipping) for the MM16 and you'll probably spend at least a couple of hundred on blades -- even more if you buy the top of the line Lenox blades (which I suggest you do). Plus, $130 is not a lot to spend in order to get the most out of your top of the line saw and blades. In fact, if you don't tension your blades properly, the quality of cut from your MM16 won't differ appreciably from a budget saw. A machine like that performs at its peak only when it is tuned and tensioned to perform like it should. I don't think you can get that performance from a "twang" or a "thump" or pushing the blade to one side with your index finger.
Going on about 6 mos. with my MM16 and so far have only used the Lenox Tri-Master. Yeah it's pricey, but the results are way beyond anything I expected for resawing. I'm somewhere around the 1-1/4" reading on the built in tension gauge. That's where it feels "right". I was a little concerned about overtensioning, but feedback from Minimax and other users say I'm right in the ballpark with where others are setting it. My previous machine was a 14" Jet using the HH Wood Slicer. Dont know how much better the WoodSlicer would work on the MM16 vs the Jet, but I'm pretty sure the Tri-Master would still come out ahead.
If you build it he will come.
When you adjust for the position of the Lenox Trimaster on the tires of your bandsaw do you adjust to have the teeth just forward, and not biting into the tire, or do you center the blade on the crown and width of the tire?
The MM16's wheels are flat rather than crowned, but I've got the teeth hanging off the edge of the wheel anyway. That's what the rep at MM advised and it's been working well. Dont know if my machine is typical or not, but I've also not even bothered to adjust the fence for blade drift. Right out of the crate it was resawing nice straight even thickness slices. I figured if it aint broke don't fix it, so I've never bothered to try and determine if I even have any miniscule drift. I'm just using a tall piece of melamine coated MDF for a resaw fence. I drilled a few holes in the fence and tapped them for machine bolts and bolt the taller fence to it. There's certainly even better resaw fence ideas around that I'll probably get around to making one of these days.If you build it he will come.
Teeth just off the edge is where I place mine.
I've retyped this post 3 times and every time Taunton's forums 'die' as soon as I hit post... hopefully this one makes it.
One thing you'll want to do very early is to build an auxillary resaw fence. Mine is 12" x 36'. The reason is that the stock CI fence doesn't always sit 90 degrees to the table.
Email me and I'll take a few photo's of mine, it's rather simple but very effective.
michael
The reason is that the stock CI fence doesn't always sit 90 degrees to the table.
I've noticed that too. I finally realized I needed to have the lockdown knob really backed off from the fence rail then put some pressure on the fence to seat it all the way onto the rail before tightening. That and making sure I keep dust buildup off the fence rail. It's real easy to lock it down with a slight lean to it.
If you build it he will come.
Has anyone installed an aftermarket fence on a Mini Max bandsaw? If so, which one? How did it work?
The fence is not the really the strongest feature of the MM16 bandsaw. I often contemplated replacing with something else. There was another poster on Knots that replaced the stock fence on a Aggazanni BS with a Biesemeyer home shop fence (basically a smaller version of the Beis), it looked like a really cool idea. <!----><!----><!---->
I agree about the fence. I love my MM16, but the fence definitely has room for improvement. I'll look into the biesemeyer.
If anyone else has experience upgrading the fence on a MM or similar bandsaw, please post your thoughts and suggestions.
I have just finished two such cases and found some things that worked well for me. I initially chose a very knarley pieces of walnut, reaswed and bookmtched them. I found that a point fence with featherboard made resawing most predictable but am still trying to get the drift angle to work on my bandsaw.
I filled the knots roughly with epoxy and then filled them with a gold powder from a hobby shop and solidified it wiht crazey glue and hardner, after sanding these really stood out. One pannel was thick enough that a rabbet around the outside fitted it to the dovetailed box. For the second, which was too thin for a good rabbet, I fitted it in a mitered and spline jointed frame.
I'm quite pleased with the result and hope some of these ideas help.
JROB
"...but am still trying to get the drift angle to work on my bandsaw." If your saw is tuned properly and you have a high quality blade, there should be no drift.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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