I have two 10-foot vintage pine beams that are 5 inches x 7 inches that I would like to resaw, however I’m not sure if I can handle these properly on an older model LT16 saw. The saw is 1 hp, and I’ve resawn thinner stock before, but I’m really concerned about blade drift while running the stock and messing up the cut.
Is there a rule of thumb for the length of stock and the type of blade to use for resawing the pine beams? I typically use a 1/2″ blade with 3 tpi for resawing stock but not sure for these beams.
Thanks,
Brian
Replies
There is no rule for length of cut, except that you should probably build an infeed/outfeed table to support your wood throughout the cut. With a 10-foot, heavy peice, you're going to need around 10-12 feet of suport. You want it to sit flat before and after the cut so you don't have to wrestle with it at either end.
I use 1/2" x 3 tpi blades for resawing. The thicker the board you are cutting, the less teeth you want in the cut. In general, you want no less than 3 teeth in the cut. Any more, and the gullets just fill up faster. Just make sure your BS is all tuned up and put a fresh blade on it before you make the cuts, and go sloooow.
In general, you want no less than 3 teeth in the cut. Any more, and the gullets just fill up faster
I think you meant no more?? Its best to have a blade with teeth spread apart. The bandsaw he's describing might be a little small for the job? Maybe?
dan
The length of the cut isn't much relevant to the necessary size of the bandsaw. This is just a resaw of 5 or 7 inches height, well within the capacity of even smaller 14" bandsaws with risers. The critical factor is support for infeed and for outfeed. Given that there shouldn't be an issue with the size of the bandsaw.
Now more power will allow the cuts to be made quicker, and larger bandsaws may allow wider and more highly tensioned blades to be used, but as long as production speed isn't an issue these things aren't of great consequence in the circumstance.
Yeah, you want no LESS than three teeth in the cut, or it gets grabby. On the second sentence, I just meant that when you have lots of teeth in the cut, much more than 3, the gullets fill up faster and you have to cut more slowly.
I re-read my post and it did sound kinda goofy, but I'm not that suprised!
- Mahoganaholic
Edited 7/18/2009 10:09 am ET by Mahoganaholic
I'll second what the other dude said. Working alone you must have a way to support the board both before the blade, and then after. What I would consider equally important is having a way to keep the board pressed against the fence, other than just hand pressure. Rig some higher than normal feather boards, or stack some up like the Bench Dog units. Hope this helps.
Brian,
If you're worried about blade drift in these cuts in the big timbers, and you've got a little bit of excess material to spare, consider first running the beams through your tablesaw to create deep kerfs where you're going to cut. That effectively reduces the amount of wood the bandsaw has to cut through, and the tablesaw kerfs kind of guide the bandsaw blade through the work.
You'll lose a little stock, as the tablesaw blade's kerf is of course wider than that of the bandsaw. But if the bandsaw blade is in danger of wandering, it will take create boards that aren't perfectly sized anyway, so the difference might not be significant overall...
Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
I saw a This old House episode once where a guy cut corbels on big beams. He supported the beam level and then moved the band saw around like a jig saw on casters. He did it all on a job site with plywood for the floor. Seems like you might be able to do the same by mounting the beam to a support jig and then just move the saw along the shop floor. Just a McGiver idea.
AZMO
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