1st resaw attempt, need some advice
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Charles Cleland.
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I finished cleaning up and sharpening my full-size ripsaw; and saw to my first resawing adventure. I needed some thin wood for the bottom of the PS dovetail sandpaper caddy and thought I would try resawing, instead of using a scrub plane to get the stock at the right thickness. Well, it did work, but the cut is not to pretty…. I’m guessing mostly operator error, but I have not used this saw enough to know if it’s just not tracking straight. My question is, would people recommend resawing at the full width needed (in this case 5 inches) or just cutting something half the width, and edge gluing the two sides? This cut was in Poplar, but the next bottom I need to make is in pine. I fell like the resaw was less work, and certainly less waste, than just scrubbing of almost 1/2 the thickness of the board.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.13 December 2014 at 9:57 pm #122146The best method I’ve found is to use the same technique used for cutting tenons; you go straight across the top, then drop your hand and take off the corner as far down as is efficient. Flip and do the same on the other side, take out what’s left, then do the same on the other end. The cuts should guide the saw pretty neatly.
It looks like you used a similar method on yours. I would hazard that there’s a little too much set on your saw. You could hammer it back a bit, or run a file lightly along the sides of the teeth; the latter method I have found gives you a smoother cut as well.
Your cut is not so bad though, it’ll plane up just fine and certainly quicker than scrubbing off the whole lot. Plus you get two panels for the price of one.
To answer your question directly, I don’t think there’s any need to glue up to width. You’re not likely to save any planing time, and you have the faff of a thin stock glue-up on top.
Thanks Matthew, I will try reducing the set some by stoning the sides and see if that helps. As far as cutting them like a tenon, I sort of did that, but not very systematically. I think in the future if I’m more careful about it, and like you suggest, take the corners down more, I’ll do better. You are right, it did plane up fairly quickly; so although the cut seemed really bad, it reality, it was functional 🙂
I just have resawn a board of Douglas fir, about 1″ thick and 6″ wide using a Pax Flinn 26″ 5 1/2 tpi rip cut saw. I found that sawing perpendicular through the board would get the saw stuck and risk bending it unduly. I found it to work better sawing at an angle around 30°. Maybe that’s common knowledge, but I didn’t think about it.
15 December 2014 at 7:11 pm #122198Dwaugh, I’ve had that problem, too. Lately I’ve been better about cutting like Matthew Jones said and that really works. But I’ve been getting more practice, too, and I think that makes a difference.
I’ve done some resawing using a thin kerf Japanese saw and I notice that the blade can bend inside the wood. This may be because I was not cutting perfectly straight and trying to correct the cut as I sawed. But with the saw you have (with a thicker plate and wider kerf) that may not be an issue.
Take two was no less traumatic 🙂 I used a tenon saw to start the corners, and followed the advice to attack the board from the corners with the rip saw. It seems I can only follow one line at a time… In the first picture you can see the wandering cut I made; I was following the line on the long side of the board and let things go astray on the top. There was a lot of spring left in the boards which was clearly not helping things; when the boards were finally apart the outside surface that was flat ended up with a fairly substantial cup. I think for my next trial I will scribe two lines, one on either side of the kerf, so that its easier to see where I am. Given that I am sawing on the center line and loosing the line in the kerf, there is a fair amount of ambiguity in where I really am with a fairly thick saw plate. I will also try making some longish rip cuts (along the length of a board) to see if my saw is really tracking true to begin with. The saw is freshly sharpened and using it re-saw boards might not be the best test operation.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.I would start on the full top width as if I was cutting a tenon. Also – I did that as well – the line should be a bit off center and the saw cut on the “larger” side if the end result should be approximately the same thickness. After establishing the top width, keep the saw in the kerf and alternate to cut from one side or the other like you already did in the second picture, dropping the saw ever so slightly until you reach a good angle. That’s what I would try and also not to press the saw too hard but rather get a feel for how much pressure is enough. Hard to explain and I’m not exactly experienced, but you have to start somewhere. I guess it takes some time and practice.
David
19 December 2014 at 1:24 am #122317The cupping is a pain but fairly inevitable with resawing, this sort of wood – plain sawn, kiln-dried softwood – being just about the worst offender. You either leave some meat on for truing up afterwards or make sure it will be secured flat in its final position.
@davidr is right that it’s all down to practice now, and honestly your first efforts look far from disastrous. As he said, saw into the top 1/8 or so and then gradually drop your hand for best results. Scribing from both sides is a good idea too, the added benefit being that you can perfectly bisect a board even if it’s not exactly the same thickness all the way along.I love to resaw and bookmatch plainsawn pine. It is a truly underrated furniture wood that can produce the most dramatic grain patterns.
19 December 2014 at 1:57 am #122320David and Matthew are right above about first cutting along the end of the board to establish the kerf. But I want to talk a little more about when we say “drop your hand”. When I started resawing, I didn’t do this right. You need to make sure that when you start dropping your hand the saw blade stays in the far end of that kerf, so that you create a triangle of wood removed that extends all the way across the board. (It really is hard to put these things to words.) In one of your pictures above you have started on each corner, trying to meet in the middle of the end. If you cut all the way across the end first, before “dropping your hand”, then you have a better guarantee of getting the cuts from each side to meet. It is the kerf that has already been established that helps guide your saw blade, so using every bit of kerf that has already been cut is key.
David, Matt, and Matthew, thanks for the continued advice!
[quote quote=122320]You need to make sure that when you start dropping your hand the saw blade stays in the far end of that kerf, so that you create a triangle of wood removed that extends all the way across the board.[/quote]
Now I get it! Yes, I was going in from the corners, but then leaving the kerf of the far corner. OK, next time the saw stays in the full wide of the kerf as I drop down.
Someday I will get it; and thanks again for all the advice! The combination of help here will save me lots of frustration.
My 3rd attempt in oak went much better than the first two! I scribed two lines with a marking gauge on either side of center (this helped me see to what extent the saw was wondering, unlike the first attempts in which the line was removed with the kerf). I also followed the advice given by posters above. All in all, I’m fairly happy with cut; with a little planing it should be ready for it’s new life as a box bottom.
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Still some wondering, but at a level I can live with.Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.30 December 2014 at 2:41 am #122809Well at last a good cut. Feels good !, you did a decent cut in three trys well that’s good in anyones book. Keep at it its a long road but a good one, with a lot of joy along the way
Frankj8 February 2015 at 2:06 am #124469one way to deal with this resaw task is to first use a stair saw or a poor mans toothing unit like paul showed how to make.
Use the saw with maybe 1/8 or 1/4 depth cut and cut a groove lengthwise and cross the ends to create a guide groove for your bigger handsaw as you make all your cuts.
I have seen this technique advised by folks in the USA north carolina area who practice old handwoodwork in the williamsburgh handsaw mill. It works well if using a old style frame saw also.
Good luck -
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