Ripping With Bandsaw?

[twinkley]

I just bought a Rigid 14" Band Saw

Can I rip wood that is standing up on edge?

[wbrooks]

Absolutely, the BS it the best tool for resaw. I would not even attempt it with the original blade though. I would suggest a timberwolf (Viking)1/2 to 5/8" 3TPI blade. The blade that comes with the saw is known to wander in 3/4" cuts never mind a 6" rip.

[CWSmith]

My thoughts are that nothing cuts faster than a bandsaw with a decent blade. No kickback worries and the best depth of cut of any saw. You'll want to use the widest blade possible as it provides the stiffest back support to the teeth and, generally speaking, you'll get less drift.

I've resawn 2 x 4 x 8's on my little 9" bandsaw with no problem. It dosen't have a lot of HP for such things, but fed slowly, it does the job nicely. Just use some extra support on th infeed and outfeed if the wood is long and/or heavy.

CWS

[twinkley]

Thanks Guys For Answering,

I need some thinner stock and I have an abundance of red oak, cherry, hickory. I just hate having to plane it down from 1 and 1/8 inch stock to somewhere in the neighborhood of 3/8 or 1/4 because of the waste involved.

I will obviously need a fence as well. Should I purchase the rigid fence and build an additional fence for this project or should I just build?

Again, thanks for your time.

[KenM]

Thanks Guys For Answering,

I need some thinner stock and I have an abundance of red oak, cherry, hickory. I just hate having to plane it down from 1 and 1/8 inch stock to somewhere in the neighborhood of 3/8 or 1/4 because of the waste involved.

I will obviously need a fence as well. Should I purchase the rigid fence and build an additional fence for this project or should I just build?

Again, thanks for your time.
Now, this is based on my experience, I'm sure others will have different opinions.
I wasted $$$ on 3 different BS fences for resawing, the latest was the Kreg. None satisfied what I was looking for.
Finally I grabbed a piece of 2 by 4 a little longer than the BS table and jointed one narrow side true. Then I attached a 5 3/4" dead flat piece of 3/4 ply to that jointed side with screws. I then determine the drift of the blade I am using by cutting a straight line on a piece of stock and mark that angle on the BS table. Then align the ply to that line and clamp the 2 by 4 to the BS table. If I'm resawing narrower stock I take the 5 3/4" ply off and screw on a shorter piece.
HTH
ken

[CWSmith]

I agree, most standard fence designs do not provide for the angular adjustment required because of blade drift and a homemade fence may well serve that purpose better.

Also, a "single-point" fence is often recommended for resaw work. With a single point fence you simply have a vertical piece positioned at the proper distance from the blade to provide stability and act as a guide to feed your workpiece as you feed it through the blade. Most bandsaw books and guides provide plans for this device and it easily compensates for blade drift.

CWS

[maryjo]

I have a 9 inch Ryobi bandsaw and I don't have much experience using it, but
everytime I've tried to resaw or cut with the grain the blade starts drifting and tracking along the grain. This happens even when I use a fence. I'm using a 3/8 inch blade and have as much tension as the manual says to use. Is the Ryobi not enough saw to do resawing? Someone told me to resaw correctly I'd need a half-inch blade with a lot of tension on it. Is this true?

Maryjo

[wwsmith]

maryjo,

I also used to use the Ryobi BS and had a similar issue. I was able to improve the performance for resaw work by changing to a 5/8 blade" and making the tension fairly high. It is still not as good as better quality BS I have seen and used, but it works much better than the 3/8" blade.

WWS

[jeffbob]

Thank you. I just joined the Forum today. I was resawing a piece of cherry on my BS last night. First time I have done it. I was about to buy a Kreg fence. I will try your idea and follow up.

Thanks,
Jeff

[KenM]

I have a 9 inch Ryobi bandsaw and I don't have much experience using it, but
everytime I've tried to resaw or cut with the grain the blade starts drifting and tracking along the grain. This happens even when I use a fence. I'm using a 3/8 inch blade and have as much tension as the manual says to use. Is the Ryobi not enough saw to do resawing? Someone told me to resaw correctly I'd need a half-inch blade with a lot of tension on it. Is this true?

Maryjo
Maryjo,
You should be able to resaw with your BS, just perhaps not as thick of stock as larger saws.
First get a good blade. Olson's are good and usually available locally. Timberwolf is very good. The baldes that come with saws generally suck.
Grab a piece of scrap around 12-18" long and draw a straight line down the length of it. Now cut on the line to about half of the length, changing the angle you are feeding to stay right on the line. Go slow.
About half way stop feeding and hold the stock at exactly the angle you were having to feed to stay on the line. Turn the saw off and draw a line on the BS table along the edge of the stock. This is the drift angle of your saw with the blade that is installed. The angle usually changes with different blades.
Now set your resaw fence to this angle the desired distance from the blade and lock it down and test resawing a piece.
If any of this is not clear let me know.
HTH,
ken

[RoyH]

As Ken has said, adjusting for drift can be a key factor in getting satisfactory results from resawing.
I've had a BS14002 for 3 months (no riser block, yet) and have resawn 5.5"x2"x20" oak (2 slices), 5.5"x12"x20" walnut (16 slices). Before I did the resaw, I put on a link belt (got rid of the v-belt), 3/4" 3tpi Timberwolf blade from Suffolk Machinery (threw out the default band), and installed a Kreg fence. The Kreg is easily mounted on the BS14002 and is likewise easily tweaked for drift. Even so, using this configuration, with the fence aligned with the miter slot, there has been no drift whatsoever. Also, 3 passes with a #4 Stanley smoothed the boards right out.
Highland Hardware also makes a highly rated resaw blade (1/2", I think). Anyway, I've heard/read that for resawing, you need to get the widest blade that your saw can handle. Also, proper tension is a must. The folks at Suffolk recommended this blade for my saw and what I wanted to do (Yes, you actually talk to a human being!).
All of this was done after making sure all other aspects were properly set and adjusted.
BTW, there are considerable articles on bandsaws and re-sawing available online at the FWW Network.Good luck!

[maryjo]

Ken and Roy:

Thanks to both of you for the information. Ken, your explanation of finding and marking the drift angle is excellent and is a lot better than the ones in the books I've been using. It's amazing the way some authors can make a simple thing sound like particle physics .... thanks again.. Maryjo

[KenM]

Ken and Roy:

Thanks to both of you for the information. Ken, your explanation of finding and marking the drift angle is excellent and is a lot better than the ones in the books I've been using. It's amazing the way some authors can make a simple thing sound like particle physics .... thanks again.. Maryjo
Hope we were of help, maryjo.
As for the explanation, a simple mind has to explain in simple terms! ;-D

[Mccoy54]

I may have missed this in the thread but most of the talk is reference to the blade and fence, there was a recent post titled "bandsaw operator problem" that discusses set up as well as blade selection and drift. I have had more frustration with my bandsaw than with any other tool.(of course I am pushing the saw to its' limits by resawing large stock). Don't overlook the setup of the guides and how the table is referenced to the blade (beign a perfect 90 degress) the guides will have just as much influence as the other factors. I would agree the timberwolf blades are worth the call they cost less than the ones I bought at woodworkers (even after shipping). As with most tools Technique is at the heart of it all, (mine happens to need some work). There are a few good instructional DVD's, and Suffolk Machinery was a big help for me. (Just some thoughts from a recently frustrated bandsaw operator).

[Dr.Quest]

ok ive seen this drift thing i want to start to resaw
what is the drift and how is the best way to adjust for it

scuse me im an idiot

Jake

[TOD]

ok ive seen this drift thing i want to start to resaw
what is the drift and how is the best way to adjust for it

scuse me im an idiot

Jake
Here is a good article on how to setup for the drift.
http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/articles/200008/main/page4.html

[papadan]

OK I use the single point fence method. Because of the fact that drift cannot be stopped, I use a narrow blade for resawwing. I mark the cut line on the edge of the board and set up the single point fence for the desired thickness. When sawwing I keep the board agains the fence and follow the line, adjusting the angle of the wood into the blade as the blade turns. The method of cutting part way into the wood and setting a regular fence to that angle is fine for that piece of wood only. It has to be reset for each piece because of wood density and grain patterns, and sometimes in the middle of a board these things will change. Always resaw a little thicker than neede and plane to final thickness. This single point fence works best on my BS1400 and my Ryobi BS900 saws.