Resaw criteria

Re: Resaw criteria

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

What criteria should be on my list? as big a table as you can afford. Teetering a large chunk of wood on the postage sized tables that come on new saws is annoying. A vintage 20" Delta is ideal.

Are there certain models that have more potential than others? Other than table, likely not.

Motor? I only have a 1 HP on my 20" Delta and I have sawed 14" tall slabs with it.

Motor speed sheaves? Saw as fast as you can make the blade travel.

Do I need to be concerned about wheel dimensions both for diameter and width? Bigger wheels put less flex on the blade and leads to longer blade life.

Thanks

had a bandsaw, no longer do...

David Weaver

.a saw that can take a set, hold good tension and keep both is mandatory.

I had a jet 18" saw which could do 12 1/2 inches in theory. It couldn't keep its set and I found out when I sold it (never before measured) that the top wheel had 7-8 thousandths of runout - the wheel, not the tire.

It was 15 amps 110v - with big teeth, I never felt it was short on power and can't imagine anyone other than production would find a problem with that level of power.

Second bills comment about a table. Had a board bind at one point and was working unassisted - a bigger table would've been helpful. A bandsaw weighing 400 pounds is still something that doesn't have much stability and if you get rough to try to push through a bind, you could easily push it over feeding it from a distance.

with a good saw, though, there should be none.

prices are higher than I remember. Older saws offered when I bought mine generally needed something to be repaired and had less resaw height on average (e.g., 10-12" for a lot of 18" saws, 16-18 looks to be more common now).

If I were committed rather than one foot in and one foot out like I was at the time, I'd want something that was made in the first world for professionals rather than a saw that looks similar but was made for a hobbyist market.

Re: Resaw criteria

Curt Putnam

You will want a saw that can properly tension at least a 1" blade. I have a Grizzly G0513X2 (17") that tensions a 3/4" Timberwolf blade well. Don't know that I would go with a larger blade. I surmise that a 3/4" Resaw King would be its limit. I wish my unit had a brake.

Re: Resaw criteria

Dick Coers

Hardly anyone agrees with my opinion on resawing, but I'll share it anyway. If you feed the wood at the correct speed and pressure, a 3/8" wide blade is just fine for resawing. As long as there is 3 teeth per inch or less. The only time you need a 3/4 or wider blade, is when you want to throw it through the machine. A wide blade will not barrel bend as easily as a narrow blade, so is more forgiving for someone that wants higher feed speeds.

Re: Resaw criteria

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

Tom, resawing is ideally about approaching the fine surface one gets with a tablesaw, but with a considerably greater capacity. Ideally, something in the area of 12”.

The demands on the bandsaw increase as the resaw capacity increases. Usually one will use a wider blade for increased stability. Yes, one can resaw with 1/4-3/8” wide blades, and some such as Michael Fortune argue for this. However, a wider blade, in the range of 3/4-1” makes the task considerably easier.

As soon as the blade gets wide, and especially if one is using carbide tipped blades (which offer at least 5x the life of bi-metal), the blade steel gets thicker. This makes it less flexible, and it takes a bend less easily. Too tight a bend, and the steel fatigues and cracks prematurely. The minimum wheel size for a 1” blade is 16-17”. Of course, larger is better, and so we start looking seriously at 18” (and up) bandsaws.

These blades are stiff, and require a larger amount of tensioning than the simple 3/8” tool steel blade with HSS tips. The bandsaw chassis needs to be capable of withstanding the tension involved. Most Chinese-made steel bandsaws cannot do this. If you are looking in this area, check whether the bandsaw is capable. Most cast iron European bandsaw take this tension in their stride.

The importance of guides is, in my opinion, a little over-inflated. One does not need the latest ceramic guides. But one does want efficient and uncomplicated blade changes.

My own bandsaw history includes several years with a 14” Taiwanese machine, which I “upgraded” with a riser block. In retrospect, was not a good move. One increases resaw capacity from 6” to 12”, but the ability to tension a wider blade does not alter.

I have had my current bandsaw for nearly a decade. This is a Hammer (Felder) N4400, which is a 4hp and 18” machine with a 12” resaw capacity. For general work, I run a 3/8” 3 tpi bimetal blade (which is easy to resharpen), and for resawing I use a 1” 1.3 tpi carbide Lenox Woodmaster CT.

There are alternatives to the Woodmaster CT, such as the Resaw King. Pros and cons ... the Resaw King is thinner and works better on smaller wheels, but does not have the endurance of the Woodmaster. Lenox do offer other blades, such as the Trimaster.

My Rule of Thumb for a bandsaw is that the resaw capacity ideally approaches that of your jointer. My jointer is a Hammer A3-31, which also has a capacity of 12”. This means that it is possible to joint what is planned to be resawn, which is generally required prior to resawing. If you otherwise want to resaw 12”, either you need to use handplanes, or make a wide board narrower (saw it down), which defeats the advantage of a wide board.

Lots more to write, but this is enough for now.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Resaw criteria...planning

Tom Dunlap

Thanks for the insights. Now the hunt begins. I'm in no hurry so I can wait for the best deal to come along.

Blade

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

You did not ask about blades but since some answered...

Blade depends on what you are resawing. Valuable veneer the choice is clear- carbide resaw blades. No waste but the saw dust.

In my case I am sawing split sections out of poplar logs to be used as drawer sides. I am using the same blade that is welded up for the portable band mills- cheap and quick cutting.

Re: Resaw criteria

Larry Clinton At Frankfort, (Central) Indiana

Tom I spent more than I should have on mine. It was a replacement for a Cheap Craftsman saw about 15 years ago. I went to a couple of tool shows at Indianapolis and decided on either a MiniMax or a Laguna.

When viewing demo's of both saws I decided on the MiniMax - it was $2M+, but I had decided to upgrade most of my equipment prior to retirement.

It will easily properly tension 1" blades and has a (as I remember) a 3.8hp motor. It also has a full 16" resaw capacity. I have sliced up some 2 1/2" X 12" Purpleheart for my cousin without any problems.

I have never regretted purchasing it!