Bandsaw resaw fence

I have posted it here before. My website traces the development of the concept. The article in FWW just has the final design (using drawings).

Website: https://www.inthewoodshop.com/Powered%20Tools%20and%20Machinery/ResawingOnTheBandsaw.html
Regards from Perth

Derek

This concept has been used on tablesaw fences for a long time, and it apparently is applicable to the bandsaw fence as well. Thanks for (re)posting it, Derek.

While we're on this subject, do you ever use accessories (e.g., a pressure roller or featherboard) to keep the board tight to the fence? Do you ever compensate for blade drift? And, do you think blade tension affects the cut?

Ellis

I had a cheap 12" Craftsman that was not so good for resawing boards thicker than three inches but ran quite well ripping narrow strips, 2x- and less. All I had to do was set the fence for drift of each blade. Tuning the roller guides was important for each blade, also.

I never understood why others fiddled with those pointy guide things.

Derek, I saw your tip the other day.  Well done.  While not a resaw issue, I was ripping a 6' piece of curly mahogany on the tablesaw on Saturday and in the middle of the cut, the kerf sprang open and the board split.  Because of the fence, the whole thing pushed away from the rip fence and the cut became a slight dog-leg instead of a straight cut.  I had to re-joint the piece to continue.

@Derek - below is my version of a resaw fence. It's a little Rube Goldberg, but it's rock solid and works well. In my small shop, the bandsaw had to be placed at the end of a workbench. I added a bandsaw extension table on top of the bench to make handling long boards easier. Flathead bolts into inserts in the workbench top hold the extension in place. Set screws through inserts in the bottom of the extension table allow me to adjust the extension to be coplanar with the bandsaw table. After I move the truck out of the way, a portable roller stand handles the outfeed.



I built the fence to be very solid and dead-on 90 degrees. As long as the bandsaw blade is 90 degrees to the table, all is well. A t-track in the extension table and a locking knob through the base of the fence lock one end. A clamp locks the other end. (Told you it was a little rube goldberg.) Aligning the fence to the slot in the bandsaw table is a little fussy, but I've gotten pretty good at it.

I read somewhere about positioning bandsaw blades on the wheels properly to prevent drift. It's been so long I don't remember what I read or how I did it, but between the adjustments and this fence, I can resaw some pretty big stock and get consistent results. In fact, recently I used it to make some mahogany veneer for some wooden burial urns. The cuts were good enough that I could use the veneer with the cut side down for gluing and not even have to sand it.

Hi Pat

You have a strong build. My design is different, however, and for a specific purpose. This is worth explaining for those who do not get its importance in avoiding rough cuts and skewed cuts when the kerf opens up.

A significance influence was The Little Ripper fence ..

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4k-r5utmU2Q&t=17s&ab_channel=EthAnswersbyStockroomSupply

Unlike a long, full fence, my cut-off fence enable the board to exit the blade away from the fence, leaving it free to move without affecting the cut.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I needed a project so I made one of these for my Powermatic 141 14" BS. Attaches to the Kreg fence with 1/4 20 hex head bolts. My saw only has 6 3/4" resaw capacity. 

@Derek: It dawned on me that if I ran into a problem with the kerf opening up, I could modify my fence by scabbing another 3/4" mdf face shaped like yours to the face of mine.

Pat, as long as your fence only extends about 1-2" past the blade (and is not the full length of the table), then you should be fine.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Great timing for this topic, I am making some boxes in the next month and needed to look at making a resat fence, I like Virgils!

Take care, Jim