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I have a bug for trying my hand at resawing some back and sides. I have some test wood to practice with. Tomorrow I am going to a lumber warehouse that I found. I understand they have a good selection of exotic tonewood some large enough for resawing back and sides.

My question is in the selection of the lumber. I imagine QTR saw is best, if you can find it. From what I have gathered, that is grain that is 60-90 degrees. Would rift sawn be OK for sides? And do I understand correctly that rift sawn is grain 30-60 degrees?

Do you typically find one board that you can use for both back and sides or do you look for smaller quarter sawn lumber for the sides and anything else for the backs if the width is there?

I know they have Cocobolo and Wenge, but they may have others/

Watch out for the Cocobolo if you're going to resaw it. Dust removal, good ventilation, good dust mask. Some are extremely allergic to it.

I haven't worked with Wenge, but my understanding is that it's almost supernatural in it's ability to give you splinters....

Identifying quartersawn (well, quartersawn apparently means the method that it was sawn - you'll get a percentage of wood that's perpendicular to the grain even through "slabsawing") can be easy or tough depending on the species of wood (depending on how visible the grain lines are). For sides I'd definitely look for boards that are perpendicular - viewed from the end of the board. Not absolutely necessary, but generally more stable when bending, after bending, etc.

Backs can be quartered, or not. I cut some very beautiful black walnut with extraordinary figure from some lumber yard lumber. The only challenge is that it can crack, can be a bit unstable, and joining figured wood can be challenging. I find it difficult to hand plane wood in a true line for joining when there's figure on it. So quartersawn wood will be easier to join.

I think you're right to practice on something - and I'd try to practice on something with the hardness of your tonewood. These woods are hard - I've found it takes a very sharp blade, and a lot of patience to resaw a 10 - 12" board. You don't want to feed it too fast - can be dangerous and won't cut a straight board either. Others can offer more coherent advise on safety.

Do you typically find one board that you can use for both back and sides or do you look for smaller quarter sawn lumber for the sides and anything else for the backs if the width is there?


I like to use the same board for both sides and back to get a better match if i can, but not nessesary.I do try to get sides and back from the same tree if useing different boards though. And i like quartersawn the best for stableability but rift and flat can work too. Maple is flat sawn alot on guitars and can look better as well. With that said; i do try to resaw my sets from a board that is wide and thick enough for backs and sides for a better match.

Lots of excellent suggestions, Todd- thanks!

For the 'beginning sawyer', with perhaps a less-than-perfect saw setup, a couple of cautions from my limited experience resawing with a 14" saw as well as a better (16", carbide band) saw:


Some 4/4 boards can be very rough sawn (and a bit wavy to boot) making it tough to get a good yield of recuts. If your bandsaw is making anything but smooth cuts, it's best to do a lot of practice on cheaper wood. Nothing is worse than getting a thin spot in the middle of an expensive side- sometimes it is better to err on the conservative/thick end. And, of course, try to get your saw cutting as well as possible. It's also a big help to pre-cut the board if possible before resawing. There's a big difference in resawing a 7.75" board and an 11" board especially if you are working with a smaller saw.
(And a big difference resawing mahogany vs bloodwood/purpleheart, etc!)


True.
Flipping the board after each cut can help to minimize the 'wedge-shaped leftover' syndrome, though. Again, with perfect setup and blade........


I never had much luck resawing harder woods until I switched to a carbide band.

Cheers
John

A supporting jig on the back side of the fence will keep it from moveing as pressure is applied to the fence and will help with the alignement issue.

I've been chasing this greasy pig for several years now...and here's a few opinions.

DON'T start practicing with Cocobolo. It's WAY to valuable to be using as practice wood AND, atleast in my mind, is a 'benchmark' wood. Meaning that if you can successfully resaw 8 inch wide Cocobolo without destroying it you are doing it right....WHICH ALSO MEANS....you have learned to be patient, watch, and listen to the saw as you push the wood through the blade. A 14" cast iron tricked out bandsaw will do it but you have to watch it closely.

PRACTICE WOOD is anything you can get for cheap. Cheap means no more than 3 bucks per board foot (again my opinion). This is what you should be 'learning' on.

GARBAGE IN - GARBAGE OUT. If I remember correctly this came out of Uncle Bob's mouth...and it's sooooo true. I use my resaw fence as the standard of measure. If I lay the billet up against my resaw fence and I see gaps either on the fence or on the table (or both) I take the billet to the drum sander and jointer to square it up. Light passes do the trick usually unless it's a billet of something that's been sitting around forever and has moved all over. My resaw fence is flat and it's square (I know..It took me an entire day to make it). Remember that it's always better to get 2 usable sets out of a given billet than to try and squeeze that extra piece of 40 thou thick veneer that you'll end up throwing away cuz it's not cut straight. Worry about that when you get better.

THE FEWEST TPI WITH THE DEEPEST GULLETS. As the blade passes thru 8 inches of wood it collects quite a bit of sawdust (or shavings depending on the species). The blade needs to clear these chips. Your ability to accurately resaw (with repeatable results) is directly and inextricably linked to the blades ability to clear the chip. Does this mean you can't resaw with a 6tpi blade?...NOOOOO...but you won't get far. You'll get farther with the fewest teeth per inch you can find. Also..the fewer the teeth the deeper the gullet.

Here's my resaw setup. It's flat, square, and supported top to bottom - side to side. You'll also notice a small relief at the bottom of the fence. This is intentional. There's nothing worse than to have a small shaving kick your board away from the fence when you are half way through the cut.

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WOW thanks for all the great info. Chris that is a very interesting set up, do you have more pics of the extension table and fence?

My trip to the lumber warehouse was amazing, I never new this place existed. I bought a nice piece of Wenge 8/4 4ft long and 8.5" wide. They had palates of Cocobolo drying in the kiln. I told the fellow that helped me what I was looking for and he was going to pull out some boards for me to come by and look at.

I am in no big hurry so I plan to take my time do my home work and practice before jumping in.

Just a couple of question: my current set up is a Powermatic 14" 1.5h with riser block.
For tis machine what blade would you suggest for re-sawing?

I recently joined a local woodworkers guild with an amazing shop including a 36" band-saw.
Once I get familiar with reawing with my setup would you recommend using the 36" for the or is that too much machine for this purpose? I do know they keep this place in tip top shape and well tuned. They keep a full time volunteer staff there for instruction an support on these machines, but I doubt anyone there has resawn a set of back and sides

As always thanks
Richard
Richard

I also like to get my back and sides out of the same board if possible. I recently cut a few sets of maple and mahogany from stuff I found locally. Quartered means it is nice and strong for backs. That is usually what I look for.

As far as resawing goes, a good resaw fence and the right blade are a must. You also have to make sure that the fence is set to the drift angle of the blade you are using. And, I have found that a feather board (homemade is fine) is crucial to making sure you get a good and even cut. Good luck.

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I vote for starting with cheap wood and moving your way up. I have learned that you can ruin a whole lot of good wood with an improperly setup saw.

The Oakie was made out of Home Depot Oak -- I just happened to find some 1x8 stock that was reasonably well quartersawn...

Thanks

John