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I've seen both set ups. One where the thin cut is set up outboard of the fence with the thicker remaining piece up against the fence. This requires setting the depth of cut for each new cut.

And also the other way round with the thin cut up against the fence and the thicker remaining wood outside of the fence which allows for the cut size to remain the same along the fence.

Any preference out there? Why?

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I set my fence for the thinnest cut .Since sometimes I don/t always get an even cut with the trimaster blade I flip the board end over, to balance out any anomalies after each cut. I aim for 4.5mm for both soft and hdwds, and 2.5mm for veneer before sanding.

Thanks Ernie, Do you aim for 4.5mm for guitar backs and sides?

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My setup is an old Delta 14" with riser and Timberwolf blade. Once I dial in 4.5mm with my fence, I don't want to touch it.
Use caliper to check each piece in a few places and just keep cutting. Of course, I don't resaw great amounts of wood, but it woeks for me.
Brent

That's what I was thinking too but I saw a couple videos explaining the downsides of the thin cut at the fence and was just wondering.

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Setting up so the thin side is cut off has the advantage of having the flexible side able to peal away and hence may help with binding. I prefer this method but my saw is not a very good one. In fact I have to measure the drift and set my fence to that. It works ok but it's a time consuming PIA.

Here's a video showing one method.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi1RI3Ea4FY

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Larry I do the backs and tops at 4.5mm. but the sides are usually abt 3 mm or 1/8in .. depends on how hard or soft the sides are how dry or green the wood is ? also whether the wood tends to shrink evenly or unevenly. For example to get a 2.5mm finished side in sycamore I will cut it when it/s green or wet at 4.5mm .When it shrinks twists moves/cups etc. even though it/s 1/4 sawn it might end up through final sanding at 2.2mm just to get out all the anomalies. Some sides like my 3 ply laminate black walnut get 1 side at .075 and 2 more .022 laminate veneers. In othere words you have to make a judgment call on the wood before you cut it, NOT AFTER it/s been resawn. I cut some backs for sycamore the other day. at 5.5mm .Good luck with resawing.

Thin side against the fence. Honestly, I don't see any downside. The advantage is obvious....set the fence and leave it alone.

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John

Thats my way as well. I do flip the billet after each pass but then I don't spend a lot of time adjusting for drift on my re-saw as I change bands really often (2 or 3 hours of cutting). Also, my saw might be a bit bigger than most around here.....

Shane

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Canada

Those people shouldn't be making videos.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Maybe it's just my lack of experience, but I've had much better luck having the cutoff piece away from the fence.
I built a custom sled that can move the workpiece both into and across the blade plane, so I can adjust the thickness
of the cutoff piece easily. It looks to me like David Borson uses that technique, so there may be some advantage. I'm
liking my results anyway...

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

I'm in the camp of running the thin side to the fence. I've tried it the other way round and found the constant resetting of the fence after every cut to be really annoying.

More importantly is to have the saw set just right and have a fresh blade. For fine and accurate cutting, a fresh blade is a must, and its only this good for a few hours of cutting. Even if your saw, like mine, is smaller than Shane's!

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Another thing it is way safer to have the cut between the fence and the stuff. This isn't like a table saw.
L.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.