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I think I am going to knock one of these together this week.
Any tips? Height? Is 3/4" plywood for the fence with braces sufficient?
Pics would be appreciated too.

If there is one tip I can give you about a resaw fence, don't make it flat, but rather radiused. Something like this (not my picture):


Draw a line on your board and follow it. Your blade will want to slightly wonder left or right and with such a fence, you can correct the direction.

I used to have a flat fence, thinking the blade would always go strait, but I've lost a considerable amount of very good back & side material this way.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

+1
I have that exact fence and that is my preferred method. The other way is to fussy. I suppose if you have a saw dedicated to re-sawing it might be a different story.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I am looking to make one like Todd has pictured though. My 16" laguna has no issues cutting straight. The aluminum rip fence provided with the saw has been surprisingly good for resawing at only about 4" in height, but I don't have the nerve to try cutting expensive guitar billets with it.
Funny, the first thing I want to saw is bubinga and down to about that thickness too.

I use the same approach as Todd it's worked well for me.

I use the same approach as Todd it's worked well for me.

I saw the old bit of wood. My fence is high and long. Made from plywood on one resaw and from UMHW over plywood on the other. Works great.

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Canada

Does anybody add extensions to the saw table for three foot side length. The table on mine seems rather small.

Bob

Still practicing on techniques...I used the idea (OLF sniggly?) to cut a rebate at the base corner to keep shavings away....I am using a plywood fence, maybe 18" long x 10" high (ditched the metal dowel from Rikon). Having reasonable success....but need more practice. Drift is important and , I think, unique to each saw/blade configuration. Remember, practice makes better!!!!

Practice on softer woods and work your way up.

Ed, Here are a couple of pictures of fences I have on two of my saws. My third resaw is not configured yet. I always leave these fences slightly off the table so sawdust and other bits of wood will slide under and not hold the sawn board away from the fence.

First a couple of the plywood auxiliary fence. I have sawn thousands (no exaggeration!) of sets of spruce,cedar and various hardwoods with this fence over the past 8 years and it is still going strong.







And here is the UHMW added to plywood fence. Very flat and very slippery.





In both of these cases I have attached these fences to the short fences that are attached to the saws. In the first the auxiliary fence simply sits over the factory fence and then two clamps are placed once the correct distance from the blade has been established. On the second one the auxiliary fence is bolted to the factory fence as the saw is set up specifically for sawing backs and sides and other veneers.

Hope this helps a bit...

Shane

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Canada

We probably ought to have a sticky for this thread as this topic comes up about every 3 months!

I too am not a fan of the point fence - one slip up and you're screwed. Here's my simple fence. Note that I mounted the fence part sits on top of the base creating the rebate to allow somewhere for sawdust to go. A pressure apparatus would be nice too.

BTW, I don't use that blade to re-saw, usually a 1/2" blade. It was just on the saw when I took the pics.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Todd: How much H.P. on the 14" Delta....???
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Hey Filippo,

My plywood fence is VERY smooth now after several thousand boards have "sanded" it into a very fine surface and everything slides nice. Having said that the UHMW fence is WAY smoother and the 1" thick stuff I put on there is very flat and and WAT slicker. I bought it from the offcut pile at plastic supply place for like $20 or $30 and would do it again for any fence I made. Is it required? No, there are many examples of plywood fences that work just fine. Is it better. In my opinion it certainly is, it is fatter and much less resistant which will make your cuts smoother and cleaner. That's my experience and that is all I have to go on!

Shane

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Canada

Would malamine covered particleboard be a light-duty equivilent?

Bob

I would like to mention that based on the info gathered on this thread (plus a PM to Todd), I will definitly try the flat fence once more. I'll get myself a better blade than what I currently use and will setup my bandsaw better (I read a little on that also). If I can get myself some 1/8'' slice or so, I'll be a happier man!

Thanks for the info everyone!

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Tom, mine was a 12" that I put a riser kit on. It came with a 1hp which was inadequate. I switched to a 2hp and that is quite good.

I'd also suggest going to a thin kerf 3/4" stellite or carbide blade, that makes a world of difference. I use a rig almost identical to Andy's, but it has melamine on the face of the ply for slickness.

Shane, your rig looks just the one Michael Bashkin uses complete with the hydraulics, did you two consult together or is this a design from the web or ???

Alan D.

Really? I must not be very good at searching because I came up with nothing in regards to home brew fences.

That UHMW sure looks slick, going to look for some.
Also a really good idea attaching it to the existing fence, so obvious but did not think of that.

Really, it does come up: viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=28291&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=resaw+fence

There were a couple others I found but they weren't as detailed. (I wasn't trying to scold you or anything either).

For those of us who didn't do the UHMW thing out of the gates, there's always this too:

http://www.amazon.com/UHMW-Slick-Tape-P ... pd_cp_hi_0

After this thread, I may have to add this to mine.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Not to worry about it. Lots of topics crop up time and time again.
That's pretty impressive resawing from Todd, on a 14" Bandsaw cutting Bubinga - which can be a pretty hard wood. Just shows what can be achieved with these medium machines. We used to see those Delta Bandsaws (or their clones) here in the UK - that's if it's the one with the riser block. They seem to have gone out of fashion.

Todd's is/was a rather souped up model, including a significant upgrade in the power plant.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Hey Alan,

The fences are all just "done" from my own experience of years of woodworking. The pneumatic holding system is actually adapted from one that Bruce Creps of Notable Woods made. My geometry is bit different than his but the function is similiar. Bruce did an article a couple of years ago in American Lutherie and then I called him and discussed further (we have discussed other stuff before this). There is thread somewhere on this forum of when I built this unit. Bashkin may have adapted his from the same source..??? But then again, there isn't much that is "new" even when it seems like a new invention.

Michael N.

It seems that older "Delta" style is indeed becoming more rare and that, I think, is because the newer (Hitachi has been doing it for over 30 years) welded frame saws are less expensive to produce (again I suspect) and because the welded frame saws can handle the higher tensions required for decent resawing. I think Todd is more expert than I on this but that is my take. I own two Hitachi re-saws (a 16" and a 24") one General re-saw (24") and 15" cast iron General bandsaw and a 14" Jet "Delta" clone that I have souped up with new rubber tires and much faster speed. I like them all for different purposes. I do not need help with TAS...really!

Shane

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Canada

Everyone

This thread inspired me to make my own fence. Up to now I have been using the stock fence that came with my MiniMax 16" bandsaw.
I haven't tried the fence yet. When I do so I will update you.

Dave

Dave,

Modify your UHMW part so that it's not exactly touching the table. You need to leave room for sawdust to go somewhere. Otherwise it looks good.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Here's some. Just don't forget to offset the face of the UMHW from the plywood side/base to allow for a rabbet at the bottom to clear the shavings/dust.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Molecular-W ... =1-1-spell

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Bobby Masten

Andy
Thanks for the tip.
I will make the modification.

Dave