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I have some very nice quilted maple that I would like to resaw for back and sides. I have a 14" Delta band saw with riser block and currently the nicest blade I have is a 1/2" carbide tipped, 4 tpi blade, Lennox. I have the extra tension spring installed. Any tips or advice to get on my way? I have sawn mahogany at 1/8" with moderate success. I have also built an 6" tall accessory fence to support the wood. Thanks in advance for any help. Tom

Go very slow. The harder you push the more the blade flexes and wants to wander. Check, double check, and check again to make sure everything is all square (fence is square to table, table square to blade, fence to the length of the blade) Practice on something like plywood to make sure all of your cuts are consistant.
If you let the blade do the work, it's not too bad ususally.

Get a different blade.... for maple, carbide is overkill, and the kerf is wider than you need. I just received a shipment of 5/8" Bladerunner blades from Iturra design, which are only 1/32" kerf, and they work great. I was able to resaw cocobolo, sapele, mahogany, maple, bunches with one blade. It's starting to get dull, but that's the price you pay for more slices per board. I usually slice sides at around .120-.140 max. I've done them as low as .095" with good success.

These are the same basic blades as Highland Hardware's Woodslicer. The woodslicers cost $30 per blade, the Bladerunners cost $20...

1-866-883-8064 Iturra design

Make sure you use push blocks to hold the wood against the fence, and go slowly. No need to rush. Let the blade do the work and feed without squeeling noise.
I can get 6 clean slices from a board a little over 1&1/16" wide.

As Paul mentioned, square up everything really well. Especially the blade and the fence...


Don Williams38777.6431134259

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I would definitely practice Tom on something first. Make sure your machine is cutting well then commit the quilted maple to the process.

Highland Hardware and Timberwolf sites both have good saw setup guides in their libraries and are worth reading.

It should work if you have the fence set to your blade's drift angle. I love carbide for resawing hardwoods.

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Don: how many teeth per inch is the blade you are speaking of? Better yet, do you have a model number? thanks for the quick reply to both of you! Tom

My personal opinion is the bigger the gullet the better. The blade will heat up less the faster it can clear the chips, I don't do much resawing of any major height but for thicker cuts I use a 1/2" 3tpi skip tooth it has a large gullet area, there by clearing the chip quick and stays much cooler and sharper longer.

I think it's a skip-tooth, rotates between 3 and 4 tpi. Great blades.
Seriously, you guys should really try the Bladerunner II blades. 5/8", 1/32" kerf, really sharp - these blades are excellent resaw blades. I have a Lenox Trimaster carbide blade, and it is always snagging in the wood somehow and it jumps forward and takes a hunk out of the aluminum throat plate on the saw. Bang! It's scary when it happens. It can cut through tough woods really well, but not so cleanly compared to the Bladerunners.Don Williams38777.8638888889

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I use basicly the same setup, except bandsaw is a rigid brand. I have had good results using the Woodcraft house brand 1/2" blades with the coarsest cut that they carry- 3-4TPI I think.
Instead of a normal fence, I made a narrow one from 3/4" MDF with a rounded edge that allows me to easily adjust the tracking of the cut while maintaining the board parallel to the blade. I always draw a line on the top edge of the wood to help with allignment.
Be careful. Once again- be careful. When resawing you have a lot of blade exposed, and a bandsaw is very unforgiving. Always use push sticks and blocks to control the wood being sawn. The blade can be cutting a curved path if the tracking is not right and with thin peices, it can come through the side of the board. Above all do not allow anyone or anything distract you while resawing.

Al

[QUOTE=Don Williams] I usually slice sides at around .120-.140 max. I've done them as low as .095" with good success.
[/QUOTE]

I would recommend starting out thicker; one wobble and you could lose a slice.

Typical resaw thicknesses for sides are 0.150" and for backs are 0.180". You can get by with less (and I sometimes have), but consider your risk.

I have to put in a good word also for the bladerunner/woodslicer. I used olson 1/2 3 or 4 tpi on my jet and it constantly hit hard and easy spots. Not sure how else to say it, but the cut was not consistent. I put on a woodslicer 1/2 inch 3tpi and, well you know the whole knife and butter thing... I was able to cut much closer to finished size due to the smooth cut.
Mike

If you have a really good setup, I'm not sure whether it makes a difference if you slice it thinner on the bandsaw, or sand all the wood off with a drum sander afterward, except that the risk may allow you to get an extra set sometimes. But yes, Bob is right, if not careful, you can lose even more. That's the beauty of these blades. if they're cutting well, you can often get that extra set. Otherwise don't risk it.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Fine Woodworking did a great piece on bandsaw setup sometime in the last year (sorry, I don't have the issue number here in my office). They gave a great tutorial on blade choices and setup for a variety of operations. Well worth the time to read. Kevin

Yep I have that issue at home. It is very good concise article. I don’t remember the issue number but could post it tomorrow. If you follow the setup you can truly work inline with the table and not need to accommodate drift with you fence because you won’t get any, unless you force your work or have a bad or dull blade.