Accu-ish Slice

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I have used this jig on quite a few projects since I posted here. I'm really pleased with it and I think it would serve you well. I'm going to treat myself to a new blade for the new year to have a go at veneers.
 
With respect, what does this jig provide you that you can;t achieve with setting the fence and cutting?
A properly tuned and adjusted saw should be able to repeatedly cut uniform boards without issue. Using an accessory carriage type of system seems redundant.
What am I missing?
 
For those who like to have a ponder at things...
It might be worth noting that the Inca has a direct drive motor,
which might just make wheel alignment that much more noticeable as some have suggested
in regards to the importance of not making any compromises regarding commissioning the machine.
Be interesting to see the results of the before and after, on both direct and belt driven machines, either way.

With that said, I still reckon that everyone's on a completely different page in regards to everything,
as they don't know how much their wheels and motor are out of alignment.
One could also add tires too, if it's not a modern Centauro, with alignment groove milled into the wheels to take the snap on tires with the tongue.

My take on this jig is it compromises better with wheel misalignment, and provides better consistency in regards to keeping the same tension on the blade.

I do wonder how much percentage would be gained compared to a properly aligned saw, but it's seemingly an advantage to me.

Perhaps quite likely the results might not be in the cut, but in regards to blade longevity.

Keep us posted
Tom
 
With respect, what does this jig provide you that you can;t achieve with setting the fence and cutting?
A properly tuned and adjusted saw should be able to repeatedly cut uniform boards without issue. Using an accessory carriage type of system seems redundant.
What am I missing?
I don't think you're missing anything. It's more that it is an alternative approach to resawing.

I'm happy with the setup of the bandsaw and I like to think that it is properly tuned and adjusted although I'm no expert in that area so it could possibly be improved.

The fence that comes with the saw is low level and won't work for resawing. Before I made this jig I used an addition to make a single point fence for resawing which worked well enough but meant that there were more operational parameters that I would need to address during the cut, namely holding the timber against the fence for vertical alignment and maintaining alignment with the blade as I pushed the piece through the cut.

I considered making a tall fence and an associated feather board assembly as an alternative which would have been fine. And in effect, that is what I've achieved but in a different way. Attaching the timber to the sliding carriage is the equivalent of a tall feather board and the height of the fence is built-in.
(In my head it's similar to the difference between a table saw with an extension table and a long mitre fence and a table saw with a sliding carriage - same cross cut capability but the timber can be more securely held on the sliding carriage).

The obvious problem with my jig is the length of the board that I can resaw. I still have the single point fence if needed but in the main I work on smaller items.

For me the best part of using this jig is that I only have to concentrate on the speed that I feed the timber through the cut. And I'm still convinced that getting the speed right is as important as the tuning of the saw.

I guess the short answer is that this is not the solution but one that works well for me :)
 
I received a new blade from TuffSaws today and had a quick go at cutting a veneer. If I was doing this seriously I’d pay a bit more attention to the setup but my impatience got the better of me. I should say that I’ve never worked with veneers and I apologise if my methods fly in the face of accepted practice :oops:

The blade I chose for this is the 12mm wide SuperTuff 3/4 Vari-Tooth from the Premium range.

I was aiming for something near 2mm thickness and I cut a slice from a maple off-cut I had lying around. Ideally I would have run it across the planer to ensure the best possible surface but it looked to be flat (and there’s quite a bit of moving stuff around to get the P/T operational).

The following pictures show the slice before and after a 30 second clean up by hand sanding with 180 grit Abranet pad. (I wasn't thinking properly about the orientation when I added the thickness readings :( )

Veneers_001.jpg


Veneers_002.jpg


I also had a go with walnut and oak off-cuts.

Veneers_003.jpg


Veneers_004.jpg


I believe the results might have been slightly more accurate if I’d sliced a freshly planed piece of wood. Not having worked with veneers before I don’t know if this result is acceptable – to my mind I’d be happy enough and I have plans to make a combined Chess board and Backgammon set at some stage.

I’d appreciate feedback from those of you who are experienced in using veneers.
 
If I were to guess, there are two causes of blade wander which would affect the thickness:
  • blade wear - the solution to which is a new blade possibly with a change to TPI
  • variations in feed rate which will variably stress and move the blade however well set up the tension and guides
Eliminating the latter by using a decent jig to allow concentration on a stable feed rate seems very sensible.
 
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