Band saw questions

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duncanh

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I have some strips of wood 5mm x 30mm x 800mm which I'd like to saw in 2 along the 5mm edge to make them easier to steam bend. Would I be correct in thinking that a bandsaw would be best for this whilst minimising the amount of wood lost as sawdust?

Once my strips are bent and laminated I'll need to cut them in 6mm slices perpendicular to the laminate. I guess a band saw would be best for this too.

This months 'The Woodworker' magazine has a group test of small bandsaws and the Delta 28-185 seems ok - www.rutlands.co.uk have it for £100.
Whatever I buy it won't get a vast amout of use (so I don't want to pay too much) but I need it to be easy to maintain and cut straight. To start with I'll be cutting oak and ash.

Any suggestions / advice gratefully received

Duncan
 
Evening Duncan

I've just bought a new BS, but haven't had time to play proper with it yet :cry: But I would think a BS is just about the only thing you could resaw 5mm with!

I assume the easiest way to go about it would be to fix-up a second fence t'other side of the blade, and pinch the wood between them as it goes through the blade? I should think the temptation to get your fingers "in just a tad closer.....Oops!" would be somewhat tempting otherwise :evil:

I'll be following this thread.........

Pete
 
Hi Duncan

Having just had an awful lot of trouble setting up a new Kity bandsaw myself, I would strongly recommend that if you do buy a new bandsaw you should bin whatever blade comes with it. This advice seems to be generally accepted for all bandsaws, not just Kity's.

You'll certainly need a second fence or fingerboard to control the passage of the timber through the machine.

How good are you at cutting straight lines manually? It's not beyond the realms of possibility that a bowsaw or a coping saw could do the job too; and don't exclude the trusty tenon saw used in conjunction with one of these new-fangled Stanley Jet Saws, either. Mind, I wouldn't like to try it myself (which is why I have a bandsaw :) ).

Yours

Gill
 
I'd thought about cutting by hand using a coping saw and home made jig (I guess that's the word - but figured that it would take too much time with worse results than a band saw.

The magazine said of the Delta that it was the only saw on test whose blade was any good and didn't need to be replaced.

Duncan
 
At the risk of dissapearing down the wrong trouser leg........ I bought a Stanley Jet panel saw and a tennon saw recently, to do some renovations on my daughter's "new" house:

They certainly cut effortlessly, although the tennon saw can be tricky to get started as it bites a bit aggressively; the problem I found with them is that they are Very prone to tooth breakage.

I took 2 teeth out of the panel saw before I realised that it must have been due to contact with the metal frame of the workmate whilst cutting :( Then the tennon fell off the w/mate, and ping went a tooth from that one too :x

It seems to me the teeth have been over-hardened, as I've never busted any on other saws.......Certainly not suited to site work

Pete
 
Hi Duncan,

The problem you're going to have with this is control to get the cut consistently down the middle. Any variation will kill your chances of getting two pieces out of it, regardless of method, and the kerf of the saw is probably going to be around 1.5mm or, leaving you with precious little wood either side. I've never managed to cut veneers consistently thinner than around 3mm with my bandsaw, although I know that experienced users can beat this.

I'd be inclined to accept some waste, and plane the 5mm pieces down to thickness (3mm?) for laminating, if you can afford the waste. Otherwise, I think you'll be setting yourself a pretty challenging target to get two pieces of even thickness veneer from a 5mm thick workpiece.

If you have access to a bandsaw, it would be worth trying it out, with the saw set up for resawing with the finest blade that can resaw that thickness (not sure what teeth per inch for 30mm cut) and use a fixed, dead square fence with a featherboard holding the work firmly against the fence just ahead of the blade. Don't have the featherboard behind or against the blade - you need the wood to have room to move away from the blade a little once it's been cut. Always remember that the cutting is done by the front of the blade - and the featherboard is to hold it in place for the cut, not afterwards.

You'll also want to have a pushstick ready to send the final few inches into the blade. With this narrow stock, you may have trouble with it flexing away from the fence, so it's going to be a tough one.


For the final ripping into 6mm strips, the bandsaw, if you've got a good blade in it and it's set up properly, plus you've practiced a bit, is a great tool for minimising waste since the kerf is so narrow.

Cheers,

AG
 
Hi Duncan

The more I think about this problem, the more I am inclined to the view that you should be able to bend 5mm wood successfully without any need to split it. However, I also understand that lamination will greatly increase the rigidity of the bend so I can see why it might be desirable.

Do you have a handsaw with no tooth-set? I'm thinking of a veneer saw but I believe that a gentleman's saw or a fine Japanese saw might also do the job. If so, you could clamp a metal straight edge (such as a spirit level) above the timber and use the edge as a guide for the cutting. Admittedly, you'd need to be patient but it would give you a very fine straight cut that required hardly any tidying up.

If you've never seen a veneer saw before, they're quite readily available from most major tool retailers at a reasonable price and you're bound to find one at the Art Veneers Co website.

I certainly think you'd find this solution much cheaper and more effective than a bandsaw. It would also take up much less storage space :) !

Yours

Gill
 
Taking on board GillD's comments about throwing away whatever blade comes with the bandsaw can I have some advice on a few places to buy decent blades as I have just purchased an EB BAS250G and would like a new blade. The store I bought the saw in does not have any in stock and anyway I am not happy at their prices. They are putting vat on top of the price everyone else sells at inc vat. Enough moaning, just like to know where to buy blades. :D
 
Hi Jeff

Someone taking on board my comments? That's a first :) !

In the circumstances I think it only fair of me to steer you towards Dure-Edge (tel: 08702 252337). Unfortunately, they don't have a website. I got my blades from them and I'm very happy with their performance. A number of other woodworkers speak very highly of them, too.

I hope you and your new EB have a long and productive relationship.

Yours

Gill
 

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