Bandsaw Veneers

[Philly]

Hi Folks
Every time I pick up a woodworking mag (well, Fine Woodworking, anyway :lol: ) there seems to be an article on cutting veneer with your bandsaw. And all these articles recommend building a high fence to make this possible.
So, during a spare minute, I used an off-cut of kitchen worktop to knock up this monstrosity.....

As you can see, it's not pretty. I added supports at the rear to keep it square and it is held onto the table with some clamps.

Having the laminate face out makes for a friction free fence. And how did it work??

Pretty well!! I cut a veneer 1.2mm thick from some 200mm tall cherry. Pretty impressed was I! I was also very impressed with the quality of the surface - the saw marks were pretty fine (as the 5p in the picture hopefully shows) The blade (a 4tpi 30mm wide one from Axminster) is pretty worn so I would expect a fresh blade to make life even better.
If you've been thinking of making a hgh fence for your bandsaw give it a go. It certainly makes cutting veneers safer and easier.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[Anonymous]

Looks pretty impressive cutting - lovely finish and pretty easy to smooth it off


and a good chance to show off that humongous bandsaw :wink:

 

[RogerS]

Thanks Philly for the research as I was wondering just how thin I might get (skill willing) using a bandsaw. Am I right in saying that the veneer is between the blade and the fence?

 

[davy_owen_88]

I did the very same thing today for resawing some oak. I also found it useful on my spindle sander - set up in the same way it works like a tiny thickness sander.

Davy

 

[Shultzy]

Philly - that's one hefty machine and blade. It would be nice to know if you or other user can get the same results from narrower blades ie. 18mm which is probably the max most people have.

 

[Philly]

Roger
Yes, the veneer is between the fence and the blade. That way you don't need to move the fence after each cut.
Good idea with the sander Davy-got me thinking now!
Shultzy - most of the articles I have read have recommended using a 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch wide blade for this. So I assume it would just fine.
Cheers
Philly

 

[Shivers]

Agood 3/4" skiptooth blade always works well for this ,i once saw a fellow make his own sharpening jig for his blades on an old giant oliver bandsaw,he converted a chainsaw sharpening jig to take a dremel grinder,it took a fair amount of time to resharpen a blade for this sized bandsaw --but the result was amazing--razor sharp blade that lasted forever---far superior to a commercially available blade,he stoned the back of the blade,then gently stoned the front teeth before removing for sharpening.--this gave him a reference for using his jig,amazing.

 

[David C]

We cut a lot of bandsaw veneer.

Usually 2.5 or 3 mm thick, one could easily go thinner, with a 3 tpi 5/8" meat and fish blade from Hamilton edge tools in S Wales.

The deeper the cut the more risk of wander. One needs a sizeable bandsaw to have enough tension.

Meat & fish Blades have less set and narrower kerf so more veneers, though directional set up needs to be more accurate, due to less set.

New sharp blade maximizes chance of success.

Kerf about 1.1mm

David

 

[LyNx]

David, how to you prepare the gluing face ready for pressing. Do you just leave at as cut?

 

[StevieB]

Philly, does you bandsaw blade not wander at all? Or did you set your fence at a slight angle to account for the blade wander. I have an EB316 and have always struggled with the blade wander. Now I have moved house and have a bit more space I may try again, but I had considered just giving up with it. Do you think its possible to achieve those results on a saw the size of the EB316?

Cheers,

Steve.

 

[gidon]

Steve
I have a similiar mid size machine to you (Record BS350). I use a 1/2" 3tpi blade for resawing and cut veneers successfully too. I think you'll have trouble tensioning a blade wider than 1/2" on your saw anyway.
I don't get blade wander on my saw - I just set the fence parallel to the mitre slot and make sure the blade is just front of centre on the bandsaw wheels.
It's important to let the bandsaw and blade guide the feed rate - it'll be pretty slow - but unless you're doing this day in day out it's not a problem.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[woodbloke]

I haven't yet had a go at this though I have built a tall fence for my bandsaw. Most blades will track to one side or the other and the way to get round the problem is to set up the machine (new blade, correct tension etc) and then pass an offcut through it freehand.. then note which way and by how much the blade wanders. Then clamp the high fence parallel with the freehand cut and hopefully there should not be any deviation when the veneer is cut - Rob

 

[dickm]

David, how to you prepare the gluing face ready for pressing. Do you just leave at as cut?

My solution to this is to pass the uncut piece of timber over the planer before each cut, so the exposed face is planed, but leave the cut face rough.
On a 352, with the right blade, it works a treat.

 

[StevieB]

Thanks Gidon. I need to get the bandsaw out again and set it up in its new home. Sadly other things keep getting in the way but its on the todo list!

Steve.

 

[Dan]

When using a handsaw (panel saw or crosscut) to deep cut timber most people do not maintain the same angle when cutting but change it by raising or lowering the saw handle as they find that the saw cuts more easily and faster by doing so. this same principle can also be applied to deep cutting with a narrow bandsaw by alternately raising and lowering the end nearest you, but always keeping the forward end on the table. This has the same effect as using a skip tooth blade since it reduces the number of teeth which are cutting at any one time and increases the tooth bite, this reduces the scraping action which normally goes with reduced feed speeds. and increases the life of the blade.
A piece of curved timber (about 15mm thick or so) fixed to the table, with the high point at the position of the blade which will allow the timber to rock is a convenient aid, but is not essential.

If you have not tried this I think you will pleased with the result.

I hope this helps Dan

 

[Shivers]

When using a handsaw (panel saw or crosscut) to deep cut timber most people do not maintain the same angle when cutting but change it by raising or lowering the saw handle as they find that the saw cuts more easily and faster by doing so. this same principle can also be applied to deep cutting with a narrow bandsaw by alternately raising and lowering the end nearest you, but always keeping the forward end on the table. This has the same effect as using a skip tooth blade since it reduces the number of teeth which are cutting at any one time and increases the tooth bite, this reduces the scraping action which normally goes with reduced feed speeds. and increases the life of the blade.
A piece of curved timber (about 15mm thick or so) fixed to the table, with the high point at the position of the blade which will allow the timber to rock is a convenient aid, but is not essential.

If you have not tried this I think you will pleased with the result.

I hope this helps Dan

skiptooth blade solves most problems---especialy if trued in with a stone--for deep width cutting it can't be beaten because of the gullet clearence-why people use any others amazes me,i explained earlier of a superior way of achieving this ---but no responses. ahh well.

shivers.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Dan

Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you onboard.

Cheers
Neil

 

[woodbloke]

David, how to you prepare the gluing face ready for pressing. Do you just leave at as cut?

No need to pass the timber over a surfacer to skim it for gluing - the sawn face is sufficiently good to glue straight onto the groundwork. Passing it over a surfacer will only remove more timber than is already lost as sawdust from the cut and it may be valuable stuff like say ebony or rosewood so you need to keep as much as possible - Rob

 

[Shivers]

David, how to you prepare the gluing face ready for pressing. Do you just leave at as cut?

No need to pass the timber over a surfacer to skim it for gluing - the sawn face is sufficiently good to glue straight onto the groundwork. Passing it over a surfacer will only remove more timber than is already lost as sawdust from the cut and it may be valuable stuff like say ebony or rosewood so you need to keep as much as possible - Rob

The bandsaw marks will eventually show through once the wood has been finished,--what you suggest is a big no no,surfacing the board each time is a good thing to do,for one thing there would be better intimate contact between substrate & veneer-without the pitfalls of telegraphing.
this depends upon veneer thickness of course --but its always better to err on the side of safety.A nice light skim across the surfacer helps with flatness & feed as well.

regards.

shivers

 

[woodbloke]

I've had a look at the relevant issue of F&C (122) in John Bullar's aticle and he say as follows.....'Each piece of veneer will have a sawn face, which is tooth marked but smooth enough to glue directly, and a smooth surface, which was planed before being pressed against the fence during sawing' He achieves the smooth surface by hand planing each time and glues the sawn side to the groundwork. The auther of the piece produces veneers maybe 2 or 3mm thick and I do agree that the 'telegraphing' effect would almost certainly happen with very thin veneers but am not so sure that it would happen with the thicker stuff - Rob