Resawing with circular saw

[HeathRobinson]

Hi all,

I'd like to resaw some (roughly) 1.5" x 2.5" reclaimed mahogany posts into 2 pieces leaving the 2.5" dimension intact and cutting down the middle of the 1.5" dimension. I'll then plane down to the 1/2" thickness I need for my project.

Trouble is that I haven't got bandsaw or tablesaw. I have, however, got the TS55 track saw. I have 5 of these posts but only want to resaw 2 of them. My idea is that I could plane them down so that they are all equal in dimension. This will allow me to stack them next to one another and lightly clamp them together such that the track can balance on the horizontally stacked posts and I can cut down incrementally to the halfway depth of one of the outer posts. I then flip that post over and do the same again hopefully leaving me with a post roughly resawn in half. I repeat the process for the next post.

This is obviously not going to be as stable as using a table saw or bandsaw but is it safe enough?

Thanks,
Simon

 

[Steve Maskery]

Use a handsaw. It's quicker, easier and safer.
S

 

[xy mosian]

Hear Hear, and it's the right time of year for a bit of exercise

xy

 

[HeathRobinson]

Thank you for your input guys. A very snappy response indeed.

I have been kicking about these forums for some time now but in terms of woodworking skill I'm still very much the newbie. I have resawn maple recently using my hand tools and found it to be a very good workout to put it politely. It took me most of a day and I gashed my little finger something terrible while I was at it. The wood repaid me by warping over the following week. :lol: Not a fond memory. The cut depth on that was quite a bit more than the 2.5" I now seek to cut but my main concern is that I will not be accurate enough with the hand saw. Something I forgot to mention is that the piece that I intend to resaw is about 1 meter length and even with 1/2" spare for the saw to wonder in I am nervous that over that sort of distance I might stray into wood I'd rather keep. Hence my interest in using a power tool with a guide of some sort.

Of course I take your more experienced word for it that it is safer to use the hand saw (and because it's just pretty darn obvious!) but I am curious as to why my proposition is dangerous? I had an inkling that it may be hence my question to the forum but I do not know why. The saw will be on a track, is equipped with it's own riving knife and the wood will be firmly secured yet still I have the feeling that since others do not do this there must be something inherently unsafe about it.

Please clue in the new guy if you can spare the time.

Thanks

 

[woodbloke]

Simon - this sort of proposal just gives me bad 'vibes'...difficult to say why, but it's not recommended practice on a table saw, never mind a hand held circular saw, even if it is on a track. If you and Miss Robinson fancy a run over to Wilton I'll sort it out for you in the 'shop - Rob

 

[9fingers]

Thank you for your input guys. A very snappy response indeed.

I have been kicking about these forums for some time now but in terms of woodworking skill I'm still very much the newbie. I have resawn maple recently using my hand tools and found it to be a very good workout to put it politely. It took me most of a day and I gashed my little finger something terrible while I was at it. The wood repaid me by warping over the following week. :lol: Not a fond memory. The cut depth on that was quite a bit more than the 2.5" I now seek to cut but my main concern is that I will not be accurate enough with the hand saw. Something I forgot to mention is that the piece that I intend to resaw is about 1 meter length and even with 1/2" spare for the saw to wonder in I am nervous that over that sort of distance I might stray into wood I'd rather keep. Hence my interest in using a power tool with a guide of some sort.

Of course I take your more experienced word for it that it is safer to use the hand saw (and because it's just pretty darn obvious!) but I am curious as to why my proposition is dangerous? I had an inkling that it may be hence my question to the forum but I do not know why. The saw will be on a track, is equipped with it's own riving knife and the wood will be firmly secured yet still I have the feeling that since others do not do this there must be something inherently unsafe about it.

Please clue in the new guy if you can spare the time.

Thanks

The wood might be reasonably well supported for the first cut but how are you going to clamp it for the second cut without pinching your saw blade?


Bob

 

[HeathRobinson]

Thanks again all,

9fingers post especially helped me to understand. I also searched on google and sure enough some one else tried this same technique using a different clamping arrangement to mine and various wedges to keep the saw from getting pinched in it's own kerf. It didn't look too pretty and seems quite a fiddle.

Many thanks for the offer Rob. I am quite likely to take you up on it. Will speak to Miss Robinson about it in the morning as I think she would be quite interested to see your workshop and might also prove to be a handy diversion for the fairer folk at your end :lol: I wouldn't mind discussing a bit of routing with someone more knowledgable than myself while I'm at it too. The actual work should be a matter of minutes on a bandsaw. With reference to my question in the hand tools section perhaps I could even bring along one of the wild grained culprits on which we might test a scraper prior to me purchasing my own. Will phone tommorow to arrange a suitable visit with you.

Cheers,

Simon

 

[9fingers]

Glad it helped Simon.

Hmm! I've not thought of being able to attract young ladies to my workshop.
That Rob is a bit of a lad at times :lol:

Must give that a try one day when SWMBO is away! :wink: :wink:

Bob

 

[woodbloke]

That Rob is a bit of a lad at times :lol:

Bob

Bob...you haven't seen Miss Robinson \/ - Rob

 

[jlawrence]

It's far from easy with a CS but with a bit of ingenuity it can be done - wedges etc to keep the kerf open.
It's take up Rob's offer if I were you - you'll get a much cleaner job on a decent bandsaw.