Smallest Practical Resaw.

[Jelly]

My woodworking had evolved from being hand-tools only, to also involving milling (and occasionally harvesting) my own timber this is posing me a problem in terms of the available thicknesses... I've been getting a local company to re-saw boards for me (mainly 11*300 sawn ex 25, and 38*350/11*350 sawn ex 50), but it's time consuming cutting to appropriate lengths for transport, taking it to them, and collecting it...

So I started thinking about what options I had in terms of a compact, semi-portable piece of equipment capable of deep-ripping:

• Table-saws are right out... the only ones suitable for such deep cuts are massive static cast-iron monsters.
• Bandsaws optimized for this kind of cut are still large static machines.
• Clearly I'm not going to be able to saw 350mm wide boards, but the wider a board can cut, the more useful a tool I'd have
• To some extent double full height fences and a low feed speed could eak out a little extra width from a small bandsaw
• the greater the blade width the saw could accept, the more suited to resawing it would be

That thought process has me looking for a saw with a high power to size ratio, ideally capable of taking a riser and with wheels suitable for a wider blade (1" is probably more than I could expect). Being light enough to sit on casters would be an advantage.

Does such a thing exist, are there other compromise solutions I could think about or should I just suck it up and hope one day I'll have the space to house a nice old Robinson!

Edit: I have thought about this in the context of Matthias Wandel's wooden bandsaw; it doesn't look overly complicated, just requires a very high standard of execution. It certainly seems that it would be a viable option in cost terms, but would be a major project itself; It's quite literally the only way I can imagine being able to get a compact saw with a powerful motor and proper (+4") resaw blade.

 

[marcros]

my aximinster bandsaw will cut 300mm. I have never put anything green through it, but with the right blade it would do it. It has a bit of weight to it, but could be put on a moveable base- that is a project in the coming months actually. It is the 4300 with some letters before it, whatever they may be. I believe it will take an 1" blade and tension it, but I keep the 3/4" on it for what I have been cutting so far.

350mm cut you are probably looking at a much much larger machine.

 

[Jelly]

350mm cut you are probably looking at a much much larger machine.

Yeah, not just big, HUGE! It's almost certainly not worth eaking out an extra 50mm on a 300mm board, when am I going to want to glue up two boards into more than 600mm anyway?

 

[marcros]

plus it will probably need ridiculous power requirements, which if your current cable is not suitable is a pricey upgrade.

I agree on the board widths- probably just as easy to join a couple for extra width, particularly in the thinner sizes that you mentioned.

 

[Harbo]

Chain saw with an attachment?

Rod

 

[Jelly]

Chainsaw mill is pragmatic solution but very wasteful compared to normal saws... still worth having someone else cut it for me over a chain-mill.

The talk of huge power requirements makes me think that an engine rather than motor might be the way forwards if I wanted to build... (I've been looking at it, and I think I could build a re-saw which would take up to 350mm, (upto 200mm comfortably), it wouldn't exactly be small though, even though it would be compact for what it was...

It's heartening that a beefy but modest saw can do most of what I'm after... that well known internet auction site seems to offer good options currently if I'm willing to drive for them.

 

[marcros]

Have you looked at Richard T's thread on "the thing in the garage"?

 

[jasonB]

I would say use a chainsaw to split the butt down the middle and then its a lot easier to handle the half round as you will have one flat face to put on the saw table to square an edge then turn it onto that edge to take a cut of 8-9".

Have you also thought how you will lift the butt onto the resaw and move it through the blade and support the other end? Thats why most mills move the blade over the saw ot have sliding carrages to move the wood through the blade

 

[jaywhoopee]

FWIW my Charnwood W730 alleges a 350mm depth of cut and has a 1.5hp/1.1kW induction motor, but I have no idea whether it could deliver on that and would assume not (I'd be happy to be proved wrong though!)

I asked Ian at TuffSaws about resawing green wood on it and he replied with this, which may help:

For re-sawing, if you are re-sawing green wood, then a 5/8" x 3tpi Sabrecut
is ideal as this blade has extra set on the teeth so the teeth don't clog up
as they would on other blades when cutting green stock. It can also be used
for seasoned wood but does leave a rough finish.

The blade he mentions is here on the TuffSaws website

Hope this helps

 

[Jelly]

I'm primarily resawing waney edged planks several inches thick straight from the boule... for the stuff I harvest myself, I season it in the round, then once the MC has dropped a fair bit use a two man saw to cut it into a rough cant, and take it to a friend of my dad who has access to one of these beasties!

 

[zb1]

You need a nice wide blade for sure. I used to work with a guy who had a big bandsaw set up to attempt slabbing through and through oak boughs for curved brace stock. Only had an inch and a 1/2 or maybe inch and a 1/4 blade on it. Wondered around like a drunk! I think a 2-3 inch blade is required if you want nice straight cuts really. These don't come cheap and are 3 phase.
Re chainsaw milling, everyone I have spoken to who does or has tried it says Woodmizer. Chainsaw mill takes a bloody age, constantly resharpening, costs an arm and a leg in very long bars/chains/2-stroke/petrol.

I'd look for someone local-ish with a woodmizer and have them visit you once a month or whatever suits you. You might even be able to wangle a cheaper price out of them if they know you'll have x number of m3 a month for them. Nowt like guaranteed income.