Thicknessing wood on the bandsaw

[tibi]

Hello,

I have finally decided to buy Laguna 1412 bandsaw in the near future (was considering Sabre 350, but I have read about people having issues with poor dust collection).

I will still dimension the wood with hand planes. Is there anybody, who is (or was) thicknessing wood on the bandsaw? I.e. planing the reference face and edge with hand planes and then standing the board on the edge and running the board through the band saw 1-2 mm away from the line and then finishing with the hand planes? Will the result be coplanar as from the thicknesser or it will be far from it?

Is this method reliable with a quality bandsaw? I think that @Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) mentioned somewhere, that he used it prior to buying a jointer/thicknesser, but I am not sure if I remember correctly.

I have decided for Hammer A3-26 jointer/thicknesser as the next machine, but it might take a lot of time to save up for it, so I would like to use the bandsaw approach for thicknessing.

Thank you.

 

[Ttrees]

Most value a P/T over a bandsaw if the excess is waste, as it wouldn't be worth dulling the blade
for that.

 

[Ollie78]

It can be done in smaller bits quite well, a good blade is very important but still can wander a bit it won`t be a reference face as such, still sawn.
I do it when I am trying to really maximise every bit of some nice wood.
Quick note on the p/t get a bigger one I have the A3-31 and kind of wish I had the 41 sometimes. Its a nice planer though.

Ollie

 

[WoodLucas]

This sounds very similar to what I’m starting to do. I bought a 14bx for the extra features and and power as I wanted it for resawing which is very slow hard work with hand tools.

How accurate you can be is more down to our skills with the hand planes as like you describe you do the rough work with the bandsaw and cleanup with the hand tools. If you can get good results using hand tools now nothing will change other than in theory you can work faster. I see times where I want to remove a lot of width so I’ll use the bandsaw and other times a few passes with a hand plane without using the bandsaw would make more sense.

I’ve gone this route as bandsaws are highly recommend by lots of hand tool woodworkers and I think are probably more useful in a hand tool setup than in a powered shop. Setup properly and the 14bx is clearly able to get nice straight cuts that don’t need loads of cleanup.

So in summary if your already happy with the surfaces you get with hand planes and are able to dimension by hand but want to do larger or faster work then I think it’s a good idea.

 

[tibi]

This sounds very similar to what I’m starting to do. I bought a 14bx for the extra features and and power as I wanted it for resawing which is very slow hard work with hand tools.

How accurate you can be is more down to our skills with the hand planes as like you describe you do the rough work with the bandsaw and cleanup with the hand tools. If you can get good results using hand tools now nothing will change other than in theory you can work faster. I see times where I want to remove a lot of width so I’ll use the bandsaw and other times a few passes with a hand plane without using the bandsaw would make more sense.

I’ve gone this route as bandsaws are highly recommend by lots of hand tool woodworkers and I think are probably more useful in a hand tool setup than in a powered shop. Setup properly and the 14bx is clearly able to get nice straight cuts that don’t need loads of cleanup.

So in summary if your already happy with the surfaces you get with hand planes and are able to dimension by hand but want to do larger or faster work then I think it’s a good idea.

Thank you WoodLucas,

I can dimension wood by hand with hand sawing and hand planing pretty decently, as I have been doing it for the past two years, so I got some experience.

Bandsaw would help me with heavy ripping and resawing, which are the most demanding hand tool tasks. The very next demanding task is thicknessing. I have sold my benchtop thickness planer and I will not have a proper jointer/thicknesser for at least a year or two, so the bandsaw would be my only option for how to thickness faster.

I would like to ask you another question. In user manual of Laguna 1412 it states that I need dust collection with a minimum rate of 1700 m3/h. In practice, I can get only 1150m3/h. I need to keep the power consumption of the dust collector low (750W), because my total 16A circuit can handle only 3680W in total. If I would buy a thickness planer with 1,9 kW, I cannot buy 1,5 kW dust collector to handle the required airflow (it would be very close to the limit and can turn off the fuse).

Do you think that 1700m3/h is really necessary? Or can a lower airflow unit handle the bandsaw as well?

Thank you.

 

[WoodLucas]

Yes so this sounds very familiar to what I'm trying to do but with the slight change that I don't intend to get a thickness planer at any point.

I'm trying to figure out dust extraction now. Currently I only have a shop vac with cyclone which wasn't suitable for the bandsaw. I was thinking I'd have to get a HVLP system as the saw comes with two 100mm dust ports which would suggest a chip extractor is the intended solution (at 1700m3/h like you say). However I found the following on youtube and just partially blocking off the upper dust port from the inside (see from about 1:30 in the video) and adding the foam under the table has made a world of difference. Even with just the shop vac connected with a regular shop vac hose to the top port was controlling a fair bit of dust.

My plan is to create his shroud (the second part of his mod) for below the table and connect both the top port and my additional port up to a better HPLV extractor. I may be being optimistic but I'm more confident this will work after seeing the effect of just spending 30 mins adapting it yesterday. The stock shroud is annoying as it blocks you opening the door so getting rid of that is a bonus anyway.

I would expect with the adaptations he suggests plus a decent HVLP extractor you'd be in a good place. Which extractor do you have?

 

[tibi]

Yes so this sounds very familiar to what I'm trying to do but with the slight change that I don't intend to get a thickness planer at any point.

I'm trying to figure out dust extraction now. Currently I only have a shop vac with cyclone which wasn't suitable for the bandsaw. I was thinking I'd have to get a HVLP system as the saw comes with two 100mm dust ports which would suggest a chip extractor is the intended solution (at 1700m3/h like you say). However I found the following on youtube and just partially blocking off the upper dust port from the inside (see from about 1:30 in the video) and adding the foam under the table has made a world of difference. Even with just the shop vac connected with a regular shop vac hose to the top port was controlling a fair bit of dust.

My plan is to create his shroud (the second part of his mod) for below the table and connect both the top port and my additional port up to a better HPLV extractor. I may be being optimistic but I'm more confident this will work after seeing the effect of just spending 30 mins adapting it yesterday. The stock shroud is annoying as it blocks you opening the door so getting rid of that is a bonus anyway.

I would expect with the adaptations he suggests plus a decent HVLP extractor you'd be in a good place. Which extractor do you have?

Thank you for your response.

I need to try the bandsaw and see how it improves my workflow. I currently have no dust collection, as I have no machine at the moment. But I need to buy one with max. power consumption of 750W. The highest airflow with such machine is 1150m3/h. If I want airflow of 1700m3/h, I would need 1.5 kW power for that, which would be feasible only if I had bandsaw. But if I buy a thickness planer, then it would be too much for my circuit to handle.

Maybe I will find out that I do not need a thickness planer too.

I will watch the video, once I buy the bandsaw and the dust collector, to improve the airflow.

 

[Jacob]

Band saws not bad for dust unless you cut a lot of MDF, Iroko, etc. On mine it all goes down below and I just shovel it out with a dust pan. Extraction not needed unless you are doing it for long periods - I just leave an extractor on in the room but without necessarily connecting it directly. No dust ports on the saw anyway.
As for ripping - it all depends on the blade they go off-line fairly quickly with use. You can end up marking-up and sawing to the line. But better than doing it by hand.
Deep rips can be started over the TS with two kerfs and finished on the band saw just taking out the middle.

 

[Spectric]

I have finally decided to buy Laguna 1412 bandsaw in the near future (was considering Sabre 350, but I have read about people having issues with poor dust collection).

You will not get issues with dust from a bandsaw, it is one of the cleaner machines when it comes to dust and I don't even use any extraction. I just hoover it out occasionally and all is fine.

 

[johnnyb]

Jacobs right(again!) the bandsaw produces much less dust but the dust is much finer and less projected so smaller extractor is fine(decent filters though.) I'm gonna say it thicknessing on a bandsaw is just well daft. with a thick new hss blade
mine will deep rip well. but it's not right to call it thicknessing. inferior bandsaws won't tension a decent blade and a bit of wear and they wander. I would buy a 12 or 14 inch site( circular) saw if I wanted to do that job on the cheap. what about a .......portable thicknesser(these can also plane effectively using a sled)

 

[tibi]

Band saws not bad for dust unless you cut a lot of MDF, Iroko, etc. On mine it all goes down below and I just shovel it out with a dust pan. Extraction not needed unless you are doing it for long periods - I just leave an extractor on in the room but without necessarily connecting it directly. No dust ports on the saw anyway.
As for ripping - it all depends on the blade they go off-line fairly quickly with use. You can end up marking-up and sawing to the line. But better than doing it by hand.
Deep rips can be started over the TS with two kerfs and finished on the band saw just taking out the middle.

Thank you Jacob,

I do not have space for multiple machines, so I would like to buy only a bandsaw. So I will buy a lower-power dust collector and see what happens. If the bandsaw dust falls down and is not circulating (in a great extent) in the air, then it should be fine.

 

[tibi]

Jacobs right(again!) the bandsaw produces much less dust but the dust is much finer and less projected so smaller extractor is fine(decent filters though.) I'm gonna say it thicknessing on a bandsaw is just well daft. with a thick new hss blade
mine will deep rip well. but it's not right to call it thicknessing. inferior bandsaws won't tension a decent blade and a bit of wear and they wander. I would buy a 12 or 14 inch site( circular) saw if I wanted to do that job on the cheap. what about a .......portable thicknesser(these can also plane effectively using a sled)

Thank you, I had a portable thicknesser, but sold it. I think that bandsaw will be more useful to me. I might / or might not buy a jointer/thicknesser later, based on the results that I will get on my projects with hand planes and bandsaws. As I am a hobby woodworker, I do not need to get great output or fast results. I am more interested in the process of woodworking.

 

[Jacob]

Thank you Jacob,

I do not have space for multiple machines, so I would like to buy only a bandsaw. So I will buy a lower-power dust collector and see what happens. If the bandsaw dust falls down and is not circulating (in a great extent) in the air, then it should be fine.

My first machine* was a bandsaw, Startite 352, still going strong. Very useful!
* not counting various dodgy Picador spindles and washing machine motor combinations.
I seem to recall the name "Simbles Spindles" but couldn't google it. Anybody remember it?

 

[Bojam]

The title of the thread isn’t really accurate. What Tibi intends to do is resaw boards thinner and then complete the planing/thicknessing with hand planes. Totally doable (basically replacing handsaw with bandsaw for speed) but slow compared to using a PT.

 

[johnnyb]

deep ripping releases stresses meaning the thinner board often bends violently. the thicker board can move as well. when planing and thicknessing it's normal to evenly remove wood so as to keep the wood stable.

 

[Ttrees]

Bojam's comment, which I'm guessing from seeing the agreement/like emoji
is something entirely different to what I've perceived.
I was thinking oak or beech planks slabbed up, needing a mm or three.

What Johnny B said, that's no fun.
Have a look at manor wood channel, and see the iroko warp, which wasn't easy going (though a fence like Derek suggests is required for that kinda work)
on the much larger Felder 510 machine, which IMO is more the size you should be looking at.

Wheel speed is seemingly less with a 600mm again, and along with much space of chassis around wheels, and bigger table is a lot less dusty than the far eastern 500mm tightly crammed in wheels with small table, which I briefly I had prior.

(lamp is only for the clear photo, and is residing where a hefty chok of wood would should normally be for keeping ones right hand outta the way, the other pusher being on the fence.

No fighting required, and one can be more scrimpy this way, should it make sense.
If not, then some thought on what might suit your stock better for the job might be in order.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Hello,

I have finally decided to buy Laguna 1412 bandsaw in the near future (was considering Sabre 350, but I have read about people having issues with poor dust collection).

I will still dimension the wood with hand planes. Is there anybody, who is (or was) thicknessing wood on the bandsaw? I.e. planing the reference face and edge with hand planes and then standing the board on the edge and running the board through the band saw 1-2 mm away from the line and then finishing with the hand planes? Will the result be coplanar as from the thicknesser or it will be far from it?

Is this method reliable with a quality bandsaw? I think that @Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) mentioned somewhere, that he used it prior to buying a jointer/thicknesser, but I am not sure if I remember correctly.

I have decided for Hammer A3-26 jointer/thicknesser as the next machine, but it might take a lot of time to save up for it, so I would like to use the bandsaw approach for thicknessing.

Thank you.

I wrote this in 2008. The bandsaw was a generic 14" with 6" riser block (I have a Hammer N4400 now).

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Preparing a board without a thicknesser.html







Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[tibi]

I wrote this in 2008. The bandsaw was a generic 14" with 6" riser block (I have a Hammer N4400 now).

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Preparing a board without a thicknesser.html







Regards from Perth

Derek

Thank you, Derek,

This article was exactly what I was talking about. I have probably read it on your site in the past but forgot about where I had read it from you. I would like to use this technique only when I would need to remove more than 5 mm from a large board.

 

[tibi]

Bojam's comment, which I'm guessing from seeing the agreement/like emoji
is something entirely different to what I've perceived.
I was thinking oak or beech planks slabbed up, needing a mm or three.

What Johnny B said, that's no fun.
Have a look at manor wood channel, and see the iroko warp, which wasn't easy going (though a fence like Derek suggests is required for that kinda work)
on the much larger Felder 510 machine, which IMO is more the size you should be looking at.

Wheel speed is seemingly less with a 600mm again, and along with much space of chassis around wheels, and bigger table is a lot less dusty than the far eastern 500mm tightly crammed in wheels with small table, which I briefly I had prior.

(lamp is only for the clear photo, and is residing where a hefty chok of wood would should normally be for keeping ones right hand outta the way, the other pusher being on the fence.

No fighting required, and one can be more scrimpy this way, should it make sense.
If not, then some thought on what might suit your stock better for the job might be in order.
View attachment 155706View attachment 155708
View attachment 155711

Thank you, Tom,

Felder 510 is too big and expensive for me, so I will have to buy, what I aim at. But the 310 mm resaw capacity of Laguna 1412 is not that bad.

 

[Ttrees]

Chances are you may stumble across something 3 phase and Italian, which would likely be a 600mm machine, or possibly 500 or 540mm, or even the 450 which Sideways and Deema worked on.
If worried bout big motors, the 500SNA or 540 SNAC machines i.e old green Felders, Griggio ACM and others have 1.5kw motors,
(presumably same deal with single phase ones)
but at the same time if 3 phase, buying the right VFD which has capability of derating motors
can limit yer motor hp to what you like.

I was suggesting more space around the wheels as being less dusty, i.e much like an undersized
impeller, combined with possibly less speedy wheels, look at the other hundred quid Centauro
thread and read the manual regarding wheel speed,
and the slow starting, what's simply adjustable "ramp up" time with 3 phase & VFD might have something to do with things also.

Ps I wouldn't be concerned whatsoever about dust ports or whatnot, you can make'em wherever you like, bolt a bit o plate onto it, and it'll be as good if not better than new.

Tom