Thinning boards ... no plane/bandsaw


bushwacked

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ok, so new question that has popped into my head.

 

Lets say I have a 4/4 board and am wanting it to be 1/4 or 2/4 or whatever. Can you use the table saw for this operation? I was thinking, turn it on the side raise the table saw blade to get halfway through it, if it is somewhat tall and then just run it once on each side to split it?

 

... yes I realize bigger boards would be out of the question since the table saw blade is limited in height. I was just curious for a 3-4" or 6" board for example.

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For a six inch board, tipping is the enemy. It can help to make an auxiliary slip cover fence that gives you a taller surface to register against. It also helps to have feather boards to hold the work and not rely on your fingers as much. The longer the board, the trickier the operation. Many guys will recommend not ripping all the way to center. They recommend leaving a quarter inch that you can finish with a hand saw. I have not had issues with boards collapsing on the blade, but for decades my primary work was in softwoods and grain free synthetic products. I hope this does not necessarily scare you off if that is the tool you have. But if you get that far into it, the time savings vs the cost of purchase of a bandsaw is going to come into play the more you want to do this.

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ya, at the moment I just dont have the room to add a new machine into the ship until we get a house. I am hoping I do not have to do this on anything bigger than 3-4" for now. I was just wanting to make sure this is an OK way to do this before I start shooting boards across the room. Definitely will have feather boards to help with this.

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I wouldn't even try resawing a 4/4 board without a tall auxiliary fence and featherboards like Carus suggests.  Resawing on the table saw makes me nervous.  Glad I don't have to do it.  Pucker factor approximately 7/10.  Make sure your stock is milled flat and square before you attempt.

 

Bandsaw.  Get one.

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If it isn't too long you can just resaw by hand, although it is a lot more work to rip stock with a modern contractor hand saw than a vintage rip saw, depending on what you have available to use.  Whenever my machines aren't up to snuff I just fall back on a hand tool, its usually safer and I don't get much other exercise anyhow. 

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Thin blade if possible, only cut and inch or less at each pass. Make sure edges are extremely square. Label the side facing out to prevent from cutting a "Z ". Push sticks, feather boards and extreme caution are highly recommended.

Leaving a 1/4" or so in the middle to finish off with a handsaw is very wise.

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Pattern routing against the grain. :)  And resawing on the table saw without a tall auxiliary fence and featherboards.  Or resawing a non-flat board on the table saw.  So I just avoid all of that.  Honestly those are the only times I've experienced any kind of considerable pucker and I haven't experienced it in a very long time...most of my lessons have been learned and aren't repeated even once.  A machine will tell you when it's pissed off, and I listen.

 

If a tool is used the way it's supposed to be used and for the appropriate task, risk is minimal as long as you're paying attention and being careful.  It's when people try to use the wrong tool for the job when they get in trouble.  Resawing on the table saw is a perfect example.  Just because something can be done doesn't mean it should be done.  Not to get all preachy or anything, but that's my opinion.  And I'm right. :D

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Don't let me dissuade you if you need to complete this task ASAP and you have no other way.  I just personally think it's a dangerous technique and simply won't do it.  But I'm in the fortunate position of having a bandsaw so it's easy for me to say.  I've done it many times before in the distant past, mostly without incident, before I had the right tool for the job.  I never liked it.  Use extreme caution, that's all I'm sayin'. :)

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The biggest problem with using the table saw to resaw (besides the hazard) is the amount of material lost due to the thicker kerf.  It can be done and the cut slowly from two sides leaving some in the middle to hand saw is the best/safest method.  You should be able to find another woodworker in your area with a bandsaw that can help, however.

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I'm glad this was posted as I have the same issue facing me and was a bit reluctant to ask (I also live in the boonies, no other fellow woodworkers with a planer to hand), as I've seen Kiki give the same advice on another thread and frankly the thought of resawing on my table saw skeers me anyway.  I am interested in the dado suggestion though, I do have a dado stack and a pretty decent sled I built for cutting finger joints (that I could rig easily to cut dados in smaller boards).  has anyone tried this?  taking out about 1/2 inch at a time and just working across the board...?

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Before Shannon joined WoodTalk, I asked Marc something very similar.  I wanted to do resawing on a table saw, as that's all I had access to at the time.  (Now I don't even have that, but I'm not complaining.  Much.)  He had to think on it for a bit, but finally got back with a couple of photos of a REALLY engineered sled for the table saw.  

 

It is possible, but go slow, and you'll need to brace the material doubly secure due to the tipping.  You also will need to go over the cuts with a handsaw to combine the two kerfs into one cut.  That same advice would probably transfer over to your cuts, but you might not need to over-engineer the sled for the saw.

 

If you are starting with a flat board already, something similar to a tenoning jig would probably be a good place to start.  Just extend the jig the length of the board, and keep a spare pair of shorts handy.

 

(I should add he ended the advice with: "try to get access to a bandsaw," -paraphrased- because that's one of the uses the tool excels at.  Save up if you have to, but put it on the list.  It's what I'm doing.)

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