I have two blocks of hardwood (Padauk and Wenge), which I want to slice into 1/4" strips. The blocks are 1 7/8" x 1 7/8 x 18".
Does anyone have any hints on how to (safely) cut these such that I minimize snipe, and get consistantly thick pieces? I'm particularily concerned with the last cut.
I have a RAS saw at home, but I know of someone with a bandsaw and planer I could borrow.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
John
Your best/safest bet is to "slice" them on your friend's bandsaw, then use his planer, with a simple sled if necessary, to thickness the pieces.
Use a sharp blade, on a well set up bandsaw, and be sure to resaw/"slice" them a wee bit oversize.
Probably a better word is "resawing" although this can be called ripping because you are sawing with the grain. A band saw with a widest blade is the best tool. Not sure what you're thinking about the planer, but 1/4" thick stock is a bit thing for a planer. You could use double-sided carpet tape to hold the 1/4" thin stock to a base that has been surface planed. If you use 6" longer 1/4" thick strips along each side you'll eliminate the snipe. Use a putty knife (and patience) to pry the 1/4" stock from the base.
Bandsaw, definitely. Use push sticks too.
Of course, the bandsaw cuts will need to be cleaned up, too. Here's the sequence I'd follow for that, having access to a bandsaw and a planer:
1) Run each block through the planer to ensure smooth, parallel faces and consistent thickness.2) Rip one 5/16" strip from each block (you need the extra thickness so you can smooth it after you're done, and have 1/4" finished thickness).
3) Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you run out of wood. Planing after *every* pass through the bandsaw ensures that each strip you cut has one face that's planed smooth, which is used as the reference face for the final step:4) Plane each strip to 1/4" finished thickness. Although opinions differ, IMO
1/4" is *not* too thin to plane successfully with a power planer. At least it works for me.With access to a jointer as well, I'd joint two adjacent faces on each block, too, before beginning -- call that "Step 0".
-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
============================= This would be a very simple 3-4 minute job on a good tablesaw using a push stick...absolutely not a saftey issue
But in your case I would use your friends bandsaw... works almost as well as the cut will not be as smooth as with a tablesaw with a good blade...
Bob Griffiths
I have done 1/8" stock on my Delta planer with no problems.
If you have access to a decent table saw, this job can be safely done, assuming the saw has a decent fence and you have a couple of feather boards.
I've ripped a couple of miles of 24 ft long strips using this procedure.
Split the pieces in half using a fence, feather boards (top & side) and a push stick.
Reset the fence and split the pieces in half again.
This will yield 4 pieces that are approximately 3/8" thick.
A couple of passes thru the planer and you have 1/4" finished stock.
Don't have a planer?
Reset the fence and make a final pass with the saw set to 1/4"; however, you run the risk of leaving some burn marks on the pieces.
CAUTION:
Under no circumstances do you want to attempt the above without using feather boards to hold the piece against the fence and down on the table.
HTH
Lew
Oh. I misread this. I thought he said they were 1 1/8" long for some reason, so I was going to suggest that he get himself the table saw that comes with Wooddorker Barbie. It also comes with Lorena Bobbet Barbie.
If I may add to your excellent advice, I use a piece of MDF as my sled and hold the thin pieces in place with double sided carpet tape. I also use some scrap thin pieces surrounding the good thin pieces so that there is no snipe on my good pieces.
Glen
Or one of these:
Barry
========================== Barry..... That is almost an exact picture of what any of my push sticks look like when taken from the bottom...
Even looks like you replace the Shoe as much as I do...
Bob Griffiths
In a similar vein, I used a 4' long piece of MDO plywood for the sled. I carpet-taped two strips slightly thicker than the small bits of wood along the edges of the sled. No snipe that way. However, I found it hard to get a precise thickness as the rollers "squeezed" the carpet tape different amounts.
I've never worked with wenge or padauk, but I routinely cut 1/4" strips on a tablesaw without trouble just using the fence. There are various jigs that can make it easier, faster and perhaps safer for high production run of thinner strips. See any good table saw book like DeCristoferos (Spelling?) or Mehler's for examples.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.