How to Re-saw 9" On a 14" Bandsaw Without a Riser.

[-MIKE-]

I needed to re-saw an 8-1/2"x8' section of the 3/4" bamboo plywood I'm using for our bathroom(s) remodel to end up with a thinner piece to veneer the side of a cabinet.

I have an old Jet 14" bandsaw that, like most, can only cut 6" high. The more I read about bandsaws, the more read about how the guides aren't that necessary for a saw that is properly set-up and tensioned. That got me thinking.....

I decided to see how high I could cut without the guides in place. The saw's case only allowed about 7-1/2" inches to pass under it. I opened the front case and noticed the back case was a bit higher, but it still only allowed about 8-1/4" to pass under. So, I cut out another 1/2' from the saw case to allow my 8-1/2" plywood to pass under it. See the pic for where I cut the case and bent it back, near the bolt at the top....

I needed to set up the saw as perfectly as I could. I adjusted the top section of the saw to correct for the wheels that were not perfectly coplaner. I bought a new 3/4" Timber Wolf re-saw blade and installed in on the saw. As I was tensioning the blade, the tires started to come off. They were original and pretty messed up, so I decided to instal new ones. After new tires, I adjusted the tracking and tension and ran some

7" scraps to determine where the blade was leading and marked it on the table. It was cutting straight and like buttah, so I decided to get the bamboo and go for it.

The short story: it worked and did a really good job. It cut straight and the blade didn't bow or wander throughout the height of the cut.

The long story.... the saw is way too underpowered for this, obviously. I popped the little 15amp breaker on the power strip in which the saw was plugged, so I plugged it directly into a dedicated outlet. The saw stalled out a couple times. Near the end of the total length, it was really bogging down. The blade was still plenty sharp and I think it was just taxing the motor too much.

BTW, I made the cut with the front case OPEN. I don't recommend notching out the case of your saw to get more height for a cut, nor do I recommend using a bandsaw with the case open. :-)

It's done, it worked, I'm pleased. I was asking way too much of a 30-ish year old bandsaw which was never designed to do what it did.

What this did prove, however, is that we rely too much on, worry too much about, and probably spend way too much on the saw guides on bandsaws. I think this experiment has convinced me to jump on board with those who preach that what's really important for getting great cuts from your bandsaw is high quality blades, properly set-up wheels, proper blade tension, and determining the correct lead angle of each blade before cutting.

[-MIKE-]

Nobody!? I expected to catch a lot of crap over this. :-) Too long, maybe.

[John Grossbohlin]

Guess you were lucky you didn't push the blade off the wheels.....

That work for you? ;~)

John

[dadiOH]

Nah, just no reason. Suppose you had a bandsaw that would already do the height you wanted. The upper guides would still leave the same amount of exposed blade so as long as you don't flop the wood being cut from side to side and as long as the bottom is flat one would expect what you did to work just fine. As long as you don't push to hard, no bearing surface at the back either.

The blade HAS been flopping around a bit though, I note the insert. Looks like mine :)

[-MIKE-]

Not rough enough, John. :-) Perhaps the new tires helped.

[-MIKE-]

FWIW, the insert was like that the day I got the saw.

[G. Ross]

Your resaw guide looks like mine. What is the eye-bolt for?

[Larry Kraus]

Sounds to me like a missed opportunity to get a bigger saw...

[Gordon Shumway]

Well... you could have gone to a local cabinet maker and had them resaw your piece for only a few bucks. And, you bandsaw wouldn't look like it came in last place in a demolition derby! :-)

[-MIKE-]

To attach it to the t-track that you can't see in the pic. The t-track is on the sliding fence from my cross-cut sled for the tablesaw. I like muti-taskers. :-)

[-MIKE-]

Yes, I did. There's an 18" Laguna at our Woodcraft for $1500 and I'm foaming at the mouth. :-)

[-MIKE-]

LOL! Yes, I tried for a couple months to find a local place/woodworker who would cut it. Nobody's lawyers would let them.

If I had a car that went through the demo derby with just a little bend in the fender, I'd win every time. :-)

[Roy]

Bad Mike!! Bad, Bad, Bad!

[-MIKE-]

+1

[WW]

I needed to re-saw an 8-1/2"x8' section of the 3/4" bamboo plywood I'm using for our bathroom(s) remodel to end up with a thinner piece to veneer the side of a cabinet.

I have an old Jet 14" bandsaw that, like most, can only cut 6" high. The more I read about bandsaws, the more read about how the guides aren't that necessary for a saw that is properly set-up and tensioned. That got me thinking.....

[Larry Jaques]

8-1/2" wide strips? A planer would be my go-to tool.

-- Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself. -- Thomas Jefferson

[dpb]

On 9/23/2012 5:37 PM, -MIKE- wrote: ...

...

I've done other at least as "out-of-the-box" mod's when seemed expedient but...I thought the Jet had the capability of inserting a riser block????

--

[-MIKE-]

I have a thickness planer, and like you, I don't know how I'd get by without it. However, this bamboo plywood was $300 a sheet and I have plans for literally every square inch of it, including both sides of this

8-1/2"x9' piece that I re-sawed.

[-MIKE-]

As I wrote in another reply, this bamboo plywood was $300 a sheet and I have plans for every square inch of it, including both sides of the

8-1/2"x9' piece that I re-sawed.

I used the planer to take one half down to about 1/4" and the other half will be planed down to its lowest spot and used for a medicine cabinet.

[-MIKE-]

I'm sure it does. But that means buying the block, and longer blade. After reading many, many explanation about proper setup and blade tension, I decided to give it a go. if it didn't work, I could buy/build a riser and buy a longer blade.