Resawing - how thick?

[Geo]

What is the best thickness for resawing logs that will ultimately yeild usable lumber that will be be 3/4"? Thanks.

[George]

One inch (4/4), if the saw is well aligned. Boards containing sapwood are probably better at inch and an eighth to 5/4 , if you're calling the cuts. They're going to bow.

[tom]

Geo wrote: What is the best thickness for resawing logs that will ultimately yeild usable lumber that will be be 3/4"? Thanks.

It depends on the logs' characteristics. If the slab you cut from the log does anything other than remain flat, you'll have to figure that reaction into your initial thickness. If it's behaving though, I'd cut close to >7/8 ths. Tom

[robo hippy]

When I get wood from the store, I have found that if I start with 15/16 stock, by the time I joint and plane it, I am down to 13/16. If I then glue up a panel, by the time it is sanded down, I have 3/4 or less. Rough sawn stock, should be at least 1/4 inch over desired finisned stock thickness. 3/8 inch over leaves some room for error. robo hippy

[mac davis]

IMHO, as thick as you can allow without wasting wood... really depends on the size of the stock/log that you're resawing...

Try to allow for planing off warp, twist, etc... plus sanding...

You can always size them later when they're dry, for a particular project, but it's a lot easier to make a board thinner than it is to make it thicker...

mac

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[Andy Dingley]

8/4 - Then dry them, then after they're dry, resaw them again before planing.

If you cut them too thin to start with, the risk is that cupping (somewhat inevitable) will lose too much timber when you have to flatten them again. The thicker they are when they're drying, the less you have to take off for cupping later.

If you have the time, and the timber's valuable enough that you want to lose the absolute minimum, then even sawing to 12/4 can be worthwhile.

Quarter sawing is another approach. For typical "amateur" stack-drying, the improvement in reduced cupping losses can save you more than you lose for the less efficient sawing. And the timber is a bit nicer.

[mac davis]

wow.. I never would have thought of cutting them thick, then resowing when they're dry... that will be exactly how I do it on my upcoming project..

mac

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[George]

Uh, Mac, there's a real problem drying thicker stock without degrade, especially with some species. The inverse square law appears to apply, with twice as thick taking almost four times as long, which is probably why Andy mentioned the time requirement.

No guarantee of stability, either. I've seen saw/dry/rip stock corkscrew off the saw.

[Andy Dingley]

Three inch isn't "thick" though. I wouldn't go thicker, but that mch is OK.

Drying usually takes an integral number of years (at least in my climate), so "year an inch" still holds reasonably well. Go thicker and you'll need a good depth-reading meter to know what's going on and you will be kept waiting for it.

If it's warping straight off the saw, that's more likely a kilning fault than an inherent problem with the timber. For "amateur" levels, building a good stack (which includes being serious about keeping the rain off) and air-drying it is much less risky than home-built kilns.

Best drying shed I've seen was an old Victorian school and the outdoor toilet block (fittings and partitions stripped to make a storage shed). Well constructed of brick with a leak-free slate roof, even 150 years on, and with a slatted clerestory running the length of the roof. Just perfect for air drying timber in, without worrying about rain spoilage.

[mac davis]

yabut... Time isn't a real factor if you're getting a rotation going... I'm just thinking that cutting them to maybe 1" instead of 3/8" (I want mostly drawer faces and stuff from them) is 1/2 as much green wood to saw and 1/2 the stacking and turning...

mac

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