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Resawing a huge block on the band saw

March 7, 2011 By

Several months ago I received a phone call from a reader in Europe. Over the past several months we spoke about resawing requirements on the band saw, as he has a large quantity of premium rosewood to convert into blanks for guitars. We quickly became friends; we talked about his travels through the Americas over the years some decades ago. I also learned what he plans to do with all this wood; and we discussed in great detail how he should go about resawing a significant quantity of logs.

I wanted to see what my friend “Joe” was up to, and requested photos, if possible (Joe prefers to remain anonymous). He sent me the following — with his permission I share these photos:

From one side, to show the beautiful grain:

Resawing a huge block of wood, #1 — for finger boards.

A head-on shot:

Resawing a huge block of wood, #2.

Joe uses a premium blade on a no-name, 20-inch band saw purchased locally. The current setup with Euro guides and a short fence works great to resaw these large blocks into 3-mm thick slabs; these slabs will be ripped into finger boards. However, in preparation to resaw thinner sets for guitar backs and sides, he has ordered Carter guides (both upper and lower), and a very tall resaw fence.

Thanks for sharing these, Joe, and thanks for everything I have learned from you about guitar-making, and the setup you are using.

For my readers, I would like to learn from you:

  • Do you make musical instruments?
  • Do you resaw large blocks like the ones Joe shows in the photos?
  • What is your setup to resaw the large blocks?
  • What type of wood do you use for your guitars or other instruments?

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Band saw, Blog, Resaw Tagged With: ,

Resawing on the band saw safely

February 17, 2011 By

I received several comments and a bunch of e-mail following my post on “First look at the tall resaw fence…” One reader commented “…I have to say it made me wince a bit. Have you considered using a push stick to make that operation safer?”

In my reply I mentioned I used a push stick, and highlighted the times on the video at which I pick up the push stick to ensure a safe cut. Currently, the online woodworking community and also federal agencies are quite interested in power tool safety issues, as competing flesh-sensing technologies are developed, patented, and implemented on table saws, changing them forever. Maybe something will come along soon for band saws, too, as regulatory bodies and users seem to be at odds about what direction to go. Should the technology be mandated, or should it be left to the individual in his/her shop?

Meanwhile, for safety’s sake, and in the interest of following up on the reader’s comment, I show in the video below how I use a push stick and a push block to ensure I retain all my fingers without much of a chance of incurring even a scratch. Note that the push block has a piece on the back end that catches the work piece, ensuring I can push it forward; sometimes I also use a push stick to assist pushing the work piece, while the push block helps me keep the work piece flush against the fence and moving forward.

I suggest the following guidelines to everyone working with tools in the shop:

  1. Always, always, always know how a particular machine works. If not sure, don’t use it until you get proper instruction and advice. I believe it is my responsibility, and that it is also your responsibility, to learn to use the machine properly, to avoid injury.
  2. Never, never, never, ever work in the shop while tired, or under the influence of medicine, alcohol, or drugs.
  3. Always think about your next action; rehearse the cut, and make sure you have considered what could possibly go wrong.
  4. Listen to the little voice that tells you “something” is not right. I remember getting ready to rip a board on the table saw; everything seemed right, except the board I milled the day before did not feel “right”. It had twisted, and the jointed edge was no longer straight — the perfect combination that could result in the waste being pushed into the blade, resulting in kickback.
  5. Make sure your fingers are at least 3 inches away from a moving blade at all times.
  6. Use push blocks and push sticks; but do so properly, always using suitable blocks and sticks (not all are suitable). If not sure how to use them, ask for advice on proper design, and learn how how to use them.
  7. Always make sure you touch the work piece or the waste only after the blade has stopped moving completely. Do not touch anything in the vicinity of a moving blade.
  8. Maintain your tools. From time time, make sure all bolts, machine screws, belts and pulleys are tightly in place.
  9. Use machine guards. If you don’t think they are adequate, find suitable replacements. But always use them.
  10. Hand tools: Always aim hand tools, including chisels and screw drivers, away from body parts. And make sure the tip of the tool cannot hit any body part while working.

I hope the following video will help woodworkers work safely at the band saw. The push stick I use is a 6- to 7-inch long stick I normally use to stack boards on the lumber rack; and the push block is one I built to work on the table saw. The push block has 60-grit sandpaper on the bottom, to minimize the risk of slippage while pushing the work piece.

Using push sticks and push blocks
with the DriftMaster fence — Duration: 6:15 minutes

I welcome your comments, either in the Comments section below, or via e-mail.

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Band saw, Blog, Education, Resaw, Safety, Tools, Video Tagged With: , , , ,

Installing the Laguna Tools Driftmaster fence system

June 4, 2010 By

A few weeks ago Laguna Tools sent me a Driftmaster Fence System for evaluation; events kept me from installing it, until now.

The required Disclosure: Laguna Tools is a sponsor of my blog. On occasion, I receive tools and other components for evaluation; I maintain total editorial freedom of the comments and reviews I present on the blog. Plain and simple, I never receive or accept cash for anything I review. You also must know that I don’t receive any income if you click on the links I provide for any of my sponsors or Affiliates; the only source of income I receive is from Google-sponsored ads, and from actual purchases through my Affiliates (a small percentage of the purchase price).

Moving on:

Last night I finally found the time to install the Driftmaster on the 17-inch Grizzly G5013 band saw. Several times I wished for a third hand or an assistant, as the fence is heavy — its table is especially so. However, the system breaks down into smaller components, making it much easier to do a successful installation alone. You can download the installation manual by clicking on this link. Watch Laguna’s four videos at this link.

The installation requires ½-inch holes, to accept the bolts on the universal brackets.  I had the proper high-speed bits to enlarge the existing holes, but no power drill that accepts bits larger than 3/8″.  After a trip to the home center, and $12 later, I was able to drill out the holes using a ½-inch with a 3/8″ hex shaft.

A free tip from Sandal Woods: To prevent oil and grease contamination on the workbench, use a plastic sheet to cover your working surfaces. It will reduce headaches the next time you apply finish to your work pieces.

The first order of business consisted of doing a thorough cleaning, to remove the heavy oil used to prevent corrosion in storage and shipping. The manual is clear about this; it also recommends using a white Lithium grease, to minimize dust and gunk accumulation. I followed this instruction, doing a thorough job of the clean-up. The instruction manual suggests WD-40 to remove the oil; I am always reluctant to use WD-40 in the shop, as it can interfere with finishes applied to furniture. Instead, I used a “lacquer solvent”, applied to a blue shop towel; it evaporates quickly, leaving no residue (Note: another free tip from Sandal Woods!):

Cleaning the fence components.

The table has two large sliding surfaces that accept the main shaft, and a smaller one for the threaded micro-adjustment rod; I lubricated these with the white grease:

Applying lithium ("white") lubricant.

I started installation by fitting the ½-inch mounting bolts to the universal brackets:

Starting assembly.

From that point on, the installation went smoothly. I found I had to add two (2) washers at each mounting point, to provide sufficient spacing between the back of the universal brackets and the band saw table. Why? Although the front side of table on the G0513, where the fence mounts, is not flush, the mounting bolts extended too far behind the brackets – the extra washers provided ample clearance:

Fence mounting hole area is thicker.

The rest of the installation was easy. Total time: 2 hours, including a trip to the home center. Now I will highlight some details I found interesting, following the installation:

The handle on the micro-adjusting rod interferes with the bottom door on the band saw. It is essential to open this door completely, to allow changing the blade on the machine. This is what you see:

Fence handle interferes with band saw door.

I also found that the bottom of the fence table clears the door — no problem here:

Door clears bottom of fence table.

If you gasped about the interference of the handle on the door, I apologize. The door on the Grizzly band saw lifts out of its hinges, without need to remove the adjustment handle:

Band saw door removes easily!

It took only a few minutes to adjust the fence square and flush to the band saw table:

Adjusting the fence to 90°.

Finally, the fence is installed on the band saw — I am happy:

The fence installed!

Two things to avoid, which are dependent on your particular band saw model:

  1. Avoid installing the universal brackets in front of the blade slot (this is not an issue with this band saw, as the blade slot is on the right-hand side of the table), and
  2. Select mounting holes on the shaft such that it is possible to make adjustments to the mounted fence at a later time.

In the following photo you can see there is ample room to remove the blade from the band saw through the slot on the column – the slot on the table can also be seen, crossing the miter slot on the table, and far away from the universal bracket:

Blade slots -one on the column, one on the table.

In the next few days I will be using the newly-installed Driftmaster resaw fence. It should be a great accessory to have, as I love to make boxes. Resawing is a wonderful way to get thinner boards, for use on those boxes; it is also a terrific way to get shop-made veneers, as they will be much thicker than commercial veneers.

I will be filming some of these operations, especially the ability to easily adjust for drift with the Driftmaster. The fence, combined with the Resaw King blade, should result in fine shop-made veneers. Stand by!

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Band saw, Blog, Resaw, Tools Tagged With: , , ,

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