Replies

1. 
   johnhardy | Apr 01, 2005 05:25pm | #1

   I can't answer all your questions, but I can tell you that if you run thin stock through your planer the end of the "board" is likely to explode if the grain runs the wrong way. I planed down walnut that was about 1/8" thick and about half the boards lost the last 6 inches or so.  The walnut was somewhat figured, so this was unavoidable.

   John

2. 
   PlaneWood | Apr 01, 2005 05:40pm | #2

   Kenney -

   I can plane down to about 1/4" but with my overhead drum sander I have gone down to less than a 16th if an inch.  Much slower tho when sanding than planeing.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
   PlaneWood

3. 
   forestgirl | Apr 01, 2005 06:04pm | #3

   How much drift do you get with your saw?  I tend to agree with those who say that "drift" is not a necessary trait of bandsawing.  My little ol' Grizzy 14" saw has no drift at all if the blade is good and adjusted properly, guides set, tracking correctly, etc.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   patternmaker | Apr 01, 2005 07:26pm | #4

   F.G.
   It has always been my contention that drift is not a normal result of bandsawing. Think for a minute,If both sides of the blade teeth are equally sharpened,and the feed allows the blade to cut without being forced,why would the cut be anything but a straight line?On the other hand,if one side has been dulled for some reason, the saw will naturally follow the path of least resistance.This assumes that the normal saw adjustments have been made.
   Blades that are sharpened by filing,should never be used for resawing.Even if done on a commercial filing machine,one side of the set will be different from the other side.Why? Because due to the set the file stroke will be against the tooth set TO the file and will be very different on the stroke AWAY from the file direction. Therefore hard edge blades from reputable mfgrs.should always cut in a straight line.
   There are so many different configurations on the market that I won`t get into that.I will say that for normal resawing,up to about 7",I use a 1/2" 3pitch claw tooth blade.
   Now about the planers.My planer is an ancient model that I have rebuilt.Aside from the bed rollers,the most critical adjustments are the feed rolls and the pressure bars. The infeed chip breaker is in effect the infeed pressure bar. The height of which is constantly being controlled by the corrugated infeed roller. The outfeed pressure bar is between the cutterhead and the outfeed roller. It is adjusted to just allow the planed surface to pass under it. Any length of wood that is long enough to contact these two hold downs,plus the outfeed roller, can be safely surfaced. I have surfaced maple as thin as 1/8" in thickness,however for figured material,my tool of choice is the thickness sander. Work Safely¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Thank you,Mr.Croney,where ever you may be.
   Work safely

   Edited 4/1/2005 12:37 pm ET by Pat