Replies

1. 
   RickL | Jul 23, 2006 05:19pm | #1

   We resaw recycled lumber on our 25 hp Timber Harvester Bandmill. Bound to be nails so a metal detector is a must. You will have rig up a carriage and will be limited to much smaller sizes. I have no idea what someone told you as to  how to do it. Are they talking from experience or speculation??   There have been articles in the hobby mags on sawing small stuff. Use as coarse a blade as possible. We use 1-1/4" with 7/8" pitch which means each tooth is 7/8" long. Less teeth means slower going and more heat. We also have the ability to lubricate the blade which is more for the heart pine for the most.

   Old wood is definitely harder than new wood. Old heart pine is harder than green oak.

   
   

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   Edited 7/23/2006 10:21 am ET by RickL

2. 
   AB | Jul 23, 2006 06:02pm | #2

   Look for nails, concrete and rock. It sounds like you could have some good wood. Just be careful.

3. 
   forestgirl | Jul 23, 2006 06:16pm | #3

   If it was built in 1830, there should be less chance of debris in the logs, though caution is still warranted.  Machine cut nails were still relatively new then, didn't even have heads, and I doubt people were as free with them as we are now, LOL, so bumping into a well-embedded nail that's overgrown by trees rings seems unlikely.

   "I have a Laguna 16 and have been told how to do it, though I haven't done it myself."  Perhaps practice on something else first?  How long are the logs you'll resaw from?  Do you have plans for building extra support for your saw??

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   

4. 
   PeteBradley | Jul 23, 2006 06:57pm | #4

   Cutting big pieces on a vertical band saw is not for the faint of heart, but quite possibly doable depending on the pieces and machine. As others mentioned, finding someone with a horizontal mill would be great, though you may need to promise them a replacement band if they hit something.

   If you still want to give it a shot, here are some suggestions based on experience with my 1949 20" Delta:

   You don't mention how big your pieces are, but the size will really determine how challenging this will be. You mention "logs", but I suspect that if they came out of an old house, they're probably squared timbers. 1830 says they may be watersawn, may be hand worked. If hand worked and reasonable size, they have value as is. Of course, they have value as chestnut boards too.

   Some general thoughts:

   There may be metal in the wood. In 1830 the timbers would have been pegged together but along the way stuff may have been nailed into them.

   You're going to be making difficult cuts with a lot of blade exposed. Be extremely cautious and vigilant about safety.

   You need to run a blade with a low tooth count (3 TPI max), but still capable of running stable on your saw with a lot of blade exposed. I have trouble keeping raker-5 and raker-3 bands (e.g Timberwolf PC) stable on my machine and suspect Alternate Set would be better. If the band vibrates and chews around in the kerf, you're going to need to mess with tension, etc. I wouldn't recommend lubricating the band with anything.

   If the pieces are long, you're going to want a helper. In addition to a helper, a sturdy roller stand may be useful though I can't comment from experience.

   Make sure the workpiece can't tip over the saw or break the trunnions. Also, the table may try to tilt from the weight so make sure it's tightly clamped square. Propping up the edge of the table with a chunk of 2X4 is good insurance against table tilt.

   The key to resawing something like this is getting the wood to go "machine straight" through the band. I've seen pictures of cool sleds and carriages but they are mostly non-trivial to build. Without that, you need to get at least one face flat the full length of the piece. If you have a jointer you may be able to take a bunch of passes with the fence removed. If the piece is a lot bigger than the jointer, be mindful of the possibility of tipping it over. Another thing that works for me is to screw the piece to a jointed cheap board, then slice the side off the piece. You want the edge of the board to run along a fence (a clamp-on guide works well for this). Pay very close attention to keeping the edge against the fence. It is also critical to avoid the piece tilting or rolling during the cut. Most likely your helper will need to stick a small wedge into the back of the cut to keep it open.

   Once you have a flat face, you need another flat face perpendicular to the first. This has to be done on the band saw. The two faces don't have to meet, you just need enough flat on the second face to register to the fence.

   When your heart rate returns to normal, it's time for the fun part of actually slicing boards. Set up a tall fence at the thickness desired. Remember to leave enough thickness to face joint and plane the boards. The fence has to be solidly locked/clamped in place. Once again be sure the piece stays in full contact with the fence. Think push sticks, push pads, and safety. The helper needs to think safety also. When you get to the last couple of cuts, you have less contact with the table, so you need to be extra careful to hold the piece tight to the fence.

   You're going to make an insane quantity of dust. Got dust collection or at least a shop vac?

   Safety, Safety, Safety. Take your time and don't take any dumb chances.

   Pete

   
   

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   Edited 7/23/2006 12:03 pm ET by PeteBradley

1. 
   Robinlynn | Jul 24, 2006 04:03am | #5

   Peter,

   I picked up a number of these "logs" today.  You are correct, they are squared logs.  They are ranging from  8" wide down to 4" wide.  Lengths around 4'.  I have a helper, already.  You mentioned that they were probably watersawn(?), I don't know what that means, could you explain?  I had planed on cutting them into lumber some 6/4, but mostly 4/4.  I am making a blanket chest out of them and don't require anything thicker than that.  It is beautiful wood.  I'll try to get some pics of it, when I start cutting. 

    

1. 
   PeteBradley | Jul 24, 2006 06:24am | #6

   OK, those are very manageable. The suggestions I gave all apply. Nice score!If your timbers were cut in 1830 (as opposed to being later additions), they might have been hand-hewn or mill sawn. The sawmills were powered by water and were almost exclusively reciprocating saws, as the circular saw was then a recent invention. The telltale sign will be a series of straight, parallel saw marks about half an inch apart. Here's a good picture of the saw at Sturbridge Village:http://pictures.galenfrysinger.com/new_england/sturbridge56.jpgPete

5. 
   JMartinsky | Jul 24, 2006 02:49pm | #7

   Dear Robin,
   I want to second the metal detector and don't assume that any metal found will be relatively soft, hand cut nails. Those old timbers love to snap off screws about 1/8" - 1/4" below the surface. Modern screws are very hard and will kill a carbide blade in a second, not to mention all the sparks being sucked into whatever dust collector you will be using. The other thing to consider is the dust. Over the years, people used some pretty nasty chemicals that may still be present in the wood. Use good dust collection.

   Best,

   John