I recently acquired a couple of thick wide boards that I would like to rip in half. My bandsaw will only handle about 12″ and these boards are close to 20″.
I have an Alaska mill on my chainsaw that would be wide enough, but it’s not very accurate and the amount of waste would be painful.
I guess I could track down someone with a large bandsaw, or a bandmill, and pay them to do it.
I could also cut a kerf 4 or 5″ deep on each edge with my tablesaw then try and finish the middle with a handsaw.
How have other people done this?
Dan
Replies
I figured out, after reading your message a few times, what you are trying to do, you want to resaw the boards, which is a specific form of ripping. At first I thought you wanted to rip a 20" wide board into two 10" wide boards.
For something this size, finding a large bandsaw or bandmill would be the way to go. Partially sawing through on the tablesaw and then ripping by hand will work but it will require a good quality properly sharpened handsaw and wood movement can pinch the blade and make hand sawing difficult or impossible.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
John,Thanks, yes you are right I do want to resaw. Sorry about that!
Without a machine, it's still possible if you're prepared to beef up your forearms like Popeye.
A bowsaw with a stick wound and holding tension can do these cuts. Check out ebay or an antique store.
It's possible that the boards have internal stresses that would ruin them if resawed. You might want to cut off a couple inches and resaw that just to make sure the pieces don't fold up like potato chips.
Pete
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