2025-05-03 Bandsaw Resaw Solution

A problem was described in last week’s meeting regarding resawing.  After some discussion with the problem maker, I have a solution to suggest.

To resaw properly, a bandsaw has to be properly set up with the correct blade. If it’s a sharp wide blade with 3 or 4 TPI, then it is usually a matter of setting up the guide bearings properly.  Good technique helps after that. However, not all bandsaws provide the proper guide bearings, so it is sometimes impossible to set up, especially for wide boards.

If you’ve tried most everything without success, then there is another solution which can help.  Thin kerf circular saw blades are inexpensive nowadays and they cut a very thin kerf.  By raising the blade as far as possible, you can cut to a depth of 3 1/2 inches or more.  You can also do this on both edges of the board if you use proper technique and have a decent fence to guide the cut.  For example, if you have a board which is 10 inches wide, you can cut 2 kerfs on each edge to a depth of 3 1/2 inches each. This then leaves 3 inches of material remaining.  You then take the board to the bandsaw and finish up. The 2 kerfs help to guide the blade and cutting through 3 inches of wood is much less likely to create a problem with any drift.

Make sure you use a 10″ circular saw, narrow kerf, rip blade with 40 to 44 teeth.  Taking the full depth of cut creates a lot of dust. If it is more than your dust collector can handle, this can be avoided by a making 3 passes on each edge (this makes the chips longer and less dusty).  Due to the high density of many of the woods I work with, I do a lot of circular resawing.