Resawing on Mill

[DeepWoods]

One of the projects I have for my new mill is to make T&G boards for the ceiling of our cabin.  I plan on cutting 1x8's or 1x6's  12 ft long.  Let them air dry, then resaw to 1/2 in, then plane to 3/8 in final thickness.   I have an idea as to how I might go about this on my Norwood, but figure I would ask first.  So how does one resaw on a band mill?   I am assuming some type of jig or carrier to put the board on, but does one keep the board stationary, or push the board through the sawhead?

[MikeON]

I once had to resaw a few dozen poplar boards for a guy.  I had a big pine cant in the Woodmizer, so I screwed a pine board to the left side of it for a stop, then laid the poplar boards on top three at a time.  Held them down with scuba diving weights.

[Kevin]

I try not to resaw but I did use a wood clamp on the board to the bed.
Clamped down with the mill clamp and then removed the wood clamp.
Sometimes I needed more than one wood clamp on a board to get it to lay flat.

[Linda]

MikeOn,

Welcome to the Forum!  Nice picture and good idea!  

DeepWoods,

Welcome to the Forum!

We have a 1993 Woodmizer LT40HDE15.  We cheated and bought a WM resaw attachment.  It attaches to the bed and the blade sits stationary in the attachment.  The resaw has its own power feed to send the board through.

I think Arkansawyer uses a piece of counter top clamped in his Woodmizer and then manually pushes the board through. ???  You might send him an instant message to find out more about his method.  It sounds like a very efficient method.

Linda

[Linda]

DeepWoods,

You've probably already thought about these, but just in case you haven't, I thought I might mention a few other thoughts I had.

We have found that sawing to 1/2" and then sticking every 6" works better than resawing 1" boards.  We also put extra weight on top during drying.  Sandwiching the thin lumber between 4/4" or thicker lumber works well.

Don't forget to allow for cupping, twisting, shrinkage and the resaw kerf when you saw.  You never know exactly how each board will move, so we always allow for the worst case scenario.  Obviously, some woods are more stable than others.

This is a picture of our WM resaw.


Linda  

[ARKANSAWYER]

DeepWoods,
  I had a kitchen counter top but I left it outside and one day while on a road job it rained and my counter melted.  :'(
  This one is made with a 2x8 with a 1x3 backer and it has a 2x4 where my clamp is.  All were planed smooth and glued and screwed togther.  I tie my head to the axel and the blade is in a slot in the backer.  I just measure up from the deck by putting the blade down on the top of my "ARKY re-saw".  I just push the board through with another board and have some one on the other end catch them.  It goes pretty fast and works well.  If you need a hold down at the blade for the board just clamp a finger board on.
  I would saw 5/4 and then split when dry. You got to add the blade and shrinkage in so that you will have two 1/2 inch boards when done.
ARKANSAWYER

[Tom]

I think Linda has the best Idea.  I have resawed all various sizes of boards and timbers.  There is no way to split something without a resaw configuration.  By that, I mean to have a wheel or the like to apply enough weight just in front of the blade to force the board to lay flat in the area where it is being cut regardless of what it is doing elsewhere.

Beams will twist when they dry.  Heck, they will twest  or bow within seconds of being sawed the first time.  When you try to split one, it will lay on the bed as an arch or a rocking chair and the blade will cut a straight line, following the bed, as it always does.  you will end up with a board with thick middle and thin ends and another with thin middle and thick ends everytime.

Saw what you want and make a good effort to dry it.  You'll be better off.

[DeepWoods]

Thanks everyone for the great information.  I will have plenty of time to make a resaw fixture for my mill as I have yet to cut the trees yet.  My idea was a little diferent, I was going to make a vacuum table to hold the board to, and then run the head  through the board.  After reading your suggestions, I think I will try one of your suggestions.  Sometimes reinventing the wheel is the long way to get a job done.

[Oregon_Sawyer]

The way that I do boards for T&G ceilings:

Cedar-- cut 3/4 or 13/16 green
            air dry
            mill to 5/8 ( you only need one side without hit and miss)

Fir-- cut at 1in

[Oregon_Sawyer]

The way that I do boards for T&G ceilings:

Cedar-- cut 3/4 or 13/16 green
            air dry
            mill to 5/8 ( you only need one side without hit and miss)

Fir--     cut at 1in

[Oregon_Sawyer]

The way that I do boards for T&G ceilings:

Cedar-- cut 3/4 or 13/16 green
            air dry
            mill to 5/8 ( you only need one side without hit and miss)

Fir--     cut at 1in
           Kiln Dry
           mill to 3/4 or 7/8
  
This way you don't have to handle them twice thru the sawmill.

Loren