thin cuts

[robdunn]

new here.
what is the thinest, repeatable cut you can continually get, and on what type of mill?
lot's of wisdom on this site.  Thanks

[peterduncan]

We can get 1/16" in the Timberking B20

[robdunn]

thanks again.
my actual interest is in guitar wood, which i am unable to resaw wide enough pieces on regular shop tools.  that got me interested in bandmills, and now i think, after seeing some of the amazing(rare I presume)wood all you guys are cutting, i am more interested in sawing than the instruments.

[pineywoods]

I cut a lot of 3/16 oak and ash for fish trap throats and can easily go thinner. Just for grins and giggles, I have cut some pine so thin it's nearly transparent. That's on a woodmizer LT40, up to 22 inches wide...

[sawmilllawyer]

Welcome Robdun, there are a couple members who are instrument makers, maybe they will chime in with some hard earned knowledge.

[shinnlinger]

Welcome,

I'm w/ Piney, I have sawn "post cards" and "paper" for friends, family and my daughters class on my mill.

I bet any bandmill could do it, but some might have a better height adjustments if it just had to be exact every time, without a lot of fiddling.....that said, I bet you could run the thin stuff through a planer or surface sander with a backerboard for really precise work and in fact I might try this in the near future.

Maybe my wife will get a new lampshade out of the deal!

[thecfarm]

robdunn,welcome to the forum.Here's something to read until others come on.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,2187.0.html

Go to the top of the page and click on to search and put in thin boards.There are more threads than the one I listed.Put in others words and you will find more threads to help you out.
Be careful,the sawdust addiction will get you.  ;D

[Dave Shepard]

I've sawn as thin as .030", with minimal deviation over the length and width of the "board". With a kerf of about .100", you are making three times as much sawdust as "boards". :D


Dave

[Lud]

I saw thin and then put it in the steamer.  Still exploring the process but suggest/propose that one should saw with the grain  or split initially and then saw to have the same fibres in the thin board as possible. ;)

[solidwoods]

I think I'd saw it then sand it to thickness with a drum sander.
That will ensure exact thickness, uniform thickness and sand the surface.  If you are bending thin wood any deviations in thickness could make spring back unpredictable.
jim

[ohsoloco]

robdunn, from the sounds of it you're looking to resaw wood that's already dry  ???  Just about any bandmill can cut paper thin slices off of a fresh log, but dry wood is entirely different.  My Norwood can also saw wood so thin it's translucent, but someone I cut some 2" thick walnut for years ago brought some back to split in half  :  After a few inches into the cut the blade dove.....I got it split, but I know I couldn't make consistent veneers with dry wood on my mill (with the blades that I have, anyway). 

Perhaps with a different blade I could do it, but most mills can only cut down to about 1" or so from the bunks, unless it's fastened to some kind of riser or jig.