Re-sawing 1" thick boards

[NewYankeeSawmill]

Person contacted me off Faceb0rk asking if I could re-saw some 1" boards. Various hardwoods, 6" wide, 8' long. He wants to cover a wall w/ the wood like faux-paneling. E.g. I'm taking hardwood flooring leftovers and making veneer strips for him. OK, I see where he's going with this idea, I kinda like it!

... He wants me to re-saw 1" thick boards as thin as I can, getting as many new-boards as possible from each original. He thought I could yield maybe 5 or 6, 1/8th in thick strips from each 1" board.     

.... Yes, there was a conversation. Now he's asking if I can split the 1" thick boards in half. OK, maybe I can do that.

For the life of me, I can't see how I can clamp any combination of these things to consistently set me up for a 1/2" cut. I've shaved some 1/8th inch thin strips off of a big cant before playing around, I've re-sawn some 2" and 3" slabs to smaller stuff... but 1" board to a 3/8ths inch board... I dunno? That's a job for a regular band-saw, not a porta-mill bandsaw. Norwood HD36v2 here.

Any suggestions? I think the machine could do it, but I have no idea how I would secure a 1" thick board to my bunks and cut it in half? I can see stacking multiple boards to raise up the cut, but with the side-clamping, I just KNOW I'm going to hit the dogs.

I told the guy I'd try to figure something out and maybe make a few test-cuts for free, but for the life of me I can't see a way to secure the boards while cutting. I REALLY hate turning a customer away, the business is too new, I need all I can get. To try and catch the dogs and clamps on the bottom half of the board, while I separate the top half, is just nuts... but that's the only way I can see doing it?

Any suggestions or ideas?
Thanks!

- Kevin

[Hamajama]

First thing I think of: Is the juice worth the squeeze?

But otherwise, maybe put the boards on top of another 1" board to space it from the bed before clamping to give you a little more room on clamping.

[Old Greenhorn]

A lot of what you get is going to rest on the current condition and flatness of that wood. Having said that, here's and idea for you.
 Take a stable piece of 'something' and make a 4" thick by 5-3/4" wide x 8' long bed. Clamp that in the mill as normal, make sure it lays flat and the top is milled flat, then screw on some wood backstops on the left side that stick up 1/2" and make some screw on clamps for the right side to hold the board. It's all wood, so it you hit it, it won't matter. It will be slow swapping one board at a  time but you should have the best success you can get depending on the stock condition.

 Good luck and keep us in the loop.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

Great idea @Old Greenhorn! I do have some 'cants' lying around I could monkey with. Got some old Pine's I cut down to square posts. Lock that to the mill, then box the boards in with scrap wood, cut at will. Hopefully they won't go flying when the blade hits them! That's worth setting up and giving it a try!

Thanks @Hamajama , I know exactly what you're saying... but I need the work, and a positive interaction w/ a customer might lead to something else. I'm at the "investment" stage of building the business. 

I'm not worried about my time, just don't want to lose money on blades!

[Magicman]

a positive interaction w/ a customer might lead to something else.

The positive would be for you to be upfront with him and tell him that it is a bad idea.  He may then find more logs for you to saw into lumber to match what he has.  Building a good reputation should be your goal, not sawing what will probably be a bad product.

When you lay the boards on the sawmill bed you will find that they probably have a slight twist so then you will be shimming corners up and may only get one thinner flat board.  This is OK for flattening and truing up one board, but not multiple boards.

A Resaw Attachment is designed for resawing and has rollers that keep the boards parallel with the blade.  Anything less will prove unsatisfactory. 

"He thought I could yield maybe 5 or 6, 1/8th in thick strips from each 1" board."  He is making no allowance for the kerf.

Let him be there if you try but tell him up front that it ain't gonna work. 

[Old Greenhorn]

well you have the right attitude for this. Keep the client's expectations low and hopefully he will get more than he hoped. A square edge against the back stops will help a lot to keep them in.

 The upside of oddball stuff like this is you learn more about what you can pull off, or what you can't and you start thinking outside to box a bit. It can either be a small nightmare or a fun project. Either way, you can have some fun with it.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Run Forest Run!

  I can saw down to 3/4" on my mill. If somebody wants boards thinner than that I'll saw them off a cant and leave a 1" dog board.

    Resawing is going to knock the set (teeth?) off a lot of bands and the "boards" you get will have a lot of rejects due to thick and thin and such as many of the boards will probably have a hint of bow or twixt in them.

  I'd respectfully pass on this one. JMHO. Remember - free advice is worth what you paid for it.

[fluidpowerpro]

Maybe a dumb idea but if he has his heart set on using that wood, ask him to glue his boards in a stack to create a cant. Could put some dowels in for character.

[Old Greenhorn]

While it's true that free advice is worth the cost, it can also be observed that some folks have no sense of adventure.

[kwaldron199]

Personally suggest sub-contract this out!

We were in the musical instrument business for a number of years and re-sawed a lot. Still have our saws both horizontal and vertical but there should be others in your area capable of sawing this kind of material. Sawmill for this kind of operation is crude at best and we have both.

Blessings,

kw 

[WV Sawmiller]

While it's true that free advice is worth the cost, it can also be observed that some folks have no sense of adventure.

I can't believe you said that!  I have plenty of scars to show for my sense of adventure.  I just don't want others to needlessly repeat mistakes I have made. 

[Old Greenhorn]

And I can't believe you said that Howard.
 I thought you would be the first one to admit that every scar you have resulted in an least one or more major lessons learned (perhaps the harder way than most would choose) but lasting lessons, none the less.

 Not being judgemental here but some folks choose their adventures more thoughtfully than others. Just sayin'. Perhaps calling these things an experiment rather than an adventure would be a better approach?

[NewYankeeSawmill]

The upside of oddball stuff like this is you learn more about what you can pull off, or what you can't and you start thinking outside to box a bit.

That's the way I look at it. He needed his expectations wildly adjusted out of the gate, but he still keeps asking, and offering cash... So, yeah, I'll monkey around and try a few things, learn something about my saw while I'm at it. Worst case he watches me screw up a few of his boards and I can wish him well. Told him I wouldn't charge him for just 'trying'.

I like your idea @fluidpowerpro , I might recommend that to him if I can't make his idea work.

[WV Sawmiller]

And I can't believe you said that Howard.
 I thought you would be the first one to admit that every scar you have resulted in an least one or more major lessons learned (perhaps the harder way than most would choose) but lasting lessons, none the less.

 Not being judgemental here but some folks choose their adventures more thoughtfully than others. Just sayin'. Perhaps calling these things an experiment rather than an adventure would be a better approach?

Okay, New Yankee. I revise my suggestion and recommend you subcontract this job to your new partner - OGH. If it makes any money you can give him some of it.

[scsmith42]

We mill 1/8" thick material all the time, but I'm using a 16" horizontal resaw with a .035 carbide tipped band with 0 set to do it.

There is no way that I'd want to try that with my sawmill.  Far better to refer him to a cabinet shop with the proper equipment, IMO.

[Old Greenhorn]

Howard, who said anything about making money? I would assume this would be an hourly job, first, and second, the client really wants to try this, and third, some fun learning can tale place whilst experience is being gained. It's a winner all around. These boards will certainly not be of the quality that would come from a true shop re-saw which requires good clean square boards going in to begin with. The client is just making a 'statement wall', it's a fun project, not a fine guitar.

[Magicman]

In this instance it matters not what the customer wants, how much $$ he has, nor how badly you may need those $$.  Build your business reputation on giving the proper advice and providing quality work.

I will stand on my Reply #4 based on similar prior experience and add Scott's Reply #14.

NOTE:  Read the bottom line in my signature that has been there for many years.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well on this I will have to respectfully disagree in the details. As long as the client fully understands what the expectations are such as high losses, not the greatest lumber consistency, and all those other details then they know what they are buying. 
 I always do my best to fully explain what will happen and how the final product will look, warts and all. I even low ball it a little to make sure I can meet what I say or do better. There have been a few occaisions where I told a customer it would look like crap, and they insisted, so I did it and expected that it would be a total loss for me, only to have the client show up and be very pleased with what I provided and pay a little bonus, much to my surprise.
 When I had my shop, I got a request to make a special single brass letter to go on a very expensive rare car somebody was restoring. It needed to have a molding clearance cut in the back side to set over the molding trim on the car and two mounting studs through the body. The letter itself was very specific, a slanted "D". They just wanted one.  I told the customer this was not in my wheel house and anything I did would be a hand done kluge. They insisted I could make it. So one day at lunchtime I took a piece of brass scrap out of the bin and started 'thinking it through' as I went. I did the molding relief cuts first because they gave me a plaster cast of the molding and I could machine that pretty perfect. Then I traced the outline of the photocopy of the letter and glued it onto the blank. Rough sawed it on the bandsaw, then finished to inside and outside profiles by eye on a die filer (neat little machine). Also, the outside edges needed a 5° draft angle on them to match the original cast brass letter. I had to slant the table on the filer to match that. All told, it took me about 2 hours. I called the client and told them I made a rough sample they could look at, but I doubted a second attempt would look much better. I didn't care for it at all but hoped it would prove to the client that I tried, but the quality wasn't there for a car valued at 6 digits.
 Next time he came in, I showed it to him. All he said was "got an invoice?" I explained it needed a lot more work, but he said it was perfect and his polishers would do the rest. I said it was just a sample, he said 'it's finsished better than I hoped, how much?' I just said, "aw, gimmie 50 bucks". He had me write out an invoice for $250 and they paid it.
 Sometimes the customer is right is all I'm saying.

[SawyerTed]

I'm in the try it category. We are talking about maybe 20 6"x8' boards? Maybe 30?  

As long as the customer knows what they want and the product meets their expectations what else is there to discuss?  Use Old greenhorn's jig.

Customer wants rustic, imperfect rough lumber which he'll get, then proceed.  I had a customer have me cut a beautiful 8"x12" white oak beam from a veneer grade log.  They then asked me to make it look hand hewn.  At $85 per hour I went to work with hatchet and draw knife.  It was their log...

How many of us have cut rotten logs infested with ants into 12/4 live edge slabs that customers adored and saw epoxy filled river tables and the like.  Not my thing but they were happy.  

[Old Greenhorn]

Ted probably said it clearer than I did and with less words too.

[ladylake]

Reswaing is best left to a dedicated resaw, not a sawmill.  Steve

[NewYankeeSawmill]

Build your business reputation on giving the proper advice and providing quality work.

That's funny, I both agree, and vehemently disagree with what you've just said! ! I do agree proper advice and quality work are the goal! What those 2 things look like I think, is what we disagree over?

Being flexible, agreeable, and willing to work with the customer is an important part of my business model. I literally advertise "I'm willing to work with you on your idea". Most people I interact with are extremely ignorant, and this is a perfect case in point - the guy didn't even account for kerf in his plans. Boy, talk about ignorant! If you've ever sawn wood even once, by hand, you had to account for the kerf! So I started by giving him the proper advice. I told him my saw is NOT the right tool for the job. He still wants to give me his money. You think I should try harder to turn him away?

I get your point about putting quality first, truly I do. But I'm a service provider, I'm providing a service. I'm not selling wood, I'm selling the service of cutting the wood - I make no guarantee's about what comes off the end of the mill, only that I'm running the mill to the best of my ability. I think you're concerned about the end-product being quality lumber, whereas I make no such promises? Garbage in, garbage out works for me, call me the garbage man! One man's trash is another man's treasure.

If you are not even willing to work with a customer after explaining things and adjusting their expectations, you're exactly the kind of vendor I want to compete against! I hear customers complain about guys like you all the time! Did in the print-biz, too. You're telling the customer they have to fit into your box, rather than making your box fit the customer. Very different attitude about how to do things. Polar opposite, in fact. I come at these problems with the attitude that the Customer is always right, even when they don't know S__ from Shinola. Part of my job is to teach them the difference, if they're interested in knowing, and shutting the heck up, if they aren't. I told this guy we're not going to get Shinola, but he still wants to move forward and try it. You think I should try harder to get rid of him? So far I've committed nothing more than _maybe_ a half-hour of my time to try something new with my saw I've never done before (which I think will be fun to try). I can't believe you wouldn't even be willing to invest that much into a potential customer? If your business is so good you can do that, God Bless ya! Hope I get there some day.

Like @SawyerTed said, it's not my place to judge the customer, rather do what they ask of me and make them happy. A Tattoo artist does not have to like the artwork they are tattooing, just be professional, polite and friendly, do a quality job to the best of your and your tool's ability, and apply it to my skin. If I provide a service efficiently, friendly, helpful (w/o damaging my saw), and the customer is happy with what they got at the end of the day, I'm not going to judge them based on my personal opinion. "Yeah, looks great, glad you like it! Be sure to leave me a good review, have a nice day!"

Turning customers away because they don't fit into my preferred model is not how I intend to do business - I watched A LOT of print shops go out of business because they looked at things that way (and I stole every one of their customers    ). Didn't we go 'round this same topic in another thread  !? I had to learn to be different to survive for the 20 years I did in that industry. If you're able to run your business successfully treating customers that way, more power to you!

[WV Sawmiller]

   Since it looks like you are going to go ahead with the job I'd go ahead and test the absolute lowest you can saw on your mill before you skim a clamp or dog before you knock the set off a tooth. This means you will de-set at least one blade in practice.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

I'd go ahead and test the absolute lowest you can saw on your mill before you skim a clamp or dog before you knock the set off a tooth. This means you will de-set at least one blade in practice.

I was figuring on using an old blade to mess around, and if I get an acceptable result with scrap wood, I'd put a fresh blade on and tell the customer to bring me some test boards. If I make a jig on top of a cant like @Old Greenhorn suggested, I should be able to keep the dogs low enough on the cant I won't hit them.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

There is no way that I'd want to try that with my sawmill.  Far better to refer him to a cabinet shop with the proper equipment, IMO.

I had suggested that. Everyone turned him away, nobody wants to touch his job (too small). Suggested he buy a used or Wen brand bandsaw on Fleabay or DaNile and do it himself, not interested... He said he would pay my minimum 4-hrs if I could do it. Maybe he thinks I'm cute, WTH do I know?