Bandsaw finish on dressed board

[JoshNZ]

Hiya guys, been a while since I posted here!

I wondered if anyone has a reliable solution to putting a bandsawn finish on a dressed board without splitting the board.

We occasionally do weather board runs and have found the simplest way to do it is mill double wide blanks, dry them, resaw down the middle (so the cruddy dried/sticker shadowed surface is gone) then machine the profile with that bandsaw finish on the bed without touching it obviously.

But several times we have run into a situation where we have 1"/25mm stock that we change plans and want to get 3/4"/19mm bandsaw finish boards from, and I'm wondering if there is any kind of head available for a moulder to do this or any particular set/band style that might do it on a bandsaw reliably?

If there were a solution out there that was easy it would be great to just mill 1" stock in the first place as this considerably reduces drying time.

Thanks!

[longtime lurker]

Chamferboard or shiplap I saw inch stock, KD, and profile with the moulder.

Weatherboard I saw 1.5 inch stock, then center split with a band resaw with the fence tilted to get the angled face. You shouldn't have to dry weatherboard so long as enough overlap is given to allow for unit shrinkage - it was traditionally a green off saw profile - although I do prefer it dry now given the propensity to cupping with the smaller log resource we run on today. But you're supposed to be able to nail it up before the leaves have turned brown.

I've seen weatherboard done with a Lucas Mill ( they have an attachment for that) ... it did a good job and to an old circle mill man like me they looked better with real sawmill tracks than the scratchings of a band but that's just personal preference and I sell it with bandsaw marks cuz that's what I have access to.

Currently local demand is for vertical shiplap, it's the current Australian architectural fad. Vertically negates the water shedding capacity but anyway... can't let substance get in the way of style even in the wet tropics... everyone keeps nailing it to walls running the wrong way so long as I'm paid it's none of my business although I do tell them code requires a vapour barrier for a reason. And I gotta say my own product is gorgeous that way but dumb is dumb.

[JoshNZ]

We run a vertical ship lap here most commonly too, but we do include a 1/4" capillary groove which supposedly drains any water that does make it in to the bottom of the run, with it not being able to wick across a 1/4" cavity.

Regarding selling wet, I just don't think we'd get away with that for very long. It is one of the things I struggle with most is managing people's expectations and that cupping and shrinking issue would come back and bite before long.

[longtime lurker]

The drip sill on that shiplap profile should be effective... I kinda like the simplicity of that as a solution.

With the weatherboard (clapboard for the rest of you guys) there were reasons it was installed green. Here it's pretty much a triangular shape, 6-8 inches wide, 5/8" thick one side and 1/4" the other with all dimensions being approximate because it was a rough sawn product. You put your stud frame up, trusses on top, roof sheeting on, then closed in the exterior walls with weatherboard and let them dry in place. Cuz the thing is that because it's so thin if it's dry it may well crack when you started nailing it to the stud frame because stud frame walls are never perfectly straight... nailed up wet they can flex to allow for twisting to the shape of the wall studs. Nailed up dry somethings got to give.  Of course being thin they dry off pretty fast once installed and by the time you get to installing the lining boards inside them they're at EMC.

Problem is we all get customers who want the rustic traditional look but have not a clue about building practice, or expect the performance solution of space age synthetics that look like wood from actual wood from trees. Those ones we supply it as a KD product and explain they're going to have to pre drill everything.

One of the things I've had to learn with my cladding,siding and lining profiles was to talk to the customer... old house/ new house, stud frame/ steel frame... I started out with these close tolerance joints that are perfect on a dead level surface but have learnt to leave some slop to allow for walls that were green framed 100 years ago and stood through half a dozen cyclones since. Those tight joints just didn't work in the real world sometimes... so I have learnt to ask the question about where my product is going so I can throw a couple shims in as required.