Members diabolusnmusica Posted September 3, 2009 Members Share Posted September 3, 2009 What kind of saw does one use to split a board to use for a bookmatched top? A bandsaw is probably a bit out of my reach due to cost and not having a place to store it now...are there other feasible alternatives? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigPigPeaches Posted September 3, 2009 Members Share Posted September 3, 2009 Not one that I can recommend with any reliability. Usually you're dealing with a piece of wood that's at least 4" wide, if not wider. Controlling the cut of a hand saw through a piece that wide would be very difficult, especially if it's for a solidbody top (like maple), and it would take a LOT of time and elbow grease. However, most larger woodshops will have a bandsaw that they can set up to do this for you, usually for a setup fee of $20-40 and a few days' wait. You will lose some of the thickness due to the kerf of the blade, but I've had very good results with this method. Where do you live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nuclear arsenal Posted September 3, 2009 Members Share Posted September 3, 2009 battle axe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bvr775 Posted September 3, 2009 Members Share Posted September 3, 2009 yeah you need a good pro bandsaw for something like that. Not allot of people will have that in a home shop. What i ust to do was take the wood to a highschool shop. they usually have the equipment to do it and dont charge much more than a donation to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted September 3, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 3, 2009 Chain saw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MahaloVision Posted September 3, 2009 Members Share Posted September 3, 2009 A 14" Bandsaw with a riser block will do it, but slowly. If you plan on doing it more in the future, consider a 16" or larger bandsaw that can resaw 10" to 12" or so. These will require 220v, and they will be a bit more expensive but worth it. If you have access to a table saw, you can start the resaw process that way, but be extremely careful as you'll be working without the blade guard installed. I don't recommend it, but it can be done. This will start the groove on both edges of the board, and you can finish it off with a crosscut or rip saw (the old traditional type of hand saw). Before I got my bandsaw, I did a few boards with a handsaw. Took a while, and it certainly didn't minimize waste, but it does work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members XylemBassGuitar Posted September 3, 2009 Members Share Posted September 3, 2009 Controlling the cut of a hand saw through a piece that wide would be very difficult, especially if it's for a solidbody top (like maple), and it would take a LOT of time and elbow grease. +1 I've re-sawn a few bookmatched tops by hand and it defiintely is a pain and takes awhile (especially iof the wood is as hard or harder than rock maple). If you do re-saw it by hand, be sure to make a mark down the center of the thickness of the board all the way around so that you can see if, when and where your saw is wandering. You'll also want to sharpen your saw before you start (and maybe once in the middle of the process), wax the entire saw (this helps reduce friction drastically, candle was works fine) and you may need a thin spline or two that you can place in the kerf once you get a ways through the board to reduce friction and keep the set from scarring the faces. Unless your are pretty accomplished with a handsaw you will probably not get as good of a bookmatch as you would with a bandsaw as you will cut away more wood between the two faces. If the above sounds too difficult and/or like more work, I would take the board(s) you need re-sawn to a shop with a nice bandsaw like the other guys have suggested. nuclear arsenal...do you have a battle axe that will go through a piece of jatoba in one swipe? If so, I've got a big fat check with your name on it...do I make it out to Nuclear Arsenal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bali Posted September 4, 2009 Members Share Posted September 4, 2009 I have cut planks large enough for bookmatching using my table saw. the fence must be set to make an accurate cut down the center of the plank to at least half its width, the plank is then turned over so the same side is against the fence as was in the first cut and the cut completed. If done carefully the result equals that of a typical hobbiest band saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigPigPeaches Posted September 9, 2009 Members Share Posted September 9, 2009 I have cut planks large enough for bookmatching using my table saw. the fence must be set to make an accurate cut down the center of the plank to at least half its width, the plank is then turned over so the same side is against the fence as was in the first cut and the cut completed. If done carefully the result equals that of a typical hobbiest band saw. Agreed, you can do this also. As Mahalo points out, it requires removing the blade guard. I've done it before; I also recommend doing it in several passes. A push stick or two might save fingers. When I've done this before, I've had horrible visions of the piece being grabbed and thrown back at me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tedmich Posted September 10, 2009 Members Share Posted September 10, 2009 IME a table saw removes too much wood and can bind and burn if cut is too deep. I've had luck on smaller bookmatching using a saw mandrel on a drill press, using a thin kerf blade. And for cleaning up flat stock, the bargain ticket is the Wagner Safe-T-Planer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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