I mainly make skateboards, and I've wanted for years to make my own veneers. I managed to get a free thickness planer that I used to make a few veneers, but it was pretty beat already and didn't last long.
Now that it's dead, I'd really like to be able to resaw my veneers, and a bandsaw seems the best way, but I don't know where to start. I haven't been able to find one I could rent out or use in my area, and I'd buy a used one if I could afford it (we are talking a college student's budget here though, so not much). So what I'm looking for advice on is 1) what is the cheapest bandsaw that could conceivably be used to resaw a skateboard-width (~8-9 inch) board and 2) whether there are any alternatives I should be looking at but don't know enough to look into.
Cheap and veneer are two words that don't go together well. I use a 14" BS in my shop, but if I were to cut veneer, I'd go for a least a 17" saw with a very good blade.
Bill
In theory, given sufficient patience and a very good blade, you could get a Harbor Freight bandsaw with a riser block could be made to do it. In practice, I'd go with Bill's recommendation: get a higher quality saw. For the HF model (which is about as cheap as you can get) you'd need to replace the guide blocks and the blade, plus buying the riser kit.
At that point, you might be just about at the price for a good used 17" saw already.
I use either a 3/4" blade on an 18" saw or a 1/2" blade on a 14" saw with good results. The wider the blade...usually the thicker it is, but a thinner blade will be better for a smaller diameter wheel because it will "flex" easier and have less metal fatigue. Blades for woodworking come in .025", .032" and .035" thicknesses: http://www.grizzly.com/products/category/165020
A wider blade needs more tension so it requires a bigger saw and a stronger frame. Warner Construction uses a 1/2" wide blade on his large saw. Lola Ranch uses either a 3/8" or 1/4" wide blade, if I recall. I used the 1/2" blade for a long time, then switched to 3/4" for no reason I can remember. :blink:
From the prices on that Aniversary saw, it looks like I'll be trolling Craigslist a while more if I'd like to own my own. I've been burned with harbor freight in the past, so definitely trying to stay away from that.
One last question. I haven't found much in my research about resawing with a horizontal band saw, but there is this one available for $500 on Craigslist right now. I feel like I'm way out of my league on this one, but for 500, if it'd do the job it seems worth it to me. Would this, or a similar saw work/would I be able to use it? It seems ideal with gravity and a flat base as my fence, but I'm pretty new to all this. Thanks again for all of your responses, I've learned a huge amount.
One last question. I haven't found much in my research about resawing with a horizontal band saw, but there is this one available for $500 on Craigslist right now.
Brian
I just got my first BS after a year of watching CL and sniffing around auctions, $150 for a Delta 28-245 in decent shape (asking price was $200) - no riser block and a 1/2hp motor, so pretty whimpy for resawing hardwoods. Sort of in the back of my mind is to build one of these after I'm out of school myself.
It was an auction, just had to out bid the scrap guy.
Once you have the confidence to move a 2500 pound machine and realize 3phase is not an evil word, life gets good.
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