Alternatives to Table Saws for Ripping Strips

[kaseencook]

Hello! I am new to the forum, I just stumbled upon the forum when doing some research on strip kayaks and ripping strips from planks. I'm glad to find a place to pick the brains of people who know a lot more about tools and methods!

My main wood working interest is in water craft, and I have been doing some research on strip kayaks for a distant future project, as they look beautiful, light weight and not too complicated.

Anyway, I would like to rip my own strips from wood planks as I'm not sure where I could get the right strips pre-made in Tasmania and because it would be much cheaper in the long run to rip myself.

I've had a look around at table saws, as these seem like the tool to do the job, but the cheapest one around is about $400, and from what I have read the fences are very crappy. Even $400 is out of our budget anyway.

My question is, are there any other efficient and cheaper tool options for ripping planks into thin strips? Maybe something like a mounted circular saw (if that's even possible)? We have already in our saw collection a plunge router, jigsaw, circular saw, reciprocal saw (I think that's what it is), and a compound mitre saw. To me a table saw looks like a circular or other saw mounted under a table with guiding fences (of course I'm sure it's more complicated than that). I know that routers can be mounted in that way on router tables, but I have never seen router bits that would rip wood strips like a saw as the bits rotate in the wrong plane.

Thanks in advance for reading and ideas!

[Chris Parks]

There are dedicated boat forums here where I bet you will find someone who has done it before. Post there and I am sure you will get an answer....

WOODEN BOAT FORUM - Woodwork Forums

[kaseencook]

Thank you. My question is really about cheap tool options (table saw or similar) for ripping wood, I just thought I would mention boats to introduce myself and what the strips are needed for. I will post on the boat forum though, there may be someone who also needed a cheaper way of making strips and found a good tool. Thank you for the info

[bsrlee]

You probably don't have the budget for a new one, but a bandsaw is probably what you are looking for. In the long run you may spend more on blades - table saw blades are Tungsten Carbide tipped, bandsaw blades are generally just carbon steel, carbide tipped blades co$t a fair bit, possibly more than table saw blades. I'm not sure how much longer carbide tipped bandsaw blades last, but I think fatigue cracking of the band stock would be the limit, not the teeth.

However bandsaws are generally regarded as safer than table saws - you can still slice youself up if you are careless or distracted, but a bandsaw won't pick up a bit of timber & hurl it thru' the wall on the other side of the room, whether you are in the way or not. You can make your own re-saw guide (and other accessories) for your bandsaw rather than buying one quite easily. You are not limited to ripping strips, a bandsaw can cut a lot of other curved components for boat building.

Get down to the library & get friendly with the staff - you want to get 'The Bandsaw Book' by Lonnie Bird or 'The Bandsaw Book'/'The New Complete Guide to the Bandsaw' both by Mark Duginske - if the local library doesn't have either, as them to get it on 'Inter Library Loan'. All three of these books have heaps on information on setting up (or fixing) a bandsaw so it cuts reliably & well.

Keep an eye on the second hand market in your area - you should be looking for a 14" bandsaw at least - anything smaller is either a 'toy', a piece of junk or both - bigger bandsaws may be more often found at the 2nd hand machinery dealers, but they are huge, often need 415 volts & have been thrashed to death & need rebuilding (unless you are really lucky) - 14" machines are the traditional hobbiest/light industrial size & are likely to have come from someone upgrading to a pro machine or getting out of woodwork altogether. Also there are heaps of add ons as well as how-to information about them.

[rsser]

You can get HSS tipped blades for bandsaws. Cost 2-3 times the standard but it pays off with hard or abrasive woods.

[whitewood]

Kaseencook

I sell strip paulownia made specifically for kayaks. I use a band saw with a 2.4 metre fence that has 2 pressure rollers to hold the plank against the fence. It produces RS strips that can be dressed both sides with the removal of less than 2 mm on each face. The blade is approx 1.5 mm so waste is miminum.

I also have a customer who buys planks of 200 x 50 mm RS and strips them to 10 mm with a hand circular saw along a pencil line. He is a chippy and says practice makes perfect. He uses the 6 mm strips to make hallow surfboards.

I agree with bsrlee a band saw is ideal and it is a very vertisile machine and worth having in the work shop. I bought my 14" saw on ebay for $465.00 and spent $50.00 replacing all the guide bearings and it cut like a dream. Carbon blades cost $22.00 and last a long time with Paulownia.

The decision is really dictated by cost, room in workshop and the likely use it will get for other purposes. Have a look at my web site and you may decide to buy them ready made if you plan to use paulownia. www.paulownia-timber-sales.com.au

Good luck with your plans.

John

[kaseencook]

Thanks for all your help and ideas!

Thank you John, it's good to know where I can get pre-made strips for kayaks... you just can't find that kind of thing in the yellow pages! I'll definitely keep that in the back of my mind for when I do the project.

The band saw sounds like the perfect tool option because it's not as dangerous as a table saw and can cut other things as well. I'll definatrely have to keep an eye out for some second hand saws as well if anything cheap comes along.

Thanks for all the ideas, It's a good starting point and I have some options now to mull over in my head about which way to go.

Merry Christmas