Thread: Cutting veneers on bandsaw

A sacrificial fence attached to your fence is step 1.

I do the smallest dimension between the sacrificial fence and the blade for consistency. The idea is slow and smooth feed rate to minimise the saw marks on the veneer.

Sharp blade and a well set up machine are also facets in the operation.

I prefer to use a 3/4" wide blade, less "wobbles" and have some support on the off side before the piece passes the blade.

Thanks for sharing this info, Pat, makes a lot of sense

Until recently I fixed the fence for the veneer width and used the saw like a meat slicer. As you say, it means no adjustment to the fence after each cut.

Then PJT visited my shop and recommended I change this. Now I keep the veneer to the right of the blade and shift the fence (say by 4 mm) for each cut. This means the reference surface (against the fence) stays the same, and I am getting very uniform veneers now.

If you want to use the saw like a meat slicer its a good idea to pass the wood over the jointer after each cut. No cut is perfect, and the slight variations in each cut can easily accumulate and give you a wobbly reference surface, and a wobbly cut. The time you save not moving the fence is used up passing the wood over the jointer ... six of one half a dozen of the other.

I have decided to move the fence because that way I don't need to pass the wood over the jointer after each cut, meaning I get more veneers out of a piece of wood. The kerf on my blade is 1.5 mm, so far I have moved the fence by 4 mm each time to give me a 2.5 mm veneer.

Originally Posted by John Samuel

Until recently I fixed the fence for the veneer width and used the saw like a meat slicer. As you say, it means no adjustment to the fence after each cut.

Then PJT visited my shop and recommended I change this. Now I keep the veneer to the right of the blade and shift the fence (say by 4 mm) for each cut. This means the reference surface (against the fence) stays the same, and I am getting very uniform veneers now.

If you want to use the saw like a meat slicer its a good idea to pass the wood over the jointer after each cut. No cut is perfect, and the slight variations in each cut can easily accumulate and give you a wobbly reference surface, and a wobbly cut. The time you save not moving the fence is used up passing the wood over the jointer ... six of one half a dozen of the other.

I have decided to move the fence because that way I don't need to pass the wood over the jointer after each cut, meaning I get more veneers out of a piece of wood. The kerf on my blade is 1.5 mm, so far I have moved the fence by 4 mm each time to give me a 2.5 mm veneer.

Words right out of my mouth

Pete