Thread: Re-saw Band Saw

I had trouble setting up the new Laguna ... and it seemed likely to be a blade problem.

A new bi-metal blade was dropped on this morning and with the fence set to zero drift she re-sawed a 260 mm high piece of MDF beautifully. The machine just hummed along as I cut. I measured along both cuts, top and bottom. The two halves are very uniform. Of course the cut is not as clean as it will be once I get a decent TCT blade on it, but I am impressed.

I also bought a 10 mm 8 TPI bi-metal blade for the old saw.

Excuse me while I go and toss out a few carbon steel blades.

There! That feels better.

Originally Posted by John Samuel

I had trouble setting up the new Laguna ... and it seemed likely to be a blade problem.

A new bi-metal blade was dropped on this morning and with the fence set to zero drift she re-sawed a 260 mm high piece of MDF beautifully. The machine just hummed along as I cut. I measured along both cuts, top and bottom. The two halves are very uniform. Of course the cut is not as clean as it will be once I get a decent TCT blade on it, but I am impressed.

I also bought a 10 mm 8 TPI bi-metal blade for the old saw.

Excuse me while I go and toss out a few carbon steel blades.

There! That feels better.

Good result John and once you do that a few times and recognise the signs of when the blade goes off you will find yourself not bothering with adjusting for drift or where the blade is sitting on the wheel or coplanar, these things do need proper attention but you'll just sharpen or change the blade and continue cutting and be a whole lot less frustrated, that's my experience anyways.



Pete

Put the third Laguna re-saw king blade on my saw this morning. After two crook blades in a row I was full of trepidation.

But this time we hit pay-dirt ... this is a 0.4 mm thick veneer taken from a 260 mm high board. Sweet!
0.4 mm veneer.jpg

Then I made up a jig to help cut a series of uniform veneers. Here it is. It is held to the table with T bolts.
IMAG0534[1].jpg

The board is pushed against the ball rollers (which have a piece of soft rubber under them to provide them with some "give") by the fence, then the fence is locked. Next, the board is pushed through steadily. I need not worry about holding the board against the fence ... the ball rollers do that.

Once the first veneer is cut, the board is put against the rollers again, and the fence is moved up to press the board against the rollers again, and locked. Voila! Another veneer, the same thickness as the previous veneer. Today I reduced a 30 mm thick board to 5 mm (see pic), and did so whilst safely cutting 1 mm veneers.

IMAG0535[1].jpg

This is only a prototype, and I think it might work best with a blade that gives a reasonably smooth cut. Any other bright ideas out there?

EDIT:
Wanted to test the saw at full stretch, requiring a 350 mm wide board that I did not have. But I had MDF. Just cut a 0.6 mm veneer from a 350 mm wide MDF board. Not perfect yet ... very slight taper from top to bottom ... fence needs a teensy adjustment. Nevertheless, if it never got any better than a 0.2 mm taper across 350 mm, things would not be too rough. Very happy chappie right now.
350 mm MDF Veneer.jpg

John, you might want to look at Wood Slicer resaw bands. I currently have the 3/4 version on the hammer. Been ripping thru WET Silky Oak at 300mm without issue. I dare say it would do the veneers that your are infatuated with, with ease.

Originally Posted by Pat

John, you might want to look at Wood Slicer resaw bands. I currently have the 3/4 version on the hammer. Been ripping thru WET Silky Oak at 300mm without issue. I dare say it would do the veneers that your are infatuated with, with ease.

Thanks Pat.

I will definitely get one of those. Already have a blade from Henry Bros coming as a back up and so I can keep cutting when the Laguna blade goes in for re-sharpening. However, if those 3/4" wood slicers are as good as they look they are a steal at about $47.00 plus shipping.

Thanks again,

John

John, please tell your lovely wife, it is not my fault you maxed the card out and Customs is after import duty and GST, as you had a look at what else you could get from that proprietor.

Originally Posted by Pat

John, you might want to look at Wood Slicer resaw bands. I currently have the 3/4 version on the hammer. Been ripping thru WET Silky Oak at 300mm without issue. I dare say it would do the veneers that your are infatuated with, with ease.

I agree, the WoodSlicer is a nice blade, thin kerf, variable pitch gives a smooth cut



Pete

Originally Posted by Pat

John, please tell your lovely wife, it is not my fault you maxed the card out and Customs is after import duty and GST, as you had a look at what else you could get from that proprietor.

Thanks for your concern, Pat.

But I think I've got it covered. Every month I put 2-4 thousand bucks of business/travelling expenses on my card. Sometimes considerably more. Her Indoors is so accustomed to my credit card bills, and so used to the great majority of the bill being paid by the business, she no longer takes any notice.

My other strategy, that often works, is whenever I have a big bill coming up is to suggest to her that her credit card is smoking again, along with a reminder that I can't claim her expenses against the business.

Have fun!

John

Originally Posted by John Samuel

Thanks for your concern, Pat.

But I think I've got it covered. Every month I put 2-4 thousand bucks of business/travelling expenses on my card. Sometimes considerably more. Her Indoors is so accustomed to my credit card bills, and so used to the great majority of the bill being paid by the business, she no longer takes any notice.

My other strategy, that often works, is whenever I have a big bill coming up is to suggest to her that her credit card is smoking again, along with a reminder that I can't claim her expenses against the business.

Have fun!

John

Perhaps I can send you a list of stuff for your next order and we can hide it in this magic credit card for me?

Wish I had one like this. My wife is like the Eye of Sauron...she sees all!

These types of threads are terrible.

Two mates have a Laguna and one showed me its awesome powers. It was a site to behold! Then I read all these rave reviews.

Heck! Had to go buy one didn't I....arrived Friday and I've been having good fun setting it all up. Did a few small rips yesterday but the shed was too hot.

Put the Resaw King on, but didn't fire it up yet. There were a few niggles that needed to be sorted....a few problems!

- a vain in the lower dust port extended too close to the wheel and it was a nano fraction from the blade. A love tap with a hammer fixed that. Gave it 4mm clearance
- I unwound the tensioner a bit too much and the tensioner indicator popped out/off. Ive tried to put it back in but it's defied me so far. Seems a bit weird, the design seems to be a bit poor. I'm not upset but it might be useful feedback for a minor design update
- The wheel-around kit is wonderful, but the detachable bar should have a coned insert rather than a flat stub. It's abut fiddly getting it to pop in the hole, whereas a cone would perfect it

I'm now in a quandary as to whether I sell my old 10" saw!

They do look nice hoping to be using one myself soon.

The tipped blade makes a huge difference.

Cheers

Steve

Originally Posted by Evanism

These types of threads are terrible.

Two mates have a Laguna and one showed me its awesome powers. It was a site to behold! Then I read all these rave reviews.

Heck! Had to go buy one didn't I....arrived Friday and I've been having good fun setting it all up. Did a few small rips yesterday but the shed was too hot.

Snip.
I'm now in a quandary as to whether I sell my old 10" saw!

My Laguna SUV is a delight. I have some niggles with it too, but they are minor issues and now the blade issue is fixed I love it to death.

Keeping your old band saw has some significant advantages. If you keep it the re-saw blade can stay on the new saw more or less permanently ... meaning no adjusting/fiddling when you want to use it. The old saw can be used for all the curves and smaller work.

My old Trade Tools saw might have been worth about $250. The convenience of having two saws set up for different types of work was worth more than that to me. Today I'll cut some cabriole legs, but on the old saw. I have set it up with a nice 10 mm bimetal blade, so it is ready to go without any adjustment. Later in the day, I'll cut veneers for the same job, and out will come the Laguna, hot to trot.

It was necessary to do a bit of squeezing in the shop to keep both saws, but I'm glad I did.

Have fun!

John

Yeah John, I would agree with you on that point.

I saw your response way back at the beginning and had your intentions in mind when I bought the Laguna.

Given the ease of cutting huge chunks with the Resaw King I can see it taking over many of the cuts formally done on the table saw. The measurement gods are smiling on me, for the table height of the Laguna exactly matches the TS and my Festool MFT workbench. I'm seriously thinking of sliding the Laguna into the end of the workbench so it can be used like a big extension/slideoff table.....exactly as its used now for a slideoff for the TS now.

When working with sheets to rip down it will be a matter of sliding the BS back a foot or 3 on the wheels. Trivial!

Fitting new blades isn't hard, but for the sake of selling (what is now a good second hand bandsaw, I updated it completely with every replaceable component) a machine that takes little room seems superfluous....the shed is a bit too small, so I'll see how it all pans out.....

BUT, it is as you say, a small machine with a good 1/4" permanently available is a good idea.

Did my first production work with the Laguna today ... up until now I have been playing with it.

Cut 600 mm from the end of a slab of camphor laurel and after passing both sides through the drum sander (too wide for the thicknesser) it was about 55 mm thick. Then sixteen 2.3 mm veneers were cut. There is a lot to like about the saw.

The veneering jig is a beaut. Every veneer is the same thickness as every other veneer. Also, it is very safe. The jig holds the board against the fence, so I need only push it through. It is virtually impossible to get fingers near the blade. Finally, the jig allowed me to cut the last veneer from a board only about 6-7 mm thick ... and do it safely. An entire board can be converted to veneers quite easily.

As several of you mentioned, with the re-saw blade on it, the saw is a ripping monster. In particular, it is safer and easier than a table saw when trimming waney boards to size.

I agonised over spending the necessary loot to get this saw ... the original intention was to buy a second-hand 18" saw. But now I am delighted with it and reckon it to be a great investment. My shop is more productive as well as safer ... and I am having more fun.

Cheerio!

John