Wood Cutting...

[Deleted member 36384]

I used a thicknserer to reduce old floorboards down for a ceiling lining job, they were reclaimed from an old garage. The floorboards were of variable thickness when recovered. It worked a treat. I would recommend the thickneser for this type of job.

 

[xeitosaphil]

I agree a thicknesser would be a better option, but you would still need to get rid of a lot of the timber first by some other means? Doing the whole lot with a thicknesser would be a hell of a lot of waste material?

IMHO Better to take say 7mm off with some sort of saw, and finish with thicknesser cut, that way you maybe end up with two usable pieces of wood?


This looks maybe suitable for a small job?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb...merw_wcB#product_additional_details_container

Obviously the more you pay the better the machine is going to be, it depends on how much you want to invest and how much use it will get in the future?

Philip

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

If I needed to keep the offcut from the timber I'd probably go into the workshop with a different mind set than if I didn't.

A medium sized bandsaw would rip that down easily if adjusted correctly with a high quality blade to suit the timber.
if you want a planed finish you still have to take more off to get to your finished size.

I have a couple of thicknessers, one with a top planer too. Not 'best' quality or expensive second hand if you look around, but new you usually get what you pay for.

My son a cabinet maker/stairmaker was really amazed at the work we have done on my home kit, especially this cheapo http://www.dealclick.co.uk/product/13485556/MacAllister-Planer-Thicknesser-COD305P-1100W.html

Sharp blades on all gear vital but adjustment, speed and pressure of cut become paramount on lightweight gear. Take your time.

Dust and shavings collection. I have personal face masks (we like 3M best), a filter helmet and a workshop filter system to clear the air asap, all non expensive when you consider your health is at risk, especially from the African, S. American hardwoods.

good luck

plenty of good videos on YouTube to tell you how.

S.

 

[coopec]

I have a cabinet-maker friend who always does that sort of thing for a backhander. The equipment they use is very precise and expensive. I don't think that is the sort of job an amateur should attempt - I wouldn't

 

[johnphilip]

May not behave as expected.

The other thing nobody seems to have mentioned is , sometimes when you cut a piece of square sectioned wood in half depending on the stresses in the grain, it can come off the saw blade with maybe a 1" - 2" gap on the exiting cut which is caused by the release of the grain stresses contained within the timber. You maybe lucky and things be ok but I have seen timber which is unusable because of the bow which is introduced. A lot depends on what you want to use it for? If gluing down is considered you maybe better buying actual prepared 10mm timber to start with?

Not wishing to be negative but just a consideration to bare in mind.

Agreed, You do not mention that Iroko is amongst the most notorious timbers for springing into different shapes when ripped down, something to do with the very varied sometimes short and twisted grain.

 

[kolster]

I took a 8" X 4" X 8' long piece of mahogany to a local sawmill who had an industrial bandsaw, the blade was about 6" deep and very thin, with power feed it didn't take very long to convert it into 4" X 1/4" thick strips with very little waste, I wouldn't consider doing it myself, look for someone who cuts and makes wood panel fencing.

 

[doug748]

"Would a good bandsaw do it? "


It would, but with your genset, you might end up with the same problem as the table saw, if you are not careful.

The original one, with it's 1ft square table, is not designed for this type of work. Even spending a couple of hundred quid + you are at the wobbly end of the market for long deep cuts, tho it could be done with care.

 

[Storyline]

If it is Iroko you are cutting make sure you wear a good quality mask (not one of those paper ones) as the dust is very nasty stuff.

 

[GrahamM376]

I've had table and band saws and would say that DIY saws suitable for a small generator aren't suitable. Cutting 40mm hard wood down the grain is hard going. Unless you have future use for the tools, I would pay someone to do it for you with either an accurate professional saw or planer thicknesser.

Alternatively, if waste not a problem, I would use a hand held power plane which (depending on the make) can shave up to 3mm per pass and gives a good finish.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I would take them to an old fashioned timber merchant and get them cut down on their industrial machine. It will be quick, cheap and make a much better job than any kind of hobby equipment. Unless you have other jobs that you need to do with new tools.

 

[Davy_S]

Take the wood to a pallet maker, they tend to use Stenner re saws, straight cut, no wobble.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

I don't know where some posters have had experience from what they are saying, but 40mm is not big in size for most band saws above

the hobby size. An easy task if well set up with quality rip blade.

Yes I'd use my table circular saw if I didn't mind a little more waste. Quicker, easier.

Then nip it through the thicknesser to finish off.


Thread drift.........

The only hand plane I use these days out of the four or more I have somewhere, is the

block plane, extremely useful. But then again my son usually uses one of our routers to do the same job.

Having never been brought up with routers I was set a couple of tasks to perform by my son. First a cockpit grating and second, an

adaption of an existing locker lid for the stern deck box we have.

Hours of concentration and care was taken whereas son would have done it in minutes. The resulting jobs were however excellent.

The most handy size routers we find are 1/2" and 1/4". The 1/4" Bosch is soooo good for doing quick light work.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gkf...1AapQQ27P1NpIr1jfnwvYGfRP2Sw1xs0zfhoCQnbw_wcB

S.

 

[lw395]

Laser cutting?

 

[pvb]

It's a follow on from my decking query. I've got a fair quantity of iroko bench slats in those dimensions - and the easy option to obtain more cheaply. I'm pondering chopping them down for cockpit and cabin sole decking.

As the area involved is fairly small, why not just get some proper machined teak from someone like Robbins? You don't need anything very thick (so it won't cost the earth), but it needs to be good quality, quarter-sawn stuff with rebates for caulking. Sure, you can rip your iroko down to size, but it'll be a lot of work, and may involve investing in new machines which won't necessarily get a lot of future use. And at the end of the day it'll still be iroko, which isn't anything as nice as teak, and judging by the pics on the eBay site it isn't quarter-sawn either.

 

[Sandy]

If I have 40mm by 20mm planks and the willingness to buy a tool for the job, what's the best way to turn them into 40mm by 10mm planks?

Might be cheaper to buy some some 40mm by 10mm planks.

 

[fergie_mac66]

A decent bandsaw fitted with a decent blade will do the cut with the minimum waste and no, it won't be wobbly unless the saw is rubbish - allow for maybe about a 1.5 to 2mm kerf for a small bandsaw. Use the biggest blade you can fit, with the lowest tpi. I recommend either http://tuffsaws.co.uk or http://www.cutting-solutions.co.uk for the blade (the one supplied by the manufacturer might be ok but maybe not if the bandsaw is at the cheaper end of the range). There are a few good how-to's on the web showing how to set the saw up so it cuts straight - this one seems to work with mine and many others from what I hear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU

Depending on how much you have to cut, and whether you need to clean the cut up, my first choice would be a hand plane to retain the maximum thickness - you can use the marks from the blade as a guide to keep you planing square and remove the barest minimum. With care you might manage to end up with a finished thickness of around 8mm, provided your timber is straight to start with. If the timber is going to be screwed to a wall or similar, you can get away without planing it. If you've got miles of timber to machine then you might want to run it through a thicknesser, which is more money to spend (or find someone who can do it for you).

ps A bandsaw is probably the single most useful and versatile workshop machine - once you get one you won't want to get rid of it.

a small bandsaw will do it but needs a knowledgeable experienced pair of hands to use plus a really good blade not a cheap one, the wider the better with the biggest teeth possible with hook or skip set

I have a cabinet-maker friend who always does that sort of thing for a backhander. The equipment they use is very precise and expensive. I don't think that is the sort of job an amateur should attempt - I wouldn't

best way to go

I don't know where some posters have had experience from what they are saying, but 40mm is not big in size for most band saws above

the hobby size. An easy task if well set up with quality rip blade.

Yes I'd use my table circular saw if I didn't mind a little more waste. Quicker, easier.

Then nip it through the thicknesser to finish off.


Thread drift.........

The only hand plane I use these days out of the four or more I have somewhere, is the

block plane, extremely useful. But then again my son usually uses one of our routers to do the same job.

Having never been brought up with routers I was set a couple of tasks to perform by my son. First a cockpit grating and second, an

adaption of an existing locker lid for the stern deck box we have.

Hours of concentration and care was taken whereas son would have done it in minutes. The resulting jobs were however excellent.

The most handy size routers we find are 1/2" and 1/4". The 1/4" Bosch is soooo good for doing quick light work.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gkf...1AapQQ27P1NpIr1jfnwvYGfRP2Sw1xs0zfhoCQnbw_wcB

S.

a table saw would be easy and leave a clean surface but again a really good blade is needed and knowledgeable experience hands pair of hands is needed would be also good... that is if the pair of hands aren’t going to be on the floor with sawdust!.The kerf waste would be bigger but you can get some really good thin TCT blades with no set that would leave an almost planed finish


If the OP has only basic skills 2nd option is best

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

If the OP has only basic skills 2nd option is best

No I disagree.... especially if he is considering starting to acquire small machinery, Christmas is coming remember!.....we all have to start somewhere and with common sense and the will to look at research e.g. YouTube etc... then I reckon he has a go.

S.

 

[srp]

I too don't know what experience some posters have of bandsaws. I've been using them for years, and this is exactly the job a small bandsaw is designed to do. It's true that the very smallest 3 wheel jobs such as the old B and D with a 1/4" blade is no use, but anything capable of running a 1/2" 3 or 4 tpi skip tooth blade is perfectly capable of doing the job fairly quickly and with a minimum of waste. 40mm thick timber is nothing for a machine that might, at a push, rip a bit of 100mm timber. Ripping hardwood is not a tough job unless it's something horrible like greenheart. In fact, softwood is usually more power-consuming than hardwood because of the resin.

A circular saw is also fine, but gives a wider kerf. The right blade will give a decent finish but if I was fighting for every mm the bandsaw wins. As a first machine the bandsaw is one of the easiest and safest to use successfully - common sense is really the only requirement.

To the op - the bandsaw you linked to is really too small for anything serious. The motor is around 1/3 hp so it will struggle a bit. If you're thinking of something to keep for future boat jobs something like a Record BS10 or BS250 would be better. Or think about a secondhand one from eBay or one of the woodwork forums (www.woodworkuk.co.uk or www.ukworkshop.co.uk are two possible sources and you could stick a wanted ad on both of them).
The alternative suggestion of finding someone local to cut it for you is the option if you decide you can't justify a decent machine. I often do little jobs like this like this for a few beer tokens.

 

[BERT T]

No I disagree.... especially if he is considering starting to acquire small machinery, Christmas is coming remember!.....we all have to start somewhere and with common sense and the will to look at research e.g. YouTube etc... then I reckon he has a go.

S.

If you want a decent bandsaw, keep an eye on this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Record-Po...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item4ae044985e

 

[srp]

Or maybe this one, in Leeds http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/elektra-b...472&rk=4&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=321590171742&rt=nc