I purchased an 18" heavy-duty bandsaw some time ago with the intent of using this for resawing. The bandsaw has been in service for some time, but I only recently got around to building the tall fence I would need for resawing. The other item you need is a feather board or other means of keeping the material pressed firmly and evenly against the fence. I looked around at several plans, thinking I might build my own, then came across the Bow Products Vertical Feather Board. I put this on my Christmas list last year and Santa delivered. Couldn't be more pleased with the results.
The base product goes up to 6" high, but comes with a 4" extension that takes it up to 10" high. The locking mechanism allows you to quickly adjust the feather board. This is something you need to do after every slice, and so should not be a complicated procedure. Because the silicon feather is flexible it applies pressure across uneven surfaces. In my case I flattened one side of a slightly warped board and began slicing from the flat side without surfacing the other. The feather adapted to the changing thickness without any issue.
At $106.99 for the base unit and extension, the price seems a bit steep given the simplicity. I was able to catch it on sale last year. Regardless, it is worth the money in my opinion if you plan to do much resawing -- especially for longer boards. It provides an extra set of hands so you can focus on pushing at a steady pace. Yesterday was the first time I used the extension. With this in place I was able to slice 10 nice sheets of 1/16" thick veneer from a 10" wide cherry board about 30" long. All came out smooth and ready to use.
Below is the full setup with the feather board in place. It has a cam that rests in the fence slot and keeps it from moving as soon as the board applies pressure to the feather. Otherwise, you can move it forward or back to position the feather. I kept it about 1/2" in front of the blade on my cuts.
The base product goes up to 6" high, but comes with a 4" extension that takes it up to 10" high. The locking mechanism allows you to quickly adjust the feather board. This is something you need to do after every slice, and so should not be a complicated procedure. Because the silicon feather is flexible it applies pressure across uneven surfaces. In my case I flattened one side of a slightly warped board and began slicing from the flat side without surfacing the other. The feather adapted to the changing thickness without any issue.
At $106.99 for the base unit and extension, the price seems a bit steep given the simplicity. I was able to catch it on sale last year. Regardless, it is worth the money in my opinion if you plan to do much resawing -- especially for longer boards. It provides an extra set of hands so you can focus on pushing at a steady pace. Yesterday was the first time I used the extension. With this in place I was able to slice 10 nice sheets of 1/16" thick veneer from a 10" wide cherry board about 30" long. All came out smooth and ready to use.
Below is the full setup with the feather board in place. It has a cam that rests in the fence slot and keeps it from moving as soon as the board applies pressure to the feather. Otherwise, you can move it forward or back to position the feather. I kept it about 1/2" in front of the blade on my cuts.
