resaw wood recommendations

[Tim Sherwood]

I am starting a dresser project where I want the drawer fronts and sides to match. I would like to resaw the sides to about 1/2 to 5/8" x 5 1/2 or 6. I'm leaning toward using Hickory. Will that wood be difficult to resaw? I'm using a sharp 1/2-3tooth blade on a 14" Delta saw , 3/4 horse motor. Will 5/4 rough lumber be sufficient stock?

 

[Mike Davis]

You may have to change blades if you do very much, but it should work.
Go slow and watch for the blade turning in the wood which will make the kerf bow inside the cut.
In other words both pieces of wood will be curved. one will be cupped.. hard for me to explain. Sorry.

 

[Tim Sherwood]

Thanks Mike. I understand about the curved and cupped cut. That's what prompted me to buy a new blade. Sounds like I might want a spare on hand before I start.

 

[mdbuntyn]

As long as the boards are reasonably flat, you should be able to get at least 1/2" thick sides, but you'll lose material to the kerf and surfacing, so 5/8" won't be possible unless the boards are over 5/4. That being said, with hickory's strength, 1/2" should be plenty.

I think @WoodKid made a dresser from hickory, I'll reach out to him to see if he has any advice

 

[Roy G]

If your rough boards are flat you could cut a kerf on the tablesaw so you don't have as much wood to resew on the bandsaw.

Roy G

 

[Tim Sherwood]

Good info guys. I think I'll run up to Wall Lumber and see whats available.

 

[mkepke]

Tim - I haven’t resawn much history but IME many other woods including white oak and cherry can warp significantly after resawing just due to internal stresses.

You might ask Wall if hickory is prone to this.

Also, what do you mean by ‘matching’ the sides and the drawer fronts? Are you planning to run the grain horizontally on both the drawers and the sides for a ‘wraparound’ look?

-Mark

 

[Woodmolds]

Good info guys. I think I'll run up to Wall Lumber and see whats available.

Why not just have them resaw it for you? Dress and sand.

 

[Cuthriell]

I have a similar delta saw and use similar 1/2" blades from Spectrum Supply (Kerfmaster). I have found that getting the blade tight enough to cut straight the tension must be bottomed out. I have not had much movement with hickory resawing 4/4 boards but have had trouble with 8/4. I also think two 1/2" boards out of 5/4 stock is a stretch after jointing.

 

[mdbuntyn]

I was mistaken. Tim (WoodKid) used ash

 

[jlwest]

Scott Smith can resaw.

 

[Rwe2156]

I built a large kitchen of hickory - grain switches, tear out, bowing stiles - it was a living hell.

If you're still not discouraged :-D, if you're handcutting dovetail drawers, I would reconsider a softer wood, even maple is better. You'll be rehoning chisels every 5 minutes.

I don't see a particular attraction of wrapping grain to a drawer side, but that's your choice. If you're not mitering them, I think you'll loose the grain match somewhat.

 

[mquan01]

If your rough boards are flat you could cut a kerf on the tablesaw so you don't have as much wood to resew on the bandsaw.

Roy G

If you create a kerf on all 4 sides, it also creates a channel for the bandsaw blade to ride in , preventing cupping/bowing issues

 

[Tim Sherwood]

That's a lot of information guys. Thanks for the response. I am not trying to match the grain from the sides to the fronts. I just want the same coloration. I use plywood boxes for drawers sometimes. I wanted this to look nicer.
I will try cutting a tablesaw kerf into the edges first . That should help a lot.
I'll be using a router and jig for the dovetails. It sounds like I better
have several sharp ones ready.
I did pick up 6/4 boards not 5/4. I didn't ask Wall to resaw these boards for me. I like to challenge myself to try a new skill . I probably should have picked an easier wood to start on. I'll have to knock up a resaw jig first. Then we'll see how this project goes.

 

[golfdad]

Start with a good Woodslicer blade

 

[Matt Furjanic]

Keep a sharp blade and Go Slow…
After the resaw, I like to NOT flatten the resawn planks right away. STORE THEM IN A WARM DRY PLACE FOR A COUPLE DAYS, THEN FLATTEN. Sorry about the caps…

 

[dancam]

+1 on putting a table saw kerf on all four sides. On very hardwoods or woods, I suspect maybe funky, I put a 7 1/4 " Diablo circ saw blade and do a 3/4" kerf on all four sides. The 7 1/4 " Diablo is a thin kerf and helps minimize the waste and the wood slicer should follow this kerf. I also agree with Matt, after resaw, sticker and weight down the resawn stock for a couple of days.

 

[Tim Sherwood]

OK . I'll sticker the cut boards and wait for them to wiggle a little. I was picturing the pre-kerf just as deep as my blade will cut, in several passes. Why is that a bad idea?

 

[Canuck]

Here's a question.....
In the past I have used 1/2" poplar to build drawer boxes for the last 7 dressers I have built for family members. I typically started with rough 4/4 stock (15/16") and end up planing all the way down to 1/2". What a waste!!! And a lot DC empties.

Would it be more economical to resaw 6/4 or 8/4 rough stock?

 

[dancam]

OK. I'll sticker the cut boards and wait for them to wiggle a little. I was picturing the pre-kerf just as deep as my blade will cut in several passes. Why is that a bad idea?
---------------------------------------
Tim, you can certainly cut to your saw blades max, but you'll lose at least 1/8" from that kerf and could possibly get some burn (hickory is pretty hard). The 7 1/4" circ saw blade is thin and gives the band saw a road map to follow. Go slow and let the bandsaw do the work.