Shaker Sconce - Resawing

The stock I prepared in my 9/22 entry is now perfectly flat and square but roughly twice the thickness needed for my project. I could thin it down using the surface planer, but that would mean turning half of my beautiful walnut plank into useless shavings. The preferred approach involves slicing the plank in half using the band saw, a process known as resawing. My plank is 7/8" thick. Resawing will yield two planks a bit under 7/16" each, allowing for the amount of wood lost to the saw kerf.

Resaw Setup

The photo at right shows my band saw set up for resawing. The saw is equipped with an an aftermarket Kreg fence, shown in blue in the photo. The vertical extension attached the middle of the fence is a point-contact resaw attachment. Unlike a table saw, which can be counted on to produce straight cuts with a flat fence, the band saw tends to drift to the right or left of the desired line of cut. The face of the resaw attachment takes the form of an arc, which allows me to pivot the workpiece to follow a straight line drawn on its edge.

The blade used here is fairly wide to aid in producing a straight cut, with a coarse and aggressive tooth pattern: 1/2" wide, 3 teeth per inch, hook tooth design. It cuts quickly with relatively little strain on the saw motor.

Resawing

The second photo shows the board being resawn. I used a marking gauge to scribe a line down the center of one edge of the board, then darkened it with pencil to make it easier to see. I then adjusted the fence so the high point of the resaw attachment was spaced half the thickness of the board from the cutting edge of the saw blade. Feeding the board slowly while keeping my eye on the cut, I was able to slice the plank in half with minimal loss of wood.

The photo shows both the curved surface of the resaw attachment and the slightly skewed angle at which I had to feed the wood to achieve a straight cut. Cutting on the band saw is rather sedate compared with the table saw, allowing plenty of time for course corrections. Experience nonetheless helps a great deal in obtaining a clean and accurate resaw. Use of a push stick is required at the end of the cut to avoid finger damage.

Resawn Planks

The final photo shows the cut surfaces of the resawn board. Although the surfaces look pretty rough, the saw marks are not deep and are easily removed with a few passes through the surface planer. See my 9/22 entry for an image of that machine in use. I need both 1/4" and 5/16" stock for my project, both easily produced by the planer, and it looks like I have enough stock here for at least two complete sconces. Once the stock is planed, I can begin laying out the pieces.

To be continued...