Re-sawing Tips You Can't Afford to Ignore

Any motivated woodworker has read the advice usually given about re-sawing. Unfortunately, the advice commonly disseminated is incomplete. This often happens when experts, who forget what it's like not to be experts, offer instruction that is built on assumptions.

This post will give you information you've NOT read elsewhere. If you've done everything "according to Hoyle" and still found yourself upset and frustrated, I think you'll find it particularly helpful.

To prevent confusion and clarify some basic facts, here are a couple of things you need to know in advance: (1) I use a 14" bandsaw with a riser block. (2) I use a 3/4" wide Timber Wolfe re-saw blade (3 T.P.I.). Most of the workpieces I re-saw are several inches high, 24-30 inches long, and about two inches thick. My re-sawn pieces vary in thickness from 1/16" to 3/4". (3) I use a shop-made, flat guide fence, not the kind with the pivot point. The fence is about the same height as the workpieces I re-saw. (4) After ensuring that the table and the fence are both at 90 degrees to the blade, I clamp the fence to the table, following the "drift" line which I've marked on the table in pencil. (5) I make all adjustments to thrust bearings, side guides, etc., both above and below the table, after the upper blade guard/guide post is set at the appropriate height. (The order of operations makes a difference.)

RE-SAWING TECHNIQUE

Faulty technique causes two cutting problems. Trapezoidal cuts result in a finished product is wider at the top than the bottom or vice versa). Trapezoidal cuts are a special problem when re-sawing tall workpieces. Cuts that are uneven along their length result in a finished product is wider where you started cutting than at the rear, or vice versa).

To prevent these problems, observe these cautions:

1. Be aware that as you feed the workpiece, there are two sets of forces being applied to it. One set is a “forward” push (like feeding wood into a table saw blade) that moves the workpiece into the blade. This force determines how quickly you cut. The second set of forces are “lateral”; these keep the workpiece flush to the guide fence. Most problems develop when too much pressure is applied laterally.

2. When feeding any workpiece, but especially a tall one, how you use the push-block that helps keep the workpiece flush to the guide fence (lateral forces) is critical. Exert firm but not very heavy pressure evenly across the “top-to-bottom” face of the workpiece. If you push too hard, or if the force you exert is above or below the center point of the workpiece, a trapezoidal cut will result.

3. For cuts that are straight along their length, the “front-to-back” location of the pressure exerted with the push-block to keep the workpiece flush to the fence makes a huge difference. If lateral pressure is applied on the “fore” side of the blade, the cut will go off and you will wind up with a tapered end product. If lateral pressure is applied on the ”aft” side of the blade, the cut will go off in the opposite direction, but you'll still wind up with a taper. To prevent this, apply pressure only at the point at which the workpiece passes through the blade. In other words, lateral pressure should be applied only where the blade intersects the workpiece.

4. To ensure that the blade is cutting exactly as you want it to, use your eyes, and also gauge the strength with which you are applying pressure(s) on the workpiece. If the blade wanders, even a little, stop immediately. If you do not stop, the situation will only worsen. After stopping the machine, figure out what is going on and why. Then correct the problem. Most often you'll find it's an error in either where force is applied, or how much force is applied, or both.

If there is sufficient interest in this post, I will make a video and post it here.

Why Can't I Do That?

Read a woodworking magazine or watch a TV show like the Woodsmith Shop and you're bound to come away feeling both inspired and embarrassed. It's entertaining and inspiring to see the pros complete projects efficiently -- almost magically -- or to read descriptions of their seemingly effortless excellence. But more often than not the reader or viewer is left with two impressions. The first is that the task is straightforward, even easy. The second impression is that the level of excellence the pros display is within everyone's grasp. When we try to replicate what they've done (and, being optimists, most of us do try) we find ourselves frustrated and disappointed. "Why can't I do that?" we ask ourselves. The anwser we don't want to hear is that we are simply less able, slow learners, inept, or clumsy.

Newer woodworkers are particularly suseptible to these confidence-sapping messages. In fact, the less experienced we are, the more likely it is that we'll attribute the excellence we observe to innate talent alone.

Here's my beef: A few critical details are missing in the accounts we see and read. The first is any sense that noone is born with the kind of skills displayed by the pros. The competence they possess is the result of years of effort, learning, and skill-building. We don't see the work that went into developing the skills; we see the results.

Second, nobody shows their mistakes -- the miscuts, the sloppy joint caused by a lapse of concentration, or the mismatched mortise and tenon that had to be shimmed or re-done. I'm not naive enough to believe that a pro would willingly display less than perfect work. But to convey the impression that every step associated with every project goes perfectly all the time is downright misleading. I think it would be a kindness to point out the sticking points that even the most skilled woodworkers confront. For example:

1. Readers or viewers could be forewarned that certain tasks will be challenging, especially if a person is new to them. "Expect to make a few miscuts," we might be advised. "Make the cuts on scrap a few times before touching your workpiece."

2. Fess up. When a task can't be mastered without making errors, say so. "It may look like this is simple, but it took me quite a few tries before I got it right -- and a lot of practice to reach the point where I was able to do this as easily as I just did." How refreshing and reassuring it would be to hear such a comment.

3. It would be kindness to point out the typical errors beginners make. For example, the pro might say, "You may find that you have trouble at this point. Almost everyone does. Even a slight error in your measurement will pretty much ruin this joint, so you need to take your time and double-check your measurement."

Such comments can be both reassuring and kind -- and can actually encourage those of us who are not professionals to persist even when frustrated. Pros without fragile egos or the need to prove themselves superior to "the rest of us" would be well-advised to humanize the process by which they make the building of beautiful objects look so simple.

Everything Old is New Again

Recently, for a variety of reasons, I've begun looking again at my older issues of Fine Woodworking. Some issues date back to the late 70's; others are just a few years old. While most of the product reviews are out of date, as are some author photos(!), I have been delighted and surprised by the amount of useful information each issue contains. It's clear to me that our craft is largely the same as it was thirty -- and more -- years ago. There are changes, of course, mostly in machinery and other aids. But in its essence the craft of woodworking is virtually timeless, as are the skills and temperament it requires.

But another idea warrants mention. As my woodworking skills and interests have developed, so has my interest in topics that would not have interested me several years ago. (Or perhaps such topics were clearly above my head back then.) The old saying that "everything old is new again" applies to back issues of FW -- and I'm certain of other woodworking magazines as well. So, if time permits, and you've been wise enough to hold on to back issues of your favorite woodworking magazines, take a look again. I think you'll make discoveries there that will please and impress you.

YouTube Commercialization

Am I the only woodworker who's noticing that more and more of the woodworking-related videos on YouTube are little more than free ads? Enter a topic in the search string and you're almost sure to find that a very high percentage (and growing!) of the vids are produced by manufacturers and retailers. The videos are either product introductions, product demos, or "teasers" intended to generate interest in some item or instructional DVD.

What's happened on YouTube is similar to what happened on the Web as a whole: what began as a source of "impartial" information has become a very sophisticated marketplace. Sell, sell, sell. However this aggressive marketing is justified, it's still a shame that those of us who are not interested in making purchases have to wade through tons of commercial "plugs" to find the information we want.

TV Stand with Display Cabinets

The main unit of the TV stand was completed several weeks ago. Since then I've been working on the two display cabinets, each of which has a single adjustable shelf. The cabinets are specifically intended to provide a place to display Carole's bowls -- all of which, incidentally, are made with a scroll-saw, not a lathe. As soon as her new Fox-Chapel book comes out, we'll be able to display her newest creations as well.

The TV stand and the cabinets are all solid cherry, except for the 1/2" plywood backs. All joinery is hand cut, even the carcase dovetails that are not visible in the photo. The finish is shellac. At this time only the main unit has been rubbed out; in several weeks I'll rub out the display cabinets as well.

The Inner Game . . .

Some years ago several books came out with titles such as, The Inner Game of Tennis, and The Inner Game of Golf. All of them had the same premise: that success is often as much a matter of headwork as skill. By "headwork" I mean the mind-set each of us brings to an activity, including our reactions to frustration, disappointment, and victory.

As a tennis player, I found much that was of merit in the Tennis book. I still do. Lately, wearing my woodworker hat, I've been thinking that the same principles apply. Here are a few of them.

First, the pursuit of excellence is what any skill-based activity is all about. Rather than focusing on outcomes, focus on process -- and take pleasure in it. When cutting a tenon or a dovetail, for example, do the job properly, thoughtfully. Strive to cut the best tenon of which you're capable.

Second, resist the urge to fault yourself for not being as much a master as others are. You can only be who you are. And your development is personal. Do the best job you can now. Don't fret about the fact that someone else might do this job more easily or more skillfully. And don't gloat about the fact that you're more proficient than others. Your task is to reach, and gradually increase, your personal level of excellence.

Third, if things don't go as you imagined they would, rather than getting angry or impatient, use the moment as a learning opportunity. Ask yourself questions like these: Why did the short-fall, or error, or mis-cut, occur? What can I do to prevent a recurrence of what happened? Or -- even more creatively -- can I convert this disappointment into an opportunity?

The worst thing a woodworker, or anyone who is working at a skill-based activity, can do is to let self-contempt, frustration, and personal pride interfere with the learning to which each of us must give priority.

Recycling, Repurposing, and Reusing

You've heard all the terms: recycling, repur- posing, reusing. Basically they mean salvaging what you can from an old piece of furniture and putting it to use in building a new one. Example: twenty years ago, I bought a large library table at an auction for $60 or so. Made of a heavy mystery wood that had been stained very dark, the table served a number of purposes over the years -- writing desk, crafts worktable, and computer table, to name three. A year or so ago, I decided it had lived its useful life. So I disassembled it to determine what kind of wood it was and whether it was useable. My discoveries were noteworthy. First of all, the wood turned out to be 5/4 cherry. With a little ingenuity, and accepting the fact that some waste was inevitable (for example, the aprons had a decorative profile on the bottom edge; it had to go) I was able to strip and reclaim every apron and most of the top. I had no use for the legs, but they were in good shape so I gave them to a friend. I even salvaged the heavy-duty metal clips that were used to attach the top to the aprons. Since its "repurposing", parts of the one-time library table have made their way into three projects: a writing desk (shown in the photo), a small sofa table, and a mirror frame. Some lengths of stock still remain; I plan to use them in the building of yet another desk. Since I regularly buy cherry, I know costs well enough to estimate that had I gone out and bought the equivalent amount of wood from my local hardwood dealer, I'd have spend upwards of $200. Not a bad deal! Perhaps more important than the cost savings, I feel the satisfaction that comes from having made good use of an item that might well have found its way into the trash.