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When those who do re-saw material, what thickness do you shoot for on Tops, Sides, and backs? Given you are accurate with your cutting.

thanks

Peter

3/16"

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Depends on the thickness of the stock that I'm starting with, and it may be different for tops, back and sides. 

For instance, my final side thickness is going to be around .085" - if you add .040" for final sanding (.020" for each face), that means the initial resaw thickness will be .125", or 1/8".  If you figure another .040" for the saw kerf on the band saw, each slice from the billet will take .165".  All this translates into a maximum yield of 6 sides from 1" stock.  Cut any thicker and I only get 4. 

Be warned, in this scenario there is no room for error.  Everything has to be set up and working precisely or you have nothing but a bunch of sawdust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have not done much resawing of guitar materials, but what little I have done have taught me to rather cut thicker than try to squeeze one more cut in. In the worst case you can end up with two useless pieces instead of one piece which is on the thick side. Keep in mind that I don't cut anything very exotic or extremely expenisve, in which case getting that extra piece becomes more of an issue of course. If I had some wood like that on hand I would probably have a pro cut it, it would pay for itself quickly. I have a nice old 3 phase 24" band saw and use a 3 tpi 1" blade and I have only cut mahogany, maple and birch.

For guitar backs I aim for around 5 mm, sides can go a little thinner depending on the dimension of the piece I start with.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

It will definitely vary depending on how well your saw is set up, the
kind of blade you have and how sharp it is, and the kind of wood you're
cutting.  Using a Woodslicer 3/4" blade, I can normally get 2 sets
of backs or sides with a rather thickish slice left over for bindings,
headstock caps, end grafts, etc.  I've only been doing this for a
year, and I'm getting better at it, but I'm pretty happy with those
results.



This is from 4/4 rough planed down to ~7/8" to start.

all great information, thanks everyone!!

I'm going to upset the health & safety people here, but I take the guard off the table saw and cut top & bottom then finish the last inch or so with my wandery bandsaw.

I AIM for 6 or 7 mm and then bring it down with the planer/thicknesser

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[QUOTE=Doug O] Be warned, in this scenario there is no room for error.  Everything has to be set up and working precisely or you have nothing but a bunch of sawdust.

[/QUOTE]

That's why I go 3/16". I've ruined more wood trying to be precise than I've ever ruined cutting it slightly over.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

around .170

I cut backs and sides to 0.115 if the job demands 'the good setup'. I was resawing Brazilian the other night for a client luthier, a 2 1/8" thick piece, and we got 13 clean slices. I say 'we' because he wanted to help (it was his very expensive chunk of Braz he'd had for 30 years, after all). Luck was on our side there, everything went right.

If the wood doesn't warrant the extra time to tune the setup, then I just saw stuff to a rough 1/8". I use the Laguna resaw blade on a 16HD.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I do my share of resawing also, and I generally shoot for somewhere in the 1/8 to 3/16 inch range.

One important note that you need to keep in mind is that a dull blade will want to "walk" on you and you will end up with places that are too thick or too thin. A fresh sharp blade will walk right through the board and give good clean cuts. If you are resawing expensive wood, spend the extra few bucks and get a good sharp blade.

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Reguards,

Ken H

I use a Lennox TriMaster Carbide on a Laguna 18.  A sharp blade is always better.  I just cut a set of Bubinga for a fellow OLFer for a dyer harp guitar.  That was some tough cutting, but the 3/16 cut made for a slice that cleared nicely in the sander.

Mileage may vary.

[QUOTE=martinedwards]I'm going to upset the health & safety people here, but I take the guard off the table saw...[/QUOTE]

Guard... what is that??

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Chris Oliver
Infinity Luthiers
...in the shop.

live every minute...

[QUOTE=Bob Garrish] I cut backs and sides to 0.115 if the job demands 'the good setup'. I was resawing Brazilian the other night for a client luthier, a 2 1/8" thick piece, and we got 13 clean slices. I say 'we' because he wanted to help (it was his very expensive chunk of Braz he'd had for 30 years, after all). Luck was on our side there, everything went right.

If the wood doesn't warrant the extra time to tune the setup, then I just saw stuff to a rough 1/8". I use the Laguna resaw blade on a 16HD.[/QUOTE]

I have the same saw...good saw!

Thirteen slices from 2.125" is extremely good. I have the same saw, but won't use the the Laguna blade for Brazilian, as it doesn't seem to cut well. I use a Lenox blade for most really tough woods, and the Laguna blade for sapele and mahogany types of woods.

How thick you go for should really be based on how good your blade and setup is. I've resawn mahogany at .120 and had it only deviate by .001" on all parts of the piece. It looked like it was planed. That was a very good setup, and a very sharp blade. It doesn't always work like that. There are so many factors. I've had wood cup right on the saw as it is being cut. That certainly messes up the yield. Better safe than sorry, especially if your saw isn't up to the task.
Typically, I try for 5 slices from a 1" board with my Lenox blade.

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The setup of the saw took close to an hour, so it's not the sort of thing I do every day. The wood being so old was a big factor, we were pretty sure it wasn't going to move on us so the customer wanted to 'go for it', as they say.

The Laguna blade's worked fine for me thus far, but that job was the final nail and now it -really- needs resharpening. Maybe I'll look into one of the Lenox blades while it's away...

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services