STL 176: Why we don’t like resawing on the tablesaw

Leave a comment on this episode's show notes page to enter to win a one of three Shop Talk Live t-shirts! - http://bit.ly/2JzIJZb

Question 1:

From Damon: It’s time for me to start surfacing rough boards, but I don’t have the money to buy BOTH a jointer and a planer. I do have a plan for milling stock without the jointer, please let me know what you think:

1. Buy a lunchbox planer and build a sled for face jointing
2. Build a jig for ripping a straight edge at the tablesaw
3. After face jointing with the sled and then planing the stock to thickness, the plan is to a rip a straight edge on my table using the jig and then ripping to width using the fence.          

Do you know of a better way to mill to four square without a jointer?

• Router Setup for Edge-Jointing by Jeff Colla
• Video: No jointer? No problem. by Gregory Paolini
• Video: Quick Tip: Jointing Without a Jointer by Thomas McKenna #205–May/June 2009 Issue
• Video: A Planer Sled for Milling Lumber by Keith Rust
• Video: Turn Your Planer into a Jointer by Dillon Ryan #256–Sep/Oct 2016 Issue
• Tablesaw Tapering Jig is Safer and Faster by Mark Schofield #229–Nov/Dec 2012 Issue

Question 2:

From Granary: What are your thoughts on resawing at the tablesaw? I'm terrified of it, but was recently and reluctantly exposed to it as a method for expediting the process at the shop. But, as an intermediate woodworker, I can only see downsides to resawing at the tablesaw. While taking a class, after resawing a few times at the tablesaw, I had to request that I not do it. I felt like a total wuss, but at the same time, when I was holding the stock, and the saw was running, I just felt like it was going to go wrong.

Segment: All Time Favorite Technique

Anissa: Gluing on clamping blocks for miters

• Tablesaw Sled for Miters by Craig Thibodeau #257–Nov/Dec 2016 Issue (features miter clamping tricks)

Ben: Using CA glue to glue a piece to an backer board in order to plane it thinner than 1/4-in.

Mike: Using shims to perfectly offset a piece

• Mid-Century Credenza by Libby Schrum #261–May/June 2017 Issue
• Video: Get perfect reveals with a Domino by Anissa Kapsales #261–May/June 2017 Issue

Question 3: Esoteric lumber questions!

From Craig: Needed some 16/4 ash stock for table legs. At my local lumberyard, I selected from a bin that contained a mix of flat, riff and quarter sawn boards, I pulled what I’d thought was an ideal piece, had the yard guy write up the tag, and then proceeded to the office. I noticed on the tag that the width of my selection was ~ 12/4. I suggested that I should pay the price for 12/4, rather than 16/4, but they were unpersuaded. It was foolish of me to suggest this, as at this yard the invisible sign on the wall reads “The customer is always wrong”

Love the show; Anissa “Long Pause” Kapsales is a nice addition

From Cameron: When breaking down a larger board do you prefer long or wide off cuts?  After listening to the pod for years now I’m obsessed with getting the best grain selection but don’t want to waste a whole board to get one piece.

As an example, I have a board that is 8-in. wide and 4-ft. long. From that I need piece that is 3-in. By 8-in. The best piece is on the edge of the board, 6-in. from the end.  

Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to [email protected] for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page.