What traditional woodworking tool was used to resaw boards
that are, say, 8 in. wide, before there were bandsaws?

I've tried resawing with a bow saw but I've been unable to
keep the cut straight and once the cut moves out of line I
can't bring it back. Anyone had any experience trying to
resaw with hand tools? Maybe a Japanese pull-cut saw?

Thanks,
Billy

Billy Smith (in lGTLe.4123$%K4.518@trnddc09) said:

| What traditional woodworking tool was used to resaw boards
| that are, say, 8 in. wide, before there were bandsaws?

You can find pictures by Googling for +"Plank Saw" +wood

Plank saws were either hand-operated or powered by a walking beam
(typically water- or steam-driven) and generally had rub blocks on
both sides of the blade just behind the teeth and just above/below the
workpiece to keep the blade from wandering.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html

Billy Smith wrote:
What traditional woodworking tool was used to resaw boards
that are, say, 8 in. wide, before there were bandsaws?


http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/resaw.php3

Pit-sawing was used for really large boards. The lucky guy
was the one on top. The other sawyer worked, litteraly,
in the pits.

--

FF

Eight inches wide as in 1 X 8, or eight inches thick as in 8 X
8?

You said wide, so I am assuming you meant wide. I have a collection of
rip saws that were made specifically for this application.

Anything up to two inches thick was considered game in those days...
talk about work.

At any rate, the blades are tall, thin and have little kerf, and about
4 - 6 teeth per inch.

Are you a neander or do you simply not have access to a circular saw?

Robert

Western or Eastern traditions ?

The Western technique is described in any good furniture book that
talks about the development of veneering in the 18th century. Although
resawing for timber was a skilled trade, the real experts were those
who resawed extra-thin boards (1/8" and 1/16") for veneers.

None (or little) of this was pit-sawing. That was the rough end of the
trade, sawing deals for housebuilding. The accurate resawing was
generally done with the board raised on large trestles or a fixed
framework - they needed light and visibility. It was done by paired
teams who always worked together (often for decades) and may have
travelled around the country as a working team. It's usual to think of
the guy on top (the tillerman) as being the brains of the outfit and
the guy underneath as little more than cheap muscle. For
cabinetry-grade resawing though, this is a disservice to the
undersawyer.

The saws were frame saws, not bow saws. They had a wooden frame on both
sides of the timber and were often screw-tensioned, not string
tensioned. Blades were much deeper than bow saw blades (partly because
suitable steel was still poor before 1759). The design of the upper
tiller is distinctive between saws optimised for power or accuracy.

Water-powered framesaws are a very early innovation (medieval!) but
didn't dominate the whole trade until late into the 18th century. There
was a lot of regional variation as to the rate of adoption of machinery
- England was still leading America at this point.

In the Eastern tradition, it's generally a one-man task. "Timberyard"
resawing was done with short squat blades and short squat sawyers the
size of a small tree - these guys are sometimes said to have been the
founders of sumo. They were famously strong (which in those days meant
they were simply well fed). Again an outdoor trestle would have been
used to support the timber when resawing as boards. There's a famous
woodblock (Hokusai?) showing sawyers at work on such a frame.

Fine resawing was done by the final carpenter, not a specialist. Saws
were more like a ryoba or fine-toothed anahiki and had long rod
handles. The timber was supported on
low horses and the sawyer worked above it (often holding it down with
their bare toes, which I've never been too happy about doing!).
Typically for fine work only a few strokes would be taken, then the
beam turned over and sawn from the other side for a few strokes.

I meant 8 in. wide as in 1 X 8 and resawing it so that you end up
with two pieces each 1/2 X 8.

The reason I'm asking is that I'm straddling the fence between being
a Neander and a modern woodworker. I enjoy using hand tools for
the fun of it. I would like to at least trying to resaw a board by hand
just for the experience. I have a 3/4 HP band saw that does not seem
to have what it takes to resaw even a 4 in. wide board, so I have to
either get another band saw or learn how to resaw by hand. I know
that doing it by hand would be an enormous amount of work, but I
could use the exercise.

Resawing by table saw is limited to boards of a width of about twice
the blade height and when I've done it (Delta Unisaw) it seems to slow
the saw down and makes the motor exude a foul smell, probably smoke.

When you say you have rip saws for this application, do you mean
hand rip saws? If so, what is their basic form? Some kind of bow
saw or a frame saw?

Thanks,
Billy

wrote in message
oups.com...
Eight inches wide as in 1 X 8, or eight inches thick as in 8 X
8?

You said wide, so I am assuming you meant wide. I have a collection of
rip saws that were made specifically for this application.

Anything up to two inches thick was considered game in those days...
talk about work.

At any rate, the blades are tall, thin and have little kerf, and about
4 - 6 teeth per inch.

Are you a neander or do you simply not have access to a circular saw?

Robert

Very interesting. Your procedure and framesaw appear to be an elegant
solution.

Two questions:

1) I suspect that one reason you are able to keep your saw cutting on the
marked
line is that your blade is not very wide. How wide is the blade in your
frame saw
(looks like no more than 3/4 in.)? And is there an ideal width for such a
blade?

2) Would your method work with boards up to say, 5 ft. long?

Thanks for your input. Maybe I'll make a framesaw and try it.

--Billy

wrote in message
oups.com...

Billy Smith wrote:
What traditional woodworking tool was used to resaw boards
that are, say, 8 in. wide, before there were bandsaws?


http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/resaw.php3

Pit-sawing was used for really large boards. The lucky guy
was the one on top. The other sawyer worked, litteraly,
in the pits.

--

FF

Billy Smith wrote:
Very interesting. Your procedure and framesaw appear to be an elegant
solution.


Not mine. I suggest you try to email the author of those webpages
with your questions.

--

FF

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 21:23:12 GMT, "Billy Smith"
wrote:

I meant 8 in. wide as in 1 X 8 and resawing it so that you end up
with two pieces each 1/2 X 8.

AAAHHH.... you're looking for a zero kerf resaw saw. well, you're in
luck- I just upgraded mine. I'll let you have the old one, nothing
wrong with it at all except that it will only go up to 10" and the new
one does 14". just email me with your name, address, social security
and bank routing numbers and your mother's maiden name and I'll get
right back to you with shipping information.




The reason I'm asking is that I'm straddling the fence between being
a Neander and a modern woodworker.

Sounds painful. I'd bet you can get help for that.


I enjoy using hand tools for
the fun of it. I would like to at least trying to resaw a board by hand
just for the experience. I have a 3/4 HP band saw that does not seem
to have what it takes to resaw even a 4 in. wide board, so I have to
either get another band saw or learn how to resaw by hand. I know
that doing it by hand would be an enormous amount of work, but I
could use the exercise.

try a better bandsaw blade. one made for resaw....




Resawing by table saw is limited to boards of a width of about twice
the blade height and when I've done it (Delta Unisaw) it seems to slow
the saw down and makes the motor exude a foul smell, probably smoke.

better not to let the smoke out of your saw, now...